A range of compact, convenient USB-C LiPo/LiIon battery chargers, perfect for feeding hungry batteries.
We've spent quite a lot of time at Pirate HQ over the last few weeks figuring out ways to charge up batteries for our Badger 2040s, and we've come up with all sorts of horrible solutions. Good news though - you won't have to make do with dubious bits of left over prototype, because we've made some straightforward, small LiPo battery chargers that are just the job.
LiPo Amigo is a stamp sized board with a USB-C connector on one end and a JST-PH connector at the other so you can plug in a LiPo or LiIon battery. Betwixt the two, you can find a perky red LED that will light up to tell you when battery charging is happening. Simples!
LiPo Amigo Pro (coming soon!) is a bit larger and has some additional tricks up its sleeves. It's got two JST-PH connectors so you can charge your battery and power your device at the same time (and switch seamlessly between USB and battery power). It also has a power on/off button and extra built in battery protection.
Both are compatible with any of our LiPo, LiIon or high capacity LiIon batteries (batteries are sold separately).
Features
MCP73831 charger with 200mA* charging current (datasheet)
USB-C connector for power
2 pin JST-PH connector for plugging in a LiPo/LiIon battery
Charge LED
XB6096I2S battery protector (datasheet) (Pro only)
Additional 2 pin JST-PH connector for powering an up to 4.2V tolerant device** (Pro only)
Power on/off button and associated LED (Pro only)
Comes fully assembled.
LiPo Amigo schematic
LiPo Amigo Pro schematic
Obligatory LiPo warning
LiPo and LiIon batteries can be dangerous if not treated with respect! You should only use LiPo Amigo boards to charge 3.7V LiPo or LiIon batteries, and you should make sure that any project involving LiPos is sufficiently protected from being dented, bent, punctured or crushed.
We recommend only using LiPo batteries that have own internal protection against overcharge, over discharge and short circuits (all the ones we sell do).
If you're using a battery bought from elsewhere, make sure the polarity of the wires matches the markings on our board before you plug it in!
Notes
Measurements: LiPo Amigo - 26 x 21 x 7 mm, LiPo Amigo Pro- 36 x 23 x 7 mm (LxWxH, including connectors)
* The pads on the back labelled FAST CHARGE can be bridged with solder to allow charging at up to 500mA (instead of the default 200mA). Don't do this if you're using an unprotected battery.
The pads marked NO PROTECT can be bridged to disable the battery protection IC on LiPo Amigo Pro (no protec, only attac).
** You should only use the DEVICE connector on LiPo Amigo Pro for powering devices that can handle up to 4.2V. Don't plug in things like micro:bits that can't deal with LiPo voltages!
Because we hate leaving unused space on our PCBs, we've broken out a bunch of other headers that you might find it useful to solder things up to. The ones marked with an LED can be used to connect up an external LED to show charging or on/off status - useful if you're building your battery charger into an enclosure. The headers marked SW can be used to add an external on/off switch to LiPo Amigo Pro.