Hello everyone! I am new to this community and electronics tinkering in general and would like to ask a few questions (please excuse anything that may seem "stupid", still learning here!) Based on my research so far, the "recommended" power supply for the x86 board is 3amps. However, the instruction manual on page 16 (http://download.udoo.org/files/UDOO_X86/Doc/UDOO_X86_MANUAL_Rel.1.0.pdf) says that the max draw is 1020ma for any of the boards based on using a 32 eMMC chip, mouse and keyboard, HDMI display connected, and using BIOS release 1.01. To my understanding, this means that (HYPOTHETICALLY) one only would need around 1.5ma to safely operate the device (1.5ma to give a little extra headroom). That all being said, couldn't we just get a portable battery pack that has a USB port that can output around this amount? I found this: https://www.amazon.com/6800mA-9800mAh-Portable-Battery-charger/dp/B008DG8ZO6 Why or why not will this work? Thank you! EDIT: I also found this (https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-R...rd_wg=9yxVt&psc=1&refRID=PS1E6JJ89RQEA59PD1YW) It can do 6ah at 12v. This should also work! Perhaps not the best battery life, but it WOULD work, no?
Recommended current of 3 A includes a lot of room for other devices like WiFi card, hard drive, etc. For example in my tests with UDOO X86 Ultra, fan, SSD, HDD - I got up to 1.666 A current consumption during stress test, so 1.5 A wouldn't be enough for me. So it really depends on your use case. As for voltage, it has to be 12V +- 5%, i.e. between 11.4 - 12.6 V, and power connector has center positive. The first battery pack you linked doesn't seem safe to use as it has output voltage 10.8-12.6 V, so it can give less than 11.4V required by UDOO X86. For the second one you linked, I didn't see any mention of output voltage limits, so I wouldn't use that either.
So in short, you can use mobile power pack as long as it fulfills following requirements: output connector is 5.5mm/2.1mm barrel connector with center positive output voltage is between 11.4 V to 12.6 V output current is sufficient, exact amount needed depends on your use case and 3 A is recommended
See also the following (long!) discussions: http://www.udoo.org/forum/threads/udoo-x86-input-voltage-range.4919/ https://www.udoo.org/forum/threads/battery-for-udoo-x86.4391 Edit: modified 2nd link due to copy error.
Also there (because @waltervl linked pages are 2 times the same): https://www.udoo.org/forum/threads/battery-for-udoo-x86.4391/ You could look for a powerbank for mobile Dvd-players, Laptops, etc.
I haven't gone through the documents yet myself, but you failed to mention running the arduino, and considering that's going to be mostly sensors, mechanical switches, relays, etc, I can see it easily draw another 0.5A That would bring the min up to 1.52A, so a 2A powersupply is the minimum recommended, with 3A suggested for overhead. As for the batteries, its hard to say without testing, but they should have built in regulators to hold a steady voltage, only way to find out how tight the tolerance is, is to test it and see if the board shuts down before the battery is drained
This is an old version! Here is the correct one: http://download.udoo.org/files/UDOO_X86/Doc/UDOO_X86_MANUAL.pdf
Thank you everyone! BASICALLY, unless I find or build some sort of voltage regulation system and a battery pack that can supply the necessary voltages, I'm out of luck?
There are enough options mentioned in the other topics I linked to. The discussions are before the board was available, perhaps someone already made or found one option working on his Udoo X86. You could ask it in those topics. Users that were active there then get a notification.
Here are a few buck-boost voltage converters in the 3-4 Amp. range @ ~$5.00/each including shpping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/172659835786 http://www.ebay.com/itm/262958889646 http://www.ebay.com/itm/172642002770 I have not used these particular devices (although I have used similar successfully), and have no affiliation with the sellers.
My 2 cents, from a power loss perspective, switching regulators are much better than linear, they don't "burn off' power as heat, essentially wasting that valuable energy stored in the battery. Example link of switching boost/buck below. Doesn't look like it will produce enough current in most cases, but they dont have 12-12 (11.4 -> 12.2) listed...example power draw sheet assumes shifting voltage from one level to another.... same as LDighera, I haven't used this device and this is not a suggestion on this exact product or seller. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Boost-Buck-...589411?hash=item3f7e298323:g:nO4AAOSwH3NXnrfo
https://www.udoo.org/forum/threads/udoo-x86-input-voltage-range.4919/page-3#post-25221 Here's what I did - You might want to do something similar. Check out the photo at the top of the post too...
