USB PowerControl board V2 w/Grove Control - USB to USB solid state relay for Raspberry Pi and Arduinos V2

Anything you can plug into a USB port can be controlled with USB PowerControl. It's easy to hook up. You connect a control line to the Grove connector (two GPIO lines) or the output of a LiPo battery to the LIPOBATIN line and if the line is LOW (< ~3.3V) the USB Port is off. If it is HIGH (above 3.8V) the USB Port is turned on and you have 5V of power to the USB plug.

We have now added a Grove Digital Input that allows you to control the USB PowerControlV2 using two GPIO Lines (one enable and one control line) to switch on and off from a Grove Digital Port. The Grove Enable Line, when high, disables the LIPOBATIN line and makes control of the device under the Grove Control Line. When the Grove Enable Line is low, the LIPOBATIN line controls the relay as in the original USB PowerControl. The Grove Enable Line is pulled down by a 43K resistor so if it is disconnected, the USB PowerControlV2 is compatible with the original USB PowerControl.

 

Features

• Can Switch the Power to any plugged into the Female A USB port
• On/Off Controlled by a single control line Implements Hysteresis on Control line
• 3.8V/3.3V Turn On/Off Voltage with LIPOBATIN
• Grove Digital Connector - ENABLE and CONTROL your USB Port
• Over Current Protection
• Thermal Shutdown
• Reverse Current Blocking
• Can be connected to GPIO Pin or directly to LiPo Battery
• Supports both Arduino and Raspberry Pi
• Has Dual USB ports - no more cutting USB cables
• Will work with SunAir and SunAirPlus Solar Power Controllers

Application Note Published *Secrets of the USB PowerControl!*

Turn your RaspberryPi/Arduino on and off using this solid state relay. Use a GPIO line, use a WatchDog timer, use a different voltage level to trigger the relay.

This board was initially designed to sit in-between a Solar Power Controller (such as SunAir/SunAirPlus) and a Raspberry Pi / Arduino. The input to the board was designed to come directly from a LiPo battery so the computer won't be turned on until the LiPo battery was charged up above 3.8V. We provide a hysteresis circuit so the board won't turn on and then turn immediately off because the power supply is yanked down when the computer turns on (putting a load not the battery). This really happens!!!! You kill Raspberry Pi SD Cards this way.