Evaluation board extends battery lifetime in IoT applications
The first evaluation board to be released by Recom, allows engineers to effortlessly test the functionality of the R-78S switching regulator, which boosts a AA battery or external supply voltage to 3.3V for low power IoT applications.
The evaluation board is equipped with several jumper headers measuring input and output current and voltage. This, says Recom, allows typical battery lifetime calculations in both active and standby mode.
The R-78S evaluation board demonstrates the performance of the R-78S which boosts single-cell AA battery voltage of 1.5V up to a stable 3.3V. This guarantees much higher energy capacities and reduces maintenance costs compared to button or coin cell batteries. Recom believes that this will effectively extend the operation lifetime of an application since the boost converter continues to operate at input voltages as low as 0.65V.
The evaluation board offers the option to use external input voltage from other low voltage sources such as energy harvesting devices, which are typical in remote applications. The load can be connected either through output pins or a micro-USB port. Test points for measuring voltages and currents allow engineers to fully evaluate the wide input voltage range down to 0.65V, high efficiency and low stand-by losses, all of which extend the working lifetime of an AA battery and even make MEMS power supply feasible.
Recom has also introduced the R-REF02-78S reference design board, which is compact and is a ready-to-use design for 3.3V IoT applications. To cover more applications, Recom has also extended the R-78S series with stable outputs of 1.8V for Bluetooth and 3.6V for LoRaWAN transmission units.
The R-78S evaluation board and reference design board as well as R-78S converters are available at authorised Recom distributors.
Recom Power supplies a range of DC/DC and AC/DC converters in every power class up to 480W alongside switching regulators and LED drivers in a selection of designs. Innovations such as the company’s R-78 switching regulators have become industry standard.
Recom’s headquarters in Gmunden, Austria, includes a state-of-the-art logistics centre and laboratory wing. The company has an international distribution network to deliver products to customers worldwide.
