IF2C: Charging

Plug in a USB Mini B terminated charging cable to a standard USB port or equivalent 5VDC 500mA capacity AC-DC adapter.

The IF2C is populated to charge at a maximum current of 500mA from the 5VDC charging source. This can be changed.

Especially for Lithium chemistries is it safest and best practice to charge only at a maximum current corresponding to the battery’s capacity. The generally recommended range is 0.5C to 1C. Maybe something like 0.8C is typically recommended. Please see additional resources for recommendations including the battery manufacturer’s data. You may wish to change the charging current setting depending on the battery capacity you are using.

The charging cycle may last several hours to overnight, at the charging rate as shipped, depending on your battery capacity selected.

During charging, the RED charging LED should illuminate on the IF2C. And the host power should shut down. If you have an XBee radio socketed on the host, you’ll see the radio LEDs turn off.

When you unplug the charging cable, regardless of where the charging cycle is in its progress, the regular GREEN and BLUE LEDs on the IF2C will illuminate.

During charging, you may still see the VSYSIN LED (host board) and GREEN BOOST LED (IF2C) dimly lit in this revision.