While building the Pico 2 thermometer update I tried testing how long my power bank would last with this as the load. To my disappointment the powerbank only remained on for about a minute so I put it aside guessing the load wasn't sufficient to keep it on.
When I was looking for a POE HAT on the PI HUT web site I came across this small kit.
It is a simple circuit, a 555 timer which pulses a load to draw just enough current to keep the powerbank on. The device is available in a few different forms, as a kit with through hole components USB A, pre-built using SMD components USB A or with USB C.
The assemble is very simple, resistors first then the 555 chip and so on building up to the highest components.
It took all of 5 minutes to finish ready for testing.
I started testing at 10.10 this morning, it will be interesting how many hours it will run for...
There are 3D stl files available to print a case so I have ordered that and I'll update this page when it arrives.
So..some time later and the 3D printed case arrived and they were too small for my through hole version of the board. To save any hassle I bought the SMT version and it fitted nicely.
There's an alternative set of files which also didn't fit.. They were the same size but with rounded corners.
