Microtechnique. Futuristique. Canique.

Canique Boost

Canique Boost is a highly efficient Step Up Converter (Voltage Booster) using an MCP16251 chip. The Canique Boost board also contains a 2 channel logic level converter.
The input voltage is 0.8V - 5V. This means that the Canique Boost can even be powered by a single AA battery.
The output voltage is between 1.8 - 5V. When you order this device, it will be shipped setup for your desired output voltage. Typical output voltage values are 3.3V and 5V.

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Use cases

One possible use case for the Canique Boost is to power a Canique MK2 with 1 or 2 AA Alkaline batteries. Usually the voltage that 1 or 2 AA batteries provide is not sufficient to power an MK2 running @ 16 MHz but by using a Canique Boost in between, the voltage of the batteries can be boosted to 3.3V and this is enough for the MK2 to run flawlessly at stock speed.
For this use case you need to connect your battery to the VCC and GND pins of the Canique Boost and connect the 3.3V/GND pins of your MK2 to the VDD and GND pins of the Canique Boost.

Another scenario where this voltage booster is suitable is if you have a sensor that runs at 5V and you want to connect it to your MK2. Then it makes sense to be able to turn your sensor on and off via your MK2 - which is feasible by the enable pin of the Canique Boost. When your MK2 has to communicate with the 5V sensor this can lead to problems since one of them runs at 3.3V and the other one at 5V. A logic HIGH/LOW can be misinterpreted by the devices involved if the voltages are not equal. The logic level converter of the Canique Boost fixes this issue. A bidirectional communication between your 5V sensor and your MK2 is possible over 2 data lines. In this usage scenario you would use a Canique Boost configured for 5V output and connect:
  • Canique Boost GND and VCC to your battery (should be at least 2AA batteries in series here)
  • Canique Boost GND and VDD to the power input of your 5V sensor
  • Canique Boost LV1 and/or LV2 (Low Voltage 1/2) to the data lines of your MK2 (e.g. I2C data lines)
  • Canique Boost HV1 and/or HV2 (High Voltage 1/2) to the data lines of your 5V sensor
  • Canique Boost EN (enable pin) to a digital output of your MK2: turning this pin HIGH would provide energy to your sensor, turning this pin LOW would cut off energy from your sensor
There are many other use cases, generally speaking: Whenever you need to boost a low voltage to some higher voltage, the Canique Boost should be considered.

Datasheet

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