Arrivals : Plenty of Development Boards & Components

Over the past week, I have received a variety of Components & some Development Kits. Here are some of them.

I'll first start off with the Buck and the Boost. A Buck is a DC-DC Step-Down Converter while a Boost is a DC-DC Step-Up Converter. Both these devices are Switching Mode Power Supplies (SMPS).

I ordered a couple of these two devices for testing and studying.

The Buck I received is based on the LM2596. The Datasheet for the LM2596 can be downloaded here.

From the above image, you can see that there are 2 sets of terminals on each of the ends of the board. Obviously, one terminal is input and the other, output. This device takes a range of input voltage from 2.5V to 40.0V and you can programmatically set the output voltage to anywhere between 1.25V to 37.0V with a maximum output current of 3.0A. The little tactile switch or pushbutton on right of the board allows you to set the output voltage.

The XL6009 DC-DC Step-Up Power Supply Module (BOOST)

Complementing the Buck is the Boost. This DC-DC Step-Up Converter that I received is based on the XL6009. The Datasheet for the XL6009 from XLSemi.

Just like the Buck, the Boost has two sets of terminals, input and output. Increasing the Voltage is a little more challenging, and therefore the Boost is a little more expensive than the Buck. The input voltage range is between 3.0V to 32.0V and the output voltage is between 5.0V to 35.0V. This device is rated to take an input current of 4.0A providing a maximum conversion efficiency of 94%.

A Boost device takes a lower voltage and provides a higher voltage by drawing more current at the input. Thus, a 5.0V 4.0A input can produce a 12.0V output voltage with a substantially lower output current. In essence, the Buck and the Boost are forms of SMPSs (Switching Mode Power Supply).

Just like the Buck, this Boost allows you to set the output voltage with a multiturn trimpot trimmer potentiometer (the blue rectangular box with a golden screw-head at the top right corner of the board).

The pushbutton (momentary tactile switch) at the bottom right of the board allows you to switch between the input- and output- voltage displays and also to turn off the display (power saving mode).

Both these boards are puny. They measure about 80mm x 40mm and feature 4 mounting holes at the corners.

Update 2019.08.11 : It is interesting to note that this board was designed by ICStation (http://www.icstation.com/). There are a few variations of the board out there in the market, some without the 7-segment LED display.

Can anyone think of uses for these 2 types of devices?