Charging
Charging a LiPo and knowing its state of charge are separate jobs. A TP4056 fills the cell; only an I2C fuel gauge like the MAX17048 can tell you what's left.
Single-cell LiPo chargers (TP4056, MicroUSB/Type-C modules), charger/booster combos (PowerBoost 500/1000, Lipo Rider Plus 5V/2.4A), I2C fuel gauges (MAX17048, LC709203F) and Qi wireless charging coils.
- The TP4056 module with protection is the default single-cell charger; DFRobot's MicroUSB and Type-C LiPo chargers add selectable 50/200/500mA charge currents for smaller cells.
- Adafruit's MAX17048 and LC709203F breakouts and DFRobot's Gravity I2C fuel gauge report cell voltage and percentage over I2C — a charger alone cannot tell you state of charge.
- Charger/booster combos keep 5V up while charging: Seeed's Lipo Rider Plus outputs 5V/2.4A, Adafruit's PowerBoost 500 and 1000 boost from a single cell, and Waveshare's mini UPS charges and outputs 5V 2.5A simultaneously.
- Qi wireless charging ranges from Adafruit's Universal Qi receiver modules and Seeed's 5V/0.6A transmitter to DFRobot's 5V/1A through 5V/5A wireless charging modules and the Crazyflie 2.0 Qi inductive charging expansion board.
