Mini booster box w/ digital pot

[Silent Soldier]

After fooling around with this all weekend trying to figure out how to cram all of this into a 2x AA box. It was tough but I got it. It's range is about 3.6v - 5.1v with 2 button voltage control. Here's how it looks.

Inside view before tucking in the electrical tape.

I think next time I'll use an analog pot, the digital just takes up too much room for a 2x AA box. I barely got all that crap crammed in there.

 

[440BB]

It may be a tight squeeze but it is sweet!

 

[Silent Soldier]

It may be a tight squeeze but it is sweet!

Thanks, the only problem is the damn extender. I used the v2 shorty extension from madvapes, some of my CE2's fit in it and work just fine, others don't make contact with the positive terminal. Though I think that's more due to inconsistency on the part of the CE2's than the extension. I'm looking at some different enclosures so I can use an 18650 battery and add in charging circuitry and maybe even put in a voltage indicator.

 

[brewsterfrank]

very nice where did you get the booster, and how long does it last on a charge?

 

[SEANHUDD]

Very nicely done. I'm curious to know where you got the digital pot from.

 

[Silent Soldier]

very nice where did you get the booster, and how long does it last on a charge?

The booster is from Texas Instruments should last about 6-7 hrs on a charge but I haven't been able to test it fully yet.

Very nicely done. I'm curious to know where you got the digital pot from.

It's a DS1869-100 from maxim.

 

[asdaq]

Nice job on this. A blob of solder on the center post should help with connectivity issues. I must say I'm a little surprised you used that switch with a digital pot, but it does look pretty full. If you get the chance to try some AW IMR's in it, you won't regret it. I only regret waiting about 7 months to use in mine. It totally was a breath of fresh air.

 

[breaktru]

Good work and nicely done

 

[Para]

I like it !

Awesome job

 

[DavidTop]

I like it too!

I think you should try to get one of the 1850 2200-3000mah battery inside. I would love to go 3-5 days on one battery.
Also instead of a LED voltage indicator why not try a LCD, it would be smaller plus who else needs to see that display.
Will it also have evercool?

What price range do you think you'll charge?

I'm very interested. I've only been vaping for 2 months starting with the Go-Go and would love this as my first mod.

 

[Para]

Also instead of a LED voltage indicator why not try a LCD, it would be smaller plus who else needs to see that display.

Who sells the LCD display?

 

[DavidTop]

Who sells the LCD display?

I would have thought Radio Shack but can't find any on their site.

Closest I can find is US$ 5.99 - Fashion Cute Egg Shape Desk LCD Alarm Clock (Blue Color), Free Shipping On All Gadgets!, correct size if nothing else.

 

[mj64]

I would have thought Radio Shack but can't find any on their site.

Closest I can find is US$ 5.99 - Fashion Cute Egg Shape Desk LCD Alarm Clock (Blue Color), Free Shipping On All Gadgets!, correct size if nothing else.

Yeah, u basically cannot buy a small lcd display voltmeter chip for less than about $45 anywhere. That's a price pretty much nobody wants to pay. If you could get them for like 10 bucks you'd already see them in lots of mods. I think Para was just hoping for a lightning strike.

 

[DavidTop]

Yeah, u basically cannot buy a small lcd display voltmeter chip for less than about $45 anywhere. That's a price pretty much nobody wants to pay. If you could get them for like 10 bucks you'd already see them in lots of mods. I think Para was just hoping for a lightning strike.

Sorry, don't believe it. What about those cheap lcd watches or calculators? Exist somewhere out there. Although l know nothing aubout electronics besides the switch.

 

[Para]

If you could get them for like 10 bucks you'd already see them in lots of mods. I think Para was just hoping for a lightning strike.

Not really....just checking to see if he knew what he was talkin' about.

 

[mj64]

OP, how are you thinking about implementing an led voltage display? Does the digital potentiometer board allow you to set increments through jumpers, or is that preset? I really like the idea of volts up and down buttons or something with 'solid' increments better than a thumbwheel.

 

[CraigHB]

The pot is simply doing the same thing as a mechanical pot, but with button pushes incrementing and decrementing the value. Though unlike a mechanical pot, it's not continuous, but discrete steps in resistance. It varies depending on the pot, but most have either 128 steps or 256 steps over the range. Don't know what the one used here is. It's actually a really cool part and I hadn't seen one that can be controlled that that way before. All the other digital pots I've seen utilize one of several common data interfaces which require a µcontroller interface.

For user feedback, there's two ways to approach it, one difficult, one hard. The easy way is to just add a voltmeter to the output. The hard way is to program the digital pot using a µcontroller that also supplies setting information to a display.

The voltmeter method provides setting information only while the atomizer is energized, the other provides setting information before the atomizer is energized. I've done it myself using a µcontroller and digital pot and I can say it does require a certain level of electronics expertise. I wouldn't say it's above a layman's ability, but you're definitely getting into more advanced electronics design with a little programming thrown in for good measure.

For most people, a tack-on voltmeter should do the job nicely.

 

[pmos69]

Sorry, don't believe it. What about those cheap lcd watches or calculators? Exist somewhere out there. Although l know nothing aubout electronics besides the switch.

Not that simple. Those are just lcd displays.
You want an lcd voltmeter, so you also need the voltmeter part with lcd controler.

 

[mj64]

The pot is simply doing the same thing as a mechanical pot, but with button pushes incrementing and decrementing the value. Though unlike a mechanical pot, it's not continuous, but discrete steps in resistance. It varies depending on the pot, but most have either 128 steps or 256 steps over the range. Don't know what the one used here is. It's actually a really cool part and I hadn't seen one that can be controlled that that way before. All the other digital pots I've seen utilize one of several common data interfaces which require a µcontroller interface.

For user feedback, there's two ways to approach it, one difficult, one hard. The easy way is to just add a voltmeter to the output. The hard way is to program the digital pot using a µcontroller that also supplies setting information to a display.

The voltmeter method provides setting information only while the atomizer is energized, the other provides setting information before the atomizer is energized. I've done it myself using a µcontroller and digital pot and I can say it does require a certain level of electronics expertise. I wouldn't say it's above a layman's ability, but you're definitely getting into more advanced electronics design with a little programming thrown in for good measure.

For most people, a tack-on voltmeter should do the job nicely.

Ok. Thanks for the detail. I'm a coder, but flunked digital design because I was drinking beer and chasing women. You are saying that there is too much complexity in the task of assigning various levels of feedback from the digital pot to whichever of (say 5) led's it should light up using the 'traditional' electronic components? As in can't be done at all, or as in would involve an unreasonable number of them?

 

[breaktru]

Once you set your voltage, it's not often you change it. Like replacing your atty.