> **Source:** Core Electronics is an Australian maker-electronics retailer and manufacturer based in Newcastle, NSW, run by a team of makers and educators. We design and manufacture our own product lines (PiicoDev, CE originals) and are official retailers for iconic maker and industrial brands including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Adafruit, SparkFun and DFRobot. Orders ship Australia-wide from our Newcastle warehouse. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Pricing, stock and dispatch on this page are generated from the store's live catalog. Full machine-readable index: https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt # smôl Power Board AAA **Type:** Product page · **SKU:** SPX-18621 · **Brand:** [Sparkfun](https://core-electronics.com.au/brands/sparkfun-australia) **Page:** https://core-electronics.com.au/smol-power-board-aaa.html ([markdown](https://core-electronics.com.au/smol-power-board-aaa.html.md)) Our RedBoards are great. But don't they sometimes seem a little **BIG**?! Enter **smôl**, a new range of boards which are both small in size and smal... ## Pricing - **Price:** $30.30 (inc GST) — $27.55 AUD, exc GST - **Quantity discounts:** 5+ $26.72 (exc GST) · 25+ $26.16 (exc GST) · 100+ $25.06 (exc GST) ## Availability & dispatch - Available with a lead time — expect dispatch between Aug 31 and Sep 07. ## How to buy - **Build a cart:** compose `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link?items=SPX-18621:1` (comma-separated SKU:qty pairs) and share the link. Opening it shows a confirmation page with live pricing and stock before anything is added to the cart. - **Verify the cart first:** fetch `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link/SPX-18621:1.md` for live line prices (inc & exc GST, quantity discounts applied), stock and dispatch estimates, and totals. Append `/to/{AU-postcode}` (or `/to/{country-code}:{postcode}`) before `.md` for delivery options and prices to that destination. Unknown, retired, or out-of-stock SKUs are flagged. (Query form `cart/link.md?items=...` also works but some robots parsers refuse query strings here.) - **Checkout** is completed on-site and includes a captcha at the payment step. Share the cart link; checkout takes it from there. - **Search the catalogue:** `https://core-electronics.com.au/search/{query}.md` (URL-encode the query; pages 2-3 at `search/{query}/{page}.md`; `search.md?q=` also works) - **Payment methods, purchase orders, policies and contact details:** https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt ## Description Our RedBoards are great. But don't they sometimes seem a little ***BIG***?! Enter **smôl**, a new range of boards which are both small in size and small on current draw. It's a smôl world! The smôl Power Board AAA is an intelligent power board for the smôl ecosystem. Designed to boost the voltage from one or two AAA or AA cells up to 3.3V, you would expect this board to have a TPS61200 regulator on it, and indeed it does. (That's the same regulator we use on our [LiPower - Boost Converter](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=10255).) But you probably wouldn't expect it to have an AVR ATtiny43 microcontroller on it. So why have we included one? This is an *intelligent* power board for smôl. The power board takes control of the 3.3V power for the whole smôl stack. The processor board can then instruct the power board to put the entire smôl stack into deep sleep for a pre-defined interval. Sleep intervals of 10's of milliseconds to several days are possible. In deep sleep, the only device left powered is the ATtiny43 and that reduces the current draw to **12µA**. Yes, you read that right, 12 microamps! smôl makes it possible for your battery life to be measured in **months** not days! Sparkfun used the fantastic [Otii Arc Power Analyzer](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=18585) to help us reduce the sleep current as much as possible. Our [smôl Power Board Arduino Library](https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun_smol_Power_Board_Arduino_Library) has [examples](https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun_smol_Power_Board_Arduino_Library/tree/main/examples) to get you started. ***smôl** is an ecosystem of miniature processor boards, peripheral boards, power boards and accessories. Designed to be both physically small and to have the smallest possible current draw, smôl is the perfect choice for applications like wildlife tracking or discrete long-term monitoring. smôl boards are designed to stack one on top of the other, using 16-way 0.5mm-pitch Flexible Printed Circuits (FPCs) to provide the interconnect from one board to the next. Looking for a really compact solution for your next project? This is it!* *We will be adding new smôl boards over the coming months. Don't see the board you need for your application? Reach out to us via the [SparkX Forum](https://forum.sparkfun.com/viewforum.php?f=123) and tell us which board(s) we should add next!* [Get started with the smôl Hookup Guide](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sml-hookup-guide) [Dig into the specifics with the smôl Power Board AAA Hookup Guide](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sml-power-board-aaa-hookup-guide) **Note:** The smôl Power Board AAA is designed to boost the voltage from one or two AAA or AA non-rechargeable cells up to 3.3V. If you need a rechargeable solution, check out the [smôl Power Board LiPo](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=18622). **Note:** Please be aware that "ye cannae change the laws of physics"! The current draw from a single cell will be approximately three times what smôl is drawing at 3.3V. When using the [smôl ARTIC R2 satellite communication board](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=18618) you are likely to have to use two AA cells for best results. **Important note:** Please be aware that the smôl Power Board AAA has no reverse-polarity protection. Please be extremely careful that your battery pack and connector have the correct polarity. **Experimental Product:** [SparkX](https://www.sparkfun.com/sparkx) products are rapidly produced to bring you the most cutting edge technology as it becomes available. These products are tested but come with no guarantees. Live technical support is not available for SparkX products. Head on over to our [forum](https://forum.sparkfun.com/viewforum.php?f=123) for support or to ask a question. **Boost Regulator:** - TPS61200 - IOUT (max) @ VOUT = 3.3V, VIN = 1.5V: ~550mA - IOUT (max) @ VOUT = 3.3V, VIN = 3.0V: ~1500mA - IQ: 55µA **On-Board Microcontroller:** - ATtiny43U 8-bit AVR Microcontroller - 4KBytes Flash - 64Bytes EEPROM - 256Bytes SRAM - On-chip Boost Converter (VIN (min): 0.7V) **Sleep Current Draw:** - 12µA (with ATtiny43 in Power-Down Mode, VIN = 3.0V) (measured by [Otii Arc](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=18585)) **smôl Specifics:** - Interface: I2C - ATtiny43 Default Address: 0x50 - PROC\_PWR\_EN: - The power board pulls PROC\_PWR\_EN low to disable the regulator on the processor board **Dimensions:** - Length: 1.60" (40.6mm) - Width: 0.42" (10.7mm) - Height: 0.29" (7.4mm) max. - Weight: 1.6g (0.06oz) - PCB thickness: 0.8mm Documents **smôl Power Board AAA Documentation:** - [Schematic](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/Schematic_183506cba81.pdf) - [Eagle Files](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/SparkX_smol_Power_AAA_115726d892d.zip) - [Hookup Guide](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sml-power-board-aaa-hookup-guide) - [GitHub Hardware Repo](https://github.com/sparkfunX/SparkX_smol_Power_Board_AAA) - [SparkFun smôl Power Board Arduino Library](https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun_smol_Power_Board_Arduino_Library) - [Arduino Examples](https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun_smol_Power_Board_Arduino_Library/tree/main/examples) **Boost Regulator:** - [Datasheet](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/tps61200_10350e544da.pdf) (TPS61200) **Microcontroller:** - [Datasheet](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/ATtiny43_52996306ca5.pdf) (ATtiny43U) **smôl Documentation:** - [smôl Hookup Guide](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sml-hookup-guide) ## Images - [Product image 1](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/i/m/image_3724.jpg)