energyShield 2 Pro - LiPo Battery, I2C Fuel Gauge, Solar Charging, Power Sleep, & RTC Shield for Arduino Uno R3 Mega

This battery is great. The complete project is explained below, but the features of this battery that make the entire project possible are: a) it turns the Arduino on every 15 minutes, then the Aruduino takes a couple distance measures from an ultrasonic sensor, sends those measures vi an RF24 radio, then cuts the power to the Arduino. b) it sends remaining-voltage, so battery state can be monitored remotely. c) my tests in outdoor environment indicate it can operate on 15 minute cycles for about 4-5 months!Green Pond Bridge Boat ClearanceAt ‘very low tide’ the clearance under Green Pond Bridge in Cape Cod is 6’6” or less and that is too low for the boat I use. The tide charts for Falmouth, MA are theoretical and can vary as much as 18” from what is actually happening at the bridge. This system monitors the clearance and transmits the information on the internet.All of these parts were purchased from Amazon.TransmitterAn (Arduino) Elegoo UNO R3 board is connected to an Elegoo HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor. The UNO and the sensor calculate the distance from a fixed dock to the sea level, then transmit that data using a MakerFocus NRF24L01 Wireless Transceiver to the Receiver described below. The Transmitter sits on the end of a dock where there is no power, so the UNO, Transceiver and Distance Sensor are powered by the energyShield 2. This battery has special capabilities – it wakes everything up every 15 minutes. The system takes a couple readings of the distance to the water then transmits that data, then the battery shuts it all off. The data transmitted includes information from the battery – time, date, and voltage.I have been testing this unit at home (in Dallas) and it has been operating outside, for about 20 days. Based on battery drain it looks like it will operate for about 4-5 months before it needs a recharge. When the temperature drops below zero the system still works fine but the voltage reported in the battery seems low.All of this is housed in a plastic box printed for the purpose with a FlashForge 3d Printer Creator Pro, using eSun White ABS+ filamentPicture below.ReceiverAn (Arduino) Elegoo MEGA 2560 R3 is connected to another NRF24 Transceiver to receive the data. The MEGA does the math to convert the distance from the dock to the water, to the bridge clearance. Then the information is displayed on an Elegoo UNO R3 Touch Screen (that also works fine on the Mega).Picture below. A small plastic frame for the Receiver was also printed on the 3d printerWeb ServerFinally, the information in the MEGA is transmitted over a serial bus to a Hiletgo ESP8266 NodeMCU ESP-12E Internet WIFI Development Board (Also operates using Arduino IDE programming). This board is connected to the MEGA via the XCSOURCE Logic Level Converter and powered by a UCEC MB102 Breadboard Power Supply Module. All mounted on an Elegoo Breadboard. The ESP8266 is programmed to be a web server. It connects to the internet through the modem/router provided by AT&T.Picture of my cell phone below.

Received this today and tried charging it. Light went off like it was charged. Unplugged and tried to turn on and no power. The red power wire from the battery to the connector was just sitting in plug and popped out when I moved the wires

I really wish they made a nano-sized version of this.

I've been searching for years for a small, embedded, lipo solution w/ an accurate fuel gauge. After trying at least 5 other products, this is the only one that performs as advertised. I've been running an ESP8266 off of this and a solar panel for about a week now (in super poor rainy weather). The ESP had no problems using the provided library. Absolutely perfect.

Came well packed and online documentation / information is really good.

Did not power our servos at all. The basic version worked better

Tailor made for low power remote weather station or other sensor uses. Love it so far.