This is a useful project to build a small power meter using a Pro Trinket, an OLED display, and the INA219 current sensing breakout. You can use this power meter to measure the voltage, current, power, and milliamp-hours of current that are used by a device. Why are these measurements useful? If you’re estimating how long a device might run on batteries or if it’s possible to run off small solar cells then you’ll have to know how much power the device uses. This power meter project is perfect for connecting to a project or device to measure its power consumption and estimate how long it will run on batteries!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
