I would like to power my robot with li-ion batteries. The logic is 5V so I thought about something like this http://www.powerstream.com/n-charger.htm. This does exactly what I want - it is charged with 5V and outputs 5V with reasonable 2.5A. Is this an ok chip? Are there any alternatives for that (shipping to Poland is 4x the chip :/)?
Answer
The external pack (smartphone charger) mentioned seems a good solution, because you already want 5V as your regulated power rail for use in the robot. If you wanted 3.3V (or anything other than 5V), you'd lose some efficiency because the battery voltage would be getting regulated twice, once up to 5V and then up/down to what voltage you care about. It might not matter for you, as the tradeoff would be maybe 10% less runtime from the same battery, while not having to design the battery/power circuit board. Probably fine for a prototype or hobby project. In a shipping product you'd want to design out the unnecessary 5V regulator if it wasn't being used.
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