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I have a battery pack used to charge mobile phones. It's capacity is 13,000mAh and it has two output ports. Both are 5V but one is 1A and the other 2.1A It also has an Input port of 5V 1A. (To which I will connect a solar panel).

I want to be able to power this Adafruit Feather M0 as well as this Wind Speed Sensor Wind Speed Sensor Voltage Type(0-5V) SKU:SEN0170. Is it possible and if it is how?

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  • Not directly, no. They don't put "9-24V" on it just for fun - specs are specs. They are to be taken note of. You will have to find some way of increasing the 5V to more than 9V (google "Boost Regulator").
    – Majenko
    Sep 10, 2016 at 22:14

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  1. If you have a circuit diagram for your 13,000mAh 5V battery, check whether there are internal connections at higher than 5V. Because 5V is not a common battery voltage, there probably are cells in a higher-voltage series connection, being converted to 5V output via a step-down (buck) circuit.

  2. An item like a “5V DC to 9V DC Converter DC-DC Isolated Power Supply Module” as in picture below [from ebay seller bidcenter] might do the job. Also available are less-expensive not-potted adjustable boost regulators. bidcenter picture

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  • Because 5V is not a common battery voltage, there probably are cells in a higher-voltage series connection, being converted to 5V output via a step-down (buck) circuit. -- More likely 3.7V LiPoly stepped up through a boost converter. Makes the charging the pack simpler off a 5V USB connectoin.
    – Majenko
    Sep 11, 2016 at 12:02
  • @Majenko, possibly some charge packs do it that way. The teardowns of such units that I've seen usually have at least 2 LiPoly cells in each series string. Frequently, buck (stepdown) conversion is slightly more efficient than boost. Sep 11, 2016 at 20:17
  • All the USB charger battery packs I own are boost - that includes solar charged Li-Poly packs and 4xAA batteries (yes, 4xAA boosted - it runs with just 2xAA in there).
    – Majenko
    Sep 11, 2016 at 21:45

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