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X720
X720
X720
X720

Contents

Overview

The X720 is a multi-functional expansion board for all current models of the Raspberry Pi using 40 pin header.It provides intelligent and safe power management, remote power on/wake on lan, safe shutdown and full poweroff through software, an advanced uninterruptible power supply, second 10/100M fast ethernet, and a real- time clock. The X720 reserves the 40-pin header that can be stacked with other Raspberry Pi accessory boards for enhanced applications. The X720 can also be used with the X820 (2.5" HDD/SSD Shield) and X850 (Msata SSD shield) for safe data backup.

Safety Instructions and Warnings

  • You must read these safety instructions and warnings before charging your batteries.
  • Lithium Polymer and Li-ion batteries are volatile. Failure to read and follow the below instructions may result in fire, personal injury and damage to property if charged or used improperly.
  • Never make wrong polarity connection when charging and discharging battery packs. Always double check polarity of battery's connector to make sure "+" to "+" and "-" to "-".
  • Do not mix and use old batteries and new batteries, or batteries with different brand names.
  • Lithium batteries has it's cycle life, please replace old battery with new one when it reaches it's service life or when it is two year old, whichever comes first.
  • When charging Battery Pack, please put battery in a fire proof container. Please don't leave the X720 on the wood material or carpet and unattended.
  • Must keep the X720 away from children.

WARNING:

  1. DO NOT APPLY POWER TO YOUR RASPBERRY PI VIA THE PI's MICRO USB SOCKET.
  2. DO NOT USE 18650 BATTERY WITH BUILT-IN PROTECTION CIRCUIT
  3. DO NOT APPLY POWER TO X720 VIA THE X820's MICRO USB SOCKET AND DC JACK AT THE SAME TIME.


Battery Recommend for X720 board, please refer to: File:NCR18650B.pdf

Features

Smart Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

  • Provides continuous operations for up to 10hours (depending on battery type used)
  • 5.1V 3000mA Power Backup for even the most demanding Pi 3 set ups
  • 18650 dual Cells Lithium Ion Holder
  • Can work with single or dual 18650 Lithium Ion battery
  • Integrated battery protection circuit
  • Integrated over current protection and over voltage protection
  • Intergrated Maxim's fuel-gauge systems (Reading battery voltage and precentage via i2c)
  • Intelligent automatic charging and discharging
  • Automatic safe shutdown when battery low (voltage <3.0V)
  • On-board LED blinking when the battery condition low (voltage <3.0V)
  • On-board LEDs show the status of battery charging and discharging

Intelligent and safe power management

  • Press the power button to turn on
  • Press the button and hold for 1~2seconds to reboot
  • Press the button and hold for 3~7seconds for safe shutdown
  • Press the button and hold for >8seconds to force shutdown
  • Supports safe shutdown and full poweroff through software
  • On-board LED shows the status of power on, reboot and shutdown

Integrated second 10/100M fast ethernet

  • Supports remote power on/wake on lan via Link-change, Magic packet, MS wakeup frame
  • On-board LED shows the status of power on/wakeup packet indication

Integrated Hardware Real Time Clock (RTC) with Battery Back-Up

  • Keeps track of the time while the Raspberry Pi is switched off
  • Allows the Raspberry Pi to retrieve the current date and time when it is switched back on
  • Uses the most precise DS3231 RTC real time clock
  • Uses the 18650 battery to maintain the date and time - no additioanl battery required

Reserved 40-pin stackable Header for Add-On Boards

  • Powers the Raspberry Pi via the 40-pin header - no additional cabling required
  • Works with all current models of the Raspberry Pi using a 40 pin header
  • Power management and second ethernet can still work without battery
  • On-board DC jack (5.5*2.5mm) and micro-USB socket convenient for power input
  • On-board connector allowing to connect external power switch and DIY your perfect case
  • Mounting holes and standoffs provide mechanical stability of the Raspberry Pi and X720 assembly

Operating System

  • Raspbian Stretch
  • Safe shutdown function tested for Raspbian, other operating systems to be tested and advised

Technical Specification

  • Power supply: 5.1Vdc,2.5~4A
  • UPS output: 5.1V 3A
  • UPS charging current: 2.5A
  • Terminal Battery Voltage: 4.2V
  • Recharge Threshold: 3.99V
 
X720 Case

X720 RPi Desktop Computer Kit Case

Please refer to X720 Case

 

 

Document

# x720-script
Shell script for X720, include safe shutdown and real time clock script.

NOTE:
We test this shell script base official Raspbian '2018-11-13-raspbian-stretch.img' version;
How to use?

step 1:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/geekworm-com/x720-script/master/x720.sh
sudo chmod +x x720.sh
sudo bash x720.sh

step 2:
printf "%s\n" "alias x720off='sudo x720shutdown.sh'" >> ~/.bashrc

step 3:
sudo reboot

Hardware and Function Description

Software Guide

Please refer to Software Guide

FAQ

1. Why the CHG LED blinking?

(1) The light flash is due to excessive charging for long time.

(2) The battery won't be fully charged due to charging for long time (4.2V when fully charged)

(3) Please try to disconnect the power and full discharge the battery (work until the battery is competely out), then connect the power to power it.

(4) Because there are so many kind of batteries, and the quality is also various. So we suggest to use the NCR18650B from PANPASONIC.


2. How to read X720 battery voltage and percentage?

The X720 board use Integrated Maxim's fuel-gauge systems (Reading battery voltage and percentage via i2c).Please refer to X720 software.

9> Reading battery voltage and percentage

	pi@raspberrypi ~ $  sudo python x720ups.py

3.We get one feedback that the X720 board immediately shuts the Pi down if you lose AC power to the wall-wart power supply that's powering the device.

But we have done a test the Raspberry Pi board and X720 UPS will not shutdown and restart.Please refer to this video: X720 UPS Test

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Anonymous user #10

51 months ago
Score 0  
how much is the maximum in amp output of the board. in the characteristics they only indicate the input consumption, but not output to the raspberry. I want to guarantee that it doesn't go out.
 

Anonymous user #9

55 months ago
Score 0  
I hae a problem when shutdown command is sent by software or by hardware button, shutdown starts but device and Pi immediately power back up so impossible to use button to power off Pi. software and hardware reboot work OK.
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

https://gith...stan79/x720/

Added bonding information to use the two network cards as one...
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

ok... so removing the batteries and inserted them again will not work... it will power the pi for like 20 seconds with FULL batteries... also it will not power up on the batteries alone anymore....

conclusion... removing the power plug CAN DAMAGE THE HAT ITSELF!!!! (really... *sign*)

luckily I have 2 to play with...
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

Yeah I got the shutdown when pulling the plug... The only way yo fix it, is to REMOVE THE BATTERIES! This thing is really not properly designed... Totally unreliable.... even when totally power off (using the not so save x720shutdown.sh) Pulling usb cables and the hdmi cable will light up the top light... so definitely leaking power to other components even when "Totally off".... *sign*

Implementing my own battery and save shutdown feature to work around this crap....

https://gith...stan79/x720/
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

They removed by comment on the youtube video...

That was to be expected.... cuz they want to sell sell sell....

Update....

Anyway do not use the x720shutdown.sh script... it will NOT safely shutdown your pi... it will only power down the hat (and thus taking down your pi without safely shutting down)_
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

Domoticz or MQTT Battery Monitor Version Z.0

https://gith...stan79/x720/

Still have to fiddle around with it...
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

I forgot another one: you need tweezers to insert the sd card into your pi, no easy access with your fingers...

and why is the hole of the output 5v sealed on the hat, but the input of the pi 5v usb power not? only crossed out on the case with an circle with an X inside...
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

I forgot this one:

Cons: jumper for auto shutdown is 3v DC (according to their specs)... but battery meter is so bad it will power off (not shutdown) at values lower then ~3.15v

high is much higher then 3v... making the jumper useless..
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

As Anomymous user 6 I forgot...

cons:

network card can dissapear, needing a power unplug (tested only without batteries)

little usb cable is reaaaly flimsy..

no wall mount holes...
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

cons:

battery meter is shit

button on gpio triggered when unplugging, means spikes on (all/gpio?) electronics when switching from wired power to battery (and back)?

button does not work without batteries

makes high pitch sound with no batteries

software is bad...


pros:

work for more then 8 hours on batteries...

can use network bonding to double network card (doubles the speed with speedtest-cli on a pi 3b)

now work as ups if you do not care about the button...


not tested yet:

real time clock

wol
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

cons: battery meter is shit button on gpio triggered when unplugging, means spikes on (all/gpio?) electronics when switching from wired power to battery (and back)? button does not work without batteries makes high pitch sound with no batteries software is bad...

pro: work for more then 8 hours on batteries... can use network bonding to double network card (doubles the speed with speedtest-cli on a pi 3b) now work as ups if you do not care about the button...

not tested yet: real time clock

wol
 

Anonymous user #6

55 months ago
Score 0  

I got my batteries.... so i commented this to the youtube video

https://www....=enWHudsFcuw


Yeah now do this with batteries fully charged and the jumper placed on "auto shutdown on less then 3v option"... if you pull the cable it will REBOOT... removing the jumper fixes it... It has probably to do with the inaccurate battery meter (all above 99% capacity will cause reboot with jumper... and what's up with 107% full battery status??? Also when it reaches 0% it still works for more then an hour.... better is to read the voltage and add software where you auto shutdown when <3.3volt and >4.3volt is full battery... and make your own percentage meter.... percentages used by the maxim chip is useless... also power management does not work without batteries so pushing the button on the top does nothing... no reboot or save shutdown.... It emits a high pitch (like dog whistle) when no batteries. second network card will disappear sometimes even after rebooting... until you remove all power.... and there are no big holes on the bottom to mount it on a wall... only tiny ones... the little cable to connect the second network card are really flimsy... and sometimes do not work... and the software is bad.... still happy with my 2 devices, they kept running for more then 8 hours...

Update: The reboot/shutdown comes from the x720pwr.sh script which controls the buttons... so guessing.... there is probably power leaking to the gpio pins when unplugging resulting in toggling the script if the button on the top where pushed... and as a result.. either shutting the pi down or rebooting... (depending on the batteries...) so if you want to use this as an ups, you have disable the button script... (or figure out a work around)

So it has nothing to do with the jumpers...
 

Anonymous user #8

56 months ago
Score 0  
I was wondering if this would work on the new Raspberry Pi 4B?
 

Anonymous user #6

56 months ago
Score 0  

I have been experimenting with the extra lan adapter... it sometimes just vanish (lsusb does not list it anymore and it will not show up in dmesg) even after a reboot... The only solution is to remove the power completely and reapply.

Still have no batteries, so I hope this will not happen when running on batteries... it would be a mayor pain in the ass to open the case up remove the batteries just to get the nic back...

So: the extra usb network adapter is flaky... (but does work nicely with bonding, doubling the network speed... see https://rasp...mic-failover for the only!!! config which keeps working and does not result in name resolve failures... e.g. can not ping google.com anymore)

And the power management does not work without batteries...???
 

Anonymous user #6

56 months ago
Score 0  
by running the x720.sh script..
 

Anonymous user #7

56 months ago
Score 0  

Where do you get the x720ups.py example software?

I probed the I2C bus, but some documentation on what I am reading would be great :-D

pi@raspberrypi:~$ i2cdetect -y 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f 00: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 30: -- -- -- -- -- -- 36 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 50: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 60: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

70: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
 

Anonymous user #6

56 months ago
Score 0  

Update Note: I have two of these x720 devices with case and they both have a very loud very high pitch sound coming from them... it is the same sound as you would use to repel cats/dogs or children/teenagers (if they still have their hearing intact)...

Not something I want to be in the same room with for a long time... (yeah my hearing is still ok, almost tapping 50 years ;-)
 

Anonymous user #6

56 months ago
Score 0  

Update from last comment: I just read (somewhere above)

>Power management and second ethernet can still work without battery

So why does power management not work on either board I have?
 

Anonymous user #6

56 months ago
Score 0  

I have no batteries yet...

and the shutdown/power off scripts are not working... also the hold button (safe shutdown / reboot) is not working. I bought two of these and neither works... So am I doing something wrong or without batteries the whole save shutdown/reboot does not work???

Also when i run dmesg

[ 71.742836] rtc-ds1307 1-0068: registered as rtc0 [ 71.742986] i2c i2c-1: new_device: Instantiated device ds1307 at 0x68 [ 72.512899] i2c i2c-1: Failed to register i2c client ds1307 at 0x68 (-16)

if I look in the syslog I get:

Jul 31 16:03:35 Wasp kernel: [ 71.742836] rtc-ds1307 1-0068: registered as rtc0 Jul 31 16:03:35 Wasp kernel: [ 71.742986] i2c i2c-1: new_device: Instantiated device ds1307 at 0x68 Jan 1 01:01:19 Wasp rc.local[783]: /etc/rc.local: 23: echo: echo: I/O error Jan 1 01:01:19 Wasp kernel: [ 72.512899] i2c i2c-1: Failed to register i2c client ds1307 at 0x68 (-16) Jan 1 01:01:19 Wasp systemd[1]: rc-local.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE Jan 1 01:01:19 Wasp systemd[1]: rc-local.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'. Jan 1 01:01:19 Wasp systemd[1]: Failed to start /etc/rc.local Compatibility.

It will not happen with the first reboot after running x720.sh, but all other reboots after it you get that error (raspberry pi buster & stretch tested)... not that the hwclock isn't working... also is this because there are not batteries?

Anyway I use domoticz for my home automation... here is my script to get the battery capacity into it...

https://gith...720_domoticz
 

Anonymous user #5

57 months ago
Score 0  
OK, I decided to plug it in right on the header and now the pi boots. So the only difference I only had one of the power management pins connected gpio17 I guess it needs all 3. I'll have to see what happens when I try to use 18 as a PWM.
 

Anonymous user #5

57 months ago
Score 0  
when I turn it on the pi won't boot. Green and Red led on pi stay on, but if I turn the UPS off the pi boots. any ideas?
 

Anonymous user #5

57 months ago
Score 0  
As far as pins I found the functional description, however does it need all the power management pins. I use 12, 13, 18, 19 for PWM.
 

Anonymous user #5

57 months ago
Score 0  
is it safe to use the regular 18650 batteries 3.7V 2500mA each till I get the 18650B. Also I cannot stack this as I have other items stacked so it will be off to the side and so far looks like the only pins it needs are the I2C and the +5 and ground, correct?
 

Anonymous user #4

57 months ago
Score 0  
Excuse me, Can I change the I2C address of RTC and battery's information?
 

Admin

56 months ago
Score 0  

Hi friend, Sorry that we didn't test it, here is the specifications, hope it will do some help: maximintegrated.com/en/products/analog/real-time-clocks/DS3231.html

Regards,

Abby/Geekworm
 

Anonymous user #3

58 months ago
Score 0  
Is there a support contact? I got mine, plugged it into my PI, installed the batteries, plugged power in to the usb power on the X720. It only gives ~3.6v on the 5v lines and 0v on the 3.3v lines. Is there something I need to do in order to get 5v out?
 

Admin

58 months ago
Score 0  

Hello friend, Please attach your order number and order link to email: support@geekworm.com Also please show the destils, it is better to attach a video, thanks! Best regards,

Cindy./Geekworm
 

Anonymous user #2

58 months ago
Score 0  
Could you please redo the shutdown test, but this time rather than pulling the power connector out of the board, switch off the wall-wart power supply at the mains. The amazon feedback recognises that your test does not shut down the pi, but claims that a mains failure will.
 

Admin

58 months ago
Score 0  

Hello friend, Please refer to here: http://www.s...oftware.html Do you install the scrip? If any more questions, please contact us at support@geekworm.com Best regards,

Cindy/Geekworm
 

Anonymous user #1

59 months ago
Score 0  
Is it possible to power on the rpi on a predefined time?
 

Admin

59 months ago
Score 0  
Hi, It is said that it can be releazied by WOL client software.But we do not test this,hope to get your understanding!