The Design Idea in Figure 1 indicates a low-battery condition in an audio test instrument that is powered by four AA cells. As the instrument was otherwise an all-discrete design, this same approach ...

Many battery powered devices use two AA alkaline cells. Often you will not know when it is time to replace the batteries until the device powered by them actually stops operating. The hobby circuit ...

Reverse polarity is one of the most common causes of circuit failure, from hobby projects to industrial systems. The good news is that a well-designed reverse polarity protection using MOSFET ...

Given the growing importance and impact of portable, battery-operated devices in today’s society, it’s easy to understand why power consumption has become such a critical factor in IC design. But it’s ...

I see techs in the field get the most frustrated when they have a low-voltage short they can’t seem to locate. The challenge techs face with low voltage diagnosis is a combination of poor process and ...

This circuit solved a problem encountered in developing a portable device with an ARM Cortex-M0 processor. The power supply consisted of two AA batteries (2 × 1.5 V), and I needed to signal the user ...

The following circuit uses a low-power CMOS comparator and an LED to indicate low-battery voltage without causing excessive current drain. To view the application note, click on the URL below.