Help with finding the right LiPo charging circuit

Components & Accessories Power
1

Hello, I am fairly new to electronics but am starting on a RC WiFi car project. I have most of my electronic components locked down (ESP8266, L298, DC motors, Servo, WiFi Camera). I recently did a energy budget and figured out generally how many Joules of energy my project will require when running for a certain time period. I really want this car to be hands-free and thus here comes my questions.

I have seen most projects use one battery for microcontrollers and another for the DC motor driver + motors. I want to use a single LiPo pack for my RC car. I also want to solder Qi charging circuits to it (found from Adafruit). I am considering the 7.4V 2200mAh LiPo from Sparkfun but wonder which charging circuit to buy. I read in the description that the 7.4V has a specific charger, but I wonder if there is a circuit available on Sparkfun for me to solder wireless charging pads.

I read there are many concerns with charging LiPos, so I want to make sure the power component is safe. I plan to place the RC car on a charging dock located away from me (when idle) and operate it from a distance (driving around and parking back to charging dock when done).

Any advice is appreciated! :slight_smile:

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Hi NoSpicy,

The 7.4V 2200mAh LiPo needs a specific charger capable of charging a multi-cell battery like [this. We do not have any wireless battery chargers so, unfortunately, that is not something we can assist you with. Also, if you want to use a single battery, you will want to make sure the voltage is regulated properly for each component. Most likely, if your ESP8266 development board has a battery circuit on it, it is designed for a single-cell Lithium-Ion battery and will not work with the two-cell, 7.4V battery you are looking at so you will need to regulate that down to a safe voltage for the board.](SkyRC IMAX B6 V2 Professional Balance Charger / Discharger - PRT-16793 - SparkFun Electronics)