What would be the proper diode to use with 8* AMC7135 chips ?
The DX 1400 mAh boards I’ve been soldering extra chips onto have two types.
Those two boards are identical in function and either diode type will do the job. The diode allows current to flow from the center via(plated hole) to the trace with “Q2” and “D2” in white print over it. That trace leads to the same pin on each of the 4 chips and turns the chips on. This allows current to flow from the pad opposite the diode through the led back to led~~, then through each of the 4 chips (350mA each) to the ground tabs (larger single pin) and the ground ring that connects through the host to the switch and battery~~.
If you were to put the battery in backwards the diode would prevent current flow in the wrong direction and possible harm to the chips.
So in theory, the same size diode should be fine for an 8* AMC 7135 board since I've been soldering on extra chips to these boards for almost 2 years anyway and they have been working fine. No idea what size diode that is though, no markings at all to identify it.
So much to learn still. This is incredibly fascinating to me yet fun at the same time. Thank you for all the help and knowledge so far.
The current needed to activate the gate is very small, maybe .2 mA per chip and this is the only current that passes through the diode. Using a diode with a lower voltage drop or bypassing it means the driver will begin to dim slightly later but without an mcu with low voltage monitoring you will need to watch this carefully and recharge the cell as soon as it begins to dim to avoid over discharging the cell.