# Adafruit BQ25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 5V Boost Board (ADA6106)

**URL:** <https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/adafruit-bq25185-usb-dc-solar-charger-with-5v-boost-board-ada6106/24084>\
**Category:** Product Questions\
**Created:** [29 March 2026 04:11 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/adafruit-bq25185-usb-dc-solar-charger-with-5v-boost-board-ada6106/24084 "2026-03-29T04:11:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Core](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.core-electronics.com.au/core/32/57_2.png) [@Core](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Core)\
**Post date:** [29 March 2026 04:11 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/adafruit-bq25185-usb-dc-solar-charger-with-5v-boost-board-ada6106/24084/1 "2026-03-29T04:11:57Z")

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This is a placeholder topic for [**“Adafruit BQ25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 5V Boost Board”**](https://core-electronics.com.au/adafruit-bq25185-usb-dc-solar-charger-5v-boost-board.html) comments.

![](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/5ba536955e3e815f4e908e49c1dd8155/A/D/ADA6106-1.jpg)

We're always on the look out for better ways to make projects portable: being able to charge your battery in the most convenient manner will let…

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**Author:** ![Donald23173](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.core-electronics.com.au/donald23173/32/12687_2.png) [@Donald23173](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Donald23173)\
**Post date:** [29 March 2026 04:12 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/adafruit-bq25185-usb-dc-solar-charger-with-5v-boost-board-ada6106/24084/2 "2026-03-29T04:12:18Z")

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No Reviews or comments, so I guess this is a new product ?  
And that it will compete directly with the DFRobot Sunflower 5V board (DFR0559) ?

| Feature | Sunflower DFR0559 | Adafruit BQ25185 ADA6106 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $13.35 | $17.45 |
| Solar panel | 5V solar panels only (of which there aren’t many choices) | solar panels up to 17V (albeit without gaining advantage from higher voltage panels) |
| Connectors: | | |
| Battery | JST PH 2-pin port or terminal block | JST PH 2-pin port |
| USB | micro-USB | USB-C |
| regulated 5V power to load | USB-A and/or switchable header pins | terminal block |
| Solar panel | terminal block | solder to VIN header pad |
| monitor battery voltage | undocumented header pin | solder to VBat header pad |

The Sunflower is a little cheaper, but the Adafruit board allows a wider range of solar panels. I’m not technical enough to interpret chip spec sheets properly, so there may be something else important I’m missing.

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**Author:** ![Jane](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.core-electronics.com.au/jane/32/12622_2.png) [@Jane](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/u/Jane)\
**Post date:** [31 March 2026 05:50 UTC](https://forum.core-electronics.com.au/t/adafruit-bq25185-usb-dc-solar-charger-with-5v-boost-board-ada6106/24084/3 "2026-03-31T05:50:30Z")

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Not quite brand new, @Donald23173 but definitely a newer item than the DFR0559, which has been around since 2018.

The main catch is going to that the Adafruit will stall if you try and draw anything over 200mA at start-up. That shouldn’t be a problem for most setups, but if you need a full current draw at launch it might not be the best choice.

I’m not sure the exact chip specs for the DFR0559 to know if it the Adafruit beats it there, but the comment about the BQ25185 in the product page isn’t that interesting. It really just means that it can handle MPPT control and thus actually work with solar panels.