Designing a baby monitor that runs on batteries? Power supply stability is critical to ensure reliable video/audio without draining your battery too quickly or overheating delicate components.

❗ The Problem: Unstable Power = Unreliable Monitoring

Most baby monitors use 3.3V or 5V components like ESP32, camera modules, or audio sensors. If you’re powering from a 3.7V Li-ion cell, voltage dips during transmission or WiFi bursts can cause random resets, lagging feeds, or total failure.

🛠️ The Solution: Use an LDO or Buck Converter

For low dropout and stable output:

• Use a Low Dropout Regulator (LDO) for simple builds.

• Use a buck converter for better efficiency and longer battery life.

Add decoupling capacitors (e.g., 470µF electrolytic + 0.1µF ceramic) near your MCU for ripple smoothing.

🧰 Practical Example: ESP32 Baby Monitor

A prototyper powers an ESP32-CAM baby monitor directly from a Li-ion cell. The feed lags and crashes at ~3.5V. Adding an AMS1117-3.3V LDO solves the issue and ensures clean, consistent video output.

🔢 Sample Calculation: Efficiency Comparison

Using LDO:
Input = 3.7V, Output = 3.3V, Current = 300mA
Power loss = (3.7 – 3.3) × 0.3 = 0.12W

Using Buck converter (90% efficiency):
Output Power = 3.3V × 0.3 = 0.99W
Input Power ≈ 0.99W / 0.9 ≈ 1.1W → Less heat, longer life!

🛒 Product Suggestions – Made in India

🔋 AMS1117-3.3V Regulator Module:

🔧 Buck Converter Module:

👉 Shop now at SmartXProKits.in
Support our work and India’s innovation—buy from our Make in India site!