wraggster
June 30th, 2012, 23:01
http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/rpi-power-regulator-transplant-e1340986856402.jpg
If you want to run your Raspberry Pi from something other than a mains power converter, and you’ve got some courage to spare, this hack is right up your alley. [Tom] wrote in with a switch mode power replacement for the RPi’s stock linear regulator (http://www.bitwizard.nl/wiki/index.php?title=Reducing_power_consumption_of_a_ra spberry_Pi). This is the first hack we’ve seen where the RPi’s on-board hardware is being altered and that’s where things get a little scary.
The first thing done was to remove the linear regulator, leaving the unpopulated RG2 footprint seen above. Apparently a rework station wasn’t available as the technique they used describes holding the board up by gripping the regulator with tweezers, then blasting it with a hot air gun. It makes us a bit queasy because the processor chip has a solder footprint you don’t want to mess with.
But apparently all is still well. With the wasteful linear regulator gone a pair of 5v and 3.3V switch regulators inject voltage through the GPIO header. Initial tests show a savings of around 25% but we’d imaging this varies greatly based on load.
http://hackaday.com/2012/06/30/raspberry-pi-power-regulator-transplant-reduces-power-consumption/
If you want to run your Raspberry Pi from something other than a mains power converter, and you’ve got some courage to spare, this hack is right up your alley. [Tom] wrote in with a switch mode power replacement for the RPi’s stock linear regulator (http://www.bitwizard.nl/wiki/index.php?title=Reducing_power_consumption_of_a_ra spberry_Pi). This is the first hack we’ve seen where the RPi’s on-board hardware is being altered and that’s where things get a little scary.
The first thing done was to remove the linear regulator, leaving the unpopulated RG2 footprint seen above. Apparently a rework station wasn’t available as the technique they used describes holding the board up by gripping the regulator with tweezers, then blasting it with a hot air gun. It makes us a bit queasy because the processor chip has a solder footprint you don’t want to mess with.
But apparently all is still well. With the wasteful linear regulator gone a pair of 5v and 3.3V switch regulators inject voltage through the GPIO header. Initial tests show a savings of around 25% but we’d imaging this varies greatly based on load.
http://hackaday.com/2012/06/30/raspberry-pi-power-regulator-transplant-reduces-power-consumption/