Hello everyone!
My name is Bob Recny. I'm an electrical engineer and Amateur Radio operator, call sign N8SQT. I've been in the computer industry in one way or another for nearly 30 years. I received my Amateur Radio license in 1992. I'm currently providing design consulting through my company, The Positive Charge, LLC. The ultimate goal is to create my own product line and the reason for being here on Kickstarter.
BackgroundLike many of you, I've been using the Raspberry Pi for several projects. One of the issues that I've run into is the lack of DC power, especially when trying to operate several USB peripherals. That little 5V, 1A supply just doesn't cut it, so how do you get more power?
Nearly all Amateur Radio equipment runs off of a 12V supply, well, anywhere from 10-16V depending on the source. Wouldn't it be nice if the Pi could also run from that same source? That's where I designed the the perfect topping for your Pi… no, not a scoop of ice cream, but what I've called the “Pi-Go”. Now you can include your Raspberry Pi in your Go-Kit and power it from the same source as your radios.
The Pi-Go connects to the GPIO header and supplies a solid 5V at up to 3A for the Pi and its connected peripherals. The board is designed to maintain the 5V output with an input anywhere from 10V to 16VDC. A real fuse is on-board for over-current protection. Genuine Anderson Powerpole connectors are provided for direct use with the de-facto ARES power configuration.
Two momentary switches are provided on GPIO 23 and GPIO 25. If you're a fan of AmateurLogic.TV, then you may have seen episode 76 where Tommy uses a Python script for shutdown and reboot. These two switches will work directly with that script, or they could be used for another purpose.
As you see from the pictures, the design is complete and the prototype is tested and running well. This Kickstarter campaign is here to fund the initial production run. Production quotes for assembly in the USA have been received and the design is ready to go. With your help, the Pi-Go can enter the market and be an integral part of your Radio Go-Kit.
You may have noticed the Open Source Hardware logo. The Pi-Go is licensed under the TAPR Open Hardware License, and the design files will be made available on GitHub. Watch the project updates for more information.
There are several backer levels:$10 gets you the bare PCB. Even though this is primarily a surface-mount design, all of the components can be hand soldered and are of sufficient size to see them without a microscope! The smallest components are an 0805 resistors and capacitors.
$20 gets you 2 bare PCBs.
$50 gets you a factory assembled Pi-Go.
$100 gets you two factory assembled Pi-Gos.
$500 would normally be 10 assembled Pi-Gos, but I'll throw in two more for a dozen.
Thanks for checking out the Pi-Go and for your support of this project on Kickstarter.
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