4 ms·

Raspberry pi is just the motherboard. Add in a screen, power supply, keyboard and case, and that's going to inflate the total cost.

pbronez 5y ago
Is there a kit that adds all the stuff needed to make an rPi into a battery powered hand-held device?
- genewitch 5y ago
  The screen alone is going to triple the price. A 3A boost/buck converter to power the Pi from a battery is not going to be cheap, either. You could probably cobble a few 500mA ones together and hope everything plays nice, but that's a large footprint. If the pi actually is being used it'll definitely draw 2.5-3A, so a 2Ah battery won't last very long. I'm not really up to date on li-poly (the flat pack lithium style batteries), perhaps there's some that would be ok for a handheld with ~3A or more of draw, but again, it's another $20-$40 for batteries that are usable for a handheld. There is the pi arcade hAT or whatever, that's about $15+ iirc. 3d print a case, if you already have a printer that's just time and materials, otherwise you're gunna pay $20 for a case design and print that actually feels nice, again. At a certain point, the steam handheld device might be a better bet, since it'll have a warranty (don't laugh!) and a support team (okay laugh a little). All of this could be irrelevant because perhaps the pi zero does everything people want, and that's dirt cheap and also probably uses way less power.
  - Jenda_ 5y ago
    > A 3A boost/buck converter to power the Pi from a battery is not going to be cheap, either. LM2596 costs <$1 and it powers my rtl-adsb for 4 years so far (yes, this is in step-down mode, but you either want a 2S/3S battery anyway, or you use the similar step-up chip).
    - genewitch 5y ago
      I am not doubting your claim, but it makes me wary since all the "cheap" wallwarts that claimed "2.5A" and now "3A" ran about $10, whereas the official RPI wallwart is double that (maybe $18), and a really awesome 5V PSU that can run two rpi at full TDP costs between $35-$120. I have a bunch of "QC3.0/3A Buck converters" for 6-36VDC to USB-A, maybe i should try to run a pi on a SLA Gel 12V battery.
      - Jenda_ 5y ago
        I think MEAN WELL LRS-50-5 (5V/10A) can easily run 2 or even 3 Pis at full power and costs $13 ($15.5 incl. VAT) at EU reseller. Or is it not "awesome" enough?

pbronez 5y ago

Is there a kit that adds all the stuff needed to make an rPi into a battery powered hand-held device?

genewitch 5y ago
The screen alone is going to triple the price. A 3A boost/buck converter to power the Pi from a battery is not going to be cheap, either. You could probably cobble a few 500mA ones together and hope everything plays nice, but that's a large footprint. If the pi actually is being used it'll definitely draw 2.5-3A, so a 2Ah battery won't last very long. I'm not really up to date on li-poly (the flat pack lithium style batteries), perhaps there's some that would be ok for a handheld with ~3A or more of draw, but again, it's another $20-$40 for batteries that are usable for a handheld. There is the pi arcade hAT or whatever, that's about $15+ iirc. 3d print a case, if you already have a printer that's just time and materials, otherwise you're gunna pay $20 for a case design and print that actually feels nice, again. At a certain point, the steam handheld device might be a better bet, since it'll have a warranty (don't laugh!) and a support team (okay laugh a little). All of this could be irrelevant because perhaps the pi zero does everything people want, and that's dirt cheap and also probably uses way less power.
- Jenda_ 5y ago
  > A 3A boost/buck converter to power the Pi from a battery is not going to be cheap, either. LM2596 costs <$1 and it powers my rtl-adsb for 4 years so far (yes, this is in step-down mode, but you either want a 2S/3S battery anyway, or you use the similar step-up chip).
  - genewitch 5y ago
    I am not doubting your claim, but it makes me wary since all the "cheap" wallwarts that claimed "2.5A" and now "3A" ran about $10, whereas the official RPI wallwart is double that (maybe $18), and a really awesome 5V PSU that can run two rpi at full TDP costs between $35-$120. I have a bunch of "QC3.0/3A Buck converters" for 6-36VDC to USB-A, maybe i should try to run a pi on a SLA Gel 12V battery.
    - Jenda_ 5y ago
      I think MEAN WELL LRS-50-5 (5V/10A) can easily run 2 or even 3 Pis at full power and costs $13 ($15.5 incl. VAT) at EU reseller. Or is it not "awesome" enough?