PI BB RPS

Peter Scargillpi-bb-rps19 Comments on PI BB RPS

tmp33F3PI-BB-RPS – well didn’t I look at this offering from Alchemy Power Inc a while ago and discarded it because I thought it was just a breadboard for the Raspberry Pi !!!

Wrong, it is more than that. Anyway, the designer sent me one of these all the way from the USA on 10th, arrived this morning… and on closer examination… actually – I might just have a use for this.

So what the PI-BB-RPS is, is a breadboard – with redundant power supply. That means you can continue to use your existing power supply on the Raspberry Pi (or I’m guessing connector-compatible device) – but this board might be attached to a solar panel or external battery pack. DC in is from 7-24v and output is 2.5 amps max.

The breadboard has 3v3 and 5v connectors and tracks for experimenters.

Anyway, check it our here on Tindie  – all the specs are there – looks good for experimenters and it could just end up powering one of my PI’s in Spain with Solar backup – no point in doing it here in the Northeast of England – it always rains!!

If you read my last blog you’ll know I have a prototype battery backup running….. it’s a bit of a mess, hmm, it would fit quite nicely on this board!!!

19 thoughts on “PI BB RPS”

  1. Hi Pete, it was just a tongue in cheek remark that I couldn’t resist, especially given recent comments about the price of some UPS chips! However, as per your further comments you are absolutely right. I think you do a great job reviewing all the stuff you do as an independent person.
    I do hope you and Aidan develop an UPS with some intelligence as the blog entries indicate there is a real need.

    1. No-one is using any imagination here…. same old chips, no intelligence… looks like Aidan and I need to get our finger out.

    2. I still think I found the best bargain of the day (and it is early in the day) – I’ve ordered one. At that price, well I just had to.

      1. And yes, I can think of a use for one of those as well, to mount my little experimental charger boards on.

      2. no, i can’t, but found some other useful boards:
        https://it.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Raspberry-Pi-2-3-Model-B-GPIO-Board-Raspberry-Pi-Orange-Pi-Multifunctional-Cascade/32807401263.html

        https://it.aliexpress.com/item/GPIO-Expansion-Board-Raspberry-Pi-Shield-for-Raspberry-PI-2-3-B-B-With-Screws/32759182071.html

        https://it.aliexpress.com/item/LANDZO-Raspberry-Pi-2-3-model-b-GPIO-Extension-Board-Multifunction-GPIO-Module-For-Orange-Pi/32800758428.html

        https://it.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-Raspberry-Pi-Prototype-Expantion-Edition-Prototyping-Pi-Plate/1908660409.html

    2. heh, thanks for the links DrFragle. Only problems is now my browser is convinced I’m Italian, and nothing I’ve tried so far has made a difference. Clearing cookies is the next step 🙂

        1. Ah, yes, I tried selecting the global site but that goes to the main page, losing the item page. I can see the english title of the item with a link but the rest of the page is still italian, so I look at your links, find the english title, switch to global and enter it in the search field. They’re using google translate, which is great, but sharing links across languages seems to be a weak spot.

  4. Hi Pete, I bet you wouldn’t use that Pi BB RPS if you had to pay for it! It costs more than the RPI 3 itself at £37.00+ shipped to the Uk. Thank heaven for our Chinese friends who make nice cheap modules.

    1. Well indeed. In this case I am merely presenting the info. You are right, as an experimenter using my own funds I tend to be very penny pinching however I have also worked in companies where spending time looking for cheap stuff takes more time and effort than it is worth so in that case on someone else’s budget I might tend to take a different view.

      Yet people have written in on the subject of power supplies and pointed me to to solutions WAY more expensive than I would consider so I guess it depends on individual needs.

      1. And you may recall people griping about postage costs from.. either FriendlyArm or Itead until someone took the time to write and gripe to the company and they did indeed lower postage costs. Shipping from the USA to the UK does seem to be expensive… but then not all of my blog readers are UK based, not by a long way.

    2. One has to consider the economies of scale. Low volume production, especially local western items costs disproportionally more but that is unavoidable, it is in fact the natual and fair price for such an item, the developer is certainly not getting rich. You may think this board is overpriced, but that is just because we’ve been spoiled by mass produced items made by cheap manpower or pure automation. Essentially, the RPi is insanely cheap on account of mass production, no low volume accessory can compete and it’s just something to accept…

      1. The very similar items that Antonio and Peter discovered do rather suggest that similar items can be purchased and delivered outside the country of production for VERY reasonable costs.
        So, if one looks at alternatives or variants then the item referred to is expensive and we do not have to accept it.
        There are also countless boards similar to the RPi at similar or lower cost.
        However, as Peter said we all have a choice and are free to exercise it.

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