I have a Pi 5 with Active Cooler , and looking to add the AI Hat and UPS (SupTronics) Hat. It doesn’t seem possible ATM. The UPS hat has hardware that coincides with the USB and ethernet sockets on the Pi 5 board. Can it be done?
Instead of a HAT, consider a USB-based UPS power solution for the Raspberry Pi 5. These devices provide battery backup via a USB connection, eliminating physical conflicts with GPIO or other components.
Thanks for that idea, although earlier today I thought that with long enough standoffs I could mount the UPS hat underneath the pi 5, and figure out a custom case to house the extra height. I could keep peripheral connections as normal. ( A bit messy, but should be viable, I think.) Do you have a particular product in mind for a separate UPS power source? Both ideas add volume to either solution, but I could choose.
Hey @Lee283496,
You will need to be careful and make sure you choose a UPS product that can output 5A, the Pi 5s can be pretty power hungry!
I would suggest an option that works without taking up extra ports on the PI. Something like this UPS module would be able to connect and power the Pi through the GPIO ports made accessible on the top of the AI hat and could be nicely stacked underneath the Pi.
Hope this helps!
I realized I ordered and received a “UPS SHield X1202 V1.1” labelled “Suptronics Technologies” and allowing 4 x 18650 batteries, with a charging port. The supplier was Core electronics. I got a 12V output charger 1.5A, although I have since seen (I think) requirement is 2A for that battery setup. I might have to get a better charger, or change UPS.
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I just got back to this and found that the battery pack is not compatible with the pi4, or pi5. The footprints don’t match in any way to support any standoffs. So, might I say the Suptronics UPS Shield is useless. Well, for me anyway. Please correct me if I’m wrong, and illustrate how it can be done.
Do you mean this one?
The image shows the unit with a Pi5 mounted on it. In what way is yours different?
Thanks so much. My mistake. The image in your link is the illustration I needed.
Having corrected the mounting, with help from here, thanks, I’m stuck with another problem. Having charged the UPS, I connect to the pi5 using USB-A to USB-C cable from UPS to Pi PWR. On pushing the on button on the UPS, the UPS status indicators don’t quite go through the states that I expect from reading documentation. The 4 battery level indicators are on, as expected. The 5V output indicator is on, as expected, but only briefly. My understanding is that is because the Pi is not detected. That is also indicated by the Pi5 indicator being off. However the indicators on the Pi5 board do come on (briefly) green, then red briefly, then off. My understanding is that means the pi is doing a shutdown. The UPS is fairly new, and was charged 30 minutes prior. The Pi5 runs normally when powered from an AC to DC adapter with 5.1V DC 5A output. I would appreciate if anybody can offer your thoughts.
Note the safety warning.
7. Do not apply power to your Raspberry Pi via the Type-C USB socket.
I have one of these and it works nicely. Read through the DFRobot wiki document.
The only issue I had was after installing it on a 2GB Pi 5; I realised I needed an 8GB Pi 5. The I2C connection did not work after that. Removing and reinstalling very carefully to get the pins aligned correctly fixed it. I use a plug pack to charge it via the DC socket. Runs for about 5 hours, in idle.
Cheers
Jim
Thanks. I will look at an alternative power connection. Note the page for the link you provided does not contain a warning about applying power via the USB-C plug.
The Warning is on the Core Electronics Web page for the DFRobot board.
There is a USB-C connector on the UPS board which is labelled ‘Type C Powered Input 5Vdc 5A’. Just below the camera connectors on the Pi 5. Suggest that would be ideal place to connect the USB-C power.
Regards
Jim
The only USB-C port on my UPS is labelled “PWR”, which I fail to understand, because input power to UPS for charging is the 6 to 18V DC socket. There’s two 2-pin headers labelled 5V Out, so I’m looking at connecting from 1 of those to the pi. I read that it’s not advisable to power via GPIO.
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This pic shows the USB-C socket and what it is to be used for. I connected a USB-C power pack to this port and the board powers up normally and begins to charge. The 6 to 18V DC socket is for when you used a different power source, makes the board more flexible.
There should be no need to connect power the the Pi when attached to the UPS. The two pogo pins near the 5V0 led and the mounting stud connect power from the UPS to the Pi. Careful placement of the Pi is need to ensure the pins line up correctly.
Regards
Jim
Thanks. That works for me now. Looking at the position of the pogo pins, it looks to be powering the pi via GPIO, which I thought is warned against in other documentation/dialog I’ve read. Something I’d like the manufacturer to consider is ability to connect an external button for power on, and something for ability to disconnect power to the pi. That seems counter-intuitive to most people regarding a UPS, but I’m working on a design for a wearable device that needs to power on and off simply by the user. Now I’m off the topic of the original post here, so maybe I should separately look into options for the on/off. Thanks for your patience and help.
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Hi @Lee283496
The UPS hat will power the Pi5 both via the GPIOs and also video the pads for the USB-C input for the Pi, being that these are from the same source it would be fine. As for an external power button, there is a header on the board available for that.
