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Looking for a USB C plug so I can power my PI’s off a single power supply that I have, do you have these plugs?
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I thought the power plug on PI’s was a USB “C”?
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Hi Greg,
You’re right, you’d need a USB-C variant of this one. Closest we have is a breakout PCB like this:
But unfortunately, it’s only rated for 1.5A, half of the 3A the Pi’s supply is rated for.
You can power the Pi from the header pins, but it would be wise to spread it out over 2 sets of 5V and GND pins, as 3A is a lot of current. Make sure you use reasonably thick wire too, no smaller than 24AWG or so. Most “jumper wires” are smaller gauge than this, so they may get too hot. If you haven’t crimped DuPonts (the connectors at the end of most jumper wires) take a look at our guide:
Worth mentioning too, your supply will need to be 5.1V if you want to avoid the risk of undervoltage warnings on the Pi, that’s what the official Pi 4 supply puts out.
Let me know if this spurs more questions!
-James
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Hello James
I am using a RS power supply that’s good for 5 amps but I don’t know about a “C” USB being able to hack 3 amps?
Regards
Greg Fletcher
Hi Greg,
You’re definitely right to be worried about that, only some USB-C cables can take that current:
We sell one, for example, but that doesn’t really suit your application:
I forgot to ask earlier, what model of Pi are you using and how many? are there any peripherals hanging off it? (USB-powered screens, hard drives etc)
-James
Hey Greg,
The Type-C connectors are actually designed for 5A continuous. The wire the connector is attached to might not be though.
If you’re interested, you can checkout the Type-C specification here:
https://www.usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification-revision-21
I must warn you though, USB is a mess!
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