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I'm a student in 7th grade building a project that has to include a raspberry pi of a contest coming up in april. Long story short I have a solar panel with a 6v usb output and I would like to power the pi. I know that the pi needs around 4.75 to 5.25 approximately, so what is the best way to turn the 6v usb output into a 5v micro-usb output?

Ps. I live in a 3rd world country so many thing will not be available. Thanks

Roy Ghandour
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  • Hello and welcome. Please check this old Q&A http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/86/how-can-i-run-the-pi-on-solar-power and let us know if it is helpful to your quest. – Ghanima Jan 09 '16 at 21:36
  • All of the answers, while having some merit, are unlikely to prove practical. You provide no detail of the solar panel. Does it have an in-built regulator? Is there a battery? If you connect a simple solar panel to any of the circuits below, it may work in full sunshine, but the Pi will stop working in shadow e.g. if someone leans over it. – Milliways Jan 10 '16 at 05:38

4 Answers4

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EDIT: PLEASE READ PANDALION'S COMMENT. DO NOT TRY THIS METHOD. PLEASE! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THIS METHOD OCCURS. I WARN YOU, DO NOT USE THIS METHOD!

You could buy https://www.adafruit.com/products/2236. It is a 5v regulator. Then, you can cut apart a micro usb cable and put this inside. Look at the datasheet https://www.adafruit.com/images/product-files/2236/2236.pdf. It will tell you the pinouts.

You might be able to find this in other places.

Edit: Wire diagram

This should help. Which end you solder the wires to matters.

Merlin04
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  • Thanks i've contacted my teachers and they have a spare one in the lab. The only thing I didn't really get whas the cutting up a micro usb diagram. Is there some sort of vidio you can link me to? – Roy Ghandour Jan 09 '16 at 22:31
  • I am not sure, but on YouTube there is a video of adafruit creating a custom cable. I will edit my answer once I make a diagram of how to make it. – Merlin04 Jan 10 '16 at 01:12
  • There, I added a diagram. – Merlin04 Jan 10 '16 at 01:35
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    Pretty ghetto. Ever considered a prebuilt voltage regulator that's been safety-checked? I found some on major resellers. Just Google voltage regulators. – Aloha Jan 10 '16 at 03:51
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    @Merlin04 Are you sure the IC won't burn the house down? It only supports 250mA. The Pi needs 1A to 2A. – Aloha Jan 10 '16 at 03:53
  • Thanks, guys ill bring these two ideas to my teacher. Im not that good with hardware yet so ill let him decide. :) – Roy Ghandour Jan 10 '16 at 09:45
  • PandaLion98 I didn't realize that. Oops. – Merlin04 Jan 11 '16 at 01:03
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Instead of risking your lives (the IC mentioned in the accepted answer only handles ~250mA), try a pre-built voltage regulator.

This has a voltmeter: http://amzn.com/B00IWOPS8K

If you're not interested in a voltmeter and only wants 5V output, try this: http://wholesaler.alibaba.com/product-detail/5v-2A-Solar-Panel-Power-Bank_60350880339.html

Or you can look for something similar in your preferred electronics store.

Aloha
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I suggest you buy a UBEC. Try eBay.

joan
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Here you have two simple voltage regulator circuits that you can build, parts will be available everywhere. They are inexpensive and easy to build, parts are very common; your neighbor electronic repair will have them. A Ham-Radio friend can also be very handy! The optional fuse can be 3Amps for one Raspberry.

schematic

simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab

fcm
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