Tips to power Raspberry Pi camera using batteries

[caribpapi]

Please excuse my noobness, but I went by a few articles on how to power a Raspberry Pi Zero W using 2 AA rechargeable batteries, but the 5V booster that I purchased starts burning up after a few seconds and makes a screeching sound. Here are the parts that I'm trying to implement with this build, so any suggestions would help.

- Raspberry Pi Zero SW = https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_tutorials/6/7/6/PiZerov2.png
- 5V booster = https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PZ564SS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Camera = https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759GYR51/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm using 2 2300mah batteries to try and get this going. The booster is soldered to a battery pack. I connect a micro USB cable from the booster to the Pi.

Just by the specs, should it look like the 5V booster/2 AA batteries are sufficient to power my setup? It seems to work fine powering just the Pi alone, but starts making a loud screech, smells like its cooking and the led of the booster goes super bright when I also plug in the camera module.

[atmfjstc]

It sounds like the camera might be shorting out the power supply. I vaguely remember having trouble with that exact model because the mounting holes are powered, so you must make sure the 4 metallic screws are electrically isolated from each other (so don't attach the camera to some solid metal piece; or use plastic screws).

It's also possible that the camera plus those two beefy-looking IR lights might be pushing the regulator beyond its limits even without a short. According to https://raspi.tv/2017/how-much-power-does-pi-zero-w-use, the Pi Zero W draws 230mA when shooting a video with the standard camera. I imagine the IR camera without the lights draws a similar amount, and given that the regulator has to step up the voltage by a factor of about 2.0 (from 2 x 1.2V NiMH nominal voltage to 5V), the input current will be arount 500mA tops, well within acceptable limits. If we factor in the lights, however, all bets are off. Looking at https://www.amazon.com/SUKRAGRAHA-Infrared-Illuminator-Adjustable-Raspberry/dp/B07RN44Z1Q/, the LEDs are said to be "3W" (not clear if each is 3W or they're 3W in total). Even assuming it's 3W total, that works out to an extra current consumption of 3W / 5V = 600mA, thus an extra 1.2A at the input for a total of 1.7A, waaaayyy beyond the maximum allowed by the regulator.

So, try dismounting the lights and see what happens. If the IR lights are the problem, you'll need a beefier regulator at the very least.

[caribpapi]

Thanks for the math atmfjstc. I am definitely gonna roll with an updated regulator and take it from there.

[paulca]

I'm sure you already know this but with 2x2300mAh batteries parallel or series, once boosted to 5V will not run this setup for longer than 1 maybe 2 hours (at the power requirements previously calculated above).

If the PI is saving video while the power cuts (or browns) out it will most likely corrupt the file or the trash the disc completely.

Still you can take the design and use something like a 5000mAh 12V LiPo battery from an RC shop and get it to run longer, but you'll need a step down buck regulator instead.  So if you are considering replacing the reg anyway due to higher power consumption I would suggest considering either a buck converter and 3 series RC lipo's or go for a large 10,000mAh pouch cell.

To be honest, less DIY, but you can get pretty decent 22,000mAh USB power banks that will feed it for many hours and no charge circuitry to worry about.  (check for reviews and test videos/articles so you don't get scammed).

[mikeselectricstuff]

Why not just use a standard USB powerbank?

[paulca]

Why not just use a standard USB powerbank?

Exactly.  I can recommend these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EC-Technology-Portable-22400mAh-Smartphone-Black-Red/dp/B00F5Q4F0U

No thrills, on fuss, but it is 22400mAh or close enough.  Some of the cheaper imports you'll find half the LIon cells are full of sand.

[atmfjstc]

A USB power bank is not always ideal, though. In particular, it is very large and heavy compared to the Pi Zero itself, and depending on what exactly caribpapi is trying to achieve, the increased bulk and weight might not be worth it. Particularly if he plans on mounting it on a robot - even a ground-based robot suffers from any added weight.

[pcmad]

usig a lifium battary power bank on rpi as a ups can be dangerous if continously charged as it can be over charaged

[tooki]

usig a lifium battary power bank on rpi as a ups can be dangerous if continously charged as it can be over charaged

Dafuck you talking about? A power bank already has all the charging circuitry built in. You can't overcharge it, regardless of application.

The real problem with power banks for things like this can be the issue of not being able to use its inputs and outputs at the same time, so you have to power down the raspi to charge the power bank.

[paulca]

There are power banks which have pass through charging.  However finding them is the tricky part.  I researched it for a while an gave up.  Read an article where someone tried about 10 different ones that claimed to be pass through and only found one that was and I couldn't find anyone selling that one.