Ham Radio Remote Power the Raspberry Pi
This post is about how to power the Raspberry Pi ham radio remote using a buck converter and a amateur ham radio station 13.8v DC power supply.
The Raspberry Pi is usually powered by a Wall Adapter Power Supply - 5.1VDC, 2.5-3.0A. With a limited
amount of AC power outlets in the ham shack an alternative was needed to power the Raspberry Pi which is
hosting the SimpleHRR ham radio remote web app.
*Raspberry Pi (RPi)
![Raspberry Pi (RPi) a versatile single-board computers made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Raspberry Pi (RPi) a versatile single-board computers made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.](img/ham-radio-remote-project-buck-converter-powering-raspberry-pi-icom-yaesu-kenwood.png)
a versatile single-board computers made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
The solution was to use a buck voltage step down converter. To convert the amateur ham radio station 13.8v DC power down to 5.1V DC, 2.5-3.0+A..
![Ham radio remote power a Raspbery Pi with a Buck Voltage Regulator. Ham radio remote power a Raspbery Pi with a Buck Voltage Regulator.](img/ham-radio-remote-project-buck-converter-powering-raspberry-pi-13.8v-to-5.1v-step-down-icom-yaesu-kenwood.png)
Were not going to do anything special this has already bin done by others just plug the 13.8v DC into the Buck Voltage Regulator plug USB DC 5.1V to Micro-USB Cable Raspberry Pi 3 or USB-C for Raspberry Pi 4.
Notes
Make sure that the Buck Voltage Regulator output is at least 5.1VDC, 2.5-3.0+A.
Watch out for under voltage and low current use good thick microUSB cables.
All models run on 5.1V power, but Raspberry Pi 4 and 400 require 3A while other models can work fine on 2.5A. It's not recommended to use a phone charger or USB cable to power a Raspberry Pi.
Conclusion
It is totally possible to power a Raspberry Pi ham radio remote form a amateur ham radio station 13.8v DC power supply.