Zip The Fish Pi
Zip The Fish Pi UPS
Our new addon board for the Raspberry Pi
Why we developed our own board?
From the very beginning our goal was to create a 100% reliable home automation system. We needed a good basis, when it came to the hardware as well. For a long period we’ve used the HomeMatic CCU2 as a base station. But we got to a point when the technical features of the CCU2 weren’t enough anymore. Therefore we started to work with Raspberry Pi. During the process we recognized a few issues with this minicomputer, which had to be compensated to get an absolute reliable base for our automation system. Unfortunately, there weren't any products on the market to fit our needs.
Our Board for the Raspberry Pi
Because of the need of reliable power supply and radio connection to HomeMatic devices, we finally started to develop a new board for Raspberry Pi. The main focus of the board is the UPS functionality which helps the base station to continue working even during power outages. Of course we’ve included additional features which you can check out below.
Characteristics and advantages of the board
Main features
- More power for PI – Three different power supplies up to 3A each
- Micro USB power supply input
- Uninterruptable power supply: Seamless switching between three power sources. There is a possibility to connect small or large batteries – special chip takes care for battery health, including charge and protection
- 5 V switchable output: With this output you are able to control by software various peripheral devices, including relays. It can supply all the current PI can share with the added devices
- Additional 12-16.0Vdc power supply input: With this you are able to supply your Raspberry Pi with different sources of energy – for example car batteries – and you are also able to build a device with functionalities that needs a voltage level that high
- Extra space for HomeMatic wireless module: In order the wireless module does not occupy any pins that could be used for an additional board we’ve prepared an extra space especially for the module.
- Input for optional battery temperature sensor: Control of battery temperature is important for save and long reliable operation. Especially during charge . A dedicated chip is embedded for this purpose. It controls the charging current in order to keep the battery temperature in a predefined save range.
- Full UPS status monitoring: Besides the battery temperature you can also monitor if the battery or the external power supply is used and if the battery is charging, precharging, fully charged or already low. If battery low is indicated, you have the important possibility to save your files on time and shutdown PI with our provided software(SD-Card-protection).
Side Features
- Holder for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries: We also offer our board optionally with a fully connected holder for a 18500 lithium-ion batteries.
- Compatibility: The board is compatible with the with Raspberry Pi 3 and Pi 2 Model B
- Plug & Play: You don’t have to program anything. Just put the Zip The Fish Pi UPS board on the Raspberry Pi and it will do what is has to do from the very beginning.
- Additional boards can be mounted: With our board you do have the possibility to mount further Raspberry Pi add-on boards on top.
- Real Time Clock: You can also always use the actual time for your projects as the board has a build in real time clock with a battery backup
You want to read the full, unsimplified specs of the board? Klick here
You are interessted?
Unfortunately the Kickstartercampaign already ended.
We want to thank everybody who supported our project and/or has spread the word about it.
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