Creating a Self-Powered USB Hub for Raspberry Pi Using USB Port Power
2014-06-08 10:24 (10 years ago)
ytyng
Raspberry Pi is typically powered through a dedicated micro USB port, but unofficially, it can also be powered via: - The +5V pin on the GPIO - The +5V on the USB port
In this post, we will modify a commercially available USB self-powered hub so that it can supply power to the Raspberry Pi through the +5V pin on its USB port.
By doing this, we can connect both the USB hub and the power supply to the Raspberry Pi using a single cable, which helps to keep the wiring neat and tidy.
Here is the USB hub we will be using:
This is an ELECOM USB hub that I had lying around at home. The AC adapter provides 5V at 2.0A, which seems sufficient in terms of current. We will route the 5V from the adapter directly to the Raspberry Pi.
First, let's open the case.
We can see that the +5V from the adapter is directly connected to the switch on the top side.
Therefore, we will connect the +5V after the switch on the top side to the +5V (red cable) of the USB cable.
Since the USB cable is too long, we decided to shorten it as well.
After soldering, we check with a tester to ensure there are no shorts or issues.
If everything looks good, we close the case to finish up.
Since we shortened the cable, we tested the connection with our computer to make sure there were no mistakes in the wiring. Everything seems fine.
Now, we connect it to the Raspberry Pi.
It works perfectly. Since this hub has a power switch, it can also serve as the power switch for the Raspberry Pi (and the entire system).
Now, with just one cable connected to the Raspberry Pi, you can use both the power supply and the USB hub. This is especially suitable for the A-type model, which has fewer USB ports.
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