pabb85 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Hi all, New poster - received my TETRA yesterday and so-far, so-good! I was wondering if anybody could help me figure out the exact power requirements for the tetra so I can figure out a good way of powering it for some projects please. I have the tactical Anker powerbank - but this may be too large/heavy for some of the projects. What draw would I be looking at for idle/under-load/etc? So I can calculate the minimum possible weight for the time I need the device running please. Also, which uses more power, running the RJ45 Eth port or having an attached and active USB Eth device? Could the TETRA be powered entirely from a Raspberry Pi 3B+ using the Y-cable? Thank you! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkentaro Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 From the FAQ: WiFi Pineapple TETRA The WiFi Pineapple TETRA requires 18W for normal stable operation. While the device may function under minimal load with less power, system instability may occur during peak load. Power may be provided to the device by any combination of USB UART, USB ETH, or 12V DC ports. The 12V DC port accepts a standard IEC 60130-10:1971 type A connector with 5.5 mm OD, 2.1 mm ID (center positive). You probably can't run it if an RPi 3, cause I think the max output on the USB ports (which is on the same controller as the eth port) is 1200mA . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabb85 Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 53 minutes ago, elkentaro said: From the FAQ: WiFi Pineapple TETRA The WiFi Pineapple TETRA requires 18W for normal stable operation. While the device may function under minimal load with less power, system instability may occur during peak load. Power may be provided to the device by any combination of USB UART, USB ETH, or 12V DC ports. The 12V DC port accepts a standard IEC 60130-10:1971 type A connector with 5.5 mm OD, 2.1 mm ID (center positive). You probably can't run it if an RPi 3, cause I think the max output on the USB ports (which is on the same controller as the eth port) is 1200mA . Thank you @elkentaro - I had noticed this on the FAQ earlier but was wondering more specifically about typical draw/usage. You're right - the Pi may not be feasible as the Pi 3 seems to be rated up to 2.5A across the entire USB controller so at 5V that's 12.5W... Although, saying this..... the fuse is said to blow at 5A which would mean 25W coming from the Pi..... I wonder if anybody has tried and can comment on success/failure. Of course, I could power the TETRA from a separate source... This might make sense. Do you know which is the most efficient to use, the onboard USB eth or the RJ45 eth ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkentaro Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Efficient power vise? Would depend on the USB device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabb85 Posted June 12, 2018 Author Share Posted June 12, 2018 Indeed - I don't know enough about the USB Ethernet adaptor within the TETRA to know if using this or the RJ45 to couple the Pineapple to a Pi would be the best option... If anybody has already done these tests please let me know and save me the time ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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