Raspberry Pi owners looking to use higher voltages with their mini PC, might be interested in this new opto-isolator board called the Opto-pi which has been specifically designed to be used with the awesome Raspberry Pi mini PC.
The Raspberry Pi Opto-pi board has been created to make interfacing with the 8 digital GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi mini PC much easier. Allowing you to connect higher current devices as well as higher voltages directly to Opto-pi board itself when needed with ease.
The Opto-pi has been created by Glabster and was created due to the owners issues he encountered adding higher loads to his Raspberry Pi mini PC, as he explains:
“I found myself creating circuits to interface the Raspberry Pi to higher current loads and higher voltages. I wanted a simple, flexible, and quick way to connect the Raspberry Pi to motors, relay coils, high power LED’s and more. So, opto-pi was created. Opto-pi plugs directly into the 26-pin header on the Raspberry Pi, making installation quick and your projects neater.
With Opto-pi, there is not an electrical connection between the Raspberry Pi and connected loads (motors, relay coils, etc.) or input signals. Opto-pi uses light to isolate the 8 digital GPIO pins. These GPIO pins are protected from high current and high voltage (up to 24VDC) since there is no electrical connection to these pins.”
Features of the Opto-pi opto-isolator board for the Raspberry Pi include :
– Plug Opto-pi into the 26-pin header on the Raspberry Pi.
– Apply power to the Power Input pins.
– Attach loads (motors, relay coils, LED’s, etc.) to the Output pins.
– Attach input signals to the Input pins.
– Configure corresponding GPIO pins as inputs or outputs in your script.
– Operates on up to 24VDC
– Four optically isolated open collector outputs (Controlled by GPIO pins 11, 12, 13, and 15)
– Four optically isolated inputs (24VDC max) (Controlled by GPIO pins 7, 16, 18, and 22)
– Up to 500mA max output on a single output channel
– Up to 200mA max output per output channel with all four channels simultaneously conducting
– Input channel current: 15mA @ 24VDC, 2.5mA @ 5VDC
– Built in flyback diodes at outputs to allow use of inductive loads
– 2.54mm header pins interface
– Plugs directly into the 26-pin header on the Raspberry Pi
– 26-pin headers are extra tall and stackable
– GPIO Disconnect switches
The Opto-pi project is currently over on the Kickstarter crowd funding website looking to raise enough pledges to make the jump from concept to production. So if you think Opto-pi is something you could benefit from, visit the Kickstarter website now to make a pledge and help Opto-pi Opto-Isolator Board for the Raspberry Pi become a reality.
Source: Kickstarter
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