Raspberry Pi 2 power supply (PSU)

Try this:

It probably allows them to ship it with a cable that barely contains any copper, and the voltage drop will still be within spec.

Theo

I'm using one of these:

For use with Pi B and 2 TB USB harddrive set up as a medi player. The spin up demand of the HD and boot demand of the Pi couldn't be met by any 2 A supplies or chargers I tried.

I've tested this one and you can pull > 3 A from any single port but at that level of current the voltage has dropped to the lower limit for a Pi (4.75 V?). But then it is sold as a charger not a PSU...

Also be aware that USB cables are not all created equal. Some have very little copper in and at the higher current levels can drop a significant amount of voltage.

Just get the official one:

and be happy.

Gordon

Until the device goes into power save mode and doesn't draw enough current to create a significant drop. Don't forget tolerances.

Yes, but overvolting by 100mV isn't a major problem. Undervolting is.

Theo

This one's good as well

Can anyone recommend something for the US market? I'm not talking just about the AC plug, but the shipping. It's got to be cheaper to buy something in the US than from the UK. But then I've bought stuff from China for $1 including shipping. I expect the shipping was the lion's share of the costs on that one.

If tjhere's nothing specific to the Pi I would be looking to a general electronics shop (Radio Shack?) for a 5 volt PSU of at least 3 and ideally 5 amp output. Then work out how to get the power into the pi - there's a choice of the microUSB, one of the normal USBs or GPIO pins. It's possible to buy leads with a usb socket at one end and tails at the other, which I use to power a pi with a damaged microUSB - power in to a standard USB.

Just make sure the PSU is regulated.

It wasn't .

I'm not sure what you are saying. The item I am talking about is a $1 item. The item mentioned here is a $6 item with $1.50 shipping. Clearly $1.50 is more than $1.

I should have drawn your attention to the comments which explain why the shipping was not a significant part of the cost of your item. They say that both the Chinese government and the USPS subsidise the postage costs.

A PSU which has an integral figure-8/zip wire to the micro-USB plug (rather than using a real USB cable) will be much better for copper size. (They may not work as USB chargers for other appliances due to lack of the current indicating voltage levels on the data lines, but the Pi doesn't care about those anyway.)

Yes, I read that although I take that sort of stuff with a grain of salt. Still, why would the shipping for a $1 item be less than the shipping for a $6 item? That's what I am not following.

The 5.35V voltage isn't a great issue, since the seller has already stated why it's a bit higher:

"- Due to our charger have a little bit higher voltage than many of the oth er standard chargers, it can provide enough power for the board and accesso ries, such as IR receivers, USB wifi adapters, and USB storage. This become s very important when overclocking the Raspberry Pi as many chargers may on ly feeds your Pi with about 4.7-4.9V."

Also:

"- 5.35V 2A output can overcome the voltage drop from most USB cables, and

As corrected mentioned by Theo Markettos.