TorBox to Go 4.0

Due to the Raspberry Pi’s size and the necessary accessories, TorBox is very easy to use on the road. However, with our TorBox to Go project, we also want to use the Raspberry Pi without any power connector. This task is difficult because the UPS solutions are changing or giving up altogether (for example, Sixfab’s Power Management & UPS HAT) with every new Raspberry Pi revision. The Raspberry Pi 5 can run with the same power supply used for the Raspberry Pi 4B (5V, 3A, follows the Power Delivery 3.0 Standard Power Range), but only if the peripherals don’t use more than 600mA.  For users who wish to drive high-power peripherals like SSDs while retaining margin for peak workloads, the Raspberry Pi 5 also accepts 25W (5V,5A, doesn’t follow any Power Delivery Standard Range). If the Raspberry Pi 5 firmware detects this supply, it increases the USB current limit to 1.6A, providing 5W of extra power for downstream USB devices and 5W of extra onboard power budget (for more information, see here). The catch with this unique configuration is that a modern power bank with an USB-C Power Supply following the Power Delivery 3.0 Standard Power Range will only provide 15W (5V, 3A) to the Raspberry Pi 5, which may be enough, but maybe not.

The goal is that all components can be accommodated in a waterproof, compact plastic box (15 cm x 15 cm) and thus not disturbed on the move. Therefore, we were looking for a more compact Power Delivery solution than a power bank and a replacement for the discontinued Sixfab’s Power Management & UPS HAT, which served us reliably in the last few years. We chose the Waveshare UPS HAT (D) for Raspberry Pi with 21700 Li battery support and pogo pins connector,which will work with Raspberry Pi 3 / 3B+ / 4B / 5. Even if it is not the same model, this video from ExplainingComputers reviews and sets up the Waveshare UPS HAT (B) for Raspberry Pi, which gives you a good overview of the product.

Below, we display an example of portable accessories. Further down, we list the items with the corresponding links:

The picture above are showing the Waveshare UPS HAT (D) for Raspberry Pi, which will be screwed on the bottom of the Raspberry Pi 5.

Although the Raspberry Pi takes up little space, the official power adapter is not very compact and wastes valuable space. So far, SlimQ offers one of the smallest alternatives we could find. Even the one in the picture seems to be expired, the 65W USB C GaN Charger with one Type-C Port and one USB-A Port seems to be a good alternative.


Used Items