wireless charging mats
I have seen wireless charging mats before, and was thinking how cool it would be if we could just toss our raspberry pi onto a desk to turn it on. Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and the only cable you would need would be HDMI. Anyone else think that a completely wireless desktop would be cool?
Re: wireless charging mats
I do, and I have a set of these inductive charging coils from Adafruit in my toy box, but haven't got around to playing with them. They might prove a little underpowered...jomoto10 wrote:Anyone else think that a completely wireless desktop would be cool?
Re: wireless charging mats
That's cool! You should PM me if you ever get it working. 
Re: wireless charging mats
what kind of voltage/current do you get out of the other end? sounds like fun to me...
dan3008 wrote:Pays your money, takes your choice
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Re: wireless charging mats
Referring to the Adafruit coils:dan3008 wrote:what kind of voltage/current do you get out of the other end? sounds like fun to me...
The description says 5V 500mA max. Barely enough to run a model B 'headless'
Although the concept seems interesting, It would be cumbersome to implement for a RPi.
- The primary coil needs a 9-12V power supply connected at all times.
- The 2 coils need to be perfectly aligned at all times.... taped together... any slight movement and the RPi will likely crash.
Unless specified otherwise my response is based on the latest and fully updated RPiOS Buster w/ Desktop OS.
Re: wireless charging mats
My plan is to run the Pi on a LiPo, with the secondary connected to an on-board charger. And then a stand for the primary that will position the Pi to align the coils. I did some tests with two layers of 1mm acrylic between the coils, and I think it just might work. Better for a Model A, it just might discharge more slowly than it charges, but the use case is really for overnight charging, like my phone. I readily admit it's more fun than practical (might as well use pogo pins, since alignment is critical anyways).
Re: wireless charging mats
Not sure if it would work, but couldn't you also use a set of magnets to align the coils? That way if they get separated the should just magnetise back in place.
Re: wireless charging mats
I know that inductive charging works in mobile but I'm not quite sure if it will work in desktop.