Dan Invents the ToastyBoy, a Low

Semi-pseudonymous engineer "Dan Invents," hereafter simply "Dan," has put together a low-noise power supply designed for projects where every ripple counts, including rocketry camera systems: the ToastyBoy.

"ToastyBoy is a redundant low-noise dual power supply capable of supplying 1.2A at 5V with a voltage ripple of a few millivolts," Dan explains of his creation. "The low voltage ripple even at an ampere output current allows powering devices that are sensitive to noisy voltages such as a Raspberry Pi camera."

That's not a suggestion the maker has pulled from thin air, but it has been where the atmosphere thins: Dan invented the ToastyBoy with model rocketry projects firmly in mind, ensuring that it offers dual redundancy to compensate for any failure during flight. It's also been tested in exactly that configuring, as the power supply for a rocket payload including a camera, Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer, and Dan's own Raspberry Pi RP2040-powered Rockit flight computer.

"As of now this is an experimental device," Dan admits. "Should [the first production] batch be sold out, I will make improvements to develop a circuit that can deliver more current. As of now this power supply can power a Raspberry Pi Zero recording video at 1080p 30fps [frames per second] without problem. It can output a maximum of continuous current of 1.2A — enough to power two Raspberry Pi 4 shooting 1080p video. Be aware however that high output current will cause the device to heat up."

Dan is selling boards from the first batch via Tindie at $11.95, with an optional three-AAA battery holder available for an additional $2.50. The board's schematics are available on GitHub under an unspecified license.