Replacing the Raspberry Pi's Main Voltage Regulator

(Last modified 6 Jul 2012)





This mod is based on the project here (http://www.bitwizard.nl/wiki/index.php?title=Reducing_power_consumption_of_a_raspberry_Pi), which was featured in a recent Hackaday post. However, I wanted the entire mod left on the RasPi PCB, plus I wanted to see for myself how much current reduction I would get. So I set out to make my own version of this hack.



Obviously, this hack is going to void any warranty and risks damaging your precious RasPi; you take on this hack at your own risk! If you are unsure about removing or soldering components on the PCB, skip this mod or hand it off to someone more experienced.



The stock regulator (RG2) is a low drop-out SE8117 from Seaward Electronics, Inc.; you can find the docs with some Googling. Here is the relevant bit:





The Pololu D24V6ALV regulator

But how well does it work?

Configuration

Current, with SE8117

Current, with Pololu reg

Baseline

410 mA

360 mA

Baseline, Teensy++ USB kbd off

368 mA

312 mA

Baseline, Ethernet disconnected

360 mA

312 mA

Baseline, no-name USB mouse connected

442 mA

396 mA



Summary





