Mighty Hat Mini? - for RPI Zero

[Jason]

Hi Felix and Others,

I have been working on a project to make a "Mighty Hat" for my raspberry pi (RPI) zero. I was wondering if there is any interest in this from others in the low power lab community.

I started by making a UPS for my raspberry pi based off of the LTC4040 chip.
Then I decided it would be fun to incorporate a radio and then it basically became a mighty hat.

It doesn't support a screen, or a buzzer and only supports a 18650 type Li-Ion battery.

Attached is a screen shot of the tentative version 0.1.  Still making some minor changes.

Let me know what you all think!

[Felix]

Good initiative, LTC4040 looks like a really great system!
Would love to see more detail and in action.

only supports a 18650 type Li-Ion battery

That's great. Unless im missing something, other than the form factor it's the same as any other LiIon.

One last thing, while you can always mention any "based on ....", but since MHat is a LowPowerLab product trademark, my only ask is to please rename the actual name to something a little different, just in case it takes off and people can at least distinguish a Tomato from a Tomato

[Jason]

I totally respect the MightyHat name and can remove it. I am not trying to compete. My idea is if there is any/enough interest we could collaborate and this be a actual LowPowerLab product. My little contribution to your system. If there isn't interest I'm planning to make it for personal use.

Currently it only supports the 18650 form factor, but a connector could be added.

What would need to be true to add it to your lineup? Same circuit diagram? Drop in replacement? Any simplifications or upgrades allowed?

A downside to this project I didn't realize is you can only buy one RPi Zero per order / some say you are only supposed to have one. I just liked the smaller form factor. There are of course other versions like OrangePi that have similar products but I digress.

[Felix]

What would need to be true to add it to your lineup? Same circuit diagram? Drop in replacement? Any simplifications or upgrades allowed?

You mean in terms of you making it? And offering it on my online shop?
Or just contributing/sharing a design?

A downside to this project I didn't realize is you can only buy one RPi Zero per order / some say you are only supposed to have one. I just liked the smaller form factor. There are of course other versions like OrangePi that have similar products but I digress.

What stops you from shopping several amazon sellers or find a place that will ship you more than 1?

[Jason]

What stops you from shopping several amazon sellers or find a place that will ship you more than 1?

Option 1: Last check none of the authorized resellers will allow more than one per order, so you have to pay for shipping each time so it just seems a little silly, but really isn't that bad.

Option 2: Amazon works but it feels a little icky to me.

You mean in terms of you making it? And offering it on my online shop?
Or just contributing/sharing a design?

I will have my own made in the beginning to test the design.

I thought I would contribute the design for you to make if you wanted and/or open source for anyone.

If you are already at "full capacity" I could look into making them having them sold on your shop.
I didn't think you would be interested in this idea, but it is an option if that is something you would consider.

I might be getting too far ahead of myself, but another idea is making this like MightyHat R4. Where the user could snap the full sized PCB to make it mini, like how a sim card works.

[Felix]

Amazon prime is pretty decent. You can buy virtually any number.

I am always at full capacity.

I have not resold 3rd party designs, and have no concrete plans to. IMO that can be icky if something is made by 3rd party and I have to support it. I personally tend to want to focus on my creations since I know them "inside out".

I do have plans for a new MightyHat but I don't know when I will get to it!
The LTC4040 is something I will surely consider, so I appreciate at least the mention here.