Description
Two of the biggest challenges with the Raspberry Pi in portable/mobile/automotive applications is the lack of an accurate way to keep time and a flexible input DC power supply. This Raspberry Pi Power / RTC HAT solves this problem! Onboard is a fused and reverse polarity protected DC input coupled to a beefy 3A 5V DC/DC converter. Connected to a 12V automotive battery, this board is happy running the Pi under heavy load all day long.
Since a battery powered Pi is not likely going to have reliable access to the internet to keep time we have also added a nice, temperature compensated, DS3231 chipset by Maxim. The chip is connected directly to the I2C bus and uses address 0x68. Simply add a CR1220 battery to the holder onboard, set the time, and it will keep it within ±0.432 Second/Day (roughly ±2 minutes a year) in temperatures ranging between -45°C and +85°C.
Even with the above features, there was still quite a bit of room left over. The remainder of the board has been left as open prototype space with slightly larger than standard plated through holes. These should fit just about any breadboard pitch components!