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Supply for Your Pi
It’s hard to guess how many Raspberry Pi computer applications are critical enough to require an uninterruptible
power supply (UPS), but a German company, Seprotronic
GmbH, has developed two models of them: the “ S.USV pi
basic” and the “ S.USV pi advanced.” The basic model —
described as a fully functional plug and play solution — offers
the ability to adjust the integrated charging current to 300 mA
(standard), 500 mA, or 1A, allowing a much shorter battery
charging time.
As it is connected directly through the J8 connector on
the Raspberry Pi, it uses a common voltage source, so no
additional cabling or power supply is needed. The module is
equipped with a lithium polymer battery, and an integrated
boost switching power converter covers the necessary voltage
range. The “advanced” version also provides a power input
for the extended voltage range of 7V to 24V (for solar cells,
automotive applications, etc.).
Pricing is € 29.99 (about $34 at the current exchange rate)
for the basic unit and € 54.99 ($62.23) for the advanced.
Details are available at www.s-usv.de/index_en.php. ▲
CIRCUITS and DEVICES
If You Really, Really Need a Lot of Storage
Most people will never need this much drive space, but the new storage unit is worth a look, even if only as an item of curiosity. It was
designed by Neil Poulton, an award-winning product designer known for
“deceptively simple looking mass-produced objects.” The unit is a 12-bay
desktop monster that can store up to 96 TB of data, which is said to be 50
percent more than any other desktop directly attached product on the
market.
LaCie — which is Seagate’s premium brand — has equipped it with a
hardware RAID controller and 7,200 RPM drives, which provides speeds of
up to 2,600 MB/s. So who needs that much capacity and operating speed?
Primarily, video professionals who work with 4/5/6K cameras. According to
LaCie, “That kind of speed can slash time off nearly every post-production
workflow task. Users can ingest hours of RAW footage from a Blackmagic®
cinema camera into Adobe® Premiere® Pro in a fraction of the time. They
can then edit multiple streams of ProRes 422 (HQ), ProRes 4444 XQ, as
well as uncompressed HD 10-bit and 12-bit video. For big projects packed
with high-def clips, thumbnail and preview rendering becomes much more
responsive.”
No price had been announced as of this writing but, for comparison,
the 12 TB 2big Thunderbolt 2 unit goes for $899, so it won’t be cheap. ▲
COMPUTERS and NETWORKING Continued
■ LaCie’s 12big Thunderbolt 3
storage unit holds up to 96 TB.
■ The S.USV pi basic, a UPS for all Raspberry Pi
models.
10 September 2016
