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I'm looking to power a rPi Zero W and a tomoko 87 mechanical keyboard both of which take 5v power (I know the rPi needs 1amp, not sure about the tomoko 87 as the description simply says "5v DC"). I'm thinking of using the Powerboost 1000 charger/recharger from adafruit and a Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh to power them. Do I need to use 2 batteries? Or must I use 2 Powerboosts? Or do I need to use two batteries and two Powerboosts?

Thanks!

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You can use one battery with one DC-DC converter (e.g. Adafruit Powerboost 1000) to power multiple devices

But the total current drawn must add-up to less than the maximum the DC-DC converter can provide (1000mA or 1A in this case).

I suspect your battery won't last very long. But it depends if the Pi-zero spends much time in some power-saving suspended state.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks so much for your reply. I'm looking into alternative options like adding bluetooth to the keyboard and connecting to the rPi Zero W that way, but ideally, I'd like to have everything in the keyboard case and simply hook up the display via HDMI. What do you think will be the most logical/efficient way to power this? If the rPi needs 1A, should I use two batteries and two powerboosts? (one for the keyboard, one for the rPi) Adding Bluetooth to the keyboard seems much more complicated. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alex Mendiola
    Apr 7, 2017 at 1:22
  • \$\begingroup\$ Alex, remember that this website is a Q&A website. it isn't suited for discussions. In general I'd use a single power supply that can cope with the total load. \$\endgroup\$
    – RedGrittyBrick
    Apr 7, 2017 at 8:12

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