Power supply considerations for Jetson Nano Developer Kit

Out of the box, the Jetson Nano Developer Kit is configured to accept power via the Micro-USB connector. You’ll need to power the developer kit with a good quality power supply that can deliver 5V⎓2A at the developer kit’s Micro-USB port. Not every power supply rated at “5V⎓2A” will actually do this. The power supply will need to consistently deliver ≥4.75V to avoid brownout condition. Note that some USB cables can lead to additional voltage droop.

See the Jetson Nano Supported Components List for power supplies that NVIDIA’s validated with the Jetson Nano Developer Kit and that were specifically designed to overcome common problems with USB power supplies:

Recommended Micro-USB Power Supplies

If you want to run stressful workloads in the (default) 10W power mode,you should instead use a DC barrel jack power supply (with 5.5mm OD / 2.1mm ID / 9.5mm length, center pin positive) that can supply up to 5V⎓4A:

Recommended DC Barrel Jack Power Supplies

To enable use of the DC barrel jack power supply, you will need to fit a jumper to J48 on the Jetson Nano Developer Kit baseboard. Please refer to the Power Guide section of the Jetson Nano Developer Kit User Guide for more details.

The devkit may also be powered from pins 2+4 (pin 6+9 GND) of the J48 Expansion Header - up to up to 5V⎓3A per pin (5V⎓6A total).

The Jetson Nano Developer Kit includes a passive heatsink, to which a user-supplied fan can be mounted (for example Noctua NF-A4x20 5V PWM). When operating with passive cooling, depending upon the workload the heatsink may get hot to the touch and direct contact should be avoided.

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Can the Jetson Nano be powered by USB-C?
I have a 45W USB-C power supply from an Acer Chromebook sitting around perhaps useful with the Jetson Nano?

Hi benbojangles, the Jetson Nano Developer Kit does not include a USB-C port, it can be powered either via the Micro-USB port or the DC barrel jack.

Thanks Nvidia :)

Sony PSP (original one) came with a 120v power adapter – 5V 2.0A rated. I have one, & am doing some trials – using the barrel power connector. I have to cut off the old connector (smaller diameter than the Jetson Nano uses), splice a new one (which fits)

^^^ They’re only $4.99 (free shipping) off Ebay. A supplier has thousands available.

If it works, then it’s a tremendous boon. I read the above text by OP, he is saying 4.0A might be preferred for strenuous use. I have some surplus power-supplies lying around, so I think I’m covered

I guess Ebay is a source of 5v 4A power supplies, along with that female barrel connector

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5V-AC-4000mA-4A-Power-Supply-AC-Adapter-Charger-5-5mm-x-2-5mm-4A/370941760364?hash=item565dda136c:g:mEwAAOSwZcZZrQXt

$9.89 w/free shipping

I currently am using a 5V 1.5A “wall wart” power adapter from a cellphone. I’m actually posting from the Jetson Nano using this…!

Just got back from 2019 Nvidia GTC, where I got one for $99. THey sold out the 1st day (Tuesday), ordered 1500 for the next day

Here’s my video-blog, with 2 episodes so far (more will be uploaded):

http://2019gtc.blogspot.com

What are fitting power options for use on a drone? These usually come with higher voltage power options.

The stock Jetson Nano Developer Kit carrier board accepts 5V DC input, so you would need to use a step-down converter or voltage regulator if you are using higher-voltage power (which if powering directly from a battery pack like a LiPO, should be using a regulator used for the electronics). In addition to the DC barrel jack and Micro-USB port, you can also power the devkit from 5V input pins available on the 40-pin header if that is more convenient.

If you want an integrated solution for higher-voltage power sources, Auvidea’s JN30 carrier board for Nano supports 12-48V DC input.

I’m using a 5V 2A USB charging supply, when I plug in only a mouse it boots fine. After powering down and plugging in apple USB keyboard I see the LED on nano board on and initial boot up occurs and then LED turn off and screen goes blank. Is there a compatibility issue with Apple keyboard?

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Hmm I have not heard of issues with that before, but am not sure if that particular device has been verified previously.

Are you able to try a different USB keyboard to see if the behavior is related to the Apple keyboard?

When running (for example) DetectNet with passive cooling, the Nano does indeed get quite hot. I bought the 10mm (thick, 40mm wide) version of the recommended Noctua fan, but am curious if there is any “right” way to mount it. The provided case screws are too large for the holes in the Nano’s heatsink, as are the rubber vibration-damping screws.

I can certainly try to figure something out, but if there is a known-and-preferred solution, I’d rather start with that. Thanks! – David

Hi David, use M3 self-tapping screws, which should be at least 12.5mm or ½” long.

Perfect. Thanks!

We have tested the following 5V⎓3A DC barrel jack power supply, CUI’s SMI18-5-V-P5. It seems to work just fine with the Jetson Nano Developer Kit powering a USB camera, mouse, and keyboard.

This supply has the proper 5.5mm OD / 2.1mm ID / 9.5mm length center pin positive plug. The dc output cable is a sturdy 16 AWG with a generous 1,500 mm length cable. Perhaps the most useful feature is that this CUI power supply ships with 5 international AC plug adapters: North America, Europe, UK, Australia, and China(signified by the “V” in the part number.)

Also available from CUI are a 5V⎓4A, SMI24-5-V-P5, and a 5V⎓5A, SMI36-5-V-P5. We have not tested these, but I have no reason to believe they will not work. These options also include a full set of AC plug adapters.

As Dusty mentioned you will need to fit a jumper to J48 to power the Jetson Nano Developer Kit from the DC barrel jack(J25) instead of the micro-USB connector. J48 has standard 2.54mm jumper pins. These shunts from TE Connectivity, 390088-1, should work and they are readily available from many sources.

I have a really hard time finding a proper power supply in Sweden. Any ideas?

Also, does it matter if I power it from USB vs barrel jack in terms of performance?

Both would work, but don’t forget the jumper you need for the barrel jack to be used. My own personal preference is barrel jack since there are certain overcurrent fuses in USB which can be avoided (those fuses typically reset after cooling down, but completely avoiding those implies to me a greater reliability).

I have experienced the same issue. My Apple USB keyboard caused the system to crash during initial bootup; the display went blank and the green LED turned off. The system also crashed when I connected the keyboard after booting was complete but before running the system setup. The solution was to only connect a USB mouse, click your way through the system setup (where you select the keyboard layout) until you need to actually use the keyboard to enter the user name. At that point I connected the Apple USB keyboard and it worked.

I can power the board with micorusb, but it doesn’t want to power on with 5V jack connected. I’m using 2.6A adapter, which is working well with other dev boards. The same issue even with bench power supply (set to limit of 5V/4A) - to signs of life, despite multimeter showing 5V on board’s pins.
Should’ve read more carefully about jumper. Spoiled by simplicity of powering other boards.

FYI, after testing this device internally, it was determined that it is pulling more power than a 2.1A power supply will deliver.

Instead please use a 5V⎓4A power supply or connect the peripheral to a powered USB hub.

Thank you for investigating the issue.

The Noctua fan that is linked in the original post requires 12V operating voltage, does header J15 supply 12V, or should the 5V variant (nf-a4x20-5v-pwm) of the fan be used instead? At a glance the user guide does not seem to specify the voltage of the fan header.