How to Put USB-C Power on ANYTHING (almost)

[mynameGeoff]

Thanks UGREEN for sponsoring today's video! Check out their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals below:

UGREEN Nexode 45w Charger: http://bit.ly/3tUO86G (25% OFF Coupon 11/24-28)

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UGREEN DigiNest 65W Charging Station: http://bit.ly/3Ey5fjW (25% OFF Coupon 11/24-28)

 

UGREEN Black Friday (Up to 40% off): http://bit.ly/3EXRhZS (11/24-28)

 

Buy a QIANRENON D-Type Panel Mount: https://geni.us/I5IVV

Buy a USB Type-C Trigger Module: https://geni.us/xJHIwH

 

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

[apearson]

Did this usb pd to barrel connector with my modem, switch, moca bridge, and other devices last week.  Works great and makes for a clean setup

[Srius1]

So confused by this video . HOW DID THEY DO THIS?! plug in adapters? Solder? C grade video.

[deadpoor]

16 minutes ago, Srius1 said:

So confused by this video . HOW DID THEY DO THIS?! plug in adapters? Solder? C grade video.

YES.

more specific, both can achieves same goal which is the device get the required DC voltage input, it happened because a chip(like inside the cable at 3:00)handled the handshake with PD charger so it output DC voltage the chip wanted. The chip can build in the cable, make standalone adapter or solder in the device like daughter board. there have tons different models in the market for different needs, like the title said you can almost power-on anything.

[deadpoor]

for anyone wonder if you can modified old laptop, YES you can.

[Leo Cake]

I've been working on converting my Lenovo laptop's barrel plug to USB-C, bought a cable as in pic related, going with a 65W or a 100W Ugreen power brick. Does the PD type-c to type-c cable wattage matter? I have a 100W one, do I need a 65W specific one, or the adapter and the power brick will make all of the needed conversions?

[Zodiark1593]

Thats an idea for my PS2 slim. Getting rid of that fat@$$ brick would be nice. Wonder if I can procure an adapter that would work with my laptop too?

[Nystemy]

Personally I think USB-C as a standard is a bit poorly implemented.

The main issue is the lack of adequate clearances around the power pins, 0.2-0.3 mm of spacing between low voltage data pins and an up to 48 V power pin isn't ideal. And a problem the USB implementers forum has recognized as well. The mechanical tolerances aren't all that great when the pins only have to shift over by the thickness of 2 sheets of paper for it to kill the device. _{(more often it just kills the USB controller, but still that can make your device a brick.)}

And this issue can happen by just pulling the connector out at a slight angle. The tolerances are frankly too tight... If it were an internal connector it would be fine, but now it is an external connector meant to survive the harsh reality of daily use. This issue just shouldn't exist.
 

The connector would only really need to become 1-2 mm wider for it to fix the issue. And this isn't much.

However, given that USB-C needed to be similarly sized to the micro USB connector it replaced, then adding an extra mm or two in width were seemingly out of the question for what already were a bulkier connector.

 

I personally think we need a USB-C v.2 where the issues are properly fixed.

Another advantage of a new improved connector is that it could get a more logical pinout, perhaps place the power pins on the outer edges instead of in the crowded center where there is low voltage data lines on either side... Perhaps even add another pair of contact points for lower contact resistance so that it can better handle 5 amps. _{(perhaps further extending that rating to 7.5-8 amps.)}

Only issue with going to a new connector to fix the issues is though the EU's frankly inept decision to codify the use of a connector into law. But perhaps the USB implementers forum can make their case and have the law amended to fix the issue that has been known by the USB implementers forum since before USB-C even came to market.

But to end this off.
At least the issue is fairly rare in practice.

Most people don't pull their connectors out sufficiently unevenly _{(the connector only need to shift by the thickness of 2 typical papers, that isn't much)}, and not all devices negotiates for higher than 5 volts regardless. And the issue often only starts becoming a thing after a fair amount of connection cycles, so the risk isn't huge. But doesn't make it less of a design oversight.

[Senzelian]

I will be testing this on a Philips Hue Bridge next weekend. If that works out I'll be doing this to a lot more devices.

[Lurick]

In a similar vein, if you have a nice PoE switch you can also PoE power a lot of stuff too!

So far I've got PoE power using some 5v and 12v converters for:

Philips Hue Hub

Vera Controller

Amazon Fire Sticks

RIPE Network Probe Sensor

Older raspberry pi without PoE hat

 

I might have to try this on my old PS2 but I can't find any good 9v converters for my N64 (If I remember right from the video) but maybe I can dig some more later or someone here can link something

 

I've mostly used adapters from PoE Texas and they're great, I've tried a couple other vendors and those died out eventually but the ones from PoE Texas are still running a few years later!

[Video Beagle]

I have a lot of bricks for a bunch of External harddrives.. I wonder if something like this could be done for those and help me clean up the area...they typically need 12v/2a .

[Video Beagle]

4 hours ago, Srius1 said:

So confused by this video . HOW DID THEY DO THIS?! plug in adapters? Solder? C grade video.

yeah... being a ugreen sponsered for the adapter...they're a bit sparse on the other side.

this seems to be what they use for a bunch: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5451

https://www.adafruit.com/product/5451

 

This seems to be the trigger board mentioned:

https://www.amazon.com/Type-C-Trigger-Module-Supports-Output/dp/B08LDJBN8P?th=1

 

I guess I could use this to make adapters to plug in between a USB-C brick and hard drives.

[JayD]

Where can I get a cable to power my monitor with USB-C on one end and the standard 3-pin port (like what PSUs use) on the other?

[Joe4evr]

Oh, this is actually really cool. I've been considering importing an NTSC N64 some time ago, and this should be the solution to the power delivery problem at least.

(Now I just need a solution to the ADC problem. )

[Nystemy]

1 hour ago, JayD said:

Where can I get a cable to power my monitor with USB-C on one end and the standard 3-pin port (like what PSUs use) on the other?

There is no USB-C to C13 cables on the market.

 

Mainly since the C13 is for mains voltage. The screen has its own PSU inside of it already.

[apearson]

3 hours ago, Senzelian said:

I will be testing this on a Philips Hue Bridge next weekend. If that works out I'll be doing this to a lot more devices.

Philips Hue Bridge was actually the first device I did this with since it runs on 5v (easy)

[Bamfhammer]

Where did they get the dreamcast module? I came here for links to the cables used so I can do this with the jumbled mess of consoles I have laying around. Can we get some links here please? NES, Genesis, Dreamcast?

[RinVindor]

4 hours ago, Bamfhammer said:

Where did they get the dreamcast module? I came here for links to the cables used so I can do this with the jumbled mess of consoles I have laying around. Can we get some links here please? NES, Genesis, Dreamcast?

This is where they picked them up from https://www.game-tech.us/product-category/power-supplies/. I work at a retro store in Florida modding consoles. I've bought from said site and its always a solid experience.

 

[Senzelian]

9 hours ago, apearson said:

Philips Hue Bridge was actually the first device I did this with since it runs on 5v (easy)

I'm planning to put the trigger board between the Ethernet jack and the barrel connector, so that I could revert back to stock if I ever wanted to.

How did you do the conversion?

[kumicota]

Why didn't Linus linked the guy from the instructables page? He's video and page about USB PD is a very good resource for it

 

https://www.instructables.com/DIY-USB-Type-C-Power-Delivery-Trigger-Board/

[Guest]

I was really excited by this at first as I have a clear use case. I have several retro consoles all hooked up and have had to find ways to make the wall warts fit. The idea of plugging one or two multi-port USB-C chargers into the wall and connecting all the consoles to those sounds great.

 

But the cost really seems to add up. For four consoles (AV Famicom, SNES, Genesis, PC Engine), I see the following:

• 4 cables from Adafruit ($6.75 each on sale + $6 shipping): $33
• SNES barrel jack re-sizer ($4 + $6 shipping): $10
• 3 or 4 polarity switching adapters ($5.50 for 2) $11
• 4-port charger (ugreen has one for $55 on sale, but one port is USB-A which may require an $8 adapter): $63

That adds up to $117 + tax for four consoles. And none of those are consoles that require replacement PSUs that run $30-45 each. I could see it being an attractive alternative to buying 4 new power supplies and a new power strip that can fit them, or an alternative to re-capping your dead saturn/ps1 power supply, but it seems difficult to justify if I already have a working setup.

 

edit: Newegg's got 1-port chargers on sale right now - $6 for a two-pack. Could do 4 chargers for $50 less than the 4-port ugreen solution. Takes up the same number of outlets as the wall warts, but much smaller blueprint and should have a longer lifespan.

[timdine]

20 hours ago, Lurick said:

In a similar vein, if you have a nice PoE switch you can also PoE power a lot of stuff too!

 

I've got a Cisco POE switch and have thought about this without getting too deep yet with only a couple ebay POE to USB adapters.  I'm going to need to check out Texas POE.  I can see how USB would be handy for lots of people, but as I was watching this video I started to wonder if they'd just reinvented POE+ and it's automatic negotiation up to 48V.

[dignan17]

My monitor uses a 12V 4A power brick, and I'm wondering what cable I need in order to swap it out. I'm not sure how to go about making sure I have the correct barrel connector at the other end. For a video about putting USB C on "anything," it's funny how quickly it skims over all the things that aren't retro game consoles...

[Joe4evr]

4 hours ago, dignan17 said:

My monitor uses a 12V 4A power brick, and I'm wondering what cable I need in order to swap it out. I'm not sure how to go about making sure I have the correct barrel connector at the other end. For a video about putting USB C on "anything," it's funny how quickly it skims over all the things that aren't retro game consoles...

You'd want this one I believe, though it's also the one only variant that's currently out of stock.

 

I'm just assuming 12V is the most popular to put on devices so its demand outpaces the other ones by a lot.

[Video Beagle]

On 11/27/2022 at 10:50 AM, jymotion said:

edit: Newegg's got 1-port chargers on sale right now - $6 for a two-pack. Could do 4 chargers for $50 less than the 4-port ugreen solution. Takes up the same number of outlets as the wall warts, but much smaller blueprint and should have a longer lifespan.

do you have a link?