Powering devices through USB-C PD, is it niche?

[Mysteryman2000]

So I am working on my PS2 and PSone systems for modifications including the replacement power supply.  I remember LTT having a segment on USB-C PD where they would be able to power multiple different consoles using the usb to 5.5mm jack.  Now my goal is to do the same thing but with the PS2 and PSone, but the power requirements for both are 12v/5A.  I've been checking every GaN charger or just USB-C charges in general but I can't seem to find any that support 9v/5A let alone 12v/5A.  Am I missing something here?  The only thing I could find was the cables at adafruit that would make this mod possible with USB-C.  "TBH I just want to avoid power bricks that connect to the wall, I can't tell which are quality and which aren't".

[saintlouisbagels]

41 minutes ago, Mysteryman2000 said:

So I am working on my PS2 and PSone systems for modifications including the replacement power supply.  I remember LTT having a segment on USB-C PD where they would be able to power multiple different consoles using the usb to 5.5mm jack.  Now my goal is to do the same thing but with the PS2 and PSone, but the power requirements for both are 12v/5A.  I've been checking every GaN charger or just USB-C charges in general but I can't seem to find any that support 9v/5A let alone 12v/5A.  Am I missing something here?  The only thing I could find was the cables at adafruit that would make this mod possible with USB-C.  "TBH I just want to avoid power bricks that connect to the wall, I can't tell which are quality and which aren't".

It appears a combination of this Reddit Thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/ps2/comments/x2vra9/i_would_like_to_power_a_ps2_slim_from_usb_c/

and this Printables project will give you all the information you need
https://www.printables.com/model/385507-playstation-2-90k-usb-c-power-supply

 

If I read it all correctly,

You'll be using taking 20V from a USB-PD compatible charger and stepping it down to 12V

You also be using another board to do the USB-PD negotiation to to get the necessary 5A

 

It doens't look like the Adafruit cable is necessary for this project.

 

[AbydosOne]

In my experience with playing with USB-PD trigger boards, 12V is the level most-often ignored by USB-PD charger manufacturers. My Anker powerbank does support it, but both of my USB-PD wall chargers don't (IIRC).

 

That said, stepping down from 15V or 20V (which are very common, especially 20V) is a pretty trivial process.

[Mysteryman2000]

1 hour ago, saintlouisbagels said:

It appears a combination of this Reddit Thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/ps2/comments/x2vra9/i_would_like_to_power_a_ps2_slim_from_usb_c/

and this Printables project will give you all the information you need
https://www.printables.com/model/385507-playstation-2-90k-usb-c-power-supply

 

If I read it all correctly,

You'll be using taking 20V from a USB-PD compatible charger and stepping it down to 12V

You also be using another board to do the USB-PD negotiation to to get the necessary 5A

 

It doens't look like the Adafruit cable is necessary for this project.

 

That is because the the Adafruit cable was for the power supply replacements below:

PS2: https://www.game-tech.us/product/reps2/
PSone: https://www.game-tech.us/product/repsx/

I probably should have mentioned the PS2 was a fat model.  The models I am using are both old styled where the power supplies were built into them.  So if I going about this in a step down matter still I should grab the 20v/5A cable from Adafruit, put the step down between the 5.5mm barrel switch and the RePSX and RePS2 boards.  Although I would have to say, this would have been so much easier if any GaN Charger would have just had 12V/5A, I mean it would have been niche itself but having a higher amperages is never an issue if you have higher voltage that have that amperages to begin with.

 

1 hour ago, AbydosOne said:

In my experience with playing with USB-PD trigger boards, 12V is the level most-often ignored by USB-PD charger manufacturers. My Anker powerbank does support it, but both of my USB-PD wall chargers don't (IIRC).

 

That said, stepping down from 15V or 20V (which are very common, especially 20V) is a pretty trivial process.

I have the Anker 727 Charging station, it also has 12V but only at 3A.  Just sort of puts you between a rock and a hard place.

[Heats with Nvidia]

20 hours ago, Mysteryman2000 said:

"TBH I just want to avoid power bricks that connect to the wall, I can't tell which are quality and which aren't".

The other problem here is, how do you know which of the USB-C power supplies are quality?

By the way, if quality is your main concern, there are plenty of good power supplies like the Mean Well Medical series.

What are you afraid of? It is extremely rare that a failing power supply damages anything, so just buy a reasonably good power supply and use it.

[Mysteryman2000]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:37 PM, Heats with Nvidia said:

The other problem here is, how do you know which of the USB-C power supplies are quality?

By the way, if quality is your main concern, there are plenty of good power supplies like the Mean Well Medical series.

What are you afraid of? It is extremely rare that a failing power supply damages anything, so just buy a reasonably good power supply and use it.

I'm not worried about the power supply failing, going by what the I read on the FAQ for one of the PSU replacements I was buying:

"What happens if I use a super cheap 12v adapter or if the adapter has less than 5A?

Chances are you’ll get noise and/or that your console won’t start. The AC adapter transforms AC 220v or 110/115v to DC 12v, whereas the RePS2 filters the 12v into the PS2 PCB. This makes the AC adapter an essential part of the circuit. "

So I figured the best solution would probably be to use chargers or power stations from reputable companies like uGreen, Anker, etc, etc.  Basically avoiding the 500 Chinese companies saying theirs is a quality power supply while each one looks just like the other other and when you get it you feel how thin the cord is and when you hold the brick you can hear the plastic creaking (I've bought a couple "quality" ones); figured it would be easier just to avoid them altogether based on the FAQ and what could happen.  Lets be honest there is a lot of "cheap" adapters out there.

[Heats with Nvidia]

8 hours ago, Mysteryman2000 said:

So I figured the best solution would probably be to use chargers or power stations from reputable companies like uGreen, Anker, etc, etc.  Basically avoiding the 500 Chinese companies saying theirs is a quality power supply while each one looks just like the other other and when you get it you feel how thin the cord is and when you hold the brick you can hear the plastic creaking (I've bought a couple "quality" ones); figured it would be easier just to avoid them altogether based on the FAQ and what could happen.  Lets be honest there is a lot of "cheap" adapters out there.

You can try this, its not a bad solution, but you can also just buy a really good external power supply. The one i found that works really reliably and is among the least noisy when it comes to the output voltage usually is Mean Well medical. In your case i suggest you get the GS 90A12-P1M when you really want to make sure to get a really good one. But also the non-medical ones are really good. And no, i am not affiliated with them and there are lots of other good power supplies, but i had to find good and not that noisy power supplies for several audio applications and those and their non-medial offerings usually solved the problem.