that's funny I'm looking for usbc pd to 12v for a vehicle and found those on Amazon. but needed more clarification. thanks, it seems this is exactly what I needed
I don't know why there aren't more guides for this technology, this was a great starting point. Trying to figure out a modular way to supply power to 4x Raspberry Pis and 4x portable monitors at work, thank you for sharing this helped a lot!
Take advantage of the multiple voltages you can get from USB PD. Use the 5V for the RPi's. So a 4-port USB-C Adapter with at least 65W or if not 100W for all for of them. They take 5V/3A each for the RPi4. So 15W's each at 5Volts. Then you could use the 20V of the USB PD to get the full 100W's of power and have enough power for the Monitors. Find the Specs of the Monitors and see what they're input voltage and Amperage are. If you need to lower the voltage for the monitors you can use an adjustable voltage regulator so you get nice stable voltage, unless they run on 12V then you can decide whether to use the 12V PD but with a lower power output or use the 20V and drop the voltage down..
A potentially serious issue to be aware of is that not all USB-C power supplies and power banks can actually produce all voltages. In fact, I would say most can't, except for higher-end ones designed to charge things like laptops and such. I believe that means in some cases that it's possible to plug into a power supply that will output a lower voltage. That might not necessarily harm a device, but, it's always possible that some device will have a problem if you give it too low voltage. Basically, to use these, you have to check both the voltage and amperage that the PD power supply puts out, and, only use the board with a device that is matched to the USB-C power supply. Obviously, if you are making your own device you can deal with those issues, but, if you are converting something else, it's pretty important to know about this issue and deal with it. For example, I put a number of USB-C wall plugs in my house as replacements for regular 120V receptacles. Most of the common brands are 5v only. I got some from Amazon that could also do 9v, but two of them failed within months. I'd love it if someone made one of these PD boards with a voltage governor, that would make sure that it would definitely not output an incorrect level. Then I'd love to use them all the time.
I have seen the 12/24 volt usb C outlets that light up and say how much voltage, but there is voltage IN and voltage OUT. For instance, this guy was running his laptop directly from a solar panel through a 12 volt usb c outlet and the usb c outlet port was displaying an amount of voltage. . . in? or out? I've got to watch that video again. That's what I want: to charge one of those battery bank and jump starter things that charge by usb C and bypass battery and charge controller and see how that works. Having the right charge cable is important too, as there are chips in there, too. So there are control chips at every step of the charge. Gotta watch that.
If the charger doesn't support that voltage it just refuse to work. I had issues where my 45W 20V capable power bank would just restart when used with a laptop, but worked fine to power 50W projector, despite being slightly out of spec. It's really hit or miss sometimes.
I have a first generation Bose soundlink mini with a 12v barrel charger .. now I can use my usbc macbook charger instead .. reducing the clutter !! Thanks for the pro tip !!
Great video! USB Type C is so useful, PPS capable adapters also open up voltage from 3.3v-21v. One note for all USB Type C compliant adapters is they will not supply 5V on VBUS (main power) until proper pull-down resistance or current sink is detected on one of the CC lines from the device trying to be powered (sink). If you probe the power lines of a type-C cable, there should be 0v until negotiated.
YES! Been trying to convert things for a while to simplify some video gear cable packouts. Reached out to some electrical engineer people a few years ago when PD was still developing and they didnt really have a good answer so I love this being one that I could even do myself!
12V was actually there for ages, if all you need is not more than 1.5A, it's part of QC 2.0 and there are triggers for it. It works using USB-A plug and from the looks of it made less complex.
I’ve been wanting something like this too and waiting for the day I could feasibly rely on usb c almost entirely. Already a big fan of the Power Delivery standard/devices but the little voltage boards you showed off are going to be incredibly useful for me. Thanks!
Wow. I have an electric piano that uses a separate mains-powered 12v plug pack. So it needs mains power to run. Using this USB-C PD idea, I could power it with a battery pack and play it ‘untethered’ anywhere. 😊
None will benefit at all. There is no such thing as a "clunky" charger, and if it is proprietary then you need to DIY the extra adaptation for zero gain so it makes even less sense to do. Wow, mindless black hole of WTFBBQ.
@@stinkycheese804 I had this doubt. Phones do extra to complete the PD loop, but this is just a chip connected to a load which was not originally designed for this PD input. What can go wrong using this chip & zero gain means?
Thanks so much! I was trying to figure out a setup for the April 8 solar eclipse using just one power bank to power my Nikon DSLR and a GoPro. I hooked up the power bank and the DSLR and only got 5V. I was wondering how to get required 9V for the DSLR and saw this video. Ordered the PD module and hopefully get the set up working tomorrow!
I'm refitting a live aboard sailboat. Traditionally US boats use 12VDC, and have car cigarette lighter outlets scattered around. My plan is to install USB-PD outlets. And for my devices that don't charge from USB I'll make custom cables.
@@jeffdege4786 ok got it. i always had this hunch as cable thickness is directly proportional to A. One solution for my use case is - using a discarded PC's SMPS to get 12v 10A output. But if buying new SMPS, building a custom power board looks more economical.
I have added usb c to a few 12v devices and i heared/ noticed that 12v is not common for a charger or powerbank (they only use 5v 9v 15v (and 20v) and skip 12v). you need the look at you charger/powerbank to see if it support it. I used a 20v trigger board and a step down buck convertor to go to 12v. If the voltage is not aviable on the charger then the trigger board should go to the voltage below that but i not know if every board will do that
I just came across your video while searching if I can use a UCB-C to DC converter adapter with my laptop. I didn't find any thing useful but your video actually made me think about that TRIGGER voltage chip. Well, I am not an electric guy and can't figure if understood really well for my problem. So I'll just put my question here in hope you may reply. I have a laptop that comes with a USB-C Power adapter. It's 65W adapter with all those voltage points you mentioned - 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V. A USB-C to USB-C cable comes with it in the box with the laptop. The PD USB-C port in the laptop serves also as a display port. The problem is when I want to use the port for external display, I can't do that unless I put the laptop on battery. The solution is to use another DC-IN port (which I guess is 3.5x1.35 as I read somewhere) but I can't find the full power adapter for it. Though I found some USB-C to DC converter adapters which I wonder if I can use with my original USB-C power adapter by just attaching the convertor adapter onto the end of the USB-C cable and insert its DC pin into the laptop. Now after watching your video, I am now wondering what role the this TRIGGER voltage play in this scenario? Can I even use such a USB-C to DC converter adapter? will there be any downsides? or even if it can harm the laptop circuitry? Hope to have an answer.. thanks in advance for taking time to read it. Edit: another thing with those converter adapters is that they also mention the trigger voltage. most of them are 19 or 19.5v... I didn't find any 20v.. what should do about that? will those 19.5 or 19v converter adapters will work with 20v output from the original power adapter? I am not sure how much power the laptop uses, whether it's fixed or variable voltage through the battery charging levels. However, the original rating on the power adapter is as follows: 5V*3A 15W / 9V*3A 27W / 12V*3A 36W / 15V*3A 45W / 20V*3.25A 65W
Thank you. This is precisely what I needed, so as long as the PD (Power Device) does not exceed 20v 5a, anything can run on USB-C. This is a very relaxed time to buy adapters and build cables. :-) My soldering skills are lacking, but this will be good practice :-) Thank you again.
This is awesome! I've been thinking forever about a reverse problem - how to create a charger out of a modular PC Power Supply, adding a PD "supply board" somehow. It would mean I could get up to 800W, and an integrated cooling - would make an awesome charging station
Great advice. It makes sense to consolidate many of the old power delivery to USB-C, and with those handy PD boards being easy to exchange you have a lot of flexibility to power most old tech. Not sure why you would consider a USB battery bank more reliable though. They are mostly Li-ion or LiPo based, so it's going to be the same chemistry. You can get LiFePo4 packs that are inherrently way more stable and safe (and last a lot longer in terms of cycles) if you want a better alternative. The only real downside is a little lower energy density. I suppose you do get a capable controller with some safety features built in with a USB power pack, but thats something you could add to any raw pack too. Anything lithium based really isn't a good idea to run completely raw for several reasons. They arent like old lead acids you could abuse all you wanted :P
The "getting a capable controller" part... That's the whole point for me to standardize my projects under USB or whatever else - no need for extra work and in case you run out of power you can borrow/buy one when you're away from home and what not. Yes, there is nothing magical or extra safe about store bought power banks - the biggest benefit is convenience and compliance to same specs across brands and models :)
1:35 per the PD standard, if a device doesn't identify with 'cc' resistors, you won't get 5v either. Important to know if just wanting 5v and wanting to do hacky cable things. Some PD compatible chargers don't follow this requirement though, so YMMV.
This is so cool! Ive been planning to do a usb c charger adapter for my gaming laptop (no pd charging support sadly). It looks like certain chargers from brands like Dell use additional pins for communication between laptop and charger though so they usually have 3 lead wires; i wonder if that means you need to use a trigger board with positive, negative and GND pinout
The middle pin of dell chargers appears to be connected to gnd through a resistor It's purpose is to prevent the laptop from pulling power until the plug is mostly inserted You can bypass it by using a resistor
I'm looking at a solder-less 18650 power bank that hold 28 cells and has a type-C smart port. it is cheep too [$25+/-]. use your own cells. it says up to 20v 1.5 AMP. but I had no idea how that would work with , not to smart devices. THANKS so much. now I know I can power anything with it , and one of these adapters. so cool.
Thanks for the search term "USB trigger board". I have a ham radio power supply (12V, 25A). Is there an adapter board that can change that to 5V / 9V / 12V ? What is the right search term to use?
Nice video. Yes, I use a variable USB-C to DC (5521 + other heads) to use power banks for different appliances. The adapter I have has a button to set 5, 9, 12, 15 and 20 volt. Only I have to be careful not to use the wrong setting for each device as it will kill their board.
wow, that is interesting. Does it use power if nothing is connected to it? I need to build something with a permanently connected powerbank and then a switch between this adapter and the target device.
I loved the video but I have problems trying to process the information when my brain is getting older. I am 73 and sad to say it takes me longer to process information like in this video.
Might I suggest 0.9-0.95x speed (available under the gear icon)? I have brain fog from long covid and a little tweak like that helps a lot. Also enabling closed captioning (though my hearing is fine)
The problem is the information was nonsense. Yes you can power a limited number of things with a USB-C PD charger of sufficient quality, but it never makes sense to do it unless you happened to buy more of them than you need and happened to misplace or have the original PSU die, and even then, if you keep losing things, you'll lose USB-C PD chargers, and if things die, just repair them. Like. A. Boss. Usually costs $1 or $2.
Maybe a bit pointless to add here, but I thought I'd say that I had bad brain fog from that and I recently started taking lions mane extract. I feel a lot clearer headed these days.
I think Ethernet PoE is the future powering IoT stuff and there are PoE to USB-C power converters. In all case, it's just more efficient to reduce the amount of AC-to-DC converters in our lives.
Question... should you also be stepping up the Type C cable gauge?? If people are running 12, 15 or 20 volts through a standard 5V type C cable to a high demand appliance couldn't this be a fire hazard also?
Very useful info. I have an AC adapter that came with a Lenovo X1 Thinkpad. It had a USB C plug which was damaged (squashed). It has an output range of 20v, 15v, 12v, 9v and 5v. Would I need to replace with a PD capable plug or is the PD functionality within the charger. Incidentally the supply cable is only 3 wires (Black white and Blue)
No it's not the plug that would perform the switching, I think you should break down the broken plug further though, to confirm that - if there's circuitry - then it's "smart". If it's a plain one - then I don't see why soldering on a 'dumb' replacement one wouldn't work!
Can you check if this specific negotiator/PD board outputs 5v or 0v if the connected power supply is not PD compatible? If it does output 5v you might end up damaging equipment specified for higher supply voltage.
Alas, it does not work well when trying to power 12VDC LEDs with a very capable PD power adapter. For some reason, if the power adapter is plugged first and the LED second, it works. But if the LEDs are plugged first (as in 99% of devices) then switching the power adapter on makes the LED badly blink in an endless cycle. Perhaps this is due to the inrush current that confuses the PD board or the power adapter (?) Bummer.
Dang! I want a whole kit of adapters, I am not as DIY as you and found some ready to go usb c to barrel adapters on A-zon will post a link to a fancy one below. One thing I am not sure of...and would like to find out...is the only "smart end" the pd chargers chip or is there some kind of "handshake" on newer devices (like your phone) on the charge receiving device end that lets adapter know what voltage it requires? If say a "legacy device" say a cordless drill wants 20v will a variable V PD send it 20 somehow sensing its demand? WIll it know when fully charged, I'm thinking probably not???
Is it possible to convert a wall plug into a usb c? Specifically, digital photo frames have to be plugged into a wall outlet. But what if you wanted to use them outdoors where there was no outlet? Would it be possible to convert that plug with some sort of adapter to work as a USB c that could be plugged into a power bank? (Clearly, I’m no electrician, but I’m wondering if the voltage problems are too significant.)
I'd like to know if the trigger board can be used in a different manner. I have a 12v-to-5v step-down converter for my car and I'd like to connnect Apple's Magsafe puck to it to charge my iPhone. However, the Apple puck will not allow it as it requires the power source to be PD3.0 compliant. Can a trigger be used here to fool Apple's puck and allow the phone to charge?
First off, thanks for the video - short, concise, and well-explained. This is a dumb question but I have a bit of a concern regarding amperage - the device I want an adaptor for has a 12v 0.4A DC port (proprietary but with male->USB-A male cables available from china) & an internal battery, would one of these just use the maximum 3A, or is that managed by the connector itself?
The current limiting should be done on the device - the amperage of the power supply denotes the capability of delivering that much current, not affecting what the device consumes :)
How do you force a plug-in detection on USB-C without having to re-plug in the the cable every time? I have a Power Bank I'm trying to power a trigger board to 20V but it won't turn on unless I re-plug the cable in to force a plug-in detection. I'd like to just power on/off the Power Bank and have the trigger board come on as well.
do current lenovo thinkpad power supply usb C (symmetric round) need the negotiating "PD" chip on the connector end, or are the red, blue, ground wires connected straight through ?
Hi, may I ask, how can I connect a type C head cable directly to main power socket without using adapter? I mean keep the type C header, remove the USB header and connect directly to main power source.
The problem that I'm having is my cheaper electronics don't work with higher power type C cables. So I can't use my laptop type C charger with my head torch type C charger
Ooh, not bad! I suck at electronics and if i had to use a bigger battery like the ones you have, I'm sure I'd end up with a house fire too, so this is a good thing to put in the back pocket :P
Not so sure you can power something at 9v and charge another device. Power banks I've played with seem to go all 5 volts as soon as you connect a second device.
When using a pd usbc powerbank as source for say 12v dc output, is it a clean 12v dc as if the three battey cells in series which gives clean dc or it is a boosted 12v which contains some hf noise? . Ref a use case for RF ham radio application. Thanks in advance for an answer, cheers
I have a 12v 100w power supply. Can I add an electronic board to convert this 12v power supply to a pd usb c 5-20v power supply? If yes, what is the convert board called. (note: I noticed the there are dc dc convert around but these dc to dc converter board need manual adjustment for voltage level.)
I'm a bit confused, does that mean you have a 45W powerbank ? 9V x 5A? And if you are running 3 in parallel for slider, tm and camera, does that mean you have a 100W+ powerbank in that form factor?!
I have a question, about using a usb pd power bank to run a small strip of COB led lights. These lights have an AC wall adapter that outputs 24v. I was looking at the usb pd spec and it only goes to 20v. Do you know of any rechargeable usb pd power banks that output 24v over usb c? Is there a better solution, than what I’m trying for? The project I’m working the COB LED light strip to a mask.
You can definitely find 12V version of those strips :) if you MUST use 24V you can try a step-up converter from 20v or find usb-c pd trigger boards for the newer 38v(?) I think, and use a voltage regulator to bring it back down to 24v. But those new higher voltages are rarer as the spec is a bit newer.
Hi. I'm from England & will be renting an RV in the US. I need a usb connector (C I believe) with an extension that will take all usb sizes but that will also take a British 3 point plug. Is there anything on the market?
sorry, mybe im too tired, but is this just kind of a step up/buck converter that stays inside the PD specs? or it transfers the optional higher voltages of PD to the target device? funny thing is i just ordered a bunch of these boards from aliexpress, but minde were descibed as charging circuits for lion cells... whats up with that? bit confused right now...
Well well well, it seems i have found the thing i need for all my projects now. Do you have any idea in how to make a multi powersupply unit that can deliver power from all the batteries to power hungry things like lighting or just function as one big battery for things you want to charge in remote areas? meaning that it does not communicate just on voltage, but does what the charger does(modulate the voltage). Do i have to jerryrig cables to a board that delivers the max voltage to a board that delivers it onto an inverter of some kind? like 12 volt from all units spearately to a controller based on available draw? and just use an inverter that is like 12V 600W max and then do like a regular outlet to deliver it to whatever i need? A have very specific needs, but i am willing to jank this to make it work. I am trying to use all of my powersupplies without having to buy, as you say, expensive work arounds or batteries that cost... lets be honest much more than they are worth "coughing in Millwaukee". I do a lot of filming and working in a place without lights and i need to keep power to all units. I have issues with keeping lights on and i struggle to find a solution, since i am not a rich man, so i try to find things that work in the way you have. Do you have any advice in how to construct a multi powerbank board into something that can deliver variable voltage you want on the other end. Im trying to see if i can power my survaillance system over longer periods of time with several powerbanks instead of 1 extremely expensive one. thank you for reading my word vomit!
Hmm what about a USB-C 20V 5A trigger board, and then a regular potentiometer (if you need to adjust output on the fly) or different pre-set voltage regulators that could step it down for you to 5 or 12V that you need. That way you'd be within USB-C PD spec and have at least 100W of power available to you. As for connecting many power banks in parallel to improve capacity - I'm not sure if just connecting a couple of such circuits to the same voltage regulators be enough. Maybe, if the power banks would be "smart enough" and not try to charge from one another? In any case it's a bit complicated once you start adding batteries in parallel due to uneven charge, internal resistance and what not.
The only ones that are available in my country have all of the volts available. The instructions say "select the needed voltage by short circuiting the corresponding solder pads". I'm new to this so I don't understand what it means. Could you or anyone here explain the process?
A USB-C power bank, is well, a less temperamental bank of Li-ION batteries with a USB-C port. Not as bad as LiPO batteries, but will still get mad if you stab it.
that's funny I'm looking for usbc pd to 12v for a vehicle and found those on Amazon. but needed more clarification. thanks, it seems this is exactly what I needed
I learned something today, didn't know USB type C could accept other voltages. This video gets a well deserved Thumbs Up!
I don't know why there aren't more guides for this technology, this was a great starting point. Trying to figure out a modular way to supply power to 4x Raspberry Pis and 4x portable monitors at work, thank you for sharing this helped a lot!
Take advantage of the multiple voltages you can get from USB PD. Use the 5V for the RPi's. So a 4-port USB-C Adapter with at least 65W or if not 100W for all for of them. They take 5V/3A each for the RPi4. So 15W's each at 5Volts.
Then you could use the 20V of the USB PD to get the full 100W's of power and have enough power for the Monitors. Find the Specs of the Monitors and see what they're input voltage and Amperage are. If you need to lower the voltage for the monitors you can use an adjustable voltage regulator so you get nice stable voltage, unless they run on 12V then you can decide whether to use the 12V PD but with a lower power output or use the 20V and drop the voltage down..
A potentially serious issue to be aware of is that not all USB-C power supplies and power banks can actually produce all voltages. In fact, I would say most can't, except for higher-end ones designed to charge things like laptops and such. I believe that means in some cases that it's possible to plug into a power supply that will output a lower voltage. That might not necessarily harm a device, but, it's always possible that some device will have a problem if you give it too low voltage. Basically, to use these, you have to check both the voltage and amperage that the PD power supply puts out, and, only use the board with a device that is matched to the USB-C power supply. Obviously, if you are making your own device you can deal with those issues, but, if you are converting something else, it's pretty important to know about this issue and deal with it.
For example, I put a number of USB-C wall plugs in my house as replacements for regular 120V receptacles. Most of the common brands are 5v only. I got some from Amazon that could also do 9v, but two of them failed within months. I'd love it if someone made one of these PD boards with a voltage governor, that would make sure that it would definitely not output an incorrect level. Then I'd love to use them all the time.
I have seen the 12/24 volt usb C outlets that light up and say how much voltage, but there is voltage IN and voltage OUT. For instance, this guy was running his laptop directly from a solar panel through a 12 volt usb c outlet and the usb c outlet port was displaying an amount of voltage. . . in? or out? I've got to watch that video again. That's what I want: to charge one of those battery bank and jump starter things that charge by usb C and bypass battery and charge controller and see how that works. Having the right charge cable is important too, as there are chips in there, too. So there are control chips at every step of the charge. Gotta watch that.
If the charger doesn't support that voltage it just refuse to work. I had issues where my 45W 20V capable power bank would just restart when used with a laptop, but worked fine to power 50W projector, despite being slightly out of spec. It's really hit or miss sometimes.
I have a first generation Bose soundlink mini with a 12v barrel charger .. now I can use my usbc macbook charger instead .. reducing the clutter !! Thanks for the pro tip !!
Great video! USB Type C is so useful, PPS capable adapters also open up voltage from 3.3v-21v. One note for all USB Type C compliant adapters is they will not supply 5V on VBUS (main power) until proper pull-down resistance or current sink is detected on one of the CC lines from the device trying to be powered (sink). If you probe the power lines of a type-C cable, there should be 0v until negotiated.
So THAT's what USB-C PD is good for! I was aware of it but not of how I might use it. Thanks for this!
YES! Been trying to convert things for a while to simplify some video gear cable packouts. Reached out to some electrical engineer people a few years ago when PD was still developing and they didnt really have a good answer so I love this being one that I could even do myself!
12V was actually there for ages, if all you need is not more than 1.5A, it's part of QC 2.0 and there are triggers for it. It works using USB-A plug and from the looks of it made less complex.
This is by far the most coherent and easy to understand video I've seen on PD. Thanks!
I’ve been wanting something like this too and waiting for the day I could feasibly rely on usb c almost entirely. Already a big fan of the Power Delivery standard/devices but the little voltage boards you showed off are going to be incredibly useful for me. Thanks!
Wow. I have an electric piano that uses a separate mains-powered 12v plug pack. So it needs mains power to run.
Using this USB-C PD idea, I could power it with a battery pack and play it ‘untethered’ anywhere. 😊
Nice thank you for sharing how you got USBC PD to work. I will get the adapter board you suggested.
Great video! I appreciate it being concise, I'm tired of 8 minutes videos of fluff for the algorithm
Oooh those adaptors are brilliant, i have so many devices with clunky or proprietary chargers that would benefit from this. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to help!! I'm in the process of upgrading everything, too! :D
None will benefit at all. There is no such thing as a "clunky" charger, and if it is proprietary then you need to DIY the extra adaptation for zero gain so it makes even less sense to do. Wow, mindless black hole of WTFBBQ.
@@stinkycheese804 womp womp
@@stinkycheese804 I had this doubt.
Phones do extra to complete the PD loop, but this is just a chip connected to a load which was not originally designed for this PD input.
What can go wrong using this chip & zero gain means?
IIRC this is what universal notebook power supplies for cars do now, adjusting voltage depending on which included adapter is used.
Good concise video, thanks for not stretching it to 15 mins!
Thanks so much! I was trying to figure out a setup for the April 8 solar eclipse using just one power bank to power my Nikon DSLR and a GoPro. I hooked up the power bank and the DSLR and only got 5V. I was wondering how to get required 9V for the DSLR and saw this video. Ordered the PD module and hopefully get the set up working tomorrow!
Did it work?
Some power banks switch to 5V when 2 or more sockets used. Check the manual for combined use voltages.
I'm refitting a live aboard sailboat. Traditionally US boats use 12VDC, and have car cigarette lighter outlets scattered around. My plan is to install USB-PD outlets. And for my devices that don't charge from USB I'll make custom cables.
I am trying to make 12v car vaccum work at home.
it needs at least 106W.
Not sure if PDs can give 10A output, if set 12v.
@@juzzz. From what I've read, USB-PD 3.2 maxes at 5A, and provides increased power by increasing voltage. E.g. achieving 240W by providing 48V at 5A.
@@jeffdege4786 ok got it.
i always had this hunch as cable thickness is directly proportional to A.
One solution for my use case is - using a discarded PC's SMPS to get 12v 10A output.
But if buying new SMPS, building a custom power board looks more economical.
@@juzzz.Only way to do this with PD is to step down from 20V
@@vadnegru
You mean, build a custom-power-board to give W my-vaccum need OR using a Market Available Wall PD Charger to get W my-vaccum need?
I have added usb c to a few 12v devices and i heared/ noticed that 12v is not common for a charger or powerbank (they only use 5v 9v 15v (and 20v) and skip 12v). you need the look at you charger/powerbank to see if it support it.
I used a 20v trigger board and a step down buck convertor to go to 12v.
If the voltage is not aviable on the charger then the trigger board should go to the voltage below that but i not know if every board will do that
I just came across your video while searching if I can use a UCB-C to DC converter adapter with my laptop. I didn't find any thing useful but your video actually made me think about that TRIGGER voltage chip. Well, I am not an electric guy and can't figure if understood really well for my problem. So I'll just put my question here in hope you may reply. I have a laptop that comes with a USB-C Power adapter. It's 65W adapter with all those voltage points you mentioned - 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V. A USB-C to USB-C cable comes with it in the box with the laptop. The PD USB-C port in the laptop serves also as a display port. The problem is when I want to use the port for external display, I can't do that unless I put the laptop on battery. The solution is to use another DC-IN port (which I guess is 3.5x1.35 as I read somewhere) but I can't find the full power adapter for it. Though I found some USB-C to DC converter adapters which I wonder if I can use with my original USB-C power adapter by just attaching the convertor adapter onto the end of the USB-C cable and insert its DC pin into the laptop. Now after watching your video, I am now wondering what role the this TRIGGER voltage play in this scenario? Can I even use such a USB-C to DC converter adapter? will there be any downsides? or even if it can harm the laptop circuitry? Hope to have an answer.. thanks in advance for taking time to read it.
Edit: another thing with those converter adapters is that they also mention the trigger voltage. most of them are 19 or 19.5v... I didn't find any 20v.. what should do about that? will those 19.5 or 19v converter adapters will work with 20v output from the original power adapter? I am not sure how much power the laptop uses, whether it's fixed or variable voltage through the battery charging levels. However, the original rating on the power adapter is as follows: 5V*3A 15W / 9V*3A 27W / 12V*3A 36W / 15V*3A 45W / 20V*3.25A 65W
I wondered what the PD meant. Thanks for explaining!
Power Delivery
Thank you. This is precisely what I needed, so as long as the PD (Power Device) does not exceed 20v 5a, anything can run on USB-C. This is a very relaxed time to buy adapters and build cables. :-) My soldering skills are lacking, but this will be good practice :-) Thank you again.
I’m using 300w over USB type C powerbanks on a full Led costume
Informative and practical. Learned about USB Power Delivery and how devices can negotiate different power levels.
It's the next gen.
Great! And yes, it has quite a lot of use for DIY too!
This is awesome! I've been thinking forever about a reverse problem - how to create a charger out of a modular PC Power Supply, adding a PD "supply board" somehow.
It would mean I could get up to 800W, and an integrated cooling - would make an awesome charging station
Great advice. It makes sense to consolidate many of the old power delivery to USB-C, and with those handy PD boards being easy to exchange you have a lot of flexibility to power most old tech.
Not sure why you would consider a USB battery bank more reliable though. They are mostly Li-ion or LiPo based, so it's going to be the same chemistry. You can get LiFePo4 packs that are inherrently way more stable and safe (and last a lot longer in terms of cycles) if you want a better alternative. The only real downside is a little lower energy density.
I suppose you do get a capable controller with some safety features built in with a USB power pack, but thats something you could add to any raw pack too. Anything lithium based really isn't a good idea to run completely raw for several reasons. They arent like old lead acids you could abuse all you wanted :P
The "getting a capable controller" part... That's the whole point for me to standardize my projects under USB or whatever else - no need for extra work and in case you run out of power you can borrow/buy one when you're away from home and what not.
Yes, there is nothing magical or extra safe about store bought power banks - the biggest benefit is convenience and compliance to same specs across brands and models :)
1:35 per the PD standard, if a device doesn't identify with 'cc' resistors, you won't get 5v either. Important to know if just wanting 5v and wanting to do hacky cable things. Some PD compatible chargers don't follow this requirement though, so YMMV.
This is so cool! Ive been planning to do a usb c charger adapter for my gaming laptop (no pd charging support sadly). It looks like certain chargers from brands like Dell use additional pins for communication between laptop and charger though so they usually have 3 lead wires; i wonder if that means you need to use a trigger board with positive, negative and GND pinout
The middle pin of dell chargers appears to be connected to gnd through a resistor
It's purpose is to prevent the laptop from pulling power until the plug is mostly inserted
You can bypass it by using a resistor
I'm looking at a solder-less 18650 power bank that hold 28 cells and has a type-C smart port. it is cheep too [$25+/-]. use your own cells. it says up to 20v 1.5 AMP. but I had no idea how that would work with , not to smart devices. THANKS so much. now I know I can power anything with it , and one of these adapters. so cool.
I have a 12v Bose Bluetooth speaker and this is exactly what I was hoping for.
Companies make a shit ton of money with different connectors and plugs and what not. This is great to have a common standard.
You've gained a sub today mate
Thanks for the search term "USB trigger board".
I have a ham radio power supply (12V, 25A). Is there an adapter board that can change that to 5V / 9V / 12V ? What is the right search term to use?
Great clear explanation and examples! Great video
Nice video. Yes, I use a variable USB-C to DC (5521 + other heads) to use power banks for different appliances. The adapter I have has a button to set 5, 9, 12, 15 and 20 volt. Only I have to be careful not to use the wrong setting for each device as it will kill their board.
awesome, thanks that'll come in handy
Thanks. Love your presentation and ideas!
wow, that is interesting. Does it use power if nothing is connected to it? I need to build something with a permanently connected powerbank and then a switch between this adapter and the target device.
This was super useful!
Thank you so much for this video! Exactly what I was trying to find 🙏
same!
Wow! This is exactly I wanted for long time!
What? Is this one year old video? What am I doing for such long period?
Awesome info, thank you so much
Style points are real points.
Thats great take my pd power bank and use it for lot of different project, is there one that is adjustable or switchable. larry
I loved the video but I have problems trying to process the information when my brain is getting older. I am 73 and sad to say it takes me longer to process information like in this video.
Is there anything in particular that was confusing or didn't make sense? I can try and answer any questions you might have, in simpler terms 👍
Practice will help keep your brain plastic. It's worth it to re-watch the video.
Might I suggest 0.9-0.95x speed (available under the gear icon)? I have brain fog from long covid and a little tweak like that helps a lot. Also enabling closed captioning (though my hearing is fine)
The problem is the information was nonsense. Yes you can power a limited number of things with a USB-C PD charger of sufficient quality, but it never makes sense to do it unless you happened to buy more of them than you need and happened to misplace or have the original PSU die, and even then, if you keep losing things, you'll lose USB-C PD chargers, and if things die, just repair them. Like. A. Boss. Usually costs $1 or $2.
Maybe a bit pointless to add here, but I thought I'd say that I had bad brain fog from that and I recently started taking lions mane extract. I feel a lot clearer headed these days.
Great and educative vid, thanks! Liked & subscribed 🤙
Thank you for sharing!
I think Ethernet PoE is the future powering IoT stuff and there are PoE to USB-C power converters. In all case, it's just more efficient to reduce the amount of AC-to-DC converters in our lives.
Question... should you also be stepping up the Type C cable gauge?? If people are running 12, 15 or 20 volts through a standard 5V type C cable to a high demand appliance couldn't this be a fire hazard also?
Very useful info. I have an AC adapter that came with a Lenovo X1 Thinkpad. It had a USB C plug which was damaged (squashed). It has an output range of 20v, 15v, 12v, 9v and 5v. Would I need to replace with a PD capable plug or is the PD functionality within the charger. Incidentally the supply cable is only 3 wires (Black white and Blue)
No it's not the plug that would perform the switching, I think you should break down the broken plug further though, to confirm that - if there's circuitry - then it's "smart". If it's a plain one - then I don't see why soldering on a 'dumb' replacement one wouldn't work!
Very useful, thanks!
Niiice. Another great idea to keep in the back pocket!
Would it work with a power station's USB C port? This would go around the energy loss of converting DC to AC and then back to DC.
Can you check if this specific negotiator/PD board outputs 5v or 0v if the connected power supply is not PD compatible? If it does output 5v you might end up damaging equipment specified for higher supply voltage.
Yeah the ones I tried revert to 5V if plugged in to 'dumb' sources :)
What IC is this board based on? I am trying to implement the circuitry to power my own PCB projects.
I wish they could use a jumper to switch the output voltage.
Love the depth of knowledge boss! Sent an email for some of your time on a project, looking forward to your consultation.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Brilliant !
Alas, it does not work well when trying to power 12VDC LEDs with a very capable PD power adapter. For some reason, if the power adapter is plugged first and the LED second, it works. But if the LEDs are plugged first (as in 99% of devices) then switching the power adapter on makes the LED badly blink in an endless cycle. Perhaps this is due to the inrush current that confuses the PD board or the power adapter (?)
Bummer.
Yeah, I've also noticed that order-of-operations often changes results. What if you'd add a capacitor to buffer it a bit?
Dang! I want a whole kit of adapters, I am not as DIY as you and found some ready to go usb c to barrel adapters on A-zon will post a link to a fancy one below. One thing I am not sure of...and would like to find out...is the only "smart end" the pd chargers chip or is there some kind of "handshake" on newer devices (like your phone) on the charge receiving device end that lets adapter know what voltage it requires? If say a "legacy device" say a cordless drill wants 20v will a variable V PD send it 20 somehow sensing its demand? WIll it know when fully charged, I'm thinking probably not???
Is it possible to convert a wall plug into a usb c? Specifically, digital photo frames have to be plugged into a wall outlet. But what if you wanted to use them outdoors where there was no outlet? Would it be possible to convert that plug with some sort of adapter to work as a USB c that could be plugged into a power bank? (Clearly, I’m no electrician, but I’m wondering if the voltage problems are too significant.)
Can you do like an Anderson plug to usbc???
What about too many amps? Also how did you print the white stickers at the end?
Amps are pulled as needed unless it is at the component level. Your circuit would take into account what it needs and use dropping resistance.
TIL thats awesome!
Great video and advice
I'd like to know if the trigger board can be used in a different manner. I have a 12v-to-5v step-down converter for my car and I'd like to connnect Apple's Magsafe puck to it to charge my iPhone. However, the Apple puck will not allow it as it requires the power source to be PD3.0 compliant. Can a trigger be used here to fool Apple's puck and allow the phone to charge?
First off, thanks for the video - short, concise, and well-explained.
This is a dumb question but I have a bit of a concern regarding amperage - the device I want an adaptor for has a 12v 0.4A DC port (proprietary but with male->USB-A male cables available from china) & an internal battery, would one of these just use the maximum 3A, or is that managed by the connector itself?
The current limiting should be done on the device - the amperage of the power supply denotes the capability of delivering that much current, not affecting what the device consumes :)
How do you force a plug-in detection on USB-C without having to re-plug in the the cable every time? I have a Power Bank I'm trying to power a trigger board to 20V but it won't turn on unless I re-plug the cable in to force a plug-in detection. I'd like to just power on/off the Power Bank and have the trigger board come on as well.
Cool! Thx.
do current lenovo thinkpad power supply usb C (symmetric round) need the negotiating "PD" chip on the connector end, or are the red, blue, ground wires connected straight through ?
I read to get 20V out of the USB-c, you have to have a 20V power adapter. What do you recommend?
I've always bought thouse 5v step up to 12 to power my router but damn Tapo cameras are 9v. Jezus. Imma buy a couple of theses.
Hi, may I ask, how can I connect a type C head cable directly to main power socket without using adapter?
I mean keep the type C header, remove the USB header and connect directly to main power source.
The problem that I'm having is my cheaper electronics don't work with higher power type C cables. So I can't use my laptop type C charger with my head torch type C charger
This is great to know, thanks!
Ooh, not bad! I suck at electronics and if i had to use a bigger battery like the ones you have, I'm sure I'd end up with a house fire too, so this is a good thing to put in the back pocket :P
how do ya get in the know with this stuff for real... very swag...
Oh... my... God! I'm putting this on everything
Wow brilliant!
what about the opposite convert 19v laptop adapter to power delivery
Can you get negative voltages too?
Can i do this for my windows gaming latop ?
Not so sure you can power something at 9v and charge another device. Power banks I've played with seem to go all 5 volts as soon as you connect a second device.
Please correct my ignorance if I am wrong. USB 2.0 or 3.0 are USB standards. PD is charging standard?
When using a pd usbc powerbank as source for say 12v dc output, is it a clean 12v dc as if the three battey cells in series which gives clean dc or it is a boosted 12v which contains some hf noise? . Ref a use case for RF ham radio application. Thanks in advance for an answer, cheers
Cool beans!
Is this really a better solution to power your devices, or are they telling you it's better?
I have a 12v 100w power supply. Can I add an electronic board to convert this 12v power supply to a pd usb c 5-20v power supply? If yes, what is the convert board called. (note: I noticed the there are dc dc convert around but these dc to dc converter board need manual adjustment for voltage level.)
Very helpful!!!
I'm a bit confused, does that mean you have a 45W powerbank ? 9V x 5A? And if you are running 3 in parallel for slider, tm and camera, does that mean you have a 100W+ powerbank in that form factor?!
In this video:
Power Arc Power Bank
100W
I have a question, about using a usb pd power bank to run a small strip of COB led lights.
These lights have an AC wall adapter that outputs 24v.
I was looking at the usb pd spec and it only goes to 20v.
Do you know of any rechargeable usb pd power banks that output 24v over usb c?
Is there a better solution, than what I’m trying for?
The project I’m working the COB LED light strip to a mask.
You can definitely find 12V version of those strips :) if you MUST use 24V you can try a step-up converter from 20v or find usb-c pd trigger boards for the newer 38v(?) I think, and use a voltage regulator to bring it back down to 24v. But those new higher voltages are rarer as the spec is a bit newer.
Hi. I'm from England & will be renting an RV in the US. I need a usb connector (C I believe) with an extension that will take all usb sizes but that will also take a British 3 point plug. Is there anything on the market?
What about the other way? From DC to USB PD?
sorry, mybe im too tired, but is this just kind of a step up/buck converter that stays inside the PD specs? or it transfers the optional higher voltages of PD to the target device? funny thing is i just ordered a bunch of these boards from aliexpress, but minde were descibed as charging circuits for lion cells... whats up with that? bit confused right now...
No. USB PD supplies can provide multiple voltages. The boards he is talking about take care of the handshake to negotiate the voltage with the supply.
The headache-inducing problem with type-c connectors is when the device natively using it doesn't support PD😂
could this work to charge my ebike with usb c?
How do you know what voltage rhe chip outputs?
Well well well, it seems i have found the thing i need for all my projects now. Do you have any idea in how to make a multi powersupply unit that can deliver power from all the batteries to power hungry things like lighting or just function as one big battery for things you want to charge in remote areas? meaning that it does not communicate just on voltage, but does what the charger does(modulate the voltage). Do i have to jerryrig cables to a board that delivers the max voltage to a board that delivers it onto an inverter of some kind? like 12 volt from all units spearately to a controller based on available draw? and just use an inverter that is like 12V 600W max and then do like a regular outlet to deliver it to whatever i need?
A have very specific needs, but i am willing to jank this to make it work. I am trying to use all of my powersupplies without having to buy, as you say, expensive work arounds or batteries that cost... lets be honest much more than they are worth "coughing in Millwaukee". I do a lot of filming and working in a place without lights and i need to keep power to all units. I have issues with keeping lights on and i struggle to find a solution, since i am not a rich man, so i try to find things that work in the way you have. Do you have any advice in how to construct a multi powerbank board into something that can deliver variable voltage you want on the other end. Im trying to see if i can power my survaillance system over longer periods of time with several powerbanks instead of 1 extremely expensive one.
thank you for reading my word vomit!
Hmm what about a USB-C 20V 5A trigger board, and then a regular potentiometer (if you need to adjust output on the fly) or different pre-set voltage regulators that could step it down for you to 5 or 12V that you need. That way you'd be within USB-C PD spec and have at least 100W of power available to you.
As for connecting many power banks in parallel to improve capacity - I'm not sure if just connecting a couple of such circuits to the same voltage regulators be enough. Maybe, if the power banks would be "smart enough" and not try to charge from one another? In any case it's a bit complicated once you start adding batteries in parallel due to uneven charge, internal resistance and what not.
The only ones that are available in my country have all of the volts available. The instructions say "select the needed voltage by short circuiting the corresponding solder pads". I'm new to this so I don't understand what it means. Could you or anyone here explain the process?
A USB-C power bank, is well, a less temperamental bank of Li-ION batteries with a USB-C port. Not as bad as LiPO batteries, but will still get mad if you stab it.