12V PD Adaptor

So I guess you set the Voltage on the powerbank. My understanding of PD is that there’s a negotiation between compatible devices so that you don’t send 12v to a phone expecting 5v

Anyway this raise a question in my mind, given that USB C plugs are reversible, how do you ensure correct polarity … i guess one way won’t work, but I am unfamiliar with the usb C plug pinot and how ‘smart’ it is when inserting in compatible devices.

The way I remember it is Voltage is pushed and Current is drawn, so a device will consume what it needs.

The Syntakt doesn’t need 2A it just needs 1.2ish Max at boot iirc … the digitakt will draw less current , so the spec of 1.67A is fine for both cases … however, let’s assume e.g. the AR draws more so it may not be safe to power that with that powerbank (if needing >1.7A) even though both are specifying 2A 24W PSUs on the rear chassis

I’d be nervous thinking about the solution as power delivery though as it conveys a certain negotiation happens, which can’t with the DT … so taking a laptop supply which can run at 20v 12v 9v 5v and plugging that in could be an issue, it works with my laptop and phone as they are proper PD setup to prevent any issues

No, there’s no voltage selection

It works both ways. I guess the adaptor sorts out the polarity?

It could have active components when powered I guess … linking to the item would be handy in any case for the curious

The PD adaptor has circuitry which negotiates the power bank to deliver 12v. If the power bank doesn’t deliver 12v (a lot of Anker ones are like this), it just won’t work. This is different from the older USB A adaptors which do the conversion themselves.

Amps are a capacity. The device draws what is needed. It could be 12v 1 million amps and it would be okay.

If it works on the syntakt, it should work just fine on the digitakt, since it has less draw.

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I bought it on recommendation from @sinedied

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That’s a nice small adapter! Does it get warm pumping out 1+ amp constantly? I made some step up converters myself using small pcb’s but nothing as small as having it contained in the plug itself. Where did you get yours? I’d like to grab a few for testing purposes.

No it doesn’t seem to get warm at all. I bought it from the link above, took a few weeks to arrive.

Sorry, totally missed you linking to it :aw:

A step up converter is a nice cheap way to power gear from power banks or usb ports. The boards are very cheap and can output any voltage between like 2-20 volts and are usually rated up to 2 amps. They do get warm after a while (not dangerously) but I would like to experiment with power delivery stuff as its a lot smaller and likely more efficient.

As far as I understand the little plug does the negotiating, it tells the power source to give it 12 volts and output that. It should work fine with any power bank/wall wart that can do power delivery.

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I also found some from a different seller, they also offer 5V 3.5x1.35mm which I think should be suitable for the model cycles/samples. The only thing I’m not sure about is how you check they are centre positive?

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004610155858.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.2136WGRLWGRL6K&browser_id=2fa5a057ca3a4b9f99b7598e2fd6d876&aff_trace_key=&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=uchagz7h0eycavyo183ff785f3922f64b7525d6c24&gclid=&pdp_npi=2%40dis!GBP!1.12!0.72!!!1.72!!%400b0a01f816664384223355177e5494!12000029821009293!sea&curPageLogUid=mxSitSOh8XYG&algo_pvid=b23809ee-aac8-4bdf-8461-5cff7c3d60cc

It’s pretty much the universal standard to have the centre positive. I can’t find it mentioned in the listing so if you buy them use a multimeter to verify before plugging it into something.

I saw some on Amazon too but nothing that outputs 12 volts yet. I lack the patience to wait for AliExpress. I’ll keep hunting!

A plug like this should fit in the back of the Digi’s and only needs a usb-c cable + pd compatible power bank or wall wart.

barrel rolls

I did notice the shipping fees differ a lot amongst sellers but the total price for a plug delivered is around $5 – not too bad if you can wait.

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Seems to work fine

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Wow! Looks very tidy :heart:

Now you could add an internal battery pack to the Digitakt (unless you’re in warranty) and get many more hours of playtime without ever needing a power outlet.

I have fitted mine with 3 Samsung INR21700-50E 4900mAh batteries and a little bms board to make my pack and on the pack alone I get over 8 hours of playtime easily.

A decent bms will allow for charging the pack and Digitakt at the same time. So you can use a power bank to charge it up for even more playtime.

I ordered one of these, no clue if the seller is any good or not. It should arrive before the end of the year. Good price + free postage! If it doesn’t arrive I’ll try Ali but my last orders on Ali never arrived so I’m shying away from it for now.

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If I got the theory correctly, the minimum PD delivery wattage for a powerbank needs to be voltage x amps for the device in question, in Syntakt’s case that’s 12V x 2A = 24W.

Is that sufficient? Can you go lower than that? There seem to be many PD-compatible powerbanks that output up to 20W on the usb-c port. Will that cut it too close for the Syntakt or is the 12V/2A spec a bit of an exaggeration to be on the safe side? Has anyone tried with a 20W powerbank and can you confirm if that works with a 12V birdcord?

20W is fine

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Yep, been using mine pictured above for the Syntakt, Digitone and Digitone. I bought a couple more now too, and a couple of 5V’s for the model series.

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Thanks, great info and good to know! That makes purchasing a powerbank a lot easier. :slight_smile:

Is this the correct size?

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It’s the correct barrel specs but i still don’t know how it determines that it needs to set itself as 12V centre positive given that USB-C power delivery involves negotiation which the ST won’t do … but @x0x clearly has the experience of a particular bank which does the job … i’d suggest the powerbank choice still requires some careful due diligence