12V PD Adaptor

[Potr]

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.

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.

[x0x]

Seems to work fine

[Potr]

Wow! Looks very tidy

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.

[Potr]

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.

[djst]

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?

[avantronica]

@avantronica

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

20W is fine

[x0x]

@avantronica

20W is fine

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.

[djst]

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

[djst]

Is this the correct size?

[avantronica]

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

[x0x]

This is the one I have, only £15 on Amazon. You get about 3 hours power on Syntakt

TOPK Power Bank, 20W PD QC 3.0 USB C Fast Charging 10000mAh Portable Charger, 3A Quick Charge with LED Display PowerBank for Cellphones and Tablets [2022 Version] https://amzn.eu/d/2up6wuC

[Potr]

My eBay order arrived after about 21 days, not too bad. The plug works as expected. Once plugged into a power bank that can display some info it takes 12v and 0 amps with no load. When connected to the Digitakt it boots up and idles around 0.4 amps. Not bad at all. A very tidy solution that will work with any power bank or charger that can do usb-c pd.

The power bank I used here is pretty nice as it can be opened up and you can put many types of batteries in there and it displays some stats which is nice too. Got it on Amazon for about 15 euro at the time.

[avantronica]

what happens when you don’t have the DC adaptor connected - does the power bank boot up at 5V ?

just curious how the power bank is directed to 12V as opposed to 9 or 5 … i.e. will any 20+W PD power bank work the same (set up 12v) with one of those adaptors ?

and say e.g. you had a 9v pedal on the same connecter dimension, is it theoretically possible to use it at 9 … i.e. are these truly negotiating such that the dumb powered device gets what’s specified on the adaptor packaging ?

I keep seeing PD banks and I’m tempted, but the reliance on 3rd party adaptors makes it less predictable what will happen as they’re designed for PD(smart) devices, which the adaptor may well be !

[Potr]

From what I understand these plugs are programmed to negotiate 1 voltage only. The power bank outputting 12v at 0 amps with no load confirms this for me. These plugs are available in different sizes and with different voltages. You need one that matches the input of the device you want to power.

Yes the power bank defaults to 5 volts, once I connect the plug it switches to 12 volts even with no load. I think inside the plug is a simple chip that pretends to be a device needing 12 volts.

It might be theoretically possible to make a smart version of the plug but I’m not sure how a non-pd enabled device can tell the plug what voltage it needs. The plug would need additional hardware to do some kind of sensing which could be risky on old gear. If the device was compatible with power delivery you wouldn’t need this plug as it can just tell the power bank or charger what voltage it needs.

[avantronica]

Cool, that is clear enough for me - seems like a good solution in fact

May look for a PD powerbank in the BF ‘sales’ - always handy

edit : apologies, i hadn’t clicked through on ebay link photo - it quite clearly shows 12v PD on the body !! - cool

[Potr]

I want to share a heads-up that not all usb-c chargers that support the power delivery standard adhere to that standard. I’ve ordered a few chargers and only one of them could do 12 volt power delivery. The rest did 9 volts max. Make sure to check the specs before ordering and avoid those that don’t specify the different rates not supports. Example specs for a Samsung 25 watts fast charger:

[Choice_Studio]

here is a diy product

dc out put
You could setup any v from 4-25
Max 12a( also could setup to any below 12)

This is much more safe for your beloved machine than those usb cheat cable

[avantronica]

This little product (or its kind) seems to be ideal for a bit more flexibility than those fixed adaptors (which negotiate voltage) - the beauty of this is that the DIY part is trivial and it seems well thought through - cheap (couple of $s) to source on aliexpress etc as are the cables that you’d need to hook up to your DC voltage of choice

Obviously needs the PD power source too

ZY12PDN PD Trigger Board

How to power ANYTHING using USB-C Power Delivery and the ZY12PDN PD Trigger Board

[Punji]

This may sound weird: I just posted on another thread that my screen was briefly flashing back its last contents about 5s after turning off the Syntakt (using the power on/off switch), but I failed to mention that I was using a power bank with a 12V PD cable. Well, I just tried again with the original power adapter and this did not happen! I can’t think of any technical explanation. I even measured the PD cable output voltage and it was stable at 12.18V, whereas the power adapter was at 12.3V. Now I’m afraid that using the power bank could have some adverse effect…