← Back to context

Comment by addaon

9 days ago

Why use the original power bricks, with the space claim and awful routing, instead of just going to a single dc/dc... either directly if no individual power control is needed, or to a relay block or switch block if automated / manual individual control is needed?

13 comments

addaon

Reply
niteshade  5 days ago

I bought an 800w GaN USB-C charger from AliExpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009093660588.html) and a handful of USB-C to barrel jack adapters. They're powering 2 EliteDesk G2s (35W) and 2 EliteDesk G3s (65W); not had any trouble so far though the GaN charger does run a bit hot (which I resolved by putting a fan under the charger).

Admittedly I can't be sure of the long-term reliability of the GaN charger, but its been running problem-free for over a year now.

grandinj  6 days ago

One option is to stick a mini-UPS in-between the wall the devices. Such a thing is internally a handful of lithium cells and some DC outputs.

For powering a handful of things that consume less than 100W they are quite useful because they typically provide 2 or 3 DC outputs, and replace between 2 and 4 power bricks.

They also provide an hour or two of backup, quite useful in my country where the power sometimes goes out for a bit.

The downside is that I cant find decent ones in my country, and so I end up replacing mine every 2-3 years.

louwrentius  9 days ago

I haven’t found a solution for a single DC power supply I can connect to the systems. Maybe I have to solder something together myself.

  • hydrogen7800  6 days ago

    Man, I spent a lot of time looking for something like this when i bought my NAS and got annoyed with all the power bricks. Guitar players use them[0] to power their several guitar pedals, but the polarity, voltage and plug form factors are all the same, as far as I know. The various devices i have use slightly different plugs, polarities and i think not all are 12VDC.

    I'm very surprised that nothing like this exists in the tech/IT space. There can't be that many form factors, voltages, etc. to deal with.

    [0] I think something like this: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=600062

    • doubled112  6 days ago

      Most guitar pedals are 9V DC but not all.

      Some are 12v. Some will take 18v. I have an oddball that takes 9V AC. Some are 9V DC but flip the positive and negative. It can be a mess too.

      The product you link to has outlets for 9V, 12V and 18V.

      If you stuck to one PC manufacturer, I’d imagine you could have your wish. Dell laptops were the same 19V and same DC pin for years and years.

      I thought USB-C PD would save us but it has a few pitfalls, apparently.

      1 reply →

  • addaon  8 days ago

    Meanwell is the standard answer for this sort of thing; something in the SD-500 family or sized/optioned as you need. You'll have to do the connectors yourself; you may be able to find junction-post-to-barrel-plug leads of the right size and length off the shelf, but I'd be surprised, and soldering them would take less time than shopping for them.

  • briHass  6 days ago

    An old PC ATX power supply is great for most things that use 5/12V. You get the 2 most common voltages for network gear, with plenty of capacity and efficiency (with a decent PSU.)

    You do have to solder, though I wouldn't be surprised if one can find sata power to barrel adapters on AliExpress.

    • swed420  6 days ago

      They make breakout boards that mate with the main ATX motherboard connector on the PSU. Bonus that some of them even include fuses.

      And at that point, why not just chop up an old ATX case to house everything, assuming there's clearance.