So I’ve been interested in Eurorack, specifically Intellijel modules, for several years, and I’ve played around with some friend’s racks. But recently I finally started planning for real, with an actual budget and actually considering things like depth/power draw. Apparently those little numbers at the bottom of Modulargrid actually serve functions. Who would have imagined?
Anyways, I spent the last few weeks revising, revising, revising my ideal first layout (you can view it hereEdit: no, actually here. One more small revision.) and I was finally satisfied. The only thing left to do before I debated on what to buy first and how much to save up first was to check those pesky numbers. Power was good compared to the specs for the TPS80w (black panel) which comes with the case; although it was getting close to the limit on the +12v rail, I know some of the modules have an internal jumper that allows them to pull from the +5v rail, and I would probably be fine. Depth wasn’t an issue, as I’d originally been planning a palette case before I ran out of room. Price was what it was. Then I saw it, and my heart skipped a beat:
Number of Modules: 25
When I frantically switched over to the Intellijel site, I discovered that the 84hp case only powers up to 20 modules. The manual for the power supply claims that you can chain the power boards, as long as your power supply is rated for that amount of wattage. I was going to just get a TPS30mini separately and join them, except I saw in another thread that you guys will probably not be making those anymore.
Would I still be able to purchase a TPS30mini, or are all the power boards in the TPS30 series discontinued? (I know the 30max is discontinued, but I don’t need that many power connections anyway, and I’m not certain about the 30mini)
If I were to get another power board such as the 30mini, would I need a 110- (or 120-) watt supply, or would I be able to get away with using the 90-watt power supply that comes with the TPS80? To phrase that question another way, when you’re chaining power supplies from the same power entry, do you need a power supply rated for the total wattage of the combined boards, or only the amount used by the modules?
What other suggestions do you guys have for ways to power those extra 5 modules? I don’t really want to use a flying bus board, but I will if I have to.
The third option is not ideal but the most practical in your case. Just try to connect those modules with the lowest power requirements and you should be fine. Some modules in your case might turn out to be hard or impossible to find (Bard, SSSR) so don’t worry too much until you’re actually in that situation.
To answer your question #2: you only need to provide the amount of power your modules actually consume.
No worries regarding the power limit. The TPS80W has 3000mA on the +12V rail, so you’re not even at half. Maybe you’re getting it mixed up with the TPS30W?
XY is passive so that module will not draw power, meaning you would need 24 headers.
Note that it’s not recommended to chain different power boards. TPS80Ws should only be chained with more TPS80Ws. I think using a flying bus cable is probably your best solution. Or you could upgrade to a 104 and get more headers!
Another thing worth adding is that creating a case layout before you start buying modules is a good idea, but it often becomes a moving target. You’ll probably find as you start adding modules that your plan for the system evolves over time as it comes together.
I wasn’t worried about the amperage, but the manual for the power boards was unclear on the wattage requirement for the power supply when chaining boards. @polymute was able to answer that question for me. You might want to update the manuals for the power boards, as it was a little unclear on that issue. In addition, I never knew that
or that
The manuals never mentioned that at all.
*sigh* Fine. It feels like a super clunky solution, especially compared to the simple understated elegance of the black power boards, but I guess it’s a small price to pay for functionality.
I’m not really ready to have such a big case yet, but I did notice that the old green TPS80Ws filled almost all of the bottom row, while the new generation black board ones only fill around 2/3 of the bottom row. Would it be possible to get a board that fits in the 84hp case and provides a few more headers? I don’t think the fullsize 104hp power board would fit, but maybe a sort of meet-in-the-middle approach?
If this space is temporarily filled with 2hp modules, there is also this slightly-less-clunky variant on the flying concept available in two or four. I had trouble getting them to work with any other brand of module because there is no usable slack between connectors. They are set up for 2hp brand
