Hi all, apologies if this question has already been asked. I tried reaching out to Intellijel on twitter but didn’t get a reply so thought I would try here.
I want to power my newly acquired 4U Palette with a battery pack. Today, I do that for my 4ms Pod48X using a RAVPower 26800mAh with Power Delivery support over USB-C battery (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LRQDAEI) and an associated Cablecc USB 3.1 USB-C to DC 20V 5.5x2.5mm trigger (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PBG4GY6) - and it works great.
I noticed, however, that the palette wants 15V rather than 20V, but I’m wondering what the actual rating is. I did actually try and power the case with my 20V trigger and it works, but I’m worried it might be hard on the case, and perhaps even overclocking (?) the modules.
I guess what I’m asking is:
What’s the input power rating for the case power supply, i.e. is 20V acceptable? (the actual one inside the case, not the power adapter that comes with the palette)
alternatively, does anybody know how to get a 15V trigger instead? for the life of me I can’t find one, even though they should be supported by the Power Delivery standard.
According to this video I watched there are PD trigger boards available (link in description) that let you set the voltage to 15V (and if done properly they will remember it for the next startup). Haven’t tried them myself; just sharing something I’ve heard of.
The step-down converter used in the case power supply claims to be able to work with up to a 25V input. But we have not tested this extensively, and we can’t guarantee it will work without problem with anything but the power bricks we ship the cases with.
Running at a higher input voltage won’t result in a higher output voltage so there should be no harm to your modules, but the power supply will be less efficient since it has to step down from 20V to 12V instead of from 15V to 12V. There will be more heat generated.
I would try to find a 15V power delivery, unless you’re interested in stress testing our power supply
Thanks for sharing! I’ve seen those custom triggers too, but honestly with the price of my eurorack I’m a little concerned about using bare PCBs produced by random companies. Might look into making my own trigger specifically for 15V.
The technology in this realm is moving really quickly, so new products are popping up and dropping off the radar all the time.
The input power rating for the Palette Power Board is 15 - 18 V. It’s written on the board, but it’s impossible to see once it’s installed in the case.
Just in case someone comes by this post in the future, I ended up going for the Krisdonia 25000mAh battery with a manual DC out option. It’s <100watt, so at least at time of writing, you’re allowed to travel with it (in your carry-on!).
I haven’t done any rigorous testing yet, but with my palette consuming 737 mA (I suspect it’s slightly higher than that, since the top row is listed as not drawing any current), It seems like I get around 10 hours from one charge, as it drops ~10%/hr. I’m a little surprised it’s that not higher, but perhaps it’s because the Krisdonia is outputting 16V. Even at 10hr/charge I’m happy since it’s just to liberating to be portable.
As for the warning, I’m not sure there’s a warning as such, but there’s a battery indicator on the battery that is constantly visible (0-100%).
hey! I’m about to pull the trigger on one of these but I’m a little confused on how to convert from the DC output to the input of my palette. Do I get one with a 3 pin output built in?
Hey guys ,
Im new here and to modular…i have the 4u pallette and am in europe (uk) i use a uk to usa plug adaptor to connect my case.
What would be a suitable portable power supply that i can use…ive read this thread but im not sure if the suggestions would work with my setup? Cheers
