February 29, 20206 yr 4 hours ago, mmacleod said: So between USB-C (5v/9v/15v/20v) and PoE (48v) we already have two complementary standards that can cover most needs, the world just hasn't quite realised this yet or caught up to it. Let's see how USB-C catches on. I don't have any equipment with it built in but looks like the next one I buy will have. I see they intend it to power screens etc. It's clearly a big development from the previous versions (which had 4 cables: 2 for data and 2 for power)
February 29, 20206 yr Have a look at this article from The Economist published 6 years ago.. This shows how long it takes for a new standard to establish itself (even with no competition!) https://www.economist.com/international/2013/10/19/edisons-revenge
March 1, 20206 yr 18 hours ago, Richard Mackay said: Have a look at this article from The Economist published 6 years ago.. This shows how long it takes for a new standard to establish itself (even with no competition!) Reminds me of the following XKCD webcomic 🙂
March 1, 20206 yr Intel were the inventors of the USB and I guess being as big as they are/were they could drive the development. They wanted a standard to communicate to all peripherals so whose going to disagree. They design and make the I/O chips (bundled in the main CPU perhaps?) But I see Wiki attribute the final nod to the USB Implementer's Forum so the other parties could add their input as well..
March 1, 20206 yr 9 hours ago, NigelL said: Reminds me of the following XKCD webcomic 🙂 If I recall, the alternate "text over" said something about how at least mini-USB is standard now... or is it micro!? <insert expletive>...
March 15, 20206 yr Somewhat related to this discussion, and also a long time coming:https://www.pcworld.com/article/3518831/how-intels-changing-the-future-of-power-supplies-with-its-atx12vo-spec.amp.html
March 15, 20206 yr Good to see there's still development on the PC. Clearly there's still a future for it and won't be replaced by a 'mobile device'!
March 19, 20206 yr On 2020/02/29 at 4:55 PM, Richard Mackay said: Let's see how USB-C catches on. I just got a new Lenovo notebook PC. The external power supply is via USB-C. Though it doesn't have any other USB-C ports (and very few regular USB ports). It strikes me that in the future they'll have to go back to a proprietary power input or find a way to differentiate the USB-C ports. Or allow power input on any such. The last two phones I've had, and my bluetooth headphones/walk 'n talk have USB-C and it's great. You now no longer need minimum 3 tries to get it the right way up.
March 21, 20206 yr On 2020/03/19 at 10:45 AM, Bobster said: I just got a new Lenovo notebook PC. The external power supply is via USB-C. Though it doesn't have any other USB-C ports (and very few regular USB ports). It strikes me that in the future they'll have to go back to a proprietary power input or find a way to differentiate the USB-C ports. Or allow power input on any such. For the enthusiasts here's an article on USB-C https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/introduction-to-usb-type-c-which-pins-power-delivery-data-transfer/ This elaborates on the intelligence built into the standard. The dynamic assignment of the pins I find fascinating (but I'm not planning on making up these cables in my workshop!) Edited March 21, 20206 yr by Richard Mackay
January 27, 20215 yr The mini UPS concept is great but these offerings don't indicate what the battery capacity is.. Also they are built with the same design as power banks: All batteries are connected in parallel and they use a boost DC-DC converter to increase the voltage to 5/12 V
January 27, 20215 yr 26 minutes ago, Richard Mackay said: The mini UPS concept is great but these offerings don't indicate what the battery capacity is.. Also they are built with the same design as power banks: All batteries are connected in parallel and they use a boost DC-DC converter to increase the voltage to 5/12 V It actually does, the site states that it is a 8800mAh Lithium Polymer Battery. It's not bad, but not as extensible like the Ratel 860P (with PoE and which is 2.5x the price but more than double the capacity). Another interesting contender in this space is the Ultralan Micro UPS https://vanilla.co.za/hardware/ultralan-micro-ups-datasheet.pdf that has similar capacity to the Ratel and similarly priced.
January 27, 20215 yr Thanks for the info. I couldn't get onto the site... So 8800 mAh will be 4 cells in parallel. The nominal voltage is 3.7 V so the capacity is 33 Wh (assuming no losses with the DC-DC boost converter..) Have a look at this: https://pupups.co.za/ The battery is a 7Ah SLA which has a capacity of 84 Wh (and no DC-DC converter for 12V loads)
January 28, 20215 yr 10 hours ago, Richard Mackay said: Thanks for the info. I couldn't get onto the site... So 8800 mAh will be 4 cells in parallel. The nominal voltage is 3.7 V so the capacity is 33 Wh (assuming no losses with the DC-DC boost converter..) Have a look at this: https://pupups.co.za/ The battery is a 7Ah SLA which has a capacity of 84 Wh (and no DC-DC converter for 12V loads) Interesting. Any indication of what the Pup UPS costs? We also need to be very wary about misleading capacity specifications as uncovered by MyBroadband 2 years ago. It seems that one should always try to stick to a reputable manufacturer. https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gadgets/329761-beware-fake-power-banks-for-sale-in-south-africa.html
January 28, 20215 yr The 7A SLA battery is the same battery that is used for alarms & gate operators etc. In this size it's the best value you can get. (A smaller SLA battery costs the same!) Remember that this is a customised product. The plugs & voltages of your setup are specifically catered for..
January 29, 20215 yr On 2021/01/28 at 8:32 AM, YellowTapemeasure said: Interesting. Any indication of what the Pup UPS costs? We also need to be very wary about misleading capacity specifications as uncovered by MyBroadband 2 years ago. It seems that one should always try to stick to a reputable manufacturer. https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gadgets/329761-beware-fake-power-banks-for-sale-in-south-africa.html Maybe we should have a 'shoot out' to see if these contenders can deliver on their promises.. To make it more exciting It needs to have at least one other (reputable) contender at the same price. Agreed??
January 29, 20215 yr 42 minutes ago, Richard Mackay said: Maybe we should have a 'shoot out' to see if these contenders can deliver on their promises.. To make it more exciting It needs to have at least one other (reputable) contender at the same price. Agreed?? Sounds like a plan...
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