this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2024
16 points (94.4% liked)
Ask Electronics
3316 readers
1 users here now
For questions about component-level electronic circuits, tools and equipment.
Rules
1: Be nice.
2: Be on-topic (eg: Electronic, not electrical).
3: No commercial stuff, buying, selling or valuations.
4: Be safe.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I have done this using a usbc power bank explicitly rated to 20v. You only need a usbc power delivery trigger (which are not expensive).
I used diodes from a washing machine to drop from 20v to about 18.8v in my case. These dissipate quite a bit of heat so my cable has an extra metal plate as heatsink. I would put the diodes in the middle of the cable if I'd make it again. It is good for keeping it topped up as the current is lower and the heat stays lower too.
If your powerbank has full power delivery support(it probably doesnt) then you can request voltages in 1/10v increments. This is very cool but you need a chip that communicates in your cable.
I totally forgot about that :P That would be great indeed.
The PD trigger board may be much more involved/expensive though and I have not seen any budget battery banks supporting it. One can dream.
I expect consuming devices to adapt themselves to the three or four commonly provided voltages for the foreseeable future.