Powering the VIM3

VIM3
21

I think this is the connector:
https://octopart.com/36920-0400-molex-103263901

22

Thanks @Gouwa
So Pin 3&4 is GND and 1&2 is 12V… is it safe for a 2A supply- considering 24W or power.
Also if you power the VIM3L board by the VIN connector, can the USB C port be then used for data, say if you plug in a USB C OTG drive ?

23

Hello, The Khadas Shop offers a VIN-to-VIN cable. This is normally used with the M2X extension board, however, if you are a DIYer, you could modify it by splicing it to a power supply. Enough connectors on one cable for two DIY PS.:slightly_smiling_face:

VIN-toVIN
VIN-toVIN837×320 21.1 KB

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24

Yes, can.

Cannot, as the USB-C share the same power connection with VIN. the 12V voltage will fire your computer!

It only works if your supply the VIN as 5V voltage.

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25

Ohh… . so if you power the board with 12V thro VIN, there is also 12V across the USB C port, which can fry any device that is connected to it.

So the safer options are

  1. Power the board by :- VIN 5V 4.8A
    or
  2. Power the board by USB C: 5V ~ 12V power supply.
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26

Actually, 5V 2A should works out, the VIM3L and Tone Board will not take too much power consumption in most use case.

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27

Is 5V2A adapter enough to run Android on Vim3, i did use it and didn’t have any problems with it?

28

Yes it should be fine as long as you don’t connect and usb hard-drive to power it from vim usb.

29

So I can power the VIM3 and Tone Board with 12 volt through VIN on VIM3?

30

Anyone? Please.

Donanon

31

Yes, you can power on VIM3 with 12 volt through VIN

32

Thanks Terry.
So the 12 volts into VIN on VIM3 will also power the Tone Board?

33

Yes, the VIM3 will power the Tone Board via it’s GPIO with 5V output.

Have fun!

34

I guess if you power the VIM on 12V via VIN connector, make sure you do not plug in any USB drive in the USB A ports. 12V will fry the USB. If I am correct?

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35

USB-A no problem, USB-C very bad problem…

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36

This has become very confusing, I am now trying to determine if the VIN connector NOT the USB-C can accept some variation on 12v I am building a power supply but it will drift some, likely 9v to 12.6v or a little higher.
The drift is due to battery discharge/charge variations. When the power supply is charging its batteries it will be via common charge/output, so 12.6v but when the system runs off battery, it will drop to as low as 9v before low voltage cut off to protect the cells.

Is this ok on the VIN pins?

37

Hello, VIN and USB-C power feed the same line to the DC-to-DC converters, according to the schematic. Can also be seen in this post above.
This would lead me to believe any input from 5v-20v on USB-C or VIN should be OK, as long as it is 2 amps or greater.
Not sure if the same voltage applied to VIN is also present on the USB-C’s power pin, so caution before plugging in USB-C connected devices when powering the VIM3 over VIN.

1 Like
38

good points, but I wish the design team would chime in :frowning:

These things are a bit pricy to take risks with!!

39

Why would they regulate that the device can run on 5-20 volts but then not regulate the USB connectors?

Fallow me? you regulate what comes in but then blow anything you plug into the USB plugs makes no sense to me

What is the voltage out on the stock Khadas battery?

40

the stock battery is 7.4 V

see it is designed that way because of the USB PD standard (which has a variety of Voltage/Amp combos to deliver optimal power to the device, the USB c is an OTG port so remember it can also behave as a host and deliver power and so it is connected to the VIN input,
each design has its own ups and downs, incase of this design the downside is that you have to modify the voltage/current output when device is connected to the port
hope you understood :slight_smile: