USB to DC cable, is this possible?

[BeBuLamar]

If you can have the plug that plug into the camera then I simply just use 2 cells Li-Ion.

[nfsmaster]

The Trigger board I got can do 12v, could I just get a 8v regulator and that would work or do I need to get a different board? Thanks for the recommendation.

That´s the way I would go. Take the 12V trigger board with an adjustable buck converter. Should be working fine and is more efficient than everything else.

Do you have a recommendation for a Converter, I am finding a lot online, some with just adjustable Voltage, and some with adjustable Voltage and Amps.

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-5-3V-32V-Regulator-Transformer/dp/B078Q1624B/ref=sr_1_7?crid=25BBJHEOPPVM5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bcst-xXQU27Vt8yy-pUyye6G2UpeShBdnR7vcK-jb6sDexBraLAllE8dKvJZMoMQoFJNmqJ9qpKOhFIhUhOcz6Kc7YLTSybeV6oXSD6tmQvX_IORDm9FWt5TjIu1U0o-Iryo5Je2mk67CSv0Q6Clr9rihAsy1tH56wH6EzzP0pPNSYyMWLvv3w7wWZFZ6Q7HAHJZmIYjovtXY7rQ9ugOsqBrPUdWgSI9FEMMGI9imoHZboIlUpntddPxsVsteUhyHcd54HP9E9i9tJM6iuCJYMaliuEIupb1SSTALuz8mbk.n9-PbvZ7TQKIwiLXBebpzYl45LESuKEpsJ03Mj-BGHo&dib_tag=se&keywords=adjustable%2Bbuck%2Bconverter&qid=1721870232&sprefix=adjustable%2Bbuck%2Bconverter%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-7&th=1

I see this one by DROK, is that a reputable one? I like the idea of being able to adjust both the Voltage and Amps.

Also with bringing this to Car shows and I live in FL,US. would I need to add more heat sinks, cause its gets pretty toasty, and I know these boards dont play very nice with heat. Or with the voltage and amps im running it would be low enough it will last long enough for me to use it for a while then be able to change cameras, then come back to it?

Thanks Everyone in advance.

[nfsmaster]

If you can have the plug that plug into the camera then I simply just use 2 cells Li-Ion.

That might work, although I dont really want to create my own battery, I already own too many portable ones. Thanks Though.

[Phil1977]

I see this one by DROK, is that a reputable one? I like the idea of being able to adjust both the Voltage and Amps.

Also with bringing this to Car shows and I live in FL,US. would I need to add more heat sinks, cause its gets pretty toasty, and I know these boards dont play very nice with heat. Or with the voltage and amps im running it would be low enough it will last long enough for me to use it for a while then be able to change cameras, then come back to it?

Thanks Everyone in advance.

Yes, this should do for experimenting. It´s nice to see the input and output values on these converters. The one from "DROK" is just a rebrand of some part you get even cheaper directly from Aliexpress - but at least it has some acrylic housing and it´s quickly delivered by amazon.

For the power consumption of a digital camera it should be more than fine with the equipped heatsinks.

Be careful with the current setting of these things. It´s often extremely slow, it may be suited to charge batteries or drive LEDs but it´s no replacement for a lab grade supply. It can be dangerous to short circuit though it´s overcurrent protected.

For the everydays use cable I´d take something without "On-Off"-button and without display. But it seems a good idea to take the one with the display to see how much power you really need and if everything is working and then go for a smaller one.

[nfsmaster]

Alright, I have the converter on order should be here tomorrow or Saturday. But I did not stop the order for the diodes, so I wanted to test out my skills on a board atleast.

So I soldered the diode to the positive side with the anode toward the board, and I am only managing to get .7 Volts out of the board. I have the battery I want to use plugged in and it gives out 9V, but after the diode it only gives .7, am I missing something?

Also this is just me testing the board I got and wanting to see how all this stuff works. Not the final product.

[ataradov]

While stripe on the diode is a cathode. You are observing a Vf = 0.7 V.

[Kim Christensen]

Your diode is backwards.

[nfsmaster]

Your diode is backwards.

Yes thank you, didn't really know how they go so I just looked something up and I probably should've added "In series" to the search. But it does work, but it only drops it by .1V so we are getting somewhere. Not sure if the diode is wrong or if I did something wrong. but at least it is something.

[ataradov]

Voltage drop will go up with the load. This is one of the disadvantages of this method compared to the proper regulator. At the same time, the way original one is specified, makes me think, the actual voltage does not matter that much.

And you will be within +/-10%, which is what products are mostly designed to tolerate.

[Kim Christensen]

Well, if you used this diode that would explain it. That's because it's a Schottky diode which typically has a lower forward drop than a plain old silicon diode.
ie: 0.2-0.45V for a Schottky vs 0.6-0.8V of a silicon diode is typical.

As ataradov mentioned, the voltage drop will increase with current draw so it's not perfect. In this case a silicon diode, with it's higher Vf, would have been a better choice. Put a small load on there and you'll see more of a drop across the diode. A meter by itself hardly loads it at all.

[nfsmaster]

I see how this diode work, something I definitely didnt know.

But I did get the Adjustable buck converter, and I got it to work, turned it down to 8V and managed to not fry the camera, it took pictures just fine and the pictures saved fine to the card. I noticed that the camera would pull between 1.3 - 1.5 Amps.

Anyone have suggestions for any premade boards, I am finding a lot of those online, or parts that I would need to get 8V with 2A?

[ataradov]

Premade boards for what specifically? From what you are describing, you seem to have everything you need.

[BeBuLamar]

If you can have the plug that plug into the camera then I simply just use 2 cells Li-Ion.

That might work, although I dont really want to create my own battery, I already own too many portable ones. Thanks Though.

So you don't want to build a power pack then what do you intend to use as power source? If you are going to use a power unit with USB then you would need to build the voltage converter which is more involved than a battry pack.

[nfsmaster]

Premade boards for what specifically? From what you are describing, you seem to have everything you need.

Yeah it works great, was just thinking of something a bit smaller as I see a lot of boards online that are smaller than the whole setup, but if it works it works

[ataradov]

You can link those boards you see and we can tell if they would work.

[nfsmaster]

https://www.amazon.com/HiLetgo-Step-down-Converter-1-25-37V-Voltmeter/dp/B00LSEBYHU/
https://www.amazon.com/LM2596-Converter-3-0-40V-1-5-35V-Supply/dp/B08NV3JCBC/
https://www.amazon.com/Converter-DROK-Regulator-Inverter-Transformer/dp/B01NALDSJ0/

These are just a few quick ones I saw, I am seeing a bunch that are all the same. Also I know im using amazon, kinda a time person and dont mind paying for it already in the US instead of waiting.

[ataradov]

What do you use now if those are "compact"?

LM2596 one is very common and generally works. The others are way too complicated and big.

[nfsmaster]

What do you use now if those are "compact"?

LM2596 one is very common and generally works. The others are way too complicated and big.

The Drok board from earlier is currently what im using, but if that is considered small in the electronics world then maybe ill just stick with that. Ill have to figure out some type of container to put it in for me to bring it around.

[ataradov]

Well, obviously any board with a display and controls would be big.

I assumed you've already got LM2596, since this is the first things you will find when searching for buck DC-DC converters. This board is reasonably small and will fit into a small box along with the PD trigger. Definitely get that over the display one.

The only thing that could get much smaller is a custom board.

[Phil1977]

What do you use now if those are "compact"?

LM2596 one is very common and generally works. The others are way too complicated and big.

LM2596 is a good choice for these things. Just be aware there are lots of fake LM2596 on boards you get at amazon or aliexpress. Usually they work while idle, they only deliver around 1 instead of 3 amps and if you check the switching frequency then it´s far off the LM2596s fixed 150kHz value.