MiSTer USB-C Power Delivery dongle by d0pefish

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

MiSTer USB-C Power Delivery dongle
Clean up some cable mess and replace your weird "lamp" style switch with this USB-C power delivery dongle. This simple and inexpensive design lets you use modern USB Power Delivery compliant phone/laptop chargers with your MiSTer.
This is only for MiSTers that use TWO DC barrels for power.
This design will only work for MiSTers with the DC barrels approximately 16.5mm apart (distance from centre pin to centre pin).
⚠⚠ You MUST have basic electronics knowledge and soldering experience to assemble this. ⚠⚠
⚠⚠ No responsibility will be taken whatsoever if you fry your MiSTer or related accessories with this design. ⚠⚠
Parts needed
1x ZY12PDN USB-C PD module.
1x Canal MR5-110-F5 on/off rocker switch.
2x male DC barrel plugs with the plastic screw-on sheaths removed.
Mine were generic from eBay and happened to have a 6mm diameter, 1.5mm wide "slot" that the case is designed to grip. Other DC barrel plugs may vary.

4x M2x8mm self-tapping screws.
Some short lengths of wire; make sure it's a reasonable gauge (not too thin).
Tools needed
Soldering iron.
Wire cutters and strippers.
Multimeter.
Small file.
Assembly
Trim the large negative (outer) solder terminals on the DC barrel connectors down to about 2mm to create short "tabs" to solder onto.
Solder two wires onto one of the rocker switch poles. Solder the other ends of the wires onto the positive (inner) terminals of the DC barrels.
Solder the other rocker switch pole to the positive hole on the ZY12PDN.
Solder wires between each of the negative (outer) barrel connector terminals and the negative hole on the ZY12PDN.
Snap the switch into the bottom (larger) half of the case, and snap the PCB into the support rails. You can route wires above and below the PCB.
Place the DC barrels into their cutouts in the case. Ensure there are no shorts!
Snap the top half of the case over the assembly for a test-fit. If you can't fully squeeze the case together flush, use a file to carefully remove material from the DC barrel cutout until you get a perfect fit.
Screw together with the 4 self-tapping screws. Ensure everything is secure and well-gripped.
Testing
Note that the ZY12PDN can be set to output a range of voltages. It MUST be set to output 5V, and NO HIGHER or you risk KILLING YOUR MISTER!
The LED on the ZY12PDN should always be RED for 5V.
Connect a USB-PD compatible charger to the USB-C port. Use a multimeter to verify that 5V is present on both of the barrel connectors. Make sure that the centres of the barrels are positive, and the outsides are negative.
If the voltage is higher than 5V (e.g. 9V, 12V or more), refer to this guide to learn how to program the ZY12PDN correctly.
⚠⚠ Do NOT connect the device to your MiSTer until you are 100% certain that voltage is correct AND the polarity is correct on BOTH DC BARRELS. ⚠⚠
Conclusion
Congratulations! You now have a neat way of powering your MiSTer.
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