Develop ultra capacitor power supply and LiFePO4 battery power supply

Thank you for sharing.
Very useful!

Thanks to you too. It helped me re-assess my priorities once I was aware there was a 15.5AWG out in the wild.

I got back to focusing on my primary chain, so I got to remove some items from the Group Buy and use that budget for more Solid Core.

So instead of saving 10% on the Group Buy for a future 2025 project, I got to take advantage of 25% off Neotech with Free Shipping. Unfortunately, no discount on Mundorf.

So I was able to procure Mundorf 15.5AWG for the Q7 "Clean Side" since it's a short connection, the price is justifiable even without a discount.

I recently purchased Neotech Cooper 16AWG this month, but since Neotech Cooper 14AWG is 25% off why not... I can't resist Free Shipping and it's a good deal @25% off.

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https://partsconnexion.com/search?filter.p.product_type=Bulk+Wire+&+Cable&q=mundorf*&type=product

https://partsconnexion.com/search?filter.p.product_type=Bulk+Wire+&+Cable&q=neotech*+solid*&type=product
 
is it possible to use all 10 batteries so that the 3.3 volt batteries have more energy before they need to be recharged?
so far I only use four out of 10

I doubt it. @iancanada recently posted a configuration of six 3.3V:

Six3.3VConfiguration.png


Since I was only aware of four isolated terminals (2 3.3V [J1&J2] and 2 3.3V-13.2V [J3&J4]), I would of assumed four would be the max for 3.3V.

I had no idea there were even terminals (J17, J18) on the side.

Ian, is it possible for more than six 3.3V outputs?
 
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S1 & S3 are where you solder a link to bypass the adjacent fuses for possibly better sound, but some risk.

Greg in Mississippi

The above is part of a post about the PurePi. As for some reason (maybe the presence of a UcConditioner?) my PurePi II's 5A Littelfuse has actually blown, and as it takes some time to replace it (given limited availability in Europe): what does the "some risk" amount to"? Worst case?
Did anyone here bypass it?

I just temporarily bypassed it like this:
1700494190434.png

but am a bit reluctant to start up the streamer...
 
UcPure/UcBalancer troubleshoot case

issue: UcPure in 5V configuration, one of the ultracapacitor can not be charged and always keeps 0V.

Finally the reason was found.
The pins at the back of the UcBalancer PCB touch and break the yellow film of the big capacitor and make a short circuit. Please see the pictures for the issues.

Fix:
Discharged all the ultra capacitors to 0V, cut the UcBalancer connector pins it they are too long, or installed more washers. After that it works fine without any problems.
 

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LiFePo4 Mini 3,3V PWR supply trouble w. switch "S1"

Dear all. Maybe someone is able to help.
Im using a LiFePo4 Mini 3,3V followed by UcConditioner3.3V to power Q7 for my Rpi streamer.

The problem is, that switch "S1" broke - nipple broke off so I can't turn LiFePo4 Mini on/off anymore. :(

The manual says that J4 could be used as an alternative input but switch "S1" has to be in the "off" position. Since "S1" is not switchable anymore I took it off the PCB.
I soldered a 2 pin mini terminal block onto the PCB at position J4 with a new on/off switch.

The trouble is, that the switch has no function. I makes no difference if the switch ist turned "on / off". The minute power is applied - the LiFePo4 ist powered with AC 9V at terminal block "J2" - which I added - "J7" (switched output) has 3,3V present. I even tried with DC 5V on USB connector "J6" (not at the same time).

Since I can't find any shematics (circuit diagram) for LiFePo4 I raise my question for help or a solution here. ;)

Thanx in advance for any hints.

Christian
 
Hello, I would like to know at what voltage the UCPURE MKIII will start charging (threshold voltage) when it is in “protection mode” and set to 5v output configuration. It could be I overlooked this info in the manual but could not find it.

If I know the typical voltage after charging (probably 5v) and the threshold voltage the charger kicks in I know the delta from which I could calculate the amount of energy that is usable between fully charged and start charging. This enables me to calculate the time it can run in “pure mode” in my use case.

I am planning to build a power supply for a PC streamer that uses Jcat USB XE and XE net cards.

Both cards have an external 5v power connection. At the moment I am using a HPEX 300w LPSU to power the PC and both the cards. I want to test if 2 EATON supercapacitors combined with the UCPURE MKIII will improve the sound quality. I did read that the quality of the power supply has big impact on the sound quality when using the Jcat USB XE and XE net cards. But I think the quality of DC power in general is very important for the sound quality in general.

Any advice in using the XL60-3R0308T-R (3.0V) or XL60-2R7308T-R (2,7V) capacitor for my 5V application?
 
LiFePo4 Mini 3,3V PWR supply trouble w. switch "S1"

Dear all. Maybe someone is able to help.
Im using a LiFePo4 Mini 3,3V followed by UcConditioner3.3V to power Q7 for my Rpi streamer.

The problem is, that switch "S1" broke - nipple broke off so I can't turn LiFePo4 Mini on/off anymore. :(

The manual says that J4 could be used as an alternative input but switch "S1" has to be in the "off" position. Since "S1" is not switchable anymore I took it off the PCB.
I soldered a 2 pin mini terminal block onto the PCB at position J4 with a new on/off switch.

The trouble is, that the switch has no function. I makes no difference if the switch ist turned "on / off". The minute power is applied - the LiFePo4 ist powered with AC 9V at terminal block "J2" - which I added - "J7" (switched output) has 3,3V present. I even tried with DC 5V on USB connector "J6" (not at the same time).

Since I can't find any shematics (circuit diagram) for LiFePo4 I raise my question for help or a solution here. ;)

Thanx in advance for any hints.

Christian
Hi Christian

Don’t the “S1” switch have to be in the on position, in order to use the external switch?
I think it is like that on some of Ian other modules…
Before any attempt, what does the manual say?
 
Okay, it's time to wrap things up as I'll be on hiatus until GB2025.

I just finished fine-tuning my chain after receiving GB2023.

The good news is there is no need to replace the 5mm terminals with newer Ian boards as 14AWG solid core wiring fits fine. Again, solid core is low profile and very efficient so this may not apply to traditional strand wiring. I replaced the 5mm terminals in the past because of use case reasons like some needed to be upside down. But the newer boards seems like the soldering is stiff for 5mm terminals and well heat-soldered as it is really difficult to de-solder so it's not worth attempting to de-solder and replace the 5mm terminals IMO. So I recommend leaving the 5mm terminals factory stock.

UcPure2UcBalancer -> Neotech Cooper 12AWG

UcPure/Continuous (Shared, Fuse) Molex 5V OUT Molex -> Neotech Silver 22AWG Custom USB Cable for PWR only
UcPure 5V OUT Terminal (Shared, Fuse) -> Neotech Cooper 14AWG -> StationPiAudioSide 5mm Terminal
UcPure/UcBalancer 5V OUT Molex (Shared, No Fuse) -> Neotech Cooper 22AWG Custom USB Cable

UcPure 3.3V OUT Terminal (Shared, Fuse) -> Mundorf Silver 15.5AWG -> Q7 "Clean Side" 5mm Terminal
UcPure/UcBalancer/Continuous (Shared, Fuse) 3.3V OUT Molex -> Neotech Silver 18AWG -> TransportPi AES 3.3V 5mm terminal

LifePO4 6.6V -> LinearPi 5V -> UcConditioner 5V OUT 5mm Terminal -> Neotech Cooper 14AWG -> StationPiRPiSide 5mm Terminal

LiFePO4 MKIII Flagship 16.5V 5mm Terminal -> Neotech Silver 18AWG -> 5.6448MHz

I can confirm that these Molex connectors can crimp 14AWG Solid Core Wiring. It's rated at 16AWG max for stranded wiring, but since Solid Core is low profile Solid Core has no issues.

There are differing types of Molex that all looks the same, but these seem to be the best quality especially at 16AWG.

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Molex/39-00-0090?qs=jsoPY5EnoNvaHTDWu%2B05sg==

I use Mundorf Silver/Gold solder throughout the chain.

So the chain is fully solid core wiring optimised besides for LiFePO4 MKIII Flagship 16.5V -> Neotech Silver 18AWG -> 5.6448MHz which I plan LiFePO4 MKIII Flagship 16.5V -> Mundorf Silver 15.5AWG -> 5.6448MHz or UcPure 15.5V OUT Terminal (Shared, Fuse) -> Mundorf Silver 15.5AWG -> 5.6448MHz for GB2025.
 
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My UcPure power on/off switch broke too. The switch is still there but it's flushed with the PCB, so luckily I was able to use a small screwdriver to turn in on and off again. The UcPure is legacy, one of the first ones produced so I guess it was fragile. The newer UcPures have a on/off dip switch and now I know the reason why.

I tried a external power on/off switch, but no luck. I'm giving up until the Summer to work on this since it's very, very low priority, but for the UcPure the power on/off switch is suppose to be off.

J4.png


So I recommend double-checking to see if the power switch is still there, but flushed. You can possibly dig in with a small screwdriver. If it works, it is much easier to troubleshoot and possibly glue a switch together as a last resort.

I have not tried daisy-chaining power supplies. For instance, you can turn on one power supply that links to other power supplies and they all turn on/off at the same time. Since I'm not sure if you can add an external on/off control switch to the UcConditioner.
 
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On a non-related Power but Optimisation issue, I'm happy to report I'm RPi5-ready as my Audiophile OS is freshly installed after implementing GB2023.

Once I receive the RPi5, I can just physically replace the RPi4 and install a new RPi5 realtime low latency kernel and I should get 4-5X the low latency performance than with the RPi4 @ 2.8GHz RPi5 CPU. I was hoping 3GHz, but I'm good @ 2.8GHz.

I dedicate CPU cores 1, 2 and 3 just for Audio so the osnoise test looks nice. CPU core 0 is for general OS tasks. Then I'll really be done until GB2025.

al.png
 
Hey everyone,
This my first post here. I have the LifePO4 mini 3.3V with UcConditioner connected to a low power consuming device ~1.5W (@5V).

For powering the LifePO4 I tried to use three different PD GaN USB wall chargers for efficiency reasons. The LifePO4 won't power up with them. Normal non-PD charger with only 5V works fine.
I suspect that the inrush current is not exceeded or that the protocol negotiation is not working properly to bring the wall charger out of sleep mode.
Is this a known behavior? Is there a workaround?
I'm considering to take a Mean Well GSM12E05-usb. It has 60mVp-p ripple & noise and 5% voltage tolerance. This is hopefully better than standard psu, like I use now, but certainly noisier than a LPSU. Yes that matters for me a bit, as the LifePO4 mini is switching to protection/charging mode during my listening sessions.
Are there any opinions on the Mean Well charger?