Modifying a USB hub for extra power and "I did it!" showoff thread

TheNerdyType

jr. member

Activity: 42

Merit: 1

Quote from: btckess on April 06, 2017, 09:17:12 AM

Finally got my overclocking issues figured out!
My creation is about to go from the "lab" (garage) to the "data center" (basement) Grin

I just needed a cluster of pi (pies?) to go with my cluster of 2pacs. Found out what I thought was a hardware error with the 2pac was actually the pi usb port getting overloaded. I ran stable doing 200mhz @1.41v over the weekend and have been upping it every day. Doing 250mhz @ 1.41v for an average of 550Gh/s Shocked

That's a sweet looking rig and something I aspire to mimic. Do you have the STL files for the 3D printed stuff? I'd love to print some for myself.

Thanks,
TheNerdyType

AJRGale

hero member

Activity: 767

Merit: 500

Quote from: spazzdla on April 11, 2017, 09:39:11 AM

HEY!! I have these hubs I find they don't like to support the Compac 2 chip, any tips?

I am thinking of just getting a usb extentsion cord, ripping it open and cutting into the power wires though.

you can use the extension splice technique, or you can pop em open them up and add heavier gauge wire across the positive and negative tracks to support the extra load.

what I did with mine is have the wires come out and attach the 5V wires off a HDD Molex connector to them. it wasn't a clean setup, but doable.

spazzdla

legendary

Activity: 1722

Merit: 1000

Quote from: SamHa1n on September 20, 2015, 10:18:46 AM

I had good luck modding cheapest hubs I could find at the time. Shelf board with all the hubs attached is available if someone is interested, make an offer, its heavy.

HEY!! I have these hubs I find they don't like to support the Compac 2 chip, any tips?

I am thinking of just getting a usb extentsion cord, ripping it open and cutting into the power wires though.

AJRGale

hero member

Activity: 767

Merit: 500

Nice bit of work there!
You're making me want to fire up the old avalon and compacs again.. I attempted to use 30cm cabling to reorganise the compacs onto a singe large heatsink, and I gave up when they all stopped talking to the system (I blame the cheap cables, they are cheap)

btckess

newbie

Activity: 33

Merit: 0

Finally got my overclocking issues figured out!
My creation is about to go from the "lab" (garage) to the "data center" (basement) Grin

I just needed a cluster of pi (pies?) to go with my cluster of 2pacs. Found out what I thought was a hardware error with the 2pac was actually the pi usb port getting overloaded. I ran stable doing 200mhz @1.41v over the weekend and have been upping it every day. Doing 250mhz @ 1.41v for an average of 550Gh/s Shocked

https://i.imgur.com/S1gJNJ4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nZKGFJY.png

wormbog

hero member

Activity: 561

Merit: 500

Very impressive! I'll be interested to hear if those hubs can handle that much power once you've cranked the frequency on the 2pacs up to 250 and beyond.

Quote from: btckess on April 03, 2017, 09:40:48 AM

Still a work in progress but this is what i have so far

My monster 2pac consists of ..

1x raspberry pi 2

4x 2.0 usb hub, With 5v brick cutoff and the plug wired into the power supply
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-10-Ports-USB-HUB-2-0-High-Speed-with-Power-Adapter-Black-/190574386344

1x mean well lrs-350-5 with a 3d printed coverplate
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mean-Well-LRS-350-5-300W-5V-60A-Single-Output-Switchable-Power-Supply-/122214364987?hash=item1c748b373b:g:~28AAOSwo4pYH3aB

4x custom 3d printed holder attached to 1 1/2" wood dowel holding 5x usb cables (white)
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5431

using the method here to connect power ( i found soldering to the jack just wasn't worth the effort)
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.17838616

Still working out overclocking, will update when i get it figured out. But I know it runs stable at 100mhz

btckess

newbie

Activity: 33

Merit: 0

Still a work in progress but this is what i have so far

My monster 2pac consists of ..

1x raspberry pi 2

4x 2.0 usb hub, With 5v brick cutoff and the plug wired into the power supply
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-10-Ports-USB-HUB-2-0-High-Speed-with-Power-Adapter-Black-/190574386344

1x mean well lrs-350-5 with a 3d printed coverplate
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mean-Well-LRS-350-5-300W-5V-60A-Single-Output-Switchable-Power-Supply-/122214364987?hash=item1c748b373b:g:~28AAOSwo4pYH3aB

4x custom 3d printed holder attached to 1 1/2" wood dowel holding 5x usb cables (white)
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5431

using the method here to connect power ( i found soldering to the jack just wasn't worth the effort)
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.17838616

Still working out overclocking, will update when i get it figured out. But I know it runs stable at 100mhz

https://i.imgur.com/2MCQ7VM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/32tVwBP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Nq2YXNg.jpg

spazzdla

legendary

Activity: 1722

Merit: 1000

Oooh I am going to be using this to try to make my little USB hub Cheesy

notlist3d

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Activity: 1456

Merit: 1000

Quote from: AJRGale on September 29, 2015, 02:26:20 AM

Quote from: notlist3d on September 28, 2015, 09:11:46 PM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 28, 2015, 08:58:02 PM

Quote from: Jake36 on September 28, 2015, 08:29:16 AM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

After some looking, found an image of these with the plastic cover removed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291548978082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=590604172289&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_9492.jpg

Which looks like they would work without the mess.

Cut the digital left side off (in the pic), re-connect the trace on the right, and add the second power/ground wire's. Can even reuse the plastic cover to glue the second plug wires in place.

Hmm.. I might just grab a few to play with it doesn’t look to hard, even to splice in a secondary plug on a cable just for power.

Are you trying to just get power from 2 usb's for this or are you hooking the little dongle or to something else for more power?

You can get Y splitters very cheap on ebay. I think it was Phil that pointed these out in another thread - http://www.ebay.com/itm/221661361513?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They are 1.45 each. Only thing is it took a LONG time to get. So do not order them if you need them quick. But order and have 2 weeks or so they are quite a bargain. The 5 I got all seem to work good aswell. So work as advertised.

But but but! that's not how you DIY! yeah, OK, if you want a simple plug'n'play, go for it, but ima feed 20A to 'tem stiiks!

I know

was just pointing out a easy option. And it's cheaper then a lot of DIY ones as they ship so slowly.

And you still can DIY. If you wanted to power it from something beside other USB you could cut off the power plug in and could hook it up to external source.

AJRGale

hero member

Activity: 767

Merit: 500

Quote from: notlist3d on September 28, 2015, 09:11:46 PM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 28, 2015, 08:58:02 PM

Quote from: Jake36 on September 28, 2015, 08:29:16 AM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

After some looking, found an image of these with the plastic cover removed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291548978082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=590604172289&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_9492.jpg

Which looks like they would work without the mess.

Cut the digital left side off (in the pic), re-connect the trace on the right, and add the second power/ground wire's. Can even reuse the plastic cover to glue the second plug wires in place.

Hmm.. I might just grab a few to play with it doesn’t look to hard, even to splice in a secondary plug on a cable just for power.

Are you trying to just get power from 2 usb's for this or are you hooking the little dongle or to something else for more power?

You can get Y splitters very cheap on ebay. I think it was Phil that pointed these out in another thread - http://www.ebay.com/itm/221661361513?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They are 1.45 each. Only thing is it took a LONG time to get. So do not order them if you need them quick. But order and have 2 weeks or so they are quite a bargain. The 5 I got all seem to work good aswell. So work as advertised.

But but but! that's not how you DIY! yeah, OK, if you want a simple plug'n'play, go for it, but ima feed 20A to 'tem stiiks!

Jake36

sr. member

Activity: 331

Merit: 250

Quote from: notlist3d on September 28, 2015, 09:11:46 PM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 28, 2015, 08:58:02 PM

Quote from: Jake36 on September 28, 2015, 08:29:16 AM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

After some looking, found an image of these with the plastic cover removed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291548978082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=590604172289&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_9492.jpg

Which looks like they would work without the mess.

Cut the digital left side off (in the pic), re-connect the trace on the right, and add the second power/ground wire's. Can even reuse the plastic cover to glue the second plug wires in place.

Hmm.. I might just grab a few to play with it doesn’t look to hard, even to splice in a secondary plug on a cable just for power.

Are you trying to just get power from 2 usb's for this or are you hooking the little dongle or to something else for more power?

You can get Y splitters very cheap on ebay. I think it was Phil that pointed these out in another thread - http://www.ebay.com/itm/221661361513?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They are 1.45 each. Only thing is it took a LONG time to get. So do not order them if you need them quick. But order and have 2 weeks or so they are quite a bargain. The 5 I got all seem to work good aswell. So work as advertised.

Yes, modify them for power from 2 ports.

I got the y-cables coming on the slow row boat from China, but if modifying these work like I think they will, then the whole setup should fit nicely inside an old PC case and won't have to figure out a way to hold the compac's in place for a fan while keeping the y-cables out of the way.

If these cheap usb meters work, the cable running to the second port would only need to be about 3-4" long, which keeping wires short should be a plus and another plus is I can use a little heavier gauge wire instead of the smaller usb wire.

notlist3d

legendary

Activity: 1456

Merit: 1000

Quote from: AJRGale on September 28, 2015, 08:58:02 PM

Quote from: Jake36 on September 28, 2015, 08:29:16 AM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

After some looking, found an image of these with the plastic cover removed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291548978082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=590604172289&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_9492.jpg

Which looks like they would work without the mess.

Cut the digital left side off (in the pic), re-connect the trace on the right, and add the second power/ground wire's. Can even reuse the plastic cover to glue the second plug wires in place.

Hmm.. I might just grab a few to play with it doesn’t look to hard, even to splice in a secondary plug on a cable just for power.

Are you trying to just get power from 2 usb's for this or are you hooking the little dongle or to something else for more power?

You can get Y splitters very cheap on ebay. I think it was Phil that pointed these out in another thread - http://www.ebay.com/itm/221661361513?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They are 1.45 each. Only thing is it took a LONG time to get. So do not order them if you need them quick. But order and have 2 weeks or so they are quite a bargain. The 5 I got all seem to work good aswell. So work as advertised.

AJRGale

hero member

Activity: 767

Merit: 500

Quote from: Jake36 on September 28, 2015, 08:29:16 AM

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

After some looking, found an image of these with the plastic cover removed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291548978082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=590604172289&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_9492.jpg

Which looks like they would work without the mess.

Cut the digital left side off (in the pic), re-connect the trace on the right, and add the second power/ground wire's. Can even reuse the plastic cover to glue the second plug wires in place.

Hmm.. I might just grab a few to play with it doesn’t look to hard, even to splice in a secondary plug on a cable just for power.

Jake36

sr. member

Activity: 331

Merit: 250

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

After some looking, found an image of these with the plastic cover removed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/291548978082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=590604172289&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_9492.jpg

Which looks like they would work without the mess.

Cut the digital left side off (in the pic), re-connect the trace on the right, and add the second power/ground wire's. Can even reuse the plastic cover to glue the second plug wires in place.

Jake36

sr. member

Activity: 331

Merit: 250

Quote from: AJRGale on September 25, 2015, 08:26:12 PM

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

Thanks.

That looks like a mess I'll pass on, I'll make up one that I was thinking of and test it out (when all the parts arrive).

AJRGale

hero member

Activity: 767

Merit: 500

just to let you know, these are nasty to modify, has to get the heat-gun and iron to get the plastic potting off.

Jake36

sr. member

Activity: 331

Merit: 250

Quote from: AJRGale on September 21, 2015, 12:19:12 AM

Quote from: Jake36 on September 20, 2015, 03:02:29 PM

This is the one I ordered yesterday, figured it should run one modified 10 port hub with 5 sticks (with a frankenstein setup) and just a plain hub for the Pi and 2 maybe 3 fans (and should leave headroom on the power).

A rough drawing of the frankenstein cross of Y cables, your bridge in the review, TheRealSteve's stick test setup (take a little from each and combine). This way the sticks are in place for an easier cooling setup.

https://i.imgur.com/51KOYXi.png frankenstein

I bought a bag full of these USB male plug to Female jack to do this hack too, i will photogragh my adventure with this if you wish. (please, don't hesitate to show us your hacks!)

Never thought about using those adapters, looks like they should work (as long as the covering comes off easy and you got room to attach wires).

I think I'll hold off on doing mine and see how these turn out, it probably will be easier to do and save some time.

philipma1957

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Activity: 4256

Merit: 8551

'The right to privacy matters'

Quote from: AJRGale on September 21, 2015, 12:19:12 AM

Quote from: Jake36 on September 20, 2015, 03:02:29 PM

This is the one I ordered yesterday, figured it should run one modified 10 port hub with 5 sticks (with a frankenstein setup) and just a plain hub for the Pi and 2 maybe 3 fans (and should leave headroom on the power).

A rough drawing of the frankenstein cross of Y cables, your bridge in the review, TheRealSteve's stick test setup (take a little from each and combine). This way the sticks are in place for an easier cooling setup.

https://i.imgur.com/51KOYXi.png frankenstein

I bought a bag full of these USB male plug to Female jack to do this hack too, i will photogragh my adventure with this if you wish. (please, don't hesitate to show us your hacks!)

when my new psu's come for these 2 hubs I will post

http://www.eyeboot.com/19-port-dipo-electronic-USB-Hub

they will up grade from this psu

http://www.trcelectronics.com/View/Mean-Well/NES-100-5.shtml

to this one

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/lrs150f.pdf

should be an exact fit.

I go from 80% to 85%

and 100 watts to 110

I also discovered the turning the pot from 5.0 volts to 5.2 volts make these psu's work better.

They get more Efficient by just a little.

And when the voltage drops just a bit from the sticks you end up at 5 or 5.02 volts

AJRGale

hero member

Activity: 767

Merit: 500

Quote from: Jake36 on September 20, 2015, 03:02:29 PM

This is the one I ordered yesterday, figured it should run one modified 10 port hub with 5 sticks (with a frankenstein setup) and just a plain hub for the Pi and 2 maybe 3 fans (and should leave headroom on the power).

A rough drawing of the frankenstein cross of Y cables, your bridge in the review, TheRealSteve's stick test setup (take a little from each and combine). This way the sticks are in place for an easier cooling setup.

https://i.imgur.com/51KOYXi.png frankenstein

I bought a bag full of these USB male plug to Female jack to do this hack too, i will photogragh my adventure with this if you wish. (please, don't hesitate to show us your hacks!)

Jake36

sr. member

Activity: 331

Merit: 250

Quote from: philipma1957 on September 20, 2015, 04:30:24 AM

I found this 5 volt meanwell

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/lrs75.pdf so this one = yes

should power a 10 port hub 24/7/365 all 10 sticks at about 1.1 amps

86.5% eff very good for a 5 volt psu.

I have 2 of these

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/lrs150.pdf this one = yes

on order they are a direct replacement for the psu in my 2 studhubs from klintay

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/nes100.pdf = no

The eff will jump from 80 to 86.5 the watts will jump from 100 to 150

this below one will do 32 sticks and is 87.5% eff

https://www.trcelectronics.com/ecomm/pdf/lrs200.pdf and this one = yes

This is the one I ordered yesterday, figured it should run one modified 10 port hub with 5 sticks (with a frankenstein setup) and just a plain hub for the Pi and 2 maybe 3 fans (and should leave headroom on the power).

A rough drawing of the frankenstein cross of Y cables, your bridge in the review, TheRealSteve's stick test setup (take a little from each and combine). This way the sticks are in place for an easier cooling setup.

https://i.imgur.com/51KOYXi.png frankenstein

Topic: Modifying a USB hub for extra power and "I did it!" showoff thread (Read 6363 times)