power News - Page 14 of 17 - CNX Software

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Why Do UL and CE Certifications Matter For Anything That Connects to the Mains (110V/220V) ?

I’ve been featuring a few cheap automation appliances such as Orvibo Wiwo S20 WiFi smart socket or lately Sonoff & Slampher WiFi and RF switch and lightbulb adapter, and people mentioned that Wiwo S20 socket was unlikely to be compliant with CE up to 10A since it lacked the ground pin, and I was also informed that Sonoff & Slampher was probably not compliant with UL certifications. Why does not matter? The picture below may give a clue… UL and CE certifications are used to make sure the device complies with safety regulations, and in some case make also improve reliability, as in UL compliant power supplies will feature inexpensive TVS device to protect against thunder. And if you think you are covered because you have an house insurance, it’s quite likely it will be void if the on-site expert find a non-compliant device on the site of the fire. […]

October 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Compulab fit-Uptime is a 12V mini UPS for Intel NUCs, fit-PCs, and More

Power failures can cause loss of data, or if you are unlucky even brick your devices, and for business users there may be a maintenance cost. UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) prevent those issues by providing power when the mains fail, and while they are relatively inexpensive, they are quite bulky. That’s probably Compulab designed fit-Uptime a mini UPS taking 12 to 19V input and outputting 12V to keep mini PCs such as the company’s fit-PCs or Intel NUCs for a couple of hours. fit-Uptime specifications: Capacity – 18 watt hour Input: DC 12V to 19V Output on battery – DC 12V / 5A Output when powered – 12V to 19V (same as input) / 5A Battery – Lithium polymer built-in non-replaceable (good for up to three hours) Dimensions – 6.8 cm (l) x 8 cm (w) x 3.2 cm (h); Power jack: 5.5mm x 2.5mm barrel Weight – 240g The […]

October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ATT7039AU Micro-controller Features an Energy Meter Unit for Power Meters

About two years ago, I purchased Northwest T8 power meter, and it worked fine for about three months, but one day the top plastic broke as as unplugged it, rubber bands prolonged its life for a few more weeks, but eventually the display stopped working, and keep it in my drawer for long while, until today, when I decided to have a closer look at how it was done. The PCB is called CZ-7039-B2, and the top includes the display, 4 user buttons, as well as JTAG through holes (P2) and 2.54mm header (P1) with TDO, TMS, GND and 3.3V signals, as well as a pin called P1600, but I still haven’t found out what it might be for. I’ve also taken the board out completely, to find out everything is basically handled by a single 48-pin chip called ATT7039AU. After a Google search, I quickly found out the chip […]

September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

A Look at Android and Windows Mini PCs’ Power Consumption in Power Off, Standby, Idle, and Video Playback Modes

I’ve previously measured power consumption of Amlogic S812 and Rockchip RK3288 based TV boxes using a multimeter. This provides relatively accurate measurements, as well as neat power consumption profiles of devices, but it’s a little complex and time-consuming, so it’s not something I would do for all devices. The easiest way to measure power consumption is to use a kill-a-watt type of device, but my first one broke after only 3 months last year. I purchased a new one recently, so I run run some power measurement tests on several devices. I selected five devices for this test: MeLE PCG01 HDMI stick with Intel Atom Z3735F processor running Windows 10 Zidoo X9 TV box with Mstar MSO9810 running Android 4.4 Open Hour Chameleon TV box with Rockchip RK3288 processor running Android 4.4 Tronsmart Orion R68 Meta TV box with Rockchip RK3368 processor running Android 5.1 Tronfy MXIV TV box with […]

September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Promises to Charge Phones About 3x Faster Than Conventional Devices

Qualcomm has recently announced the latest version of its Quick Charge technology that allows to charge supported smartphones much faster than typical smartphones using a 5V charger. The company claims that Quick Charge 3.0 enabled smartphones can typicallly charge from zero to 80 percent in about 35 minutes compared to almost 90 minutes with conventional devices. Quick Charge 3.0 adds support for Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV), a new algorithm developed by Qualcomm Technologies that allows mobile devices to request optimal power transfer (3.6V to 20V in 200mV increments), while maximizing efficiency, which – together with other improvements – increases power efficient by 38% compared to Quick Charge 2.0, and allows charging the device twice as fast as possible with Quick Charge 1.0. That means the voltage and amperage will change during charging between 3.6V to 20V by 200mV increments, instead of 5V, 9V, 12V, and 20V for QC […]

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Intel Skylake-U Processors Run as Low as 7.5W TDP. A Closer Look at Configurable TDP

I try to mostly cover low power systems on this blog, so when it comes to x86 processors I have a cut off TDP of 10 Watts. The next generation of Intel Skylake processors have a TDP of 15 Watts, but when I read Skylake-U lineup post on FanlessTech, I discovered Intel processors also have a configurable TDP option, and in the case of Skylake-U processor their configurable TDP (cTDP) can be as low as 7.5W or 10W depending on models. U-Processor family has Pentium and Celeron processors, but also Core i3, Core i5 and even Core i7 processors such as i7-6600U and i7-6500U clocked up to 3.4 GHz and all with a 15W TDP, but you’ll also notice a column called “cTDP Down” showing 7.5W and 10W values, which shows the great progress made by Intel with regards to low power design. So I decided to look into configurable […]

August 11, 2015August 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

ee203 Real-time Current Monitor Supports 1 μA to 1A Range, Outputs Data to Oscilloscope

Measuring current can be tricky, as I found out during my various attempts at measuring power consumption of TV boxes, as when the current gets too high, your measurement setup impedance may be too high (cables or multimeter), and the voltage delivered to the device under test too low for it too keep running, while accuracy may be an issue while measuring very low currents. EE Equipment ee203 Current Monitor solves some of these issues for people working on low power embedded systems as it can measure currents between 1 μA and 1A, and even output data to an oscilloscope to see real-time power consumption of the devices. Key features for ee203 current monitor: 6 Decades of Current Range: 1 μA – 1 A (2A fuse) No Range-Switching Interruptions or Delays Wide System Voltage Range 1.5V – 5.5V (12V Max) USB interface for calibration, control, and data logging View Current […]

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

USBminiPower USB Power Supply Delivers 3 Outputs: 5V, 3.3V, and a Variable Output up to 14.3V (Crowdfunding)

Yesterday, I found out about a cheap 5V/3.3V USB power supply board, YwRobot MB-102, selling for $1 shipped on Ebay, but one person lamented the lack of 1.8V output, which may be required for example for modules like AsiaRF AWM002 that takes both 3.3V and 1.8V. One way is make your own power board, and get an expensive lab power supply, but I got a solution in my inbox this morning, with USBminiPower, as tiny USB power supply board with three output: 5V, 3.3V and a variable pin between 1V and 14.3V, as well as a 4 digit LED display showing the voltage and intensity just like Charger Doctor. USBminiPower specifications: MCU – Microchip PIC16 MCU (several are supported) Voltage outputs – 5V (from USB port), controllable 3.3V, and controllable & adjustable 1V … 14.3V Display – 4 Digit red LED to display intensity and voltage Max Power – 2.45 […]