USB-C -> barrel connector

[tanzanina]

With everything seemingly switching to USB-C now I began to hunt for a new battery charger (Powerex MH-C9000) after the power brick's cable began to fray. Silly as it may seem, I am trying to unify all of my electronic devices to the USB-C standard, so this seemed like a good opportunity.





On searching for a replacement power brick I came across a USB-C -> barrel connector, something that I had never seen before !

The plug is a standard DC 12V 2A positive polarity and wanted to know if the following would be a suitable replacement: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DSD-TECH-M...+usbc+to+barrel+connector,aps,365&sr=8-2&th=1

 

[Bluejets]

Amazon price seems rather excessive...........

 

[Delta Prime]

In the link you posted there's bi-directional hand shaking going on, a true type C charger recognizes the connected device and negotiates the required power to charge it as quickly as possible.
This negotiation is done Via data lines and ensures a quick charge without delivering too much power or damaging the device's circuits.
A word of caution: Devices that charge with higher wattage also require special cables that can transport high currents; otherwise, there is a risk of cable fire.

 

[tanzanina]

This is the model of charger that I have, it is old so there will be no hand-shake, thus it will need to figure it out for itself:

Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger (DISCONTINUED)

Maha Energy is the maker of Powerex batteries, NiMH Rechargeable Batteries, aa battery charger, aaa battery charger, nimh battery charger and charging solutions. Powerex batteries offer the highest performance available today. Powerex chargers use advanced techniques for optimized battery...

mahaenergy.com

 

[Harald Kapp]

wanted to know if the following would be a suitable replacement:

No. Your charger requires 12 V. USB is 5 V.

A USB-PD source starts with 5 V and will raise the output voltage only after negotiation with the load (as noted before by Delta Prime). Your charger can't negotiate with the USB-PD source as it lacks the required data lines. Therefore the USB-PD source will stay at 5 V and your charger will not work.

 

[tanzanina]

Good points, I am contacting the manufacturer to see as they have purchased the cable and shall test.

It seems like the perfect appliance for it to be paired with.

 

[tanzanina]

Apparently there are cables with the handshake feature built in !

 

[Harald Kapp]

Apparently there are cables with the handshake feature built in !

Not standard USB-C cables.
There are cables with chips that support this handshaking. And others that don't. But the manufacturer of the cable can't know how the cable is being used and therefore can't let the cable do the handshaking.

An example: Suppose the cable were able to negotiate a 12 V voltage (instead of the typical 5 V used on classic USB). Now use this cable to charge an older smartphone, tablet or whatever that was designed to the 5 V standard. Now this device would be supplied by 12 V (because the cable is agnostic of the device's requirements) and would immediately be destroyed.
Not a good idea.

However, the cable you link to is different as it does not have a USB-C output. Therefore this risk decribed above is irrelevant for this cable (no smartphone I know has a barrel connector). Therefore this cable may work in your application provided:

1. the charger doesn't need more than 3 A
2. you have a PD-capable USB-C power supply. Not every power supply with USB-C connector is capable of power delivery (PD) acc. to the USB-PD standard.

I beg to excuse that I hadn't recognized this from the beginning, so my post #5 is not completely correct concerning this exact cable.

 

[tanzanina]

Contacting the manufacturer they were able to get the system to work, with some simple experiments with the following equipment:

12V cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9FDZX7P
USB-C power supply: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ6BB44D
USB-C power meter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B99Z2GJK


However, it was paramount to ensure that the voltage did not exceed 12V.

 

[tanzanina]

After some 500 days the cable finally gave up on me, so it was time.

I got a slightly updated version of the power meter, which has an extended current range up to 12A (vs. 6.5A on the classic version), with a Max Value Recording to now display the maximum voltage, current, and power measured during charging (along with an aluminium alloy body cover over the previous plastic one).

First of all, yes, the USB-C -> 12V cable does reliably power the charger

RESULTS:

x1 battery




x2 batteries




x4 batteries




Sorry for the muffled images, but unlike the plastic version there is no cable, so I was photographing at an awkward angle and the refresh rate on the display was a little troublesome.

Anyway, it works and a single cable takes up a lot less space than the included adaptor of old !

A nice retro-upgrade for a now defunct product, even leapfrogging the current hardware offer from PowerX (Maha Energy).

I hope this helps.