Any Electronics experts in here?

General Area Tips, Tricks, & Tutorials
,
1

So Im looking for a way of bridging the MacBook USB-C charger with an on/off switch, I purchased a cheap Raspberry Pi on/off switch but it doesnt let power through to the laptop when I turn it on. Ive tested with my Sennheiser headphones and it charges them no problem.

Im thinking it’s down to some kind of voltage issue? or maybe some other data that needs to pass through USB-C in order to activate the charging.

Can anybody point me in the right direction as to the issue, and if there are any alternative products.

Cable below.

2

Does the MacBook charger supply enough power for it?

It says on the description it requires 4.95v

3

Im kind of thinking it’s supplying too much mufasa? it won’t work with the Reloop Flux either (the reason I bought it)… but works perfectly when USB charging my headphones.

4

The description actually says that it will pass through 4.95V. I guess they adapted it to Raspbery Pi what works on 5V/1A=5W so they did not felt it needs to pass through more.

I would guess macbook requires both more volts and and amps to charge

1 Like
5

Cheers man.

You don’t know of a device I can use to bridge the connection to the Flux to power it?

6

To be honest, I’m a little confused what are you trying to do.

I know Reloop Flux has a usb-c with power passthrough so I guess power the Reloop flux with the macbook charger and then connect the flux with macbook through a usb c cable that supports charging? Why do you need this on/off switch then?

7

Yeah that’s exactly it, it’s because the flux is lit up like a Christmas tree, and also my DDJ-SP1 that connects to the hub on the flux also stays powered on and goes into demo mode… so right now I’m unplugging the flux each time I stop using the decks, a switch for the USB input cable would be a neater solution

8

Apple products are so fudging fussy about authorised devices and 3rd party accessories etc, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the mac is seeing some slight difference in the voltage or current etc and is throwing a wobbler…. Although usually if it doesn’t like a particular accessory it tells you onscreen

Or is that just iPhones ?

9

This seems more of a power issue, it’s between the Mac charger and the flux and it’s just not passing any power through the cable to the flux, if I try charging say some headphones or an Xbox pad it’ll work.

10

What about cutting the power at the plug?

Screenshot_20230629_204536_Firefox-01
Screenshot_20230629_204536_Firefox-011080×603 101 KB

11

its an option but the extension is behind the booth so by the time id moved stuff to unplug I might as well have just took the USB cable out. I might re-organise the whole power situation and try to have it so I can just turn it on and off at the wall. Hard work with 16 things plugged in though :grimacing:

12

I have a Tapo plug on some of the power points. I use the phone app to turn on and off.

Think a pack of 4 is like 30quid.

TP-Link Tapo Smart Plug Wi-Fi Outlet, Works with Amazon Alexa (Echo and Echo Dot), Google Home, Wireless Smart Socket, Device Sharing, Without Energy Monitoring, No Hub Required - Tapo P100 4-Pack https://amzn.eu/d/dSjSYFG

13

Oooooh thats a good point, I could join it to the DJ room lighting I have then call it sound card… great idea.

How the hell did that not cross my mind :man_facepalming:

14

That thing is great. Once the app is installed, you can add widgets so you don’t need to be looking for the app.

So from the Home Screen I can turn it off and on.

15

Our whole house is set up with smart lighting and devices lol… im just a dumb ass who wasn’t thinking, I literally have the DJ room on 3 different smart lights to illuminate behind the booth and everything.

Just to show how ridiculous my memory is, I wired all this up a couple of months back, all the cabinets on Phillips Hue strip lights running from our Amazon Echo hub.

Thanks mufasa, ive ordered 2 more smart plugs of the same brand we have and will wire that up tomorrow. Now im going to bang my head off a wall.

2 Likes
16

Your DJ room looks surprisingly like a kitchen. :stuck_out_tongue: So low profile.

1 Like
17

Hahaha, I wish it was the same size as the kitchen :wink:

18

I’ve got 22 Hue lights around the house and garden and they are stupidly expensive for what they are but do work well.

The Tapo stuff is great for the money. I picked up a pan/tilt 2K camera from Amazon yesterday for £24 and it’s absolutely fantastic quality for using as a baby monitor. The TP-Link stuff is crazy cheap.

19

We have a mixture, got some Hue bulbs on deals/free with amazon devices over the years then also some Ikea smart bulbs and other companies. As i use the Echo as the hub it means we can pretty much connect anything. That Hue bridge is nice for its extra functionality but its ridiculous in 2023 that it requires mains power and ethernet to work so it just sits in a drawer.

Ive even rigged up stuff like our drinks cabinet with strip lights:)

1 Like
20

I went all-out on Hue garden lighting and wall lights and dropping those onto the Engine Lighting is interesting!

My father-in-law did some work at Signify UK a few years ago and they have a staff shop. Let’s just say the Play Bars were offensively cheap and I may have a fair few haha.

I even opted for the Ambilight TV which works with Hue to make the light space even bigger.