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Comment by transpute | Hacker News Reader

$6 USB-C breakout for selectable voltage, https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-husb238-usb-type-c-power...

> The HUSB238 USB PD sink chip is neat in that you can either use jumpers (really, resistor selection) to set the desired power delivery voltage and current or you can use I2C for dynamic querying and setting.

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I combined one of those cheap breakouts with this variable voltage power supply - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0861LGM15 - and a 3d printed enclosure to make a benchtop power supply pretty affordably. Just use your laptop's power supply and now you can have any voltage and limited amperage.

I am waiting for an updated version that does PD 3.1, so it can go to 48V/5A.

That's 240W. You could charge an e-Bike via USB-C with that. Insane.

Yep. That's exactly what I am looking for. Use USB-PD to charge small electric vehicles in a standardised way ;) See https://jan.wildeboer.net/2024/06/Charging-SEVs-A-Modest-Pro... where I describe the concept and https://github.com/manuelbl/usb-pd-arduino/wiki where there is Open Source code (and schematics) to do PD sniffing and sink negotiation.

The AliExpress search term for similar devices is "trigger board" or "decoy board."

I'm seeing them as low as ~10/$.

Have these gotten mature enough to actually use? A few years ago, every single one I tested would just give you a different voltage if it couldn't trigger the correct voltage, which is obviously terrible.

They go to the next lowest voltage, because some PD capable supplies don't provide all the voltages. Most are missing 12V, unfortunately.

My experience is good so far with them, but it's good to get a couple of automobile lights to wire in series or parallel to load them.

As the saying goes: "With Ali Express you test, don't guess!"

The electronics are small enough to put into a USBC connector -- which is also a handy form factor:

https://www.amazon.com/Euogeudel-4-9ft-Trigger-Input-2-5mm/d...

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