This is practically what the On/Off switch does on the wast majority of PSUs anyway. They make and break the connection between the inlet and the converters. So don’t worry about that.

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Just to follow up: it turns out finding that four-conductor cable is the hardest part, at least for me. The Koma Strom modules do NOT use a P4 (a.k.a. ATX 12V) connector, which is most often used for PC power supplies – the Strom connector looks almost identical but it’s quite a bit larger and is also keyed differently. Presumably (?) it’s also a Molex product, but I haven’t been able to figure out which. I’ve thrown up my hands and bought the Strom busboard for its longer cable. I guess that means I can eventually ditch the flying bus cable I’ve been using, so that’s nice.

IIRC you can exceed the 500ms as long as you keep the total load within the limits of the global current rating. It should be somewhere in the spec sheet.

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Have you tried writing them on their support mail? I’m sure they would provide a part number, or maybe even ship a longer cable.

thanks, that’s very helpful.

I’ve run out of space in TipTop HEK and I know I want a bigger case, but I am still questioning whether I should get it powered or unpowered and use uZeus that I already have for a while longer, until I am sure (or closer to being sure) about the final set of modules (and their power consumption). That’s basically why I am trying to figure out how much I can actually power with that.

On the other hand, Synthracks (where I am planning to get a case) offers Konstant Lab BoardPWR, which seems like would be my choice further down the line anyway, so maybe I should just go with that instead of counting every mA and wonder with each new module whether I reached the uZeus capacity or not.

Hello I’m having a problem trying to understand
My doepfer a-100 lc 9.
The manual says it has a 15v switching supply.
I’ve noticed some modules say they are not to be use in a 15v case due to heat ?
I have mostly mannequins and monome in my case and am under the total power limit , but feel as tho my modules are a tiny bit warmer then when I had them in my mantis case.

The PSU3 (which is included in your case) uses a 15V switching supply at its core, but then derives +/-12V as well as 5V from it. Your modules do not get the 15V, so that’s nothing to worry about.

The modules may get warmer because linear power supplies produce more heat inside the case - which will also warm up the faceplates a bit.

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Dear electrically minded folks. I have a question regarding power on a Pulp Logic 54hp Zissou case I have purchased used. These cases can take a range of 9v-18v power supplies. I have 9v and 12v and 18v power supplies and would like to decipher which is the best to use with the case.

My 12v power supply is 2.5 amps while my 18v power supply is only 1amp. Is there a reason why one would use higher volts but less amps assuming the 1amp of the 18v supply covers the draw of the modules? Would an 18v power supply with more amps be the best choice? Do the volts really matter at all or is just having enough amps regardless of whether the supply is 9v, 12v, or 18v the most critical aspect?

Also I have a 19v supply that is 3.5amps. Would this be a disaster to use since it is 1v higher than the given range for use with the case? I think I will not risk it! Anyway, thanks for any help. :slightly_smiling_face:

@pulplogic can answer directly since he’s here with us. :slight_smile:

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Edit: Received a response from John at Pulp Logic. Much appreciated!

Oh nice. I didn’t realize that. I sent him a direct message on the PL site but did not hear back so I posted the same question here.

Can anyone recommend a 12v 3A (minimum) power brick? I’ve got a new case coming and those are the specs I was told to grab. I always hear people talking about Mean Well. There’s a crazy medical grade 5A 60w one on Mouser (GSM60A12-P1J), but they’re back order until November. Is that crazy overkill? Or the GSM40A12-P1J which is 3.34A 40w. I see people talk about power supplies a lot, but not bricks. And if they are recommending a brick it’s a 15v one. Any suggestions?

I just bought A used rack on reverb that came with a synthrotek power supply and bus.

some modules have ribbons that are too short to reach the bus from the lower row.

can I plug a daisy chain ribbon with multiple connectors into one of the connectors on the main bus board?

20 characters of YUP :+1:

As forrest said yes, but if you start running into noise problems, ribbon cables are a good candidate. 4MS makes shrouded header boards that are commonly available. Additionally, you could pickup a second one of those nicer boards with the filter capacitors and just run the wires where you need it – probably the best solution for you!

Thanks. I didn’t end up using the daisy chain, but it’s getting tricky as most modules come with ribbons that a just a bit too short to reach the bus when mounted in the bottom row.

Is ribbon wiring usually standard? I think they look the same for all but the Disting mk4.

I know I need to find a source for longer ribbons soon. Any suggestions on sources?

In Eurorack you generally see 16 pin (2x8) connectors for going to the power busboard and either 16 pin or 10 pin (2x5) going to the module’s power header, depending on the module. Ribbon cables should always be made with the red stripe lining up with the little arrow indicator on the connector – this indicates pin 1 – but not every ribbon cable you may encounter has been made this way, so it’s good to double check. The other kind you may encounter is a flying busboard cable which will have a bunch of sockets on the cable for connecting other cables to (though it sounds like this might also work for your situation).

If you get an “IDC connector crimp tool” or “ribbon cable crimp tool”, a few IDC connector sizes (2x5 and 2x8 for Eurorack power), and ribbon cable (16 strand, just peel off 6 strands if you’re making a 10 pin cable connector) you can make cables to whatever specs you need for way cheaper than hunting down and buying them. For example it is often useful when powering a bunch of small modules, or when you run out of busboard headers, to make a single cable with several connectors on it rather than running separate cables to each module.

Using the crimp tool is super easy: put the connector in the shuttle that comes with the tool, feed the cable through with the red stripe lined up with the arrow, load the shuttle in the tool, squeeze. Smaller headers are also quite doable with ordinary pliers. You can find all of the above on Digikey, Sparkfun, Jameco or similar. I would probably recommend going this route for any ribbon cable needs at all beyond the cables that come with modules, rather than trying to hunt down someone selling exactly the cables you need.

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If you do decide to daisy chain bus boards, obviously use the recomended gauged wired for the clamps rather than linking them with ribbon cables. As for longer ribbonts, @csboling covered the details. :+1:

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Hello all,

didn’t read all the post in the tread, but to me a hint from Cwejman was a huge help. If you have separate supplies per row or half-case ( I have a detachable 2 x 86 case with separate suppies for each half) you should try putting all your analog modules onto one supply, while all the digital one on the other. May be not an ergonomics’ dream, but the power definitely improved for me. The reason is that digital modules have a disbalance, they take much more power from the +12 V rail than from the -12 V rail. Separating digital and analog modules will help stay clean for your oscillators and filters.

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Just wanted to throw out that I’ve had a lot of luck with these:

Super solid PSU to build for around $100. Little bit more once you factor in a terminal block for ground and an AC outlet with switch. I’ve got two of them powering 16u@100hp with no problems. Also pretty good about noise-like solved all of my switching supply noise problems. Don’t know if that’s the PSU or utilizing proper star grounding but it’s pretty quiet.

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I just saw this mentioned on a video synth thread but thought you all may be interested potentially
https://www.clank.eu/xpsu

/// from the webpage

// i2C ready

We believe in the power of i2C and that it will be more and more used in the future. That’s why we wanted to encourage this trend by adding a dedicated active i2c busboard. Seven 2x03/2.54” pin connectors with pullup resistors are used for that purpose. Better be prepared for the future, no?

/////
this seems pretty awesome to have incorporated into an actual power supply

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