Lower voltage passthrough??

[samsmom]

Does anyone make a KR808 P/T that is lower than 5 volts?
I don't like the higher voltage - would be sweet to find one that is the same 3.7 as the batts.

 

[phishtraveler]

yes! great idea. Even a 4V voltage would be a plus....the PT at 5V just burns through the carts too fast. I rarely use mine anymore and when I do, only on refilled carts.

 

[samsmom]

Yeah - I actually got a tongue "shock" with mine this morning - didn't feel too good! Hanging it up for now and just using the 3.7V batts!

 

[markfm]

One thing you can do is use higher resistance cartos (3.3 ohms or greater) on a passthrough.
I use passthroughs at work and in the car all the time, am really careful not to use the more LR cartos on them.

 

[dysfoundation]

It will cause some heat withing the box but use a reaister on the power wires...look online for a resistor calculator. I use resistors for mods I do on xboxs/computers so they'll last, just be warned they do create a but off heat

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G using Tapatalk

 

[o4_srt]

It will cause some heat withing the box but use a reaister on the power wires...look online for a resistor calculator. I use resistors for mods I do on xboxs/computers so they'll last, just be warned they do create a but off heat

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G using Tapatalk

use a diode instead of a resistor. two of these wired in series should help quite a bit, dropping your voltage down to roughly 3.6

 

[markfm]

Google 3.7V KR808D-1 passthrough and you should get hits on it, it might be simpler to buy what you want than to tear down a PT and add other components yourself.

 

[Maxwell_Edison]

Most importantly, can these PT's harm your motherboard? My PT was toast after one day's use and I'm waiting on a replacement. I am also waiting for an ac/usb adapter from, but if the PT gets here first I'll be tempted to use it with my PC. It would suck to burn up a $600 PC with a $16 PT ...

 

[Adrenalynn]

use a diode instead of a resistor. two of these wired in series should help quite a bit, dropping your voltage down to roughly 3.6

Yes. Absolutely.

It would take monster power resistors to carry that load. And do it inefficiently. Diodes are the best way to do it outside of building a LDO regulator.

Most importantly, can these PT's harm your motherboard?

I can't remember the number of times I've answered this one.

Not on USB 2, no. There is a kind of fuse [breaker] required for USB 2.0 or better. Generally realized on a motherboard for USB protection as a polymeric positive temperature coefficient device aka PPTC. When it gets too hot it opens up stopping the flow of current. When it has the load removed it will reset itself.

In Windows, for example, you'll get a popup message telling you that you've over-powered a device and windows has shut it down (which is a reach since Windows didn't do any such thing, it's just reporting the status it got back).

In a worst-case scenario it might BSOD Windows and you'll need to reboot.

 

[Vapor Prince]

As with anything you plug into your computer, you should take anti-static precautions.

We have just become so used to "plug-n-play" that a lot of us forget that (especially during cold dry months - aka Chicago winters) that static is abundant.

I always tell people to "discharge" themselves before plugging anything into your USB port. (did that sound nasty? I didn't mean it that way - ha ha ha) - By continuously touching an un-painted metal surface of the chassis or the computer power supply case, or the leg of a metal table as you plug in the USB-passthru. (Granted, 99% of the world will not do this, but if you are worried about the motherboard... do it )

Apparently Adrenalynn as sufficiently answered this question already as it pertains to USB2 - but if you don't know.... better safe than calling the GeekSquad!!

Hope that helps a little - Oh... and yes you can fry your motherboad by looking at it the wrong way too - so, yes you should take the necessary steps before practicing "safe hex"

Most importantly, can these PT's harm your motherboard? My PT was toast after one day's use and I'm waiting on a replacement. I am also waiting for an ac/usb adapter from, but if the PT gets here first I'll be tempted to use it with my PC. It would suck to burn up a $600 PC with a $16 PT ...

 

[Maxwell_Edison]

I can't remember the number of times I've answered this one.

Not on USB 2, no. There is a kind of fuse [breaker] required for USB 2.0 or better. Generally realized on a motherboard for USB protection as a polymeric positive temperature coefficient device aka PPTC. When it gets too hot it opens up stopping the flow of current. When it has the load removed it will reset itself.

In Windows, for example, you'll get a popup message telling you that you've over-powered a device and windows has shut it down (which is a reach since Windows didn't do any such thing, it's just reporting the status it got back).

In a worst-case scenario it might BSOD Windows and you'll need to reboot.

Wow, you know your stuff! I'm glad you answered one more time for me. Thanks. I have a Windows 7 64 bit only 6 months old, so I'm sure the protection is built in. A weird thing I've noticed is that when I charge a battery thru the USB port and it says it's charged, it will charge another hour and a half on the wall charger. I don't have anyway to measure volts nor am I the least technical about this stuff. Just an observation I've noticed with all batteries. On the flip side, could my USB port have burned out the PT (after one day)? Thanks for your answer, really helps!

 

[Adrenalynn]

Sorry - I didn't mean that to be snarky at all. Just noting that it's a common concern.

I've an electrical engineer and have designed LiIon chargers, even very recently and related. For my day job, I work a lot on USB-powered video devices. I've designed many a host, hub, and root - and have been a member off and on.

The question of built-in protection is about the motherboard not the OS. Even some modern machines can have one or two USB 1.1 ports (low-speed ports for key/mouse) and 2.0, even Draft 3.x ports now. Draft 3 has "battery charging amendment" that allows for high-current naturally. USB 2 is protected. USB 1.1 may or may not be - but should be by this point. Even my netbook is.

There really shouldn't be any way a USB port could destroy a PT.

 

[leeshor]

Just an FYI:

Operating systems, are notorious for not reporting underlying hardware issues. Just yesterday we had the opportunity to restart a customer's server and got an error that reported an over voltage on the USB port. (They had visibly damaged the port but it was not evident until you looked at it dead on). A system could also be overheating and you might never know until you restarted the system and the hardware told you. Same thing for power supply voltage problems and the list goes on.

I could write a book on all the reasons a computer workstation should NOT be left powered up 24/7 for extended periods. At the minimum, a heavily used system should be restarted once every 24 hours in order to find possible problems before they get a chance to cause some really serious issues.

I can't count the number of times someone has asked me to install some software on a system, (before I do, I generally restart the system and check for problems), and when the system tried to start and threw an error the customer looked at me as if I did something to their system. Invariably I ask when the last time the system was shut down and they can't give me a realistic answer.

This also applies to laptops. It's too easy to just hibernate the system all the time. Restart every now and then.

 

[Maxwell_Edison]

Most everyone knows that without body language, voice and eye contact words can mean something different to the reader than what the writer intended. I didn't think you were 'snarkly' at all, Adrenalynn. I'm seriously glad you answered this question, b/c now I'm certain I recieved a bad PT (which was promptly replaced) and I know I won't burn the new one up by just using it. Thanks for replying.

I did know about re-booting the PC daily, good advice. And Prince, the reason this one is so new is precisely b/c I looked at the old one wrong and fried the motherboard. (not kidding. i turned it off for three days and it wouldn't turn back on) I wonder if a pc/usb adaptor will fully charge my batteries. I'll be finding out as the adaptor is being shipped now. If the PCC can only be charged via USB then I have to found out why mine isn't fully charging things...