4 ms·

The ironic part is that barrel jacks tried to solve your problem by being completely non-standard to the point of absurdity. There are so many different kinds

The ironic part is that barrel jacks tried to solve your problem by being completely non-standard to the point of absurdity. There are so many different kinds and sizes of barrel jacks that when I was trying to order one that matches a cable I had, I eventually rage quit out of exasperation when even when finally finding and ordering some that matched the specs, they didn't fit, lmao. I now power everything with XT30/60 connectors.

vel0city 3y ago
Every time I need to buy a new barrel type power supply I'm always looking for one with a pack to different tips. Now I've got a pile of adapter tips, I can plug just about any supply into any device.
Eisenstein 3y ago
Just buy a bag of 5.5x2.5 connectors with panel mount sockets. XT30/60s are going overboard and pretty much everything now under 19v that uses barrel coax is either 5.5x2.5/2.1 or 3.5x1.5.
ant6n 3y ago
Back when there were electronics stores, you could just go and buy a tip that you could try out at the store, and match it to a power supply that had the right voltage and wattage.
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  Can still do that at 2nd-hand stores. May not be the greatest electrical efficiency. Don't forget to match polarity if your device requires DC and doesn't have a bridge diode. (Looking at you SNES!).
briHass 3y ago
My problem with barrel jacks (besides the myriad diameters) is that there's also different lengths and tip shapes, like how the insulated part of the center fits. I used the wrong tip (non original) for a network switch, and even though it felt like a perfect fit and worked, it must have been a poor enough fit to start arcing. The plug was completely melted, though luckily the gear was undamaged.
- hansvm 3y ago
  Mine is loose enough that it won't charge without a bit of foil jammed in there, and arcing is a non-issue. How much power does it draw?
- iudqnolq 3y ago
  That could also have been a polarity issue. Some are center positives, others center negative.
bsder 3y ago
Do XT30/XT60 connectors actually have a standard yet? I still have issues buying them from "real" distributors and manufacturers. I still can't seem to cough up an actual datasheet. For a while, some of them had a habit of arcing and catching on fire, as well. Not a big deal when doing attended, high impact stuff like racing or robots. However, that's a BIG problem when using them for unattended power.
- 0_____0 3y ago
  It's a shame that there aren't better low cost 2pos connectors. I'm partial to the LEMO style push-pull connectors or the Neutrik style twistlock connectors for "real projects" e.g..when someone has paid me money for their thing to work and keep working.
  - rainbowzootsuit 3y ago
    You might look at Anderson power pole connectors. They are quite popular in the HAM community, but I came upon them doing FIRST robotics mentoring. They are configurable to more than two poles and can be keyed by changing the orientation of the poles. The small size ones go to 45A DC and are easily crimped and assembled.
    - 0_____0 3y ago
      Well aware of the Anderson connectors. They're big, ugly, and have no ingress protection. They have their place.
- moffkalast 3y ago
  I think it's less of a standard and more genuine connectors made by Amass vs. knock offs. They even have a patent apparently. XT60 spec: https://www.tme.eu/Document/2d152ced3b7a446066e6c419d84bb460/XT60%20SPEC.pdf https://www.tme.eu/Document/2d152ced3b7a446066e6c419d84bb460... XT30 spec: - female https://www.tme.eu/Document/f2d0830114aabe6ea8d4bb128e962790/XT30U-F.pdf https://www.tme.eu/Document/f2d0830114aabe6ea8d4bb128e962790... - male https://www.tme.eu/Document/7d9d972ae3468777f69ec2ee99897652/XT30U-M.pdf https://www.tme.eu/Document/7d9d972ae3468777f69ec2ee99897652...
Cthulhu_ 3y ago
The other problem with barrel jacks is that there's current going through them all the time; iirc USB doesn't have anything or only the default 5 volt until there's been a transfer of information where the two sides indicate they can handle higher voltage/power. Source: 14 year old managed to jam the barrel jack into his laptop's HDMI port and fucked the whole device.

vel0city 3y ago

Every time I need to buy a new barrel type power supply I'm always looking for one with a pack to different tips. Now I've got a pile of adapter tips, I can plug just about any supply into any device.

Eisenstein 3y ago

Just buy a bag of 5.5x2.5 connectors with panel mount sockets. XT30/60s are going overboard and pretty much everything now under 19v that uses barrel coax is either 5.5x2.5/2.1 or 3.5x1.5.

ant6n 3y ago

Back when there were electronics stores, you could just go and buy a tip that you could try out at the store, and match it to a power supply that had the right voltage and wattage.

Scoundreller 3y ago
Can still do that at 2nd-hand stores. May not be the greatest electrical efficiency. Don't forget to match polarity if your device requires DC and doesn't have a bridge diode. (Looking at you SNES!).

briHass 3y ago

My problem with barrel jacks (besides the myriad diameters) is that there's also different lengths and tip shapes, like how the insulated part of the center fits. I used the wrong tip (non original) for a network switch, and even though it felt like a perfect fit and worked, it must have been a poor enough fit to start arcing. The plug was completely melted, though luckily the gear was undamaged.

hansvm 3y ago
Mine is loose enough that it won't charge without a bit of foil jammed in there, and arcing is a non-issue. How much power does it draw?
iudqnolq 3y ago
That could also have been a polarity issue. Some are center positives, others center negative.

bsder 3y ago

Do XT30/XT60 connectors actually have a standard yet? I still have issues buying them from "real" distributors and manufacturers. I still can't seem to cough up an actual datasheet. For a while, some of them had a habit of arcing and catching on fire, as well. Not a big deal when doing attended, high impact stuff like racing or robots. However, that's a BIG problem when using them for unattended power.

0_____0 3y ago
It's a shame that there aren't better low cost 2pos connectors. I'm partial to the LEMO style push-pull connectors or the Neutrik style twistlock connectors for "real projects" e.g..when someone has paid me money for their thing to work and keep working.
- rainbowzootsuit 3y ago
  You might look at Anderson power pole connectors. They are quite popular in the HAM community, but I came upon them doing FIRST robotics mentoring. They are configurable to more than two poles and can be keyed by changing the orientation of the poles. The small size ones go to 45A DC and are easily crimped and assembled.
  - 0_____0 3y ago
    Well aware of the Anderson connectors. They're big, ugly, and have no ingress protection. They have their place.
moffkalast 3y ago
I think it's less of a standard and more genuine connectors made by Amass vs. knock offs. They even have a patent apparently. XT60 spec: https://www.tme.eu/Document/2d152ced3b7a446066e6c419d84bb460/XT60%20SPEC.pdf https://www.tme.eu/Document/2d152ced3b7a446066e6c419d84bb460... XT30 spec: - female https://www.tme.eu/Document/f2d0830114aabe6ea8d4bb128e962790/XT30U-F.pdf https://www.tme.eu/Document/f2d0830114aabe6ea8d4bb128e962790... - male https://www.tme.eu/Document/7d9d972ae3468777f69ec2ee99897652/XT30U-M.pdf https://www.tme.eu/Document/7d9d972ae3468777f69ec2ee99897652...

Cthulhu_ 3y ago

The other problem with barrel jacks is that there's current going through them all the time; iirc USB doesn't have anything or only the default 5 volt until there's been a transfer of information where the two sides indicate they can handle higher voltage/power. Source: 14 year old managed to jam the barrel jack into his laptop's HDMI port and fucked the whole device.