Powering a Otg hub

[superman]

Hello,
I have a Otg I bought off eBay for my GBZ build. I bought a total of three hubs.
1. For inside (wireless keyboard chip, sound card, and Arduino for controller)
2. A two way to give me another port inside for the exterior port.
3. I got another three way so i could put it in the the 4 player adapter like this https://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic ... eap#p15890
This totals a max of 7 ports (4 inside+3 outside) which is to much to power off of the pi itself. So i was wondering if i could convert them to a powered hub by putting the power into my power strip pcb. So that the only thing that goes to the pi is data, power goes in parallel with every thing else (fan, LCD, amp, ect.). I was not sure if this would work since it isn't grounded to the pi any more .
Thanks for any help.
Links:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Micro-USB ... 2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Port-Micro-U ... 2749.l2649
I says four port but one is a charge port

[VeteranGamer]

your best option is to power the hub separately (just have the D+ and D- going to the RPi).....
especially with what you have planned....

I would also seriously consider your power supply options......
as once you also add a RPi and a screen (depending on which screen) to your setup...
I can see that you might run into power issues, where your not providing enough power to everything....

those hub can be very temperamental when they have not been supplied enough power....
you could find that one or some (if not all) of the ports become no responsive (don't work) if power drops....


have a look at this....
https://heldergametech.com/shop/gameboy-zero/retropsu/
it may not seem cheap, especially if your comparing against cheaper items available on eBay or aliexpress....
but it works perfectly for these builds...

NB: if you do opt to go for Helder PSU, you may not even need the use of the Arduino (that's one less thing to worry about)





.

[superman]

your best option is to power the hub separately (just have the D+ and D- going to the RPi).....
especially with what you have planned....

I would also seriously consider your power supply options......
as once you also add a RPi and a screen (depending on which screen) to your setup...
I can see that you might run into power issues, where your not providing enough power to everything....

those hub can be very temperamental when they have not been supplied enough power....
you could find that one or some (if not all) of the ports become no responsive (don't work) if power drops....


have a look at this....
https://heldergametech.com/shop/gameboy-zero/retropsu/
it may not seem cheap, especially if your comparing against cheaper items available on eBay or aliexpress....
but it works perfectly for these builds...

NB: if you do opt to go for Helder PSU, you may not even need the use of the Arduino (that's one less thing to worry about)





.

Thank you, for your help.
I would love to use Helder's board. As of now however I do not have the money to spend on just the psu (if i can afford it i will use it). I was wondering if there was a way to get the battery monitor on the screen. I have read your post on it but I need something that I can install without having to re-code the script it I will not be able to write or heavily edit it. I am trying to deign this so that I use minimum gpio connectors thus using the Arduino.
(I want to replace the pi zero with the next version when it comes out, since the pi 4 just came out.)

[infinitLoop]

(I want to replace the pi zero with the next version when it comes out, since the pi 4 just came out.)

the zero and the normal pi development don't coincide. (ie, just because the 4 came out, don't expect a new zero - they've said in the past that cramming more onto that form factor just isn't feasible).

.

[superman]

Is there a cheaper alternative to helder's psu.
Thanks

[infinitLoop]

Is there a cheaper alternative to helder's psu.
Thanks

sure, but they aren't as well-engineered as his. cheaper ones are most likely going to have the same current limitations that you are experiencing (or may have other issues - cheap crap on aliexpress turns out a lot of times to just be crap and you end up buying more just to get something that works). if you need that much power, then his is your best bet, and well-worth the cost (it's not *that* much higher, if you want a solid build).

other things that can cause the current to be limited are: poor solder connections, too-small gauge wire, too-long wires, and the battery itself. those composite screens can be very current-hungry on startup too, in my experience. spi screens take a lot less power, so you might consider that, with everything else you want to cram in there (but that does mean wiring 6-8 wires to the gpio).

[VeteranGamer]

Is there a cheaper alternative to helder's psu.
Thanks

you can definitely get a cheaper alternative to Helder PSU
and they'll work just as well (within reason)

if your on a budget or just dont fancy spending $20 on a PSU....
then these are some alternatives...


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3288549 ... b201603_52


I've personally used this one, it works perfectly...
(you just have to manually adjust it to boast to 5V, there a small screw type adjuster on the board)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3297618 ... b201603_52


you can also add one of these to the build...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3267939 ... b201603_52

this allows you to have a on screen battery indicator.....
and if used with this script

https://github.com/Helder1981/OneForAll

you can also have all your controls and a analog stick (eliminating the need for a Arduino)


just bear in mind....
you have two components to deal with, which means more wiring and placement issues (but it will work)



Helder PSU

https://heldergametech.com/shop/gameboy-zero/retropsu/

is about the size of one of these (the alternative PSU), and has everything all in one package....
and more importantly, support for the actual component....


but either option/route will work....
just go for whatever you feel is best for you.....




.