Motorised
- Thread starter woody6222
- Start date
cappuccino99
Newbie
Anyone getting a better power supply to try to fix the ZGemma problems driving motors - although we don't supply Zgemmas. I've recommended getting 12v 5A PSUs to customers who've bought them & had issues driving motors, but I've heard reports that it didn't fix it or only did short term- can't say for sure as I've not bench tested them here. I think the connector's slightly different than most use btw, it's either 2.1mm or 2.5mm - they look the same at first glance but if they do fit, they will be loose so maybe that's one reason why it didn't seem to cure the issue for some. Some PSUs come with 2.1 2,5 adapters.
Try to get a good quality 12v5A PSU rather than the cheapest, used to carry loads of decent ones in dm800 days. They will almost all be switch mode PSUs btw- linear PSUs usually cost a lot more, you can tell which is linear, they're a lot bigger & heavier.
If you want the motor to go faster go to a channel on Horizontal - it puts the motor on 18v & drives faster, probably what some E2 coders have done.
Try to get a good quality 12v5A PSU rather than the cheapest, used to carry loads of decent ones in dm800 days. They will almost all be switch mode PSUs btw- linear PSUs usually cost a lot more, you can tell which is linear, they're a lot bigger & heavier.
If you want the motor to go faster go to a channel on Horizontal - it puts the motor on 18v & drives faster, probably what some E2 coders have done.
steptoe
VIP Member
its virtually impossible to measure without destruction,
2.1mm is [by far] more common for this sort of stuff
I was lucky enough to have both sizes kicking about so just tried both, obviously a 2.5 will 'fit' a 2.1 , but it wont make good contact, whereas a 2.1 simply wont fit a 2.5 pin
cappuccino99
Newbie
A basic [not dear] test meter will give the voltage - well, open circuit voltage, it can change under load if it's an unregulated PSU, 12v psu's can easily be anything between 12v - 12.6v & still be called 12v, & go a bit higher, but you are safer to try to match the original psu voltage or stick with 12v as it says 12v on the stb unless maybe if it helps the zgemma - all a bit messy but don't go a lot higher on volts & don't go under on amps.
As Steptoe's said- you'd have to overload a psu to see where it failed, so you have to trust the rating they say it is & another reason to try to stick with a good quality one- there is a lot of cheap rubbish out there.
cappuccino99
Newbie
I'm confused now,
I thought he meant to measure the physical size of the connector,
not the actual current,
lol- it makes sense both ways re-reading it, with that word current but without the word connector- my bad but still good advice, had someone plug in a much higher voltage psu with lower amp rating - not good -not sure why its virtually impossible to measure without destruction though
it's always annoyed me to have two connectors so similar -
steptoe
VIP Member
have you ever tried to measure the centre pin of the female end?
it can be done without destroying it, but much easier to just buy 2 plugs and try them, about 30p each probably.
the easiest way to measure it is push some blutak in, remove the blutak and then pour some really wet filler into the hole in the blutak, when it goes off take the blutak away and measure the filler.
not exactly worth the hassle imo.
ideally you want a 12v constant voltage PSU, higher the amperage the better, it will only draw whatever amount of amps it requires, voltage needs to be exactly as specified,
be careful of cheaper PSUs as sometimes when the current draw gets too high the voltage will drop, too low a voltage is almost as bad as too high a voltage, this will also burn stuff out
Yeah this. Apologies after reading my comment I can totally see where the confusion lay.I'm confused now,
I thought he meant to measure the physical size of the connector,
not the actual current,
Sent from my Hudl 2 using Tapatalk
steptoe
VIP Member
both my boxes are 2.1mm , as is most everything else I have , an Openbox and an Edision,
most routers are 2.1mm, so may be worth trying to see if that fits, with power turned off obviously,
almost every CCTV camera is 2.1mm too, so if you can try one of those, a 2.1mm jack will not fit a 2.5mm female, so if a 2.1 jack fits then its 2.1mm
cappuccino99
Newbie
hhmm
I agree, I'ts what I do & can still get the odd one mixed up - real pain - hopefully it will help someone with a zegemma
& it's good to give good sensible advice re psu's - on some stbs you can transform them simply by swapping to a much better psu & stop someone frying a box with the wrong one.
I do test a lot of PSUs - mostly they are 12v but it's quite rare to see exactly 12v - might have seen one this year, that might be getting better with better smpsu design.
steptoe
VIP Member
agreed,
lots of people simply see one PSU as being the same as the next one
I'd always recommend switch mode,
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