Maschine+ Power Bank guide

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  • ozon
    ozon Member Posts: 1,356 Expert
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    So the M+ shuts down unexpectedly. If I understood correctly, this happens with 3 different PD cables connected to the same powerbank? In that case I would conclude there’s a problem with the powerbank.

    Have you tried waiting a minute before switching on the M+? Maybe the powerbank is not stable while the electronics are heating up.

  • Percivale
    Percivale Member Posts: 208 Advisor
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    1. if you have the luxury, use elimination theory by swapping out the parts one by one to identify the culprit, like what Ozon said, try the bank, then the cable, then the maschine (borrow one or try at the shop?)
    2. have you tried plugging in the usb (for 5V) from PC to maschine followed by a PD cable (with powerbank switched on already) to see if the power can be sustained.
  • Ciutdlla
    Ciutdlla Member Posts: 6 Member
    edited July 2023
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    Thanks for the reply.

    Already tried 2 different cables. "Maybe the powerbank is not stable while the electronics are heating up" This makes sense, since it works fine on the second attempt to power it on. Im going to try another Xiaomi power bank in a few days and post back the test.

    This is the new one I ordered:


  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,884 mod
    edited July 2023
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    @Ciutdlla:

    Tested with the cable that came with the power bank and a Anker Powerline III Cable USB-C PD 60W

    I suspect that the original cable might have a PD chip requesting a specific voltage and than the bird cord is asking for another causing an issue. Try another USB-C cable that you're sure is 'dump' and has no PD chip.

    To be honest you should have just bought a USB-C cable to barrel adapter that requests the correct voltage as explained in the guide, I don't see a point of having a cable that connects to another cable.

  • Ciutdlla
    Ciutdlla Member Posts: 6 Member
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    Hi,

    I tried all the usb-c cables I have at home at the same happens. It only happens the first time on cold. The new powerbank its arriving tomorrow so I will post my results.

    About the cord I tried to follow the guide and bought the birdcord as it was on bold and also said "company worth supporting IMHO" so I tried to support 😅 Also the barrel cable its not in stock anymore.


  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,884 mod
    edited July 2023
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    Cold/fresh boot on computers is the time when the most power is used I think, if it fails it can be a sign of the unit being underpowered somehow.

    Ok, let's wait for the new one to see if the powerbank is the issue.

    Hum... You're correct, notes on that part could be more clear, I'll add a note that a BirdCord should be the last resort in case a direct cable cant be found.

  • Ciutdlla
    Ciutdlla Member Posts: 6 Member
    edited July 2023
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    I tested the new power bank during 2 days and until now it's working perfectly. Going to post back after a few more days of testing

    Imuto power bank was the problem.

    Xiaomi power bank works without any issues



  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,884 mod
    edited July 2023
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    Oh, interesting. This is good info for users to know to avoid that brand, thanks for sharing!

    I was scared for a sec there that it was due to the cable 😬

  • red_nick
    red_nick Member Posts: 103 Member
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    If it's only the power bank I suspect that is the cause. Maybe it isn't correctly recognising that something is connected and turning itself off?

  • CasualCoroner
    CasualCoroner Member Posts: 1 Newcomer
    edited July 2023
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    So, I'm curious if anyone has actually put a hall effect clamp multi-meter on their cable when running to measure current draw? Ideally both with the OE wall adapter and when running on a powerbank. Reason I ask is that based on my testing, I don't believe Maschine is drawing more than 0.6 amps when nothing else (USB drive, keybpard, etc) is connected.

    I have a Sharkgeek Storm2 powerbank that is 100W. It happens to have a DC out port that provides 75W of power and allows for variable voltage setting in 0.1V increments with current delivery up to 3A. It also has a screen showing the details of the power delivery (voltage, amps, watts, temps, etc.) I set mine to 15V and connected it with a DC connector cable (5.5x2.5 to 5.5x2.5). Fired up my Maschine+ and tried a bunch of projects. Loaded up a ton of instances of different synths. The whole time, my powerbank was showing 15V and 0.45 to 0.61 amps current draw. Never higher. Everything was rock solid on Maschine+ as well. No slowdown or anything.

    I re-read this whole thread and someone mentioned the need for additional power delivery to support things like external hard drives, etc. So, perhaps we need to update the pinned post with some additional guidance. The Ripcord 'should' be okay if all you are doing is running Maschine+ with no peripherals connected. If you connect an external drive, MIDI keyboard, etc. then you will probably need something delivering more current. But for someone like me looking for a way to just jam on the commuter train to work, the Ripcord seems like it will work fine.

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,884 mod
    edited July 2023
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    @CasualCoroner

    So, I'm curious if anyone has actually put a hall effect clamp multi-meter on their cable when running to measure current draw? Ideally both with the OE wall adapter and when running on a powerbank. Reason I ask is that based on my testing, I don't believe Maschine is drawing more than 0.6 amps when nothing else (USB drive, keybpard, etc) is connected.

    I think the extra juice is exactly for overhead when using external things connected to the USB, that's why the RipCord in post #2 that only delivers 0.6 amp actually works, but def wouldn't recommend it... I am no electrical guy but I know devices can have spikes of higher power consumption and if that happens the device can crash, the cable can fry if not rated for such a higher amperage, which seems risky for a 1200$ device... Especially when a PD-Powerbank+PD cable is actually the cheapest option in this era.

    I haven't seen anyone use those fancy clamp multimeters, only normal ones with prongs to check voltage but your assessment of 0.6 seems to add up and be correct. Have you checked during boot if it spikes to more than that?

  • tribepop
    tribepop Member Posts: 160 Advisor
    edited July 2023
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    That's correct. A circuit ONLY draws as much current (amps) as it needs. If you have a power supply that is providing 2 Amps of current, but your circuit can only handle 1 amp of current, if the power supply voltage is correct-ish, it will still power the device just fine but if for some reason a diode or something fails in the circuit then it could potentially draw up to 2 amps of current from the power supply and fry the device which is why you usually want to get a power supply that is rated to what the device can handle. I'm honestly surprised that the M+ isn't drawing more current when it's operational, 0.6 Amps seems pretty low for a device with that kind of capability. My guess is the 2.66 amp rating is based on what the M+'s circuitry is rated for and not necessarily because that's the maximum current that the M+ draws in a given session.

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 2,884 mod
    edited July 2023
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    Yeah, it def doesn't draw all that but surely that's the spec for a reason, I'd recommend following it.

    Running it "underpowered" should be OK, but I really don't want to put that info out there confirming it and saying "it's fine" then someone forgets, connects a couple of external drives to their M+ and something bad happens and they came here crying it's my fault.

    @tribepop

    if for some reason a diode or something fails in the circuit then it could potentially draw up to 2 amps of current from the power supply and fry the device which is why you usually want to get a power supply that is rated to what the device can handle.

    I've only used diodes in custom mechanical keyboards so I'm def not an expert but afaik diodes just force the signal to go in one direction only (forward), you might be confusing it with resistors. I think frying anything on the device when the power source is underpowered is not a thing, that's an overpowering problem, but I wouldn't go risking it...

    AFAIK the highest risk is the cable, if its too thin because it's rated for lower power it can get too hot and burn the isolation, then if the + and - touch each other that can be disastrous, it will short and trigger your house electrical panel to shut down and who knows what might happen to the M+, I don't think it has fuses for protection 😬 I think cables are generally a bit thicker than what they need to be anyway but again, I ain't trying it to find out.

  • ozon
    ozon Member Posts: 1,356 Expert
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    I’ve seen readouts of 1.1A on my power bank during boot up.

    And there was at least one forum user who reported having weird problems with their M+ when using the Ripcord, which went away when using a proper power source.

    Feel free to ignore.

  • tribepop
    tribepop Member Posts: 160 Advisor
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    Oops yep you are absolutely right, resistors are the primary means of limiting current flow. Diodes do limit the flow of current in one direction so they can be used in some circuit protection configurations but in our case we’re more concerned about the overall amount of current being supplied. Sorry for the confusion, that’s what I get for typing on my phone in-between meetings lol.

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