Keyboard Display: "You're low on power. Please connect a USB-C power supply"

So I'm confused, maybe some NI folks can chime in. Something's not adding up here.

I saw this post earlier and had a "huh?" moment when I realized the Maschine+ with it's single board computer running an Atom processor requires 15 volts at 2.66 amps which is 40 watts.

I hooked a USB-C cable with a built-in watt meter to my S61 MK3 and I measured about 3 watts, it didn't seem to change when playing. At 5 volts, 3 watts is drawing 0.6 amps.... so what's the deal? Why are people having to use power supplies that can charge my Lenovo laptop to power a keyboard with relatively light-weight microcontrollers inside?

There is a difference in current but it seems that when the keyboard is in "not enough power mode" it draws almost half the power as it does during normal operations. Not sure that's a cable issue.

With the keyboard plugged into the FNB58 which is plugged into my Mac Studio. USB-PD messages are enabled (PD switch on)

With the USB-PD messages disabled (PD switch off), it's back up to its normal power.

Interestingly if you turn the FNB58 PD switch back on (enable USB-PD messages) the keyboard doesn't fall back to "not enough power" mode. The LCD backlight dims and the current drops, but it stays on. Looks like it's trying to keep the current under the standard 0.500A USB standard.

@JesterMgee

Yeah, this is true for recent computers (built within the last couple years) AND for the MK3.

I actually consider this to be a GOOD thing. Wall-Warts (TM) suck, because they are wasteful. They waste space under my desk, they waste space on a power strip, and they waste heat and power because they're being required to step-down the voltage for ONE device. They waste space in my storage bin in the laundry room too, because I fear throwing an old one away unless it is damaged or known to be non-functional.

Oh and don't forget the risk you always have of plugging the wrong wall-wart/adapter into a device. You get a blue flash, a puff of "magic smoke", and then the device is unusable. Wow, THAT'S not a waste of natural resources, no! 😒

But the good news is that now, the standard is available for USB-C power supplies to be built into multiple-outlet wall-warts or multi-outlet USB-C hubs. Even power strips are being made now that can support all the different devices we have. Some have USB-A sockets on them, but there ARE some that can be made to have multiple USB-C sockets on them, so you can use whatever cables you have on hand.

I see this as a HUGE ecological benefit while ALSO being a huge reduction in hassle-factor.

Wall Warts are basically little transformers which consist of lots of copper windings and maybe some magnets and a printed circuit board. Copper and magnetic materials are not unlimited resources, and making PCBs creates pollution and E-waste. A wall-wart that comes with your old-school Korg Electribe is pretty much only good for that device...or maybe for any Electribe of that era. But not for an Ensoniq keyboard or a Roland sound module.

At least some makers, such as Roland, Korg, and many guitar pedal makers too, actually use a standard wall-wart that can be transferred between multiple devices made by that maker. That's good, but it doesn't go far enough because you still need 1 wall-wart per device.

But now we have wall plugs that include 2, 4, or more USB PD (Power Delivery) slots, and we have power taps that have multiple similar slots.

As a person steadily upgrades some or all of their studio devices, the need for a wall-wart for every device will drop.

And when THOSE new-generation USB-C powered devices start to get sold on the secondary market (Ebay, Reverb, etc), now they don't need to include a wall-wart, because they'll work with any USB-C power delivery equipment that the buyer may have on hand.

It's not perfect, no. But this is a good thing, because we can build on these new standards. Anytime I can stop with the wall-wart madness, (finding places for them, labeling them so I don't plug the wrong one into a device, and saving wall-warts and phone chargers AND stop acquiring them with each new technology purchase), that's an improvement.

I say bring it on.