-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 8
Cabling
For flashing an ATV, you want a good quality short cable. The following one has proven to work consistantly (when longer ones of lesser quality haven't):
When using a standard USB power device, beyond the stock power brick, you have two cabling options to get power to your device.
For powering an ATV, the one option is a USB A-A cable. No need to worry about USB2 or USB3. A basic one can suffice as long as it can handle 1A of current. Compared to barrel cables are usually the more expensive option, but they do allow you to reuse them on different devices.
The second and likely cheaper option is using a USB A to barrel connector. The ones I have purchased are on the order of $1.25 each. This cable also works well on the x96mini when using ethernet, as it will lead to a cleaner install since ethernet and power are adjacent to each other. Your connectors for your specific device may be different than the following, so please verify for yourself. I have had one report of a bad barrel cable, so it could be prudent to check them for shorts utilizing a multi-meter (see section below on how to do it).
- x96 mini - 5.5mm x 2.1mm
- a95x f1 - 4mm x 1.7mm
- tx9s s912 - 5.5mm x 2.1mm
- ihomelife s912 - 5.5mm x 2.1mm
- rbox s912 - 5.5mm x 2.1mm
- H96 Max - 5.5mm x 2.1mm
- Obscure/obsolete
Note: since these cables are cheap crap from China, it would be advised to at least continuity test them prior to use. In addition, if they go bad, it has been demonstrated that they can at least stop power to other devices and possibly kill your whole power adapter. How do you mitigate? It may be extreme for some, but use a power supply and individually fuse the devices as shown in my build.
The polarity on the barrels is simply negative on the outside and positive inside. But don't be afraid to test your stock bricks to verify.
You always have the option of making use of the cable from the stock brick. Cut and use as you see fit.
One thing to consider when entering the realm of doing custom wires is to consider voltage drop. Voltage drop is pretty simple. The longer the cable, the more voltage drop. More current through the cable, the more drop.
Here is a handy calculator to determine values for voltage drop. A specific example for our setups is here.
If you like your ATVs, I would take a few moments to verify the likely cheap cables you purchased are in working order. This goes for cut off stock cables or pigtails you bought.
Get a multi-meter, don't need a $400 fluke. I use a $30 klein from amazon. Don't know how to use one? Head over to youtube.com and find some instructional videos. Each one is different, so you may have to crack open the manual or guide that came with your multimeter.
This step is probably not necessary, but just makes sure that nothing funky is up with stock power brick, causing negative to be on the inside of the barrel. Set the multi-meter to dc voltage mode. Plug the stock brick into the outlet without hooking to ATV. Take the positive lead from the meter, put on inside of barrel. Take the negative lead from the meter, touch the outside of the barrel. The meter should read +5v or +12v depending on the brick. If it negative, something is awry.
Inspect the wiring for defects. Look for cuts and nicks. Bend the barrel end to see if things look copacetic.
Next step is to figure out the polarity of the wiring, whether you bought a pigtail or recycling stock wires. Your cables may have some + marks, one of them has a ridge or something similar indicating positive, but I would still verify things. Separate and cut a 1/4" of insulation to expose the wires. Put your multi-meter into continuity mode and test that it beeps by touching the negative and positive lead together. Verify that the cable isn't shorted by touching the negative lead to one wire and positive lead to the other - if it beeps you have a problem and don't use the cable. Take the a lead from meter and touch the outside of barrel. Touch the bare wires, the one that beeps is negative. Put the lead from the meter inside the barrel and touch the other wire - if it beeps, you found the positive.