Optional AC Adapter

[Tryon]

Hi!

That adapter is not needed for all SkytV users and those who need it can order one of higher quality?

[Sundtek]

The ac adapter is only needed for powering the LNB itself.
The LNB needs 13 / 18V in order to operate.

The tuner is able to use the 5V of the USB bus to generate the 13/18V, however the USB power is limited.

If the usb port is not able to provide enough power for the LNB the AC adapter will be needed.

When is no AC adapter needed?
* If you use an active multiswitch (a multiswitch which has its own powersupply)
* single and some dual LNBs usually also don't draw too much power
* MacOSX which provides up to 1 Ampere on the USB Port, the chance is high to be able to drive an LNB directly via USB power.

[Tryon]

Thank you for reply.

Idea is not to ship AC adapter in above cases.

My other concern is that currently chosen adapter is not best option for possible power surges and unwanted EMI.

Is tuner protected from that?

• Transil for low noise block protection
• USB 2.0 A Male to Female Cable w/ Ferrite-Core

Additionality, it would be good to warn users in pdf FAQ about importance of this:
http://www.spaun.de/?lang=en&modul=faq&category=1&id=1c6c3#1c6c3

[Sundtek]

We don't know the customer's setup so of course we will always ship the AC adapter with it.

For the rest of course we are taking care about low noise on the board, and of course there's common grounding.
Usually we don't have many issues with DVB-S/S2 and ground loops.

[Tryon]

Every customer should be aware of setup and select appropriate option. Just like when one may select only Raspberry Pi or bundle/kit.

There is no need to pay adapter which will never be used!

If the usb port is not able to provide enough power for the LNB the AC adapter will be needed.

Before using AC adapter, user may try to use Y cable

• Delock 65306

User may get additional ports from mobo by bracket or front panel hub.

AC adapter comes after all above options. Of course, only highly reliable one like:
GST18A12-P1J

Power cord provided by user anywhere in the world.

[Sundtek]

Hi,

well we implemented it that way to draw the power from the USB port if possible but don't want to enforce it.

There is a drawback if you use a Y cable, the tuner will become warmer since the current is higher (it's usually no problem as long as you don't have passive LNB switches in between, and the worst thing that can happen is a thermal shutdown).
Also a Y cable is not USB 2.0 conform (yes practically it exists). The best solution would be to use USB 3.0 but Linux doesn't support USB 3.0 well enough with USB 2.0 devices.

That said you know the background, we just don't want to enforce the use without AC adapter - even if it is a good feature of our devices.
Maybe in a few years when USB 3.1 is common enough the AC adapter can be skipped.

[Tryon]

There is a drawback if you use a Y cable, the tuner will become warmer since the current is higher (it's usually no problem as long as you don't have passive LNB switches in between, and the worst thing that can happen is a thermal shutdown).

Hi!
There is also drawback when using AC adapter that some weird users will also need master/slave power strip to turn it off when not used.

In same time they might already have quality ATX PSU with up to 7 years warranty. Tuner can be placed inside some 5.25" bay storage box and powered from standard 4 pin molex. There are even similar brackets for external devices.

Delock 61824 - eSATAp(USB + 12V)?

And finally this option would help Raspberry Pi users to reduce number of (unnecessary) power supplies:

• This 2A “laptop brick” supply outputs both 5V and 12VDC and is terminated with a 4-pin Molex connector.