dzorbas Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I've been scouring different posts to find a definitive answer but I am still unsure about this. There is some mention on the pin2dmd.com website in the hardware section about powering pin2dmd boards when they installed in real pins. There are diagrams showing where you can pick up 12 volts (or greater) and step it down using a converter. Is this necessary when using the EVO boards as it is not clearly explained? There are connectors for 5v (SAM) and 12v (WPC) on the back of the EVO board. I haven't looked all that closely at the DMDs in real pins so I have no idea what is powering them. I'm pretty certain in a post from @dpannell2 that I saw a custom harness or some wiring for this. I just can't remember which post it was in. Any help would be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider lucky1 Posted October 1, 2019 Content Provider Share Posted October 1, 2019 The EVO PCBs have a DC-DC converter circuit onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzorbas Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Excellent! These boards are getting better by the minute! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzorbas Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 What is the max voltage that can be fed into the 12v connector? I've also done a lot of reading on whether these can be powered off a board in a pinball machine or whether they need an external power supply. It seems like there are mixed opinions. I can't imagine running this thing at anything more than 50% brightness at max. It's way too bright. In fact I'm closer to 10%-20% brightness and that seems like plenty. What's the general consensus? ColorDMD must be using similar panels and I think they are just running off of power from the pin. I haven't read of too many issues with their product. For those opting to run them off of an external supply, where are you plugging them in and how are you controlling power? I can plug mine into the maintenance outlet as my pins are on smart plugs so all power gets cut completely. I was thinking for other situations, maybe a relay that gets triggered when the pin is powered on. Ultimately you want everything to come on and off at the same time. Any suggestions? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider lucky1 Posted October 6, 2019 Content Provider Share Posted October 6, 2019 You can find power source examples for many pinball machine types here https://pin2dmd.com/hardware/ These are more or less the same points where colorDMD gets their power from. You can even use their cable kits if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzorbas Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 I will test things out on my Judge Dredd. Do we need to be careful with the voltage going into the 12v connectors on the EVO board? I understand that it has the converter to step the voltage down to 4.8v-5v but is there a max input that we should be aware of? Thanks as always for the insight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Content Provider lucky1 Posted October 6, 2019 Content Provider Share Posted October 6, 2019 Here is the datasheet http://www.xlsemi.com/datasheet/XL4015 datasheet.pdf Max 36V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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