If you have a USB PD power supply or battery capable of outputting 15V at 18W and are comfortable with a little DIY, this is the post for you!
READ FIRST
If you’re going to build this, please ensure you’ve got the polarity correct (center +), or you could possibly damage HAPAX. If you’re unsure, use a multimeter to test that the polarity is correct before using it with HAPAX. If you are unsure about any of this, find someone who can help you. I’m not responsible if you damage your HAPAX!
Considerations
Not all USB C power sources support USB PD
Not all USB PD power sources will output 15V
The HAPAX power socket accepts a standard 5.5mm x 2.5mm jack, but the power source must be 15V 1.2A (18W) center +
Instructions
Program a YZXStudio ZYPDE USB PD adapter to negotiate 15V on startup (programming instructions below). [EDIT: see this post for a smaller, cheaper alternative that requires no programming, but does require soldering]
Connect a 5.5mm x 2.5mm barrel jack cable like this one (I used one I already had, so I can’t tell you what the polarity is for that one) into the +/- terminals of the ZYPDE so that the center of the barrel jack is +
Ensure the cable is 15V, center + with a multimeter!
Heat shrink all the things if you’re fancy. If not, maybe wrap it in some electrical tape?
Connect to HAPAX and enjoy your much improved lifestyle
ZYPDE Programming Instructions
TL;DR: Hold the button when connecting power to the ZYPDE. The lights will flash in a rainbow color. Release the button. Now press (and release) the button a few times until the light is Cyan. You should be able to confirm that it’s outputting 15V. Now long-press the button to “lock in” 15V at startup. Verify by disconnecting and reconnecting the power.
Always connect the ZYPDE to your USB PD power source and ensure that the light is cyan (signifying 15V) before connecting the barrel jack to HAPAX. This will ensure that you don’t send the wrong voltage into HAPAX. If the color is anything other than cyan, it’s possible that your USB PD power source is not able to send 15V. In that case, try a different USB PD power source.
@Thibault_Squarp can you confirm if HAPAX has reverse-voltage protection, or if it will be able to handle 5V, 9V, 12V or 20V (all voltages that USB PD supports) if someone doesn’t follow my directions?
I just want to make sure people take my warnings seriously!
There is reverse-voltage protection & over-voltage protection, so anything below 0V or above 15V should short circuit the power supply, and keep Hapax safe. However, I don’t think there is under-voltage protection/detection, but I don’t think it will cause too much damage.
tl;dr: Shouldn’t be too dangerous, but try at your own risk.
Note that if you use a fixed 15V USB PD Decoy Trigger like this one, it’ll be smaller, cheaper, and you won’t have to worry about programming it. Here’s an example of a cable a made using a dedicated 9V USB PD Decoy Trigger, with a few breakout cables for powering pedals.
AFAIK, there is no such thing as a “straight usb->5.5x2.2 centre positive cable” that provides 15V, because USB is always 5V unless you’re using some kind of device to negotiate a higher voltage from a USB PD or QC power source (like a USB PD decoy trigger).
You need a USB PD Decoy Trigger to get 15V out of a USB PD power source. There may be circuits to get 15V out of a USB QC (or some other USB) power source, but I don’t know of any.
And, of course, you should be able to power HAPAX, without any additional circuitry, from any non-USB power source that supplies 15V DC at the same or greater amperage / wattage (1.2A / 18W), that has a 5.5mm x 2.5mm barrel jack connector with center + polarity.
A quick search of the myVolts website shows that they sell a 15V Ripcord USB to DC power cable, with a center positive 5.5x2.5mm adapter, but it’s only rated at 12W, which is significantly lower than the 18W that HAPAX’s power adapter provides.
I don’t have a Mac, so I can’t answer that. But if you do some research and learn that your Mac’s USB-C ports can provide 15V at 18W, it should work. Let us know what you find out
Great project! I just stumbled upon this post while researching the HAPAX power requirements for a customer of mine so I created an account to share my solution with you:
The Birdcord PD ➔ 15V has basically the same function as cowboy’s DIY project and you can get it in my webshop (worldwide shipping).
Any experience powering gear like the Hapax using your product from the USB-C port on a MacBook Pro? Or does it only work with power banks and wall chargers?
I have no experience with the MacBook Pro being used as a power source and after researching it I don’t think the MacBook Pro’s USB-C port can output 15V.
@songbirdfx isn’t it down to power output (mA) rather than voltage? V=IR and all that jazz…
I have various usb voltage converters (not used on the Hapax though), to 9v/12v/15v … using ripcord and others. and it seems I could get most voltages, but the higher the voltage (converted to) the lower the current… and thats the issue, you might get the voltage you require but it wont have the mA.
(also ignoring practicalities, like power loss on converters etc)
this was a real issue when USB-A was limited to 500mA, but those days are long gone.
which is pretty much what enabled these converters.
but the limits on what USB ports output these days is quite large, with some offering ‘high output’ ports.
has usb-c standardised this? is this why you (@songbirdfx ) can say usb-c = 15v @ 3a?
(as an aside, I think MyVolts were planning on doing a converter which took two usb port to increase the mA that could be supplied … not sure if they ever brought this to market though)
@thetechnobear When it comes to USB-C PD, it is about the voltage rating (V) and current rating (A) of the port. PD stands for Power Delivery. It is a fast-charging standard that is able to provide different output voltages (9V, 12V, 15V, or 20V) depending on what you connect. The voltage conversion takes place inside the USB-C PD port. The Birdcord PD ➔ 15V and also the DIY cable @cowboy created just tell the PD port to set the output voltage to 15V.
Regarding the 3A rating of the Birdcord PD ➔ 15V : You only get 3A with a PD port power rating of 45W (15V*3A=45W) or higher. A 30W PD port will provide up to 2A@15V, which is still enough to power the Hapax.
Important
Make sure to use the Birdcord PD→15V only with USB PD
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Otherwise, it will output only 5V.
As mentioned above, Hapax does not have undervoltage protection, so the failure mode of the Birdcord 15V can cause damage to your Hapax.
Please note that 15V is also not available with USB PD 1.0 (which only allows 5V, 12V and 20V), only USB-PD 2.0 and onward. This means that some USB PD power banks may not work either. Recent ones should be fine however.
If you’re going to build this, please ensure you’ve got the polarity correct (center +), or you could possibly damage HAPAX. If you’re unsure, use a multimeter to test that the polarity is correct before using it with HAPAX. If you are unsure about any of this, find someone who can help you. I’m not responsible if you damage your HAPAX!
