Hardwiring 7 Port Powered USB Hub
04-03-2017, 02:40 AM
#1
Hardwiring 7 Port Powered USB Hub So..If I'm not mistaken, USB uses 5 Volts. I have 7 ports. I need atleast 1 of those ports to power an external Hard Drive. I was "assuming" that 2.5 Amps per port would be enough, am I incorrect? Thing is, I don't know anything about electronics.. I need a way to reduce the voltage from 12 - 14 to around 5 Volts and provide around 2.5 amps per port on the HUB.. So what kind of resistor would I need?
Also..
Would it be safe to hard wire it directly the the stereo's power wires or should I make a whole new run from the battery? I only want the device on when the radio itself is on.
Also..
Would it be safe to hard wire it directly the the stereo's power wires or should I make a whole new run from the battery? I only want the device on when the radio itself is on.
04-03-2017, 07:56 AM
#2
Your best bet is to get a 12V to 5V converter because it needs to be a regulated output not just the leftovers from using a resistor. You can get one from Amazon for about $7 that provides 3 amps at 5V output. That's very high for USB (USB data ports produce 900mA while some chargers produce 1.5A to 2.0A for rapid charging - not necessary to run a drive) but your drive will only draw what it needs so you should be okay.
You can wire it to the stereo power since the draw is so low. Still, it's a good idea to add a 1A inline fuse to the converter input.
You can wire it to the stereo power since the draw is so low. Still, it's a good idea to add a 1A inline fuse to the converter input.
04-03-2017, 02:09 PM
#3
Your best bet is to get a 12V to 5V converter because it needs to be a regulated output not just the leftovers from using a resistor. You can get one from Amazon for about $7 that provides 3 amps at 5V output. That's very high for USB (USB data ports produce 900mA while some chargers produce 1.5A to 2.0A for rapid charging - not necessary to run a drive) but your drive will only draw what it needs so you should be okay.
You can wire it to the stereo power since the draw is so low. Still, it's a good idea to add a 1A inline fuse to the converter input.
You can wire it to the stereo power since the draw is so low. Still, it's a good idea to add a 1A inline fuse to the converter input.
Edit: Was just doing a basic search and came across this: https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...g5EaAmD78P8HAQ
Thats 10 Amps which sounds much higher than what you were suggesting. Perhaps I could use this and divide the power between two USB Hubs (I kind of need 2, one internal for my DVR system and USB modem and the other external for USB flash drives, external harddrive, ect.
Think that will work?
04-09-2017, 06:41 PM
#5
I have another big question.
I eventually want to add an aftermarket alarm and interior LED bars from theretrofitsource. Do you think I will need to run power from the battery for these units as well or should the existing wiring have enough in reserve to handle these units? and how would I wire them up?
I eventually want to add an aftermarket alarm and interior LED bars from theretrofitsource. Do you think I will need to run power from the battery for these units as well or should the existing wiring have enough in reserve to handle these units? and how would I wire them up?
04-11-2017, 01:14 AM
#7
Your best bet is to use the three extra power ports in the dash fuse panel provided by GM specifically for adding accessories. There's more information in this post.
Big question, with the factory wiring in place what is the maximum power they are able to tolerate without anything dangerous happening?