PC at pier issues....

[RayD]

It is a DC and not AC supply isn't it? (the proper one that works that is). Sounds a silly question but many of the 19v supplies are AC, so worth a double check to rule that out. 

[LightBucket]

4 minutes ago, RayD said:

It is a DC and not AC supply isn't it? (the proper one that works that is). Sounds a silly question but many of the 19v supplies are AC, so worth a double check to rule that out. 

Hmm, will go and check, but the electronics that powers the PC from my Astro power hub, came from a dedicated laptop car 12v to 19v converter, so was made for the job...! So that is sure to be DC, not sure on the mains brick power adapter that came with the mini PC....which is the one that seems to work fine now.. 

[RayD]

50 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

Hmm, will go and check, but the electronics that powers the PC from my Astro power hub, came from a dedicated laptop car 12v to 19v converter, so was made for the job...! So that is sure to be DC, not sure on the mains brick power adapter that came with the mini PC....which is the one that seems to work fine now.. 

That's the one I mean.  Sometimes (often) the 19V power supplies for PC's and laptops are actually AC, and your powered hub will most certainly be DC.  It may not be the case her but best to check just to make sure.

[LightBucket]

I have checked and the mains supply is 

input 240v AC and output 19v DC...so is that ok..??

[RayD]

9 minutes ago, LightBucket said:

I have checked and the mains supply is 

input 240v AC and output 19v DC...so is that ok..??

Ok that's perfect. one possible problem ticked off the list.

Have you looked to see whether the PC fan is working correctly?  Also, have you used a meter to see what the output is at your DC supply?  If you say it is a dedicated 12V - 19V convertor, but are running it at 13.8V input, if it's not regulated it could well be well over 20V, which may not be ideal.

[ringz]

Could it be that the boost converter is putting out a very noisy signal and the input power regulation on the motherboard is not handling it properly.

[iapa]

most USB hubs will have a max power capability of 5V at 2A e.g. 10W, so, at near 19V, your max current will be about 0.5A - not enough.

It may be that you mini PC requires more than that? 

post a picture of the details printed on the bottom of the power supply for the PC - that will help us.

[LightBucket]

52 minutes ago, iapa said:

most USB hubs will have a max power capability of 5V at 2A e.g. 10W, so, at near 19V, your max current will be about 0.5A - not enough.

It may be that you mini PC requires more than that? 

post a picture of the details printed on the bottom of the power supply for the PC - that will help us.

Well it was a mains 240v power adapter that came with the PC with a 19v 3.25, amp, 65w output... will sort a picture out later..

[iapa]

3 hours ago, LightBucket said:

Well it was a mains 240v power adapter that came with the PC with a 19v 3.25, amp, 65w output... will sort a picture out later..

Ok

ta

you will not get 65W from a standard USB 2.x or 3.x hub port. 

You can use whatever converter you wish, but, if the source ( your USB hub) cannot provide 65W as a minimum, then you PC will  not work properly.

The stick PC I use take power via it’s USB mini port - but needs a 5V 3A power source. So, as I mount the pc on the dovetail I got a 2m USB - MINI cable that goes to the supplied mains adapter which  is plugged into a socket on my pier.

[LightBucket]

17 minutes ago, iapa said:

Ok

ta

you will not get 65W from a standard USB 2.x or 3.x hub port. 

You can use whatever converter you wish, but, if the source ( your USB hub) cannot provide 65W as a minimum, then you PC will  not work properly.

The stick PC I use take power via it’s USB mini port - but needs a 5V 3A power source. So, as I mount the pc on the dovetail I got a 2m USB - MINI cable that goes to the supplied mains adapter which  is plugged into a socket on my pier.

You are not understanding me, I don’t power it from a USB hub, it’s powered from a dedicated astro power hub like the mount hub pro from Hitecastro...with multiple 12v outputs which in tirn is powered from a 15amp bench supply...which outputs 200w so 65 is no problem...then I use a 12v to 19v booster at the Astro power hub...to power the PC as it requires 19v and not 12v, it’s this set up I am having issues with, but when I power the PC direct from the 65w mains power supply that came with it, it seems to work fine... hope that explains a bit better..