Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Ultimate Powerbox v1 and v2
Post Reply
astrodoc
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon May 23, 2022 6:41 pm

Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by astrodoc »

Everything seemed to be working well until I connected the camera and at that time the nuc shut off. It does look like there is a small voltage drop when the camera is connected but pretty small. The output to the pc drops from 13.2 or so to 12.8. I wouldn't think this would be enough to cause a shutdown but I did test with the nuc power brick and it does fine with that
Thanks
Dave
User avatar
Evans
Site Admin
Posts: 504
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by Evans »

Hi there,
It should not be related to a voltage drop but interference with USB signaling. I have seen this report a couple of times with NUCs. However, I cannot replicate it in my NUC (at least with NUC Gen8 and Gen10).
Try to plug the NUC into the Always ON port and retry.
Also, you can check the following tutorial for cable management. It is important to isolate USB cables from power cables.

https://pegasusastro.com/cable-manageme ... endations/
astronutcase
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:00 pm

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by astronutcase »

I seem to have the same problem. In my case if I power up NUC and the Powerbox with the two connected via USB, the NUC will power off. If I connect the USB only after NUC comes up, everything works fine. Doesn't seem to matter which NUC USB port is used nor how the cable is routed. Nor does the exact NUC voltage matter.
User avatar
Evans
Site Admin
Posts: 504
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by Evans »

There must be an issue with NUC 11 Gen that triggers this. Probably something in USB signalling triggers the reset to NUC.
Maybe a bios upgrade or config in bios can fix this.
User avatar
Evans
Site Admin
Posts: 504
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by Evans »

astronutcase
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:00 pm

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by astronutcase »

That reference describes setting a USB port in BIOS to “no detect”. Does that mean the port becomes useless?
User avatar
Evans
Site Admin
Posts: 504
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by Evans »

No it does not become useless. This is only for boot.
astronutcase
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:00 pm

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by astronutcase »

Thanks, I’ll give it a try.
astronutcase
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:00 pm

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by astronutcase »

I think that solved the problem. My only hesitancy is that today the failure mode is not a power off but rather a message saying my PC has an error and can’t load (forgot the exact wording). Regardless, with the BIOS change, I’ve successfully booted 4 or 5 times. I suspect the root cause of the failure is power load or noise related during the boot sequence and the BIOS change masks the problem off rather than actually fixing it. But right now that looks pretty good. I do need to continue testing to make sure the problem is really gone (it’s been solid the last few days but the failure comes and goes). I want to thank you for your suggestion It really helps.
cwoodhou
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:27 pm

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by cwoodhou »

NUCs nominal power supply is 19V. They can operate nearer 12V but I have had cases where a current surge from other equipment has momentarily dropped the voltage to around 12V and the NUC has shut down. I now operate my NUC with a separate power supply at about 13.5 volts and it has behaved itself since.
User avatar
rpineau
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:18 pm
Location: CA USA
Contact:

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by rpineau »

I have a Gen 8 NUC that is supposed to work at 12V .. emphasis on "supposed". BIOS is up to date, all BIOS settings are set properly (as far as I can tell based on a large experience with PC hardware from consumer one to data center servers :) ), ... and it runs Linux Mint (OS doesn't really matter but this shows the issue is not OS related).
Every time I have tried to power it from a good 12V source it tend to reboot or lose USB devices at random. The 12V power can deliver 30A so this is not the issue and this is without a UPBv2 or other in the way.
So 12V NUC ... finicky to say the least. I ended up using the original 19V power brick and I haven't had any problem since.
i have tested other mini PC that are powered via 12V (they do come with a 12V power brick) and these work fine directly powered from the same 30A 12v power supply and though an UPBv2 / PPBA (I tested on both).
So not all 12V capable NUC are build equally and your experience will vary.
User avatar
Evans
Site Admin
Posts: 504
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:06 pm
Contact:

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by Evans »

If voltage is above 12V the NUC works fine. 12.6 -12.8 keeps the NUC happy all the time.
I have spent dozens of nights with a NUC8 on top of my telescope , using 12.6Volts input.
If it is 12.0V , a small voltage drop during load will lower the voltage to lets say 11.7 and NUC will reset.
HarryPotter69
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2023 8:18 pm

Re: Upbv2 and Nuc11 power issue

Post by HarryPotter69 »

maybe the issue is with the power source connected with the camera. try changing it
Post Reply