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    A New Chapter for MagicMirror: The Community Takes the Lead
    Read the statement by Michael Teeuw here.

    Powering my mirror?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
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    • M Offline
      MadScientist
      last edited by

      You should check how much power your mirror, incl. screen and RaPi, consumes and buy an appropriate LED power supply. Especially the IP67 ones are very slim. My 60W power supply is only 33mm high. My whole system uses max. 30W so I decided to go bigger (46W was out of stock, 50W has the same dimensions). If you’re at max. below 30W you could aim for a 36W power supply that are even smaller (I think 20mm high).

      You could use buck-boost-converters to adjust the voltage you need for the Pi or the LCD. In my case the LCD is driven by a V59 universal controller board that runs on 12V, so it can be powered directly from the supply. The Pi will get the power also from the power supply but with a buck-converter in-between, that reduces the 12V to 5V.

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      • T Offline
        The Bean
        last edited by

        I’m actually not sure what to check for watt consumption. I’m only seeing volt and amp.

        cruunnerrC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M Offline
          MadScientist
          last edited by

          You could use something like this:
          alt text
          alt text

          You plug in the wall outlet and then you plug the power supply into this device. It will show you voltage, amperage, wattage, etc. They are very cheap. I think I paid for mine around 5€ 5 years ago.

          Or, if you know how much ampere is used at a known voltage, you can easily calculate the wattage by multiplying amere A with voltage V, e.g. 3A at 12V would result in 36W.

          T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • T Offline
            The Bean @MadScientist
            last edited by

            @MadScientist ok so you example is exactly the specs for my display. And from what I’ve seen RasPi3’s won’t reach 4 watts. So any psu over 40 should work, correct?

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            • M Offline
              MadScientist @The Bean
              last edited by

              @The-Bean
              They say the power supply should be able to do 20-30% more than what you need. So better aim for 45W. Something like this should do. Just check Amazon or eBay in your local country. They are usually very cheap and do the job just fine. I use 2 of those (30W) to drive LEDs for years now.

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              • cruunnerrC Offline
                cruunnerr @The Bean
                last edited by

                @The-Bean said in Powering my mirror?:

                I’m actually not sure what to check for watt consumption. I’m only seeing volt and amp.

                W = V * A (Watt = Volts * Ampere)

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                • D Offline
                  doubleT Module Developer
                  last edited by

                  I put a hole in the drywall and made a neat little sunk in box with outlets for power (with a PIR for the monitor) and usb (for the pi 24/7) – no visible cables – but I know sometimes that’s not possible.

                  My plan b was a cable that I’d sleeve really nice so it doesn’t look too bad that goes to small cable box where the cable is split and connected with a plug for the monitor (or in your case the psu) and a converter with a usb plug. Just be careful when working with electricity. I learned a painful lesson on that when I built my Mirror.

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                  • T Offline
                    The Bean @MadScientist
                    last edited by

                    @MadScientist probably an ignorant question. But will that still work if split between the step down to a 5v, as well as the 12v controller board?

                    M 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M Offline
                      MadScientist @The Bean
                      last edited by

                      @The-Bean
                      In my case the RaPi takes less than 0.4A with very short peaks just above that. So the consumption is around 2-2.5W incl. keyboard and mouse. Add this to your screen consumption and add 20-30% on top of that. So 45W is the minimum, 50W and above should be the better choice. But it also depends how long the screen will be on. If it’s just for a couple of minutes every hour or so, 45W will do.

                      The 12V/3A of your screen, are they measured values, or are they from your manual? What screen are you using?

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                      • T Offline
                        The Bean @MadScientist
                        last edited by

                        @MadScientist it is the recommended power for the controller board https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e11400.m1842.l5919/7?euid=5138ba89bae64ecd98354e79c15592eb&bu=44095069551&loc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fvod%3Ftransid%3D1755030964001%26itemid%3D112175476566%26qu%3D2&sojTags=bu=bu
                        It’s an old laptop screen.

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                        • M Offline
                          MadScientist
                          last edited by MadScientist

                          I can’t open that link because it links to your personal order details.

                          Edit: If it’s a universal LCD controller board (like the V29, V56, or V59), then it also depends what LCD panel you’re using? Can you give me the panel number? Should be a sticker on the back of it. I’ll have a look at the datasheet.

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                          • T Offline
                            The Bean @MadScientist
                            last edited by

                            @MadScientist I think this one should be good. I’m currently at work so I can’t just look at it.
                            https://m.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Controller-Board-Driver-kit-for-LTN170WX-L08-HDMI-DVI-VGA-M-NT68676/112175476566?_mwBanner=1

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                            • M Offline
                              MadScientist
                              last edited by

                              Ah ok, I also of one of these to fire an old Laptop LCD for a digital picture frame.Now we need to know the type of the LCD. You can write it when you’re back home and I’ll look at it asap. Probably tomorrow since it’s already 7pm here.

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                              • T Offline
                                The Bean @MadScientist
                                last edited by

                                @MadScientist will this be on the back of the screen it’s self?

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                                • M Offline
                                  MadScientist
                                  last edited by

                                  Here’s an example from my LCD that I am going to use for my mirror

                                  alt text

                                  The M240HW01 V.D. is the LCD model and AU Optronics is the manufacturer.
                                  Btw, for the future: A V56 or V59 controller board are already available for less than 8€ incl. shipping and the firmware can be changed easily by USB. It has other disadvantages though, like not waking up automatically once the HDMI port is re-activated.

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                                  • T Offline
                                    The Bean @MadScientist
                                    last edited by

                                    @MadScientist wouldn’t that be the LTN170WX-L08 that i had to look up to find it? And thanks for the info on universal boards. Though I think I want the auto wake feature.

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                                    • M Offline
                                      MadScientist
                                      last edited by MadScientist

                                      Yeah, I saw after I replied. I checked the datasheet and if I do not misunderstand the information, your screen should be at around 10W (max.). The board will probably take some, too. But you should be more than fine with a 30W power supply.

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                                      • T Offline
                                        The Bean @MadScientist
                                        last edited by

                                        @MadScientist with the pi and all?

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                                        • M Offline
                                          MadScientist
                                          last edited by

                                          That should be enough for all if you don’t have more than the LCD, Raspberry Pi and the step-down module. You should check the power consumption of the LED strips, if you’re planning to use some. If not, you should be good with 30W.

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                                          • T Offline
                                            The Bean @MadScientist
                                            last edited by

                                            @MadScientist
                                            Will both the LCD and the step down wire to the same wire? Will this lower the 12 volts from the lcd?

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0

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