Weekend Project with the BP-SCL5 Charger

[ph33lix]

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Disclaimer:

This device uses mains voltage and may have charged capacitors that could still shock you. Attempt at your own risk.

While I do have the USB-C to 12Vdc 2.5mm barrel jack cable, I have way more USB-C QC 2.0 (or higher) capable cables at work, in my work bag and camera bag, as well as my travelling charging kit.

So instead of worrying about potentially misplacing or damaging the specialty USB-C to 2.5mm barrel connector cable, I decided to install a USB-C trigger board, set to 12V, into the charger itself so that I can just grab any USB-C to USB-C cable and get a charge going from a QC 3.0 power bank or charging brick.

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Edited June 6 by ph33lix
Added disclaimer.

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[ph33lix]

The spot I picked is where capacitor C5 was glued down on.

The glue is soft enough that it can be simply pried off the board and folded away 180 degrees. Despite now not laying as flat against the PCB as previously, there's still enough clearance.

Some layout was done and I scraped off the green enamel coating off the PCB traces where 12Vdc courses through (verified with a multimeter in DC mode).

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The USB-C trigger board is so tiny that it can fit in between the existing barrel socket and the glue used to strain relief the charging wiring.

 

Used a soldering iron and flowed some solder onto the exposed copper traces and onto the negative (on the left) and positive (on the right) output pads on the USB-C trigger board. It so worked out that the trigger board's output polarity matched up with the copper traces! So I flowed extra solder to offer some mechanical strength to withstand the insertion forces.

Edited June 6 by ph33lix
Autocorrect changed "traces" to "traced".

[ph33lix]

Slightly biffed it on the layout for drilling out the hole for the USB-C socket, so the ellipse (or ovoid?) is a little taller than the socket itself; which is still fine.

I was trying to make the cutout accurate so that I can use the plastic enclosure itself to mechanically secure the USB-C socket in the X and Y axis, while the solder joint locks down movement in the Z axis.

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Thankfully, the sides and top of the cutout are indeed snug and gives me the warm and fuzzies knowing that this will handle the typical insertion forces involved in plugging in and unplugging of USB-C cables.

 

Looking forward to having a much more convenient time of keeping the BP-SCL5 batteries topped up while on the go!

[ph33lix]

Interesting note: I noticed that all electrolytic capacitors used in the charger are rated for 105°C, despite this charger not dissipating the kind of heat at any rate where high temps could be a problem, especially at the pedestrian charging rate we are dealing with on this thing.

Leica definitely wanted this charger to last as long as their cameras can.

[maxpower]

Excellent work, I was wondering if this was possible because I've heard about these kinds of mods for other appliances. Not sure if I'll attempt to replicate, but very thankful to see your solution in such detail, thanks for sharing!

[wattsy]

Quote

So instead of worrying about potentially misplacing or damaging the specialty USB-C to 2.5mm barrel connector cable, I decided to install a USB-C trigger board, set to 12V, into the charger itself

I'm fully in favour of modding stuff like this (the worst that can go wrong is that you have to buy another charger) but, in this case, wouldn't it be easier to just to buy another cable or two from Amazon and keep one in your camera bag? Or wouldn't one of these €6 generic adapters also do the job?

 

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[ph33lix]

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14 hours ago, wattsy said:

I'm fully in favour of modding stuff like this (the worst that can go wrong is that you have to buy another charger) but, in this case, wouldn't it be easier to just to buy another cable or two from Amazon and keep one in your camera bag? Or wouldn't one of these €6 generic adapters also do the job?

 

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Yes and no.

It certainly is easier in the sense that there's a lot less risk in using an adapter like that. Provided the correct model gets shipped and is tested accordingly.

It's just the trouble of having one more specialty item to keep tabs on and if lost or damaged while traveling, it's difficult to coordinate an Amazon delivery while being in-between cities.

Even in Seattle (Amazon's HQ city), Amazon delivery times or even ship-out times are unpredictable. One time I even had 2 packages mistakenly dropped off at the receptionist of the building where an Amazon Pickup Locker is located in (and I had checked that I wanted it delivered into the Amazon Pickup Locker).

Whereas USB type C cables that are capable of QuickCharge 2.0 or higher are far more ubiquitous and can be bought at the next nearest electronics shop nearly anywhere.

I recently gave myself a scare when my USB-C to 12Vdc 2.5mm barrel connector cable got misplaced while on a trip going between Frankfurt and Utrecht. Realized later that it got stuffed in a different bag (I do that to myself every once in a while). Since then, I had been thinking about performing this mod so that I can use my numerous phone/laptop charging cables.