Clarification on USB-C power

[patschi]

Initially I was positively surprised that there's USB-C to power board and fans - but turns out you can't power attached 12V fans when doing so. (I thought 5V is stepped up to 12V)

Can I use USB-C PD, or is it unsupported and will fry up the board?

[zeroflow]

Hi,

Correct - USB-C is for programming and debugging only, not for powering fans.

The good news: a USB-C PD charger won't damage the board. The CC pins are configured for 5V default, so there's no risk of overvoltage. However, since the fans require 12V, they simply won't spin.

If you'd like to use a USB-C PD charger as your power source, the easiest route is a 12V USB-C PD to barrel jack (5.5×2.1mm) adapter cable. Just make sure your charger actually supports a 12V PD output profile - if it doesn't, it'll default to 5V and the fans won't run.
I've considered adding native USB-C PD support, but ultimately decided against it. A dedicated 12V PSU is simpler, cheaper, and avoids a whole class of edge cases (chargers without a 12V profile, 5V-only USB ports, etc.).

Hope that helps!

[patschi]

I see, okay. I'd love USB-C PD however to be honest. I'm planning to run a big(ger) Anker PSU with plenty of USB-C ports due to various use-cases, and just using another port would be handy. Also avoiding buying/using any (weird?) adapters.

Also... in the website it mentions:

USB-C for programming and power (Rev 2.0+)

I'd suggest making it more clearer than "power" is only meant for the board, and not for powering the actual fans. As this was misleading me at first.

[zeroflow]

Thank you.
I have found the issue of "programming and power" aswell today, which is misleading since it can power the board, but not the fans.