Rotunda Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Hi all not sure if this is the right place to post this but i've been having issues with my battery pack since day one?? i have to jiggle the wire around to get it to actually work? is this a common issue? im guessing the solder up by the actual socket it abit poor or something??? any fixes for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggler Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I had the same problem. The barrel adapter that came with my AP51 MK3 didn't fit correctly. I went to my local computer store and bought a new barrel adapter. The size is 5.5mm od 2.1mm id. You'll need to remove the old and solder the new. Alternatively you can buy a USB to Barrel adapter to power the MK3 off of your laptop's USB port :) Hi all not sure if this is the right place to post this but i've been having issues with my battery pack since day one?? i have to jiggle the wire around to get it to actually work? is this a common issue? im guessing the solder up by the actual socket it abit poor or something??? any fixes for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotunda Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) I had the same problem. The barrel adapter that came with my AP51 MK3 didn't fit correctly. I went to my local computer store and bought a new barrel adapter. The size is 5.5mm od 2.1mm id. You'll need to remove the old and solder the new. Alternatively you can buy a USB to Barrel adapter to power the MK3 off of your laptop's USB port :) Mine fits perfectly its just the wires that are dodgy and cause it to turn off randomly. that would be helpful! do you have a link to the one i would need? Edited December 26, 2011 by rotunda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyteshayd Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 I thought I was having problems with mine as well so I switched out batteries and managed to squeeze some life out of the unit. Then I googled the specs for the AP51. Maybe it's me but why are we using a 6vdc battery deck for what appears to be a 12vdc device? Even the AC adapter has a 12vdc output. Could it be that 6vdc is the lower threshold for the AP51 and its not the connector at all? You can buy Nickel-Zinc (NiZn) AA sized batteries that are rated for 1.65vdc each ( X 4 = 6.6vdc ) but I think that level is still insufficient and that the AP51 should have come with a 12vdc deck instead of the 6. Here's the specs I found for the AP51. Voltage spec is toward the bottom of the page: http://www.alfa.com.tw/in/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=AP51&Category=105479 I picked up a couple of low profile 12v sealed lead acid batteries this afternoon from Batteries Plus to do a DIY replacement. I'm hoping it will do the trick. Hi all not sure if this is the right place to post this but i've been having issues with my battery pack since day one?? i have to jiggle the wire around to get it to actually work? is this a common issue? im guessing the solder up by the actual socket it abit poor or something??? any fixes for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotunda Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 I thought I was having problems with mine as well so I switched out batteries and managed to squeeze some life out of the unit. Then I googled the specs for the AP51. Maybe it's me but why are we using a 6vdc battery deck for what appears to be a 12vdc device? Even the AC adapter has a 12vdc output. Could it be that 6vdc is the lower threshold for the AP51 and its not the connector at all? You can buy Nickel-Zinc (NiZn) AA sized batteries that are rated for 1.65vdc each ( X 4 = 6.6vdc ) but I think that level is still insufficient and that the AP51 should have come with a 12vdc deck instead of the 6. Here's the specs I found for the AP51. Voltage spec is toward the bottom of the page: http://www.alfa.com.tw/in/front/bin/ptdetail.phtml?Part=AP51&Category=105479 I picked up a couple of low profile 12v sealed lead acid batteries this afternoon from Batteries Plus to do a DIY replacement. I'm hoping it will do the trick. Interesting point! I know for a fact mine is the connector as when i keep it in a curtain position its fine. One thing i also thought about, the previous post about usb to barrel connector, USB is just 5v so how would usb power the AP51 if its 12v ?! I've ordered a 5.5mm barrel to usb cable to give it a go anyway as its far better to use than the bulky battery pack which in my case does sod all anyway lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggler Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 (edited) The AP51 doesn't require a 12V power source to operate. It's been proven that it can run on a number of different power sources, even as low as, a USB port. As to the math of how and why? No clue. Interesting point! I know for a fact mine is the connector as when i keep it in a curtain position its fine. One thing i also thought about, the previous post about usb to barrel connector, USB is just 5v so how would usb power the AP51 if its 12v ?! I've ordered a 5.5mm barrel to usb cable to give it a go anyway as its far better to use than the bulky battery pack which in my case does sod all anyway lol Edited December 28, 2011 by diggler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telot Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Many many many 12V devices are actually 5-20 or even 5-30V. When solution providing companies are sourcing a product for their customers, power constraints is often the first hurdle a product has to overcome, so many manufacturers engineer in a range of workable voltages to increase the target market of their product. I work with 12V systems everyday (for work) and most of the devices in any given system are 5 to 12V+. telot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pewpew Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 According to this page from Data-Alliance The PCB for the AP51 uses 6-18 volts to operate. No mention of mA. i'm guessing using a battery pack under 6 volts lowers the power output for tx, intermittent lock ups, as well as other strange behavior out of the Mark III. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telot Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 According to this page from Data-Alliance The PCB for the AP51 uses 6-18 volts to operate. No mention of mA. i'm guessing using a battery pack under 6 volts lowers the power output for tx, intermittent lock ups, as well as other strange behavior out of the Mark III. Hmm..I've been running my pineapple on a hacked USB (outputting 5 to 5.1v according to my voltmeter) cable for weeks now with no adverse side effects. I've flashed firmware a number of times and had "targets" (my wife and her visiting family members) sucessfully karma'd for hours upon hours. I will run some tests on the tx output tomorrow morning to see if you do in fact sacrifice tx power. Thanks for the link/heads up pew pew telot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telot Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Hmm..I've been running my pineapple on a hacked USB (outputting 5 to 5.1v according to my voltmeter) cable for weeks now with no adverse side effects. I've flashed firmware a number of times and had "targets" (my wife and her visiting family members) sucessfully karma'd for hours upon hours. I will run some tests on the tx output tomorrow morning to see if you do in fact sacrifice tx power. Thanks for the link/heads up pew pew telot Alright the tests are in! My testing environment was as such: A big long room with tables, chairs, couches, etc scattered about in a semi-random fashion to mock up typical interference you'd find in a coffee shop or airport lounge. To measure signal strength I used my Samsung Epic Touch 4G (sprint's variant of the galaxy s2) with the program Wifi Analyzer on it. I did my best to hold the phone in the same way for all the tests and facing the same direction (vertically in this case). I also had it at about waist height (3 feet off the ground). I took 5 readings at each spot and averaged them for your benefit. Heres the results: With 12V wall wort that came with the pineapple: 27dBm tx power (according to iwconfig for both wlan0 and mon.wlan0) 5ft: -42 12ft: -50 25ft: -62 30ft: -69 With 5V hacked usb cable that I made: 27dBm tx power (according to iwconfig for both wlan0 and mon.wlan0) 5ft: -45 12ft: -52 25ft: -60 30ft: -70 So there you have it, a minuscule reduction in signal strength when averaged over 5 readings by going to 5V from hacked usb from a 12v wall adapter. Not to mention it seems so much more reliable than those crappy battery pack adapters that came with the pineapple (no personal experience here, just from reading these forums). Cheers telot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggler Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Wicked post. Thanks for going through the trouble to get those results :) Much appreciated! Alright the tests are in! My testing environment was as such: A big long room with tables, chairs, couches, etc scattered about in a semi-random fashion to mock up typical interference you'd find in a coffee shop or airport lounge. To measure signal strength I used my Samsung Epic Touch 4G (sprint's variant of the galaxy s2) with the program Wifi Analyzer on it. I did my best to hold the phone in the same way for all the tests and facing the same direction (vertically in this case). I also had it at about waist height (3 feet off the ground). I took 5 readings at each spot and averaged them for your benefit. Heres the results: With 12V wall wort that came with the pineapple: 27dBm tx power (according to iwconfig for both wlan0 and mon.wlan0) 5ft: -42 12ft: -50 25ft: -62 30ft: -69 With 5V hacked usb cable that I made: 27dBm tx power (according to iwconfig for both wlan0 and mon.wlan0) 5ft: -45 12ft: -52 25ft: -60 30ft: -70 So there you have it, a minuscule reduction in signal strength when averaged over 5 readings by going to 5V from hacked usb from a 12v wall adapter. Not to mention it seems so much more reliable than those crappy battery pack adapters that came with the pineapple (no personal experience here, just from reading these forums). Cheers telot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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