Uploaded January 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
I wanted the equivalent of a power strip, but using 5V USB connectors. Something that I could use to plug various 5V lab devices into, charge my iPhone, power a raspberry pi, etc. While I could find a few cheap canned solutions on amazon, they really didn't offer the isolation, overvoltage protection, or overcurrent protection that I was looking for. I set out to make my own, and produced two prototypes. One used the tried and true LM2576 switching regulator. Another one used a newer ACT4533A switching regulator. I also experimented with fues, PTC and efuse (hot swap conntrollers). In the end, I ended up building four power strips with a total of nine 5V USB regulation circuits, and three 12V switchable outputs. I also do a short demo of crowbar overvoltage protection circuits in this video.
I wanted the equivalent of a power strip, but using 5V USB connectors. Something that I could use to plug various 5V lab devices into, charge my iPhone, power a raspberry pi, etc. While I could find a few cheap canned solutions on amazon, they really didn't offer the isolation, overvoltage protection, or overcurrent protection that I was looking for. I set out to make my own, and produced two prototypes. One used the tried and true LM2576 switching regulator. Another one used a newer ACT4533A switching regulator. I also experimented with fues, PTC and efuse (hot swap conntrollers). In the end, I ended up building four power strips with a total of nine 5V USB regulation circuits, and three 12V switchable outputs. I also do a short demo of crowbar overvoltage protection circuits in this video.
