Hacking Adding coin batteries to pro sx dongle?

karloz25

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i wanted to know if I would be able to add coin (2032) size 3v batteries to the dongle?

My dongle is dead. I suspect the capacitors. Each capacitor is 2.7v.
The coin batteries are 3v each, so 2 coin batteries should work to power on the dongle right?

I’m not concerned about how Frankenstein it would look, I just need the damn thing to power on.

And yes I’ve contacted supplier and manufacturer and returning it is out of the question as they want it shipped to Hong Kong when I’m in the states and purchased from a US store, shipping is minimum 27.50US.

So I have this dongle to play around with.
 

karloz25

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4B7E964D-F232-4C17-B9B7-02209D36EBC6.jpeg

1B038087-D620-4EB5-89EA-A6FB9221A60A.jpeg

Capacitors are not a power source.... Completely different function. This would not work under any circumstance

These are super capacitors ultra capacitors that indeed hold a charge and boot the dongle.

2.7V 0.35F Farad Super Capacitor Ultra Capacitor

From xecuters FAQ:
  • Q: Yikes, those are two huge caps in render picture? Is that going to taser my Switch, damage my system, or zap me!
    A:
    Super Cap’s actually (super-capacitor), 0.35F 2.7V, given the transport issues with Lithium based batteries SuperCap’s are fast becoming the go to temporary power source.
    No zapping ( very low voltage ) and we limit the charge current to ~400mA peak for either USB port.
  • Q: Huh, two caps, how do they get 'charged'? Do I have now and then plug my dongle into micro-USB cable to charge it, what happens when it runs out of power? — Why not battery instead? — Does it instead drain my Switch battery, what happens if I leave it plugged in.
    A:
    The SuperCap’s are charged from either usb port ( USB-C or Micro USB ). The caps offer approximately 1 week standby time with enough energy left for one boot, or at least 5 successive boots without the opportunity to auto-charge. Charge to 80% is achieved (automatically) within 1-2 seconds of entry into the Nintendo start menu. We are working reducing that considerably … (see above for why not battery). Because we are powered by s-cap’s we have a very power conscious design.
    Leaving the dongle in the console for more than a minute is pointless but will do no harm in any way to the dongle and drain very little battery ( currently we draw ~25mA but will work on reducing that considerably after ~1-2 minutes charge mode).


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Last edited by karloz25,

Rasa39

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That would mess with the whole thing though I think, seeing as the caps are charged, afaik you can't recharge plain old coin batteries. So you'd probably have to do more work than just soldering a battery in there.

If you're not bothered about the looks, just buy some caps that have the same voltage. They might not physically fit in the slots provided, but you could just tape the thing up or 3d print a custom shell if you wanted. You don't have to get them from china, other places will have them.

That being said, if you can get access to a multimeter then you can check to make sure it definitely in the caps that are the issue here. I'm not well versed on SX (been staying out of the shit storm while it's hot) but shouldn't it still boot if you have wired up and then connected to the switch? Or can you not have it connected to both at the same time?
 

BL4Z3D247

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That would mess with the whole thing though I think, seeing as the caps are charged, afaik you can't recharge plain old coin batteries. So you'd probably have to do more work than just soldering a battery in there.

If you're not bothered about the looks, just buy some caps that have the same voltage. They might not physically fit in the slots provided, but you could just tape the thing up or 3d print a custom shell if you wanted. You don't have to get them from china, other places will have them.

That being said, if you can get access to a multimeter then you can check to make sure it definitely in the caps that are the issue here. I'm not well versed on SX (been staying out of the shit storm while it's hot) but shouldn't it still boot if you have wired up and then connected to the switch? Or can you not have it connected to both at the same time?
What?

If they take the caps out and find the right circuit to solder the battery holder how would it not work? Also, they would just replace a battey instead of caps every time they die.

@karloz25, if you find the circuit that powers the dongle and solder the leads from the battery holder to them I don't see why it wouldn't work. The battery would just send power to the dongle like the caps would. See if you can find a battery holder with a switch on it as that would save you some battery and allow you to only power the dongle when you want it.

Something like this:
CR2032-Battery-Holder-CSW-500A.jpg CR2032-Battery-Holder-CSW-500B.jpg
 

karloz25

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What?

If they take the caps out and find the right circuit to solder the battery holder how would it not work? Also, they would just replace a battey instead of caps every time they die.

@karloz25, if you find the circuit that powers the dongle and solder the leads from the battery holder to them I don't see why it wouldn't work. The battery would just send power to the dongle like the caps would. See if you can find a battery holder with a switch on it as that would save you some battery and allow you to only power the dongle when you want it.

Something like this:
View attachment 136395 View attachment 136396

That’s pretty much the idea I had. I am more than likely going to attempt this, I have nothing to lose.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I was just asking about the voltage. Two capacitors (original) are basically 2.7v X 2 = 5.4v. - Each 2032 coin battery is 3v, for 2 it’s 6 volts. Would that be ok to use?
 

fragged

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That’s pretty much the idea I had. I am more than likely going to attempt this, I have nothing to lose.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I was just asking about the voltage. Two capacitors (original) are basically 2.7v X 2 = 5.4v. - Each 2032 coin battery is 3v, for 2 it’s 6 volts. Would that be ok to use?
Seeing as the SX Pro is designed to automatically charge the capacitors when it's plugged in I could see it frying something in a bad way. If you really do want to try I'd see if you could could solder on your batteries in a different spot than where the capacitors connect to power it.
 
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2dsJason

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If your going through all that might as well install the chip internally

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Also try soldering the caps and charging them with a AA battery check them with multimeter. Could be a bad charging circuit rather than bad caps.
 

MuppetPaster

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That’s pretty much the idea I had. I am more than likely going to attempt this, I have nothing to lose.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I was just asking about the voltage. Two capacitors (original) are basically 2.7v X 2 = 5.4v. - Each 2032 coin battery is 3v, for 2 it’s 6 volts. Would that be ok to use?

Your calculation might be wrong, the two Caps are probably in series. So the max voltage over one cap is half of the load (usb) voltage ~2.6v. Together they have max 5.2v. A full coin cell can have up to 3.6v. This 7.2v from 2 cells could fry the voltage regulator or the output of it could be to high and fry other parts. But...often tolerances are high enough, so it could work. BUT i will not promise! :teach:
 
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MuppetPaster

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https://team-xecuter.com/forums/threads/154119-Internal-SX-Pro-Dongle

On this site are two pictures that show where to solder the vcc (+) and gnd (-).
After thinking for a while: you could try it with one coin cell, because...the voltage in a cap drops very fast when you draw current. So there should be a step up/boost converter. That should run the circuit from one cell with no problem. But...no promise! :lol:
 
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Rasa39

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What?

If they take the caps out and find the right circuit to solder the battery holder how would it not work? Also, they would just replace a battey instead of caps every time they die.

@karloz25, if you find the circuit that powers the dongle and solder the leads from the battery holder to them I don't see why it wouldn't work. The battery would just send power to the dongle like the caps would. See if you can find a battery holder with a switch on it as that would save you some battery and allow you to only power the dongle when you want it.

Something like this:
View attachment 136395 View attachment 136396

As I said I'm not that well versed on SX, but doesn't it charge the caps the moment you plug it into either a switch or via cable to anything else? That would result in trying to charge an unchargeable battery.
I did mention that more than just soldering in the batteries might need to be done, if he knows the layout on the board and can bypass/remove the charging and directly provide power to the needed components, then that could work.

But I was under the impression op wanted to desolder caps and just solder coin batteries in their place, using the same through holes.
 

mattytrog

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i wanted to know if I would be able to add coin (2032) size 3v batteries to the dongle?

My dongle is dead. I suspect the capacitors. Each capacitor is 2.7v.
The coin batteries are 3v each, so 2 coin batteries should work to power on the dongle right?

I’m not concerned about how Frankenstein it would look, I just need the damn thing to power on.

And yes I’ve contacted supplier and manufacturer and returning it is out of the question as they want it shipped to Hong Kong when I’m in the states and purchased from a US store, shipping is minimum 27.50US.

So I have this dongle to play around with.

They are wired in parallel. So only one coin battery is required.
 

karloz25

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I would sack the battery idea and remove the caps and ports and install the whole thing inside the Switch.




The main issue here, is, the pro dongle is dead, and I wanted to see if external (coin batteries) power source might revive it. Taking apart the switch and micro (tiny)(lol) soldering the board before knowing if it will actually boot is what I am trying to prevent.
 

subcon959

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The main issue here, is, the pro dongle is dead, and I wanted to see if external (coin batteries) power source might revive it. Taking apart the switch and micro (tiny)(lol) soldering the board before knowing if it will actually boot is what I am trying to prevent.
Hit it with a 3.3V power supply and see if you get a light show.
 

Squirelly

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capacitors aren't batteries, and you can't just replace one with the other!

Even if they are technically serving the same purpose in a circuit, it is only because the circuit has been engineered that way. All the supporting electronics in the power section of the sx pro dongle will have been designed around capacitors, and would need to be completely different to use some other form of power.
 

Type_O_Dev

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That’s pretty much the idea I had. I am more than likely going to attempt this, I have nothing to lose.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I was just asking about the voltage. Two capacitors (original) are basically 2.7v X 2 = 5.4v. - Each 2032 coin battery is 3v, for 2 it’s 6 volts. Would that be ok to use?
I have considered removing the caps and installing the dongle internally with power fed from battery and inline transistor to volume up. basicly hold volume up for a sec this puting power to dongle then while holding press power. I dont use autorcm so this is prob going to be my solution

Also xecuter must have some type of warranty on these devices
 
Last edited by Type_O_Dev,

Ryab

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i wanted to know if I would be able to add coin (2032) size 3v batteries to the dongle?

My dongle is dead. I suspect the capacitors. Each capacitor is 2.7v.
The coin batteries are 3v each, so 2 coin batteries should work to power on the dongle right?

I’m not concerned about how Frankenstein it would look, I just need the damn thing to power on.

And yes I’ve contacted supplier and manufacturer and returning it is out of the question as they want it shipped to Hong Kong when I’m in the states and purchased from a US store, shipping is minimum 27.50US.

So I have this dongle to play around with.
just load the payload from another source
 

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