Hardware nWii USB amp output?

[djDougs]

hi,

Just wondered what amps the USB on the back of a normal white wii can throw out? don't want to overload it. Checked the search, even nintendo site, and no tech info at all

I know it powers my 320gb external HDrive, so that's about 0.7-1 amp.

I've checked the voltage myself, it is giving me 5.07/8volts, which I may need to power other things.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[tbgtbg]

Some googling suggest USB 2 puts out around 500 milliamps. On USB 3 this goes up to 900 ma. Wii uses USB 2, though.

 

[the_randomizer]

Some googling suggest USB 2 puts out around 500 milliamps. On USB 3 this goes up to 900 ma. Wii uses USB 2, though.

I wonder how much a 500 GB Western Digital MyPassport would output. I'd likely still need a USB Y-cable though

 

[trumpet-205]

To be USB 2.0 compliant, it must be able to push 0.5 amp. Since Wii is using 2.0, 0.5 amp is max output per port.

USB 3.0 port calls for 0.9 amp, so then you use USB 3.0 HDD on Wii it is best to use Y-cable to draw power from 2 ports.

 

[the_randomizer]

To be USB 2.0 compliant, it must be able to push 0.5 amp. Since Wii is using 2.0, 0.5 amp is max output per port.

USB 3.0 port calls for 0.9 amp, so then you use USB 3.0 HDD on Wii it is best to use Y-cable to draw power from 2 ports.

Just double checking I found a good one on Amazon. I need to be careful on the input side of the cables as not all of them have the flat connector while some have the mini/micro USB connectors.

 

[Gabelvampir]

The USB standards only specify how much Ampere they must be able to put out to be standards compliant. The standard actually allows USB controllers to be able to put out more if the device requests it, but they don't have to be able to do that. So one USB 2.0 controller could be able only to put out 500 mA, while another might be able to do 750 mA or 1000mA. It really depends on the controller, only thing guaranteed is 500 mA for 2.0 and 900 mA for 3.0.
Unfortunately I don't know how much the Wii USB controller can do, or if they even used the same one on every Wii batch/hardware revision. Could be possible how much it can do do varies from Wii to Wii.
Oh and I would not use a Y cable on the Wii, because that is a good way to overload the USB controller. I'd use an external power source just to be sure.

 

[djDougs]

cheers for the some of the answers, but it's not a desktop PC, so does not have to be USB1.1/2 compliant. Mine was an early Wii, so only 1.1 at start, but after the softMod, it can now handle 2.00, I think for SD cards/flash drives >2GB.

I know one of my old P3 laptops is USB1.1, but I can drive two 31/2" PC disc drives with it, and they say on the top they are 0.7amp to1, so both doing formatting/verify/copying that would be >1.5amp, and the laptop still lives!

A quick look at a picture inside the Wii, shows me the ports are straight to the mother board, so no wires to show me thickness, which would give me a better clue what they can throw out. As it has two ports, and *say* each port is 0.5amp, then you could pull 1amp from one, but Not both.

Thanks!

 

[Gabelvampir]

Well USB 1.1 and 2 have the same minimal power output per port, which is 500mA. Controllers are allowed to output more, but are not required to. So the maximum output possible completly depends on the controller. As does the power which kills the controller.