Every Electronics Workbench Needs This New Open Source Adapter
Turn your bench supply into a high-precision USB power source with USBpwrMe, the tiny open source adapter for fast, monitored prototyping.
By far, USB is the most popular way to power electronic gadgets today. Everything is designed around this fact, making it quite convenient to find a USB charging port just about wherever you may be. That is, unless you happen to be working on developing a new USB-powered device. On the typical electronics workbench you will find a bench power supply, but USB ports are somewhere between scarce and nonexistent.
That was the motivation behind the development of USBpwrMe. It is a tiny circuit board that plugs directly into the terminals of a bench power supply. From there, USB ports on USBpwrMe can supply power to the hardware you are building or debugging.
Designed as a compact adapter, the board connects directly to the banana plug terminals found on most bench power supplies. Once attached, it provides both USB Type-A and USB Type-C outputs, allowing engineers and hobbyists to power devices without cutting cables or hunting for spare chargers.
For developers working on prototypes, quick access to stable USB power can make a significant difference during testing. Instead of relying on wall chargers with no monitoring capability, USBpwrMe lets users take advantage of the precise voltage control and current monitoring already available on a lab supply. That makes it easy to observe how much current a prototype draws, track power consumption, and safely test new hardware revisions.
USBpwrMe accepts input voltages ranging from 3 to 22 volts from the connected power supply, supporting a wide variety of testing scenarios. When operating in standard 5-volt mode, the board can negotiate charging with connected devices, delivering up to 10 watts through the USB Type-A port or up to 15 watts through USB-C. In passthrough configurations, the board supports even higher output power — up to 25 watts through Type-A and 35 watts through Type-C.
Reverse polarity protection helps prevent accidental damage when connecting the adapter to a supply, while overvoltage protection safeguards devices during 5-volt operation. A dedicated switch allows users to disable the overvoltage protection when working with higher output voltages. Status LEDs provide visual feedback so users can quickly confirm the board’s operating state.
Physically, the board is extremely compact, measuring just 32 × 42 × 34 millimeters and weighing only about 10 grams. It is designed to fit bench power supplies with binding post spacing between 19 and 23 millimeters, making it compatible with many common lab units.
In keeping with the spirit of the maker community, the project is also open source. Its design files will be released under the CERN Open Hardware License, allowing others to study, modify, and build upon the design for their own projects. It will also be launching as a crowdfunding campaign soon — if you’d like to stay up-to-date, be sure to sign up for notifications.