The 12V brick is the way to go for the Capsules. DC Distro is designed to directly power modules with barrel inputs.
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Cheers Chad for clearing that up 
I really should of spotted that as I read the info about the Distro on its product page earlier.
Hello everyone, another question regarding the Capsule, this time it’s about the Meanwell DKA30A12. Basically I find any in Europe & they won’t be available until the end of Feb’22. I’ve been looking at the datasheet & from what I read, the DKA30B12 would also work but it needs a power brick that will output at least 18V & up so 36V. The DKA30B12 will still output the required +12/-12V. Has anyone been forced to try this due to the shortages?
Seems OK at a glance! Let us know how it works out for you.
How’s component availability on these now? Anyone taken a look recently?
Otherwise I’m about to 
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Octopart is your friend for this.
The main ones that have been out of stock for a long time and will probably not be available until late this year if not next year are the voltage regulators.
| 20 | TPS7A3301RGWR | Texas Instruments | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | TPS7A4700RGWR | Texas Instruments | 1 |
You can also substitute the R on the end of both of those with a T for other potential stock with the same footprint but I saw nothing from reputable sellers when I just looked.
Mouser is quoting late/early November for these. :\
Thx Matthew,
Yeah Octopart is a godsend. What are the chances the ones on Aliexpress are what they say they are? Edit: Those listings are whack
Follow up question:
If a person wasn’t opposed to altering the schematic what about getting it in a different package? https://www.rocelec.com/part/TISTPS7A3301KC
Bonus points because can add a heatsink to that
Double EDIT: looks like a PITA though because it almost certainly requires bending the leads, and only seeing a TO-220 package for the 3301. Looks like the 4700 doesn’t come in a TO-220? Weird
@eyesnoface @creatorlars would parallel LT3045’s work in lieu of the TPS7A4700 on the positive side? Obvi would require a small redesign of the PCB, just curious if it’s a worthwhile rabbit hole to follow. Looks like the 3045’s are even lower noise
LT3045 Datasheet:
https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/609/30451fa-1513158.pdf
TPS7A4 Datasheet:
https://www.ti.com/lit/gpn/TPS7A47
EDIT:
Also parallel LT3094’s might be a possibility for the negative side?
I ask because Mouser restocks those 3045’s in May, same for certain 3094’s
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At an initial glance these ANALOG DEVICES LDOs look like nice replacement performance candidates albeit lower output current, but this is all a fine example of the current ever-shifting landscape of DFM (designing for manufacturability) that everyone in electronics design is having to adjust to.
We’ve certainly had a number of projects now that have been conceptualized and designed around essential performance parts only to have them become unavailable to purchase for production. This has lead us in some cases having to create/maintain multiple revisions of a design around an array of parts that may or may not be available for quantity purchasing at a given time, but then of course all of these revisions also individually require their own unique hardware considerations and prototyping cycles before they can be fully adopted into the broader LZX design ecosystem [PRODUCT RELEASE DELAYS!!!].
I wish we had the internal RnD bandwidth to revise/maintain Capsule Power further, but after lengthy consideration Lars and myself recognized the massive benefits of solving power performance standards at the individual module level and making the end user hassle/experience as invisible as possible, thus implementing the Power/Sync subassemblies you now find on Gen3 modules.
The architecture and performance metrics for a successful implementation are all there in the released Capsule design and could be revised to meet that standard by anyone who wants to put the effort in making their own using other currently available LDOs. LZX will undoubtedly offer a new power distribution board design once our current outstanding deliverables are met.
[HARDWARE DESIGNER WARNING]
“The layout requirements for these high performance parts are often incredibly specific and will only yield the specs you seek if followed diligently. READ, RE-READ, AND COMPREHEND THE DATA SHEET… or else.”
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Thanks for the thorough response @eyesnoface really appreciate the insight into what y’all are dealing with and the philosophy surrounding it. Also thanks a ton for doing so much of the work in terms of capsule and releasing it for us to use as a jumping off point.
To clarify, I definitely wasn’t asking that you redesign to accommodate different LDO’s - was just hoping for a glance and a “that could work” or “that couldn’t work” before jumping in. The supply chain must be brutal for you cats, been hard kicking our case company off the ground and we’ve got nowhere near the number of components.
We spent 6 months waiting for one jack of one color - literally had everything else ready to go but couldn’t get that one jack or a suitable replacement so I feel you. It’s a real scramble filled with dead ends and alot of following hypotheticals to their often dead end. Must be 100 fold dealing with such complex designs with such a large parts count.
Really appreciate LZX open sourcing the Capsule design, as someone solving the clean power problem from the other side its a welcome addition to the arsenal. We’re hoping to offer them as our cheaper alternative to our system for 1 & 2 case users who a $1200 12.5A external psu doesn’t make sense for.
You cats made the right choice with the power subassemblies, will be nice to remove the annoyance from the equation altogether for end users.
Thanks a milli
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The Capsule power kit includes a DC distro panel, is it unnecessary? Can i just plug the brick into the bus to bypass the switch?
The DC distro panel in the Capsule Power kit was largely there to provide a potential out-of-the-box solution for a system power switch regardless of final case design being used. The DC barrel on the Capsule Power module could be supplied with 9-18V directly if that solves some particular mounting need for you
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