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PPSTrigger V2 - USB PD PPS trigger with CC-CV

The more advance PPS trigger board. Allow users to select arbitrary voltage and provide current limit capability.

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Purchase worldwide V2.2: Tindie, Lectronz, Elecrow

Reference case design Fusion360

Example application

Driving high power LED array directly with fan and heatsink for cooling.

Specification

USB-C Trigger for fixed PDOs, or PPS with Constant Voltage or Constant Current mode. The operating trigger range is 3.3V-21V @ 3A max.

Improvement from version 1

  • Constant current mode
  • Better overall ESD protection
  • Output flyback diode protection
  • Reverse current protection

How to use the board

  • Default (no jumper): CV mode. Max voltage is set by the potentiometer. Maximum current rated for cable/power supply.
  • 1A jumper: CC mode at 1A. Max voltage is set by the potentiometer.
  • 1.5A jumper: CC mode at 1.5A. Max voltage is set by the potentiometer.
  • 2A jumper: CC mode at 2A. Max voltage is set by the potentiometer.
  • 2.5A jumper: CC mode at 2.5A. Max voltage is set by the potentiometer.
  • 3A jumper: CC mode at 3A. Max voltage is set by the potentiometer.
  • 4A jumper: No application

*Fixed PDO: Flat voltage level like 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, and 20V 

*CC: Constant Current Mode 

*CV: Constant Voltage Mode

Important note

Not all USB-C power supplies support Programmable Power Supply (PPS). and not all PPS power supplies support CC mode. Through our small sample size that includes powerbank/charger from Anker, Ugreen, and Baseus, here is our recommendation for getting Constant Current mode out of the box:

Our lab recommends using the UGREEN Nexode charger. There is another Ugreen Nexode charger that our lab has not tested. Your feedback on that charger will be appreciated!

In Constant Voltage, the trigger board will try to utilize the PPS profile if it exists before using the standard fixed profile to provide the requested voltage from the potentiometer.

Programmable Power Supply (PPS) in PD3.0/PD3.1

Detail specifications for PPS mode can be found at USB Power Delivery 2019 Presentation

Even though the downstream device can request a 50mA current limit step in PPS mode, the lowest settable current limit is 1A with ± 100mA accuracy. This value is called iPpsCLMin in the specification. When the load is attached, and the current exceeds the limit value, the charger should lower the voltage until the current reaches the target limit. If the voltage is lower to 3.3V and the current is still exceeded, the supply will "give up" regulation and maintain the lowest voltage at 3.3V while outputing whatever current is being drawn.

Reverse current protection is not mentioned in the specification. Reverse current can happen when your source voltage is lower than your device voltage, normally your battery (Vsouce < Vbatt), thus allowing current to flow from your battery to your charger. Anker has confirmed that their IQ standard supports reverse current protection, but all manufacturers do not guarantee implementation.

For this, PPSTrigger has also implemented reverse current protection, regardless of your charger implementation. Current only starts to flow when your Vsource > Vbatt.

Dimension

Reference Case Design

CaseDesign

High power LED drive directly from USB-C without series resistor

PPSTriggerV2.2.step

3D model

step - 2.01 MB - 01/21/2025 at 05:39

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PPSTriggerCase_ReferenceDesign.f3z

Reference case design for M2 screw

f3z - 1.28 MB - 06/26/2024 at 04:15

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Case with multimeter.stl

Ready to print reference case design. 0.2mm layer, PLA

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 119.22 kB - 06/26/2024 at 04:15

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User Manual for PPSTriggerV2.pdf

User Manual for PPSTriggerV2

Adobe Portable Document Format - 1.08 MB - 05/15/2024 at 07:48

Preview

PPSTriggerV2.step

3D model

step - 14.54 MB - 05/10/2024 at 16:08

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Discussions

beastie417 wrote 11/22/2025 at 04:21 point

Hello!  I've been using the PPSTrigger V2 and I really like the small form factor.  However, it doesn't seem to be handling the multiple PPS profiles my charger supports.  It seems to always pick the first PPS profile and if the POT exceeds the voltage in the profile, it stops sending requests.
I've captured the PD communication and analyzed it using PulseView.

Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [1] [Fixed] 5V 3A (15W) [unconstrained] [dual_role_data]
Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [2] [Fixed] 9V 3A (27W)
Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [3] [Fixed] 15V 3A (45W)
Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [4] [Fixed] 20V 2.25A (45W)
Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [5] [Programmable|PPS] 3.3/11V 3A [limited]
Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [6] [Programmable|PPS] 3.3/16V 3A [limited]
Capabilities: USB PD: Payloads: [7] [Programmable|PPS] 3.3/21V 2.25A [limited]
Request: USB PD: Payloads: [1] (PDO #5: Programmable|PPS 3.3/11V) 9.26V 1A [comm_cap] [no_suspend]

I've tried several things yielding similar results.  If I start the PPSTrigger V2 board with the POT above 11V at turn on, the PPSTrig doesn't request anything beyond profile 1 fixed 5V.   If I start below 11V, the PPSTrig will request the voltage until I go above 11V and then stop making requests.  Then once I bring it below 11V again the requests continue.  I tried different CC settings on the board: 1A, 2A, CV all with the same results.  I also tried a second PPSTrigger V2 board I have with the same behavior.

The charger in question is the Anker 313 Charger (Ace, 45W).  Any thoughts on this?  Thanks!

  Are you sure? yes | no

CentyLab wrote 11/22/2025 at 06:48 point

Hi @beastie417 , this is the current limitation on PPSTrigger firmware as our team didn't know about multiple PPS profile at the time the device was designed. We were testing on larger power supply around 100W and 140W where there is only PPS profile at 5A.

  Are you sure? yes | no

beastie417 wrote 11/22/2025 at 19:22 point

Any chance you can share details with me about the current firmware and how to update it?  I'd really like to take advantage of the higher voltage profile on my charger.

  Are you sure? yes | no

Eric Tsai wrote 03/28/2025 at 03:43 point

Thanks for all the USB PPS info!  I'm curious when you tested those handful of USB chargers - do all the USB-C ports provide PPS support?  Some of the chargers have 3 USB-C ports, and they seem to have different max watt capabilities on the ports.  I thought the OEM might've cheaped out and only provide PPS on one out of three of those ports.

  Are you sure? yes | no

CentyLab wrote 03/29/2025 at 00:22 point

Hi Eric, you are correct. Not all port support the same wattage, thus current. Not all charger said PPS will have current limit. Some port might not even support PPS. It is normally a good design practice to assume the common use case. Here manufacture would expect you to plug in one laptop at 100W or 140W, and one phone at 15W. If you purchase higher-end charger, they tend to support more max wattage per port.

  Are you sure? yes | no

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