[GBRuiz]

Hey everyone,

Looking for some advice on installing the Red Band Studio (Redman Studios) TalentCell charging port mod(https://redmanstudioworkshop.com/produc ... rging-port) on my HasLab Proton Pack. My setup includes the Spengler wand and the full GPStar HasLab Proton Pack & Neutrona Wand Supreme Kit.

I’m trying to make it so I can charge the TalentCell without opening up the battery compartment, flipping the switch, and unplugging the USB/barrel connector every time. The Redman mod replaces the Dale resistor on the Ion Arm with a small hidden charging port, which is awesome — but I’ve got a question about the wiring side of things.

Basically, when I plug the charger into that port, I don’t want power feeding back into the GPStar board. I know one option is to move the TalentCell’s power switch somewhere external, but I’m trying to figure out how to stop backfeeding even with the switch off. The TalentCell output has a Y-splitter, which I think lets it charge while also sending (or trickling) power to the board at the same time.

Has anyone set this up successfully? If you’ve got a wiring diagram, photo, or just some tips on how to prevent power from going to the main board while charging, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!

[Nomake Wan]

Hi there, GPStar dev here.

You are correct that you do not want the charging power backfeeding into the GPStar electronics. You may also be aware that on the Talentcell, due to how they laid out their battery circuitry, the battery must actually be on in order for the charger to work properly. So it is critically important that you have a way to disconnect the GPStar electronics from the battery during the charging process.

The way almost everyone I know does this is by adding another switch. If your GPStar kit is set up so that the pack is powered off of the GPStar Amplifier (that is, the only connection to the Talentcell is the 12V barrel jack) then this is pretty straightforward. If you are also using the USB connector (which we no longer recommend, to be fair) then it is only slightly trickier.

Here is a diagram I threw together for someone a while back, back when the USB was still being used:


In this photo, "INT" refers to the internal connection to the Talentcell. "EXT" is your charging port. "GP★" is the GPStar electronics. All connections are the positive side; the GND for everything should be tied together and not switched at all.

In the case of only using 12V, then you would just ignore the "5V" connections and could even use an SPDT on-on switch in place of the pictured DPDT on-on switch.

Happy to help. Also if you have a Facebook account and have not yet joined the Facebook group for GPStar, highly recommended.

[GBRuiz]

Awesome, good to know! I’ve been powering my setup using both the USB port and the barrel connector, but is there a diagram on the GPStar site that shows how to run the whole pack off just the barrel connector?

I also noticed I have an extra cable in my kit—basically a little “jumper” with two JST ends. Is that the one I’m supposed to use? And do I need to run a jumper from the amplifier to the main board with that wire?

[Nomake Wan]

I saw your post on the FB group and replied to it there, but to answer your additional question here then as long as the jumper in question is a 2-pin JST-XH to JST-XH then yes, one side goes into one of the 5 available JST-XH 5V ports on the GPStar Amplifier, and the other end goes into the yellow 5V IN/BATTERY port on the GPStar Proton Pack board.