PD Planner
A small project-planning tool for hardware tinkerers that calculates USB-C Power Delivery profiles, cable requirements, and PD-trigger voltages for DIY builds.
electronics hobbyists and makers building USB-C powered projects
- PD profile wizard: pick your device class and it generates the right source-capabilities message
- Cable-loss calculator that warns when your run needs 5A eMarker vs 3A
- BoM export with recommended PD trigger chips (FUSB302, CH224K, etc.) and breakout boards
- Shareable project sheet so collaborators can see the full USB-C power design at a glance
A canonical USB-C reference is trending because makers keep relearning the same spec details; codifying it as a planner saves every project from scratch.
USB-C PD projects trend regularly on Hackaday (Sep 2025, 2024) and Adafruit maintains a 'USB-PD Hacks' learning page, but the cited HN PDF got only 18 points/3 comments and searches return hardware meters rather than requests for a planning tool — a niche but not viral audience.USB-C PD Decoded: A DIY Meter And Logger For Power Insights ↗Things to Know | USB-PD Hacks | Adafruit Learning System ↗
Every result is a physical artifact (DIY meters, HUSB238 breakout boards, Dr. PD analyzer, Ellisys Type-C Tracker, $1k+ protocol analyzers) — no software/web 'planner' for profiles, cable gauge, or trigger voltages was found.Dr. PD USB-PD protocol analyzer ↗Ellisys - Type-C Tracker ↗How to Use USB-C PD trigger board: Examples, Pinouts, and Specs ↗
Maker ecosystem is dominated by free/open-source (Hackaday, Instructables, GitHub PD-Sink-Trigger-Board) and adjacent commercial products are expensive hardware ($1k+ analyzers), indicating price-sensitive users who would expect a free tool.GitHub - INGBZGMBH/PD-Sink-Trigger-Board ↗UTC-274 • USB Type-C® Tester | Unigraf ↗
USB-C PD is the entrenched standard for the foreseeable future and Arrow notes 'implementing USB-C in 2024 is no longer considered an innovation,' though the spec keeps evolving (PD 3.2 / 240W EPR) which raises maintenance burden.Maximising power delivery: 240 W USB PD reference design solutions ↗USB-C PD: New Technology Done Right - Hackaday ↗
Pure codified reference data wrapped in a form — no ML, no hardware, no auth required; an MVP is a static site with the PD spec table and a few calculators, buildable in days.