DIY'ing AC Infinity's sold out splitter dongle

[Bandit420]

This is to operate two or more devices that do the same function or are triggered to turn on and off by the same trigger from only one controller port.
So if your fans are taking up too many ports, this is how you get them all to only use one.

If you need this splitter, there's a good chance you already have the needed dongles to splice that came with your controller and devices.
To make a two way splitter you'll need two UIS to Molex adapters and one Molex to UIS adapter and a soldering kit.
For each additional device you'll need another UIS to Molex spliced in.




The process is very ez.

1. Cut off the molex plugs and dispose of them
2. Strip back the main wire cover to expose 3 smaller green, yellow, and black wires inside
3. Strip back the covers on all the small wires.
4. You'll notice the Molex to UIS adapter has a white wire that is not in the other adapters. Disregard it and snip it back.
5. Matching color to color on all the small wires, splice the two UIS to Molex adapters to each other then splice them both to the Molex to UIS adapter. Green to green, yellow to yellow, black to black.
6. Solder all splices and cover each wire with shrink wrap or liquid electrical tape
7. Do another larger shrink wrap over all the wires combined to tidy up and protect your new splitter. You can also color code the shrink wrap for ez id.


In the end it should look something like this with one male UIS lead that plugs into the controller and two female UIS leads your devices will plug into



And voila! Two fans operating and being controlled by one controller port

View attachment IMG_5181.MOV

I'm going to repeat this two more times and pretty much make my controller into a 7 port system instead of just four

 

[Amnesia]

I'm glad that worked. I'm wondering if a Molex-to-Molex splitter and maybe some gender changers could be used instead of doing those splices.

 

[Bandit420]

I'm glad that worked. I'm wondering if a Molex-to-Molex splitter and maybe some gender changers could be used instead of doing those splices.

I've been looking for that hack but coming up empty.
Really I don't even understand why molex connectors are used in this system. They're good for automotive but are an odd fit here. It's an over engineering fail really. Shoulda just kept it all UIS with male to female adapters and splitters.

 

[Rootsruler]

There goes the warranty..........

 

[Amnesia]

I've been looking for that hack but coming up empty.

A computer parts seller like www.newegg.com has a lot of parts like this. Molex connectors were commonly used to power computer hard drives.

Really I don't even understand why molex connectors are used in this system.

I recall reading it they're included for backward compatibility with older products.

 

[Bandit420]

There goes the warranty..........

Karens don't grow

A computer parts seller like www.newegg.com has a lot of parts like this. Molex connectors were commonly used to power computer hard drives.


I recall reading it they're included for backward compatibility with older products.

All the more reason why the DIY splice is the way to go. AC infinity gives us the parts, just a matter of doing it. No further shopping or whatever required. I like simple

 

[Cool_Beans]

Curious how cross-eyed the controller gets with different device types on one splitter/port.

 

[Scotty 420]

That's awesome, well done!! I've always wondered if a regular usb-c connector would work, I just looked it up & they call it their "proprietary variant of usb-c" which probably means they tweaked it just enough that you have to buy theirs (or do this). Which wouldn't be as big of a deal if they could actually keep up with demand.

 

[Bandit420]

Curious how cross-eyed the controller gets with different device types on one splitter/port.

I wont try too much at the risk of killing something expensive but I'd put it this way.
The controller won't change the action of the device. It will only turn it on or off but function remains the same. All it really does is signal on and off and uses various triggers at our choosing to go on and off.
It's sensor will chart conditions but it's only monitoring and not changing them unless programmed to change with different on/off triggers.

The devices can change but the trigger will always have to be the same. So if there's fans switched on by RH and fans switched on by temp, they each need their own ports but if all fans are switched on by temps then they can all be on one port.
And I'm not sure how many devices can be spliced in but I did get this how-to from a grower on Reddit who did six fans off one port.

I'd never put a light and a fan on the same port unless it was only timer related so if I wanted a fan to turn on the same time as a light I'd do it.
But if the light is programmed with spectrum and schedule then it would have it's own port.
I would also put an intake and exhaust fan on the same port or two or more fans of different sizes on the same port.
I'd also put an air pump and water pump on the same port if they both run at the same time.

Right now I have an inline fan and the power supply to my light rail mover both plugged into the UIS Control Plug which takes a port. They work in sync with each other so even though they're completely different devices they can turn on at the same time on the same plug. It would be no different if they were both plugged into the same timer or thermostat.

 

[Bandit420]

That's awesome, well done!! I've always wondered if a regular usb-c connector would work, I just looked it up & they call it their "proprietary variant of usb-c" which probably means they tweaked it just enough that you have to buy theirs (or do this). Which wouldn't be as big of a deal if they could actually keep up with demand.

Yeah my first venture was looking into USB-C splitters. Very tempting!
But yeah I'm thrown off by ACI claiming exclusivity and that one little white wire that seemed to be there for nothing could be a clue.
I guess maybe the next step is get one of those usb-c splitters, dissect it, and see what's what.
Maybe that white wire is what makes it usb-c? If so then the white wire could be snipped out and you would have a UIS splitter.

 

[Amnesia]

I'm guessing the white wire might be a ground. The standard for Molex connectors in computer use is for the wires to have different voltages and polarities. IIRC, it's negative and positive 5 and 12 volts. That's about as far as I ever got into the standard.

 

[Amnesia]

ACI's documentation says that all devices on a dongle must be the same type and will be controlled the same. So, for example, setting a speed will set that speed for all the devices connected to the dongle.

 

[Anthem275]

I've been looking for that hack but coming up empty.
Really I don't even understand why molex connectors are used in this system. They're good for automotive but are an odd fit here. It's an over engineering fail really. Shoulda just kept it all UIS with male to female adapters and splitters.

Bandit Molex connectors are expanding well past the automotive world. In construction stuff now as well. I bet the connector crimp pliers are around 500 bucks these days. very nice but crazy expensive and they work

 

[Bandit420]

Bandit Molex connectors are expanding well past the automotive world. In construction stuff now as well. I bet the connector crimp pliers are around 500 bucks these days. very nice but crazy expensive and they work

Yeah I get that, they're in my 3D printer and old boat too but for this application they're overkill.
So far that and ACI packaging is my only complaint with their stuff. Both are over engineered and drive cost up. Then for somebody like me, that stuff ends up in the trash and I wonder if that fan coulda been $10 less if not for molex connectors and fancy packaging & manuals

 

[steamroller]

My only concern would be overloading the controller, but will admit I have no clue how to rate what is acceptable input for the controller or if it even changes with more devices being run from it.
Amp/ ohm/voltage thing...

 

[Scotty 420]

My only concern would be overloading the controller, but will admit I have no clue how to rate what is acceptable input for the controller or if it even changes with more devices being run from it.
Amp/ ohm/voltage thing...

It almost certainly does have a possibility of being overloaded. It would change based on the amount of items being controlled, but probably wouldn't have anything to do with the actual electrical usage of the items being controlled. I know in the HVAC field components are usually controlled with a lower control voltage (usually 24v) the control voltage is supplied by a transformer (except in cases where the control voltage is the same as line voltage) the VA rating of that transformer will dictate how many controls you can put on it. The switches will pull significantly less juice than the devices they're controlling in most cases, but there's still a limit.

With all that said they sell 4 way splitters & advertise that you can use them on all 4 ports, so you should be fine controlling at least 16 devices.

 

[Stoneyluv]

Bandit Molex connectors are expanding well past the automotive world. In construction stuff now as well. I bet the connector crimp pliers are around 500 bucks these days. very nice but crazy expensive and they work

i have a pair of those crimpers too... don't use em much buy boy when you need em they're great to have. the last time i used them was to fix a friends pellet stove, so yeah i see them in all different applications anymore as well.

Yeah I get that, they're in my 3D printer and old boat too but for this application they're overkill.
So far that and ACI packaging is my only complaint with their stuff. Both are over engineered and drive cost up. Then for somebody like me, that stuff ends up in the trash and I wonder if that fan coulda been $10 less if not for molex connectors and fancy packaging & manuals

you got that right!! the porn pics are cool in the book but i probably will never open it again. i felt the same way about all the packaging...

My only concern would be overloading the controller, but will admit I have no clue how to rate what is acceptable input for the controller or if it even changes with more devices being run from it.
Amp/ ohm/voltage thing...

ya know the more i think about this the more i believe the trigger is just a ground. if it were a voltage or a ohm reading i would think they would have made the oscillation turn on and off via the controller. then when bandit said that the fan powers the controller in this case it made even more sense that they only had one signal wire from ground and that is to trigger the speed button.