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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Knowledge Base

[Thunder Dock] Why does the docking station require such a big power adapter?

Although the AKiTiO Thunder Dock is a Thunderbolt device, the available interfaces are host ports for other storage devices. Similar to a PC or a server which requires a big power supply, the host ports on the docking station need to provide power to downstream devices, so it uses a relatively big power adapter (60W) when compared to our other regular 1~2 bay storage devices.

The two USB ports on the docking station can each provide 10W (5V with 2A current in each port) for high powered USB devices such as Apple’s SuperDrive or for charging the iPad for example. The FireWire port provides at least 7W bus-power for IEEE 1394 devices. The downstream Thunderbolt port, plus all the Thunderbolt circuits, require about 30W of power. Altogether, this adds up to 60W.