Run Pogoplug off DC Power

[tech324]

Is it possible to run the Pogoplug P21 off of DC power instead of AC power? I would like to run it from a battery of some sort. If its possible, how much power would I need for it to run? Thank you in advance

[Philoo]

Well yes, I am however unable to give you a complete and safe tutorial on how to do it.
We're dealing with electricity and mains power line here so mishap will range from rendering your pogo plug useless (apply 5V or more to the processor) to death (if you touch the wrong part of the power converter while it is under tension). What ever you do, it is under your responsibility to use common sense and make self- and other's preservation your priority.
** end of disclaimer **

Here is what I've gathered from my very own device:
the power converter delivers 12VC DC to the main board, which in turn breaks it down to 3v3 for the microprocessor and serial and 5V for some of the peripherals and most notably the USB hub and (my guess) the SATA interface.

the quick and easy way to power the pogo on battery would be to just disconnect the power converter from the board and connect a 12 V battery in its stead.
There surely are some safeguards that are needed to limit the current delivered from your battery.

Someone with better electronic training than I would probably be able to tell if it is possible or desirable to feed the motherboard after the power regulator and or what kind of current protection is desirable between the battery and the 12V pins.

as far as I am concerned my hardware mod project is just to power the pogo from the same power supply as my sata drive and put everything in a small case. I believe the builtin converter is not powerful enough to power a hard drive at start up (and I'd need to get the 5V from somewhere anyway).