I want to power an old board (mostly TTL ICs) with this through-hole USB micro AB connector. I will have to create the pads for the pins with a scalpel, so the main question is: can I just connect the DATA and ID pins to the ground, or must I leave them unconnected (e.g. cut them their own little pad)?
A side question: I plan to use a dedicated charger; But would grounding the pins (if allowed) prevent powering this board via a PC USB port? Board needs about 300mA.
Best Answer
I've done this before but with a micro USB cable and cables shoved against Vcc and GND, except I also had some eeproms on the board. It worked for a while until I accidentally flashed the more sensitive eeprom. I didn't bother with the other output pins of the USB cable. I also had it plugged into my laptop and as I said it worked fine, the only tricky part was that the connections weren't all that secure.
So yeah, you don't need to connect the other pins for it to work as a 5V, 0.5A power source, if a traditional USB out or wall adapter (5V, more if USB3.0 out or a faster charger).