Pushing the Limits of GekkoScience A1 F

So what's gonna give out first, my 3A chargers or the USB ports? I can't even figure out if that whiff of melting plastic is from the gear or my PC running xmrig and t-rex. Has anyone else cranked these up? How far did you push it, and what tricks did you use to handle heat and power?

The connectors will not tolerate more than 3.5a 24x7x365 and even that is pushing them VERY hard. Actual ratings for USB-A connectors is 1.5A continuous and 3.1A for a short time (charging things). Folks have gotten around that by hard wiring 5v power to the power traces after the connector on the stick. I think they went as high as 4 amps using very strong air cooling. It's buried in the Gekko F1 thread.

Thanks for the info! I'd like to see how far I can push them in the current form factor. I have a y split cable with one leg that's power only and the other is data/power. I think it's drawing power from the 3A charging block and maybe the hub as well, but I assume it's around 3A max for both the F and the A1. Got these mostly for fun to get into the mining game - I love the concept of a stick miner, although I do wish they could come in usb-c form factor that can take a little more juice. The A1 is actually reporting under 65-68C in my current setup, so there's headroom there. The F is running on thoughts and prayers. How did they connect to the traces... soldering or? I'm a little hesitant to actually cut these things.