Cheyenne’s Tattoo Power Supplies

Which one do you need: POWER UNIT I, II, or IV?

As tattoo machine makers, when creating tattoo power supply units, the question we asked ourselves was what do tattoo artists want?

The answers varied. Some wanted portability, others wanted functionality. Cheyenne rose to the challenge and created what they felt were lightweight, sturdy, and intuitive to use devices.

POWER UNIT I – Simple, yet powerful tattoo power supply

Cheyenne invented a complete tattooing system from the patented Safety Cartridge, to the HAWK tattoo machine, and finally the power supply POWER UNIT I. Initially, the POWER UNIT I came with a wall plug that transformed locally provided current to a 15 volt DC current and supplied 1.2 amps.

Here is where we get into a little conversation about Volts and Amps. Voltage and amperage are two measures of electrical current or flow of electrons. Voltage is a measure of the pressure that allows electrons to flow, while amperage is a measure of the number of electrons.

“A neat analogy to help understand these terms is a system of plumbing pipes. The voltage is equivalent to the water pressure, the current is equivalent to the flow rate, and the resistance is like the pipe size.”1

Machines of the HAWK family are equipped with DC motors, while machines of the SOL family are driven by BLDC motors. The drive concepts of these motors differ fundamentally. For physical reasons BLDC motors require a higher starting current.

The new wall plug, with the little green light, supplies an output of 1.2 amps which is sufficient to start-up machines from the SOL family. The POWER UNIT I was now able to rise to the task of running SOL machines so that artists who prefer to tattoo from start to finish with one machine benefit from the simplicity of the POWER UNIT I. The tattoo power supply is equipped with country-specific plugs, so that even on convention tours abroad, you are able to simply connect and get started!

Features and technical data of the POWER UNIT I and II:

• Input Voltage: 15 V DC
• Output Voltage: 6 – 12,5 V DC
• Operating Mode: Continuous operation
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 110 x 165 x 55 cm
• Weight: ca. 260 g
• Intuitive operation
• Robust, easy to clean and functional
• With country-specific plugs
• Compatible with tattoo machines from other manufacturers via adapter (adapter is not included)
• Easy to clean, insensitive to many cleaning agents
• Manufactured according to medical standard (ISO 13485) made in Germany

POWER UNIT II – Tattoo power supply for two tattoo machines

With the introduction of the POWER UNIT II, artists were able to connect two tattoo machines at once to a tattoo power supply and switch from machine to machine, therefore, artists who use both a Thunder and a SOL Nova, for example, can switch easily back and forth. The simplicity of the POWER UNIT I design carried over to the POWER UNIT II while providing added functionality.

HAWK machines run at a higher frequency than SOL machines. For comparison, the HAWK Spirit runs between 70 and 180 Hz whereas the SOL Luna runs between 25 and 150 Hz. More power, with respect to the wall plug, does not necessarily equal true ability to run a lower frequency machine.

What is frequency and how does it relate to Cheyenne machines?

“Hertz (abbreviated: Hz) is the standard unit of measurement used for measuring frequency. Since frequency is measured in cycles per second, one hertz equals one cycle per second.“2

POWER UNIT IV – Flexible tattoo power supply to fit your needs

With the release of the POWER UNIT IV in 2019, artists now had the option to own a tattoo power supply that combined portability and functionality with the simplicity found with Cheyenne devices. The POWER UNIT IV does what the POWER UNIT I & II do, provide consistent power to run the HAWK machine family while also accommodating for (or – with a focus on running the) the lower frequency of the SOL machine family, by design.

This is where the similarities of the Cheyenne tattoo power supplies end and the differences begin. Size wise, the POWER UNIT IV dimensions are 87 mm x 76 mm x 28 mm (3.4” x 2.3” x 1.1”) and is substantially smaller than its counterparts whose dimensions are 110 mm x 165 mm x 55 mm (4.3” x 6.5” x 2.2”). The POWER UNIT IV is also much lighter weighing in at ca. 159 g (5.6 oz) vs the POWER UNIT I & II which weigh above ca. 250 g (8.8 oz). This lightweight and compact size makes it a great tattoo power supply for traveling artists.

All in all, the POWER UNIT IV has additional features that the POWER UNIT I and II do not have:

• Two magnets and an integrated clip-on stand that allow for versatility in where the unit can be placed
• A display that shows Volts as (4.7 V - 12.5 V in 0.1 V steps) or bar graph display (30 steps, approx. 0.26 V per step)
• 2 modes for foot switch operation – latched (basic on/off) and momentary (constant pressure)
• Stopwatch for measuring tattoo session time
• And last but not least find the hidden feature of your POWER UNIT IV:

1. wake up the PU IV from sleep mode
2.  press the left arrow key 3 times
3.  press the right arrow key 3 times
4. repeat steps 2-3 two more times