Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

Not All USB Power Supplies Are Equal

4K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  JamesK 
#1 ·
Fascinating tear-down of common USB wall chargers showing why some on the market can be downright dangerous:
USB power supplies are super cheap and omnipresent. They are the Tribble of my household. But they’re not all created equal, and some of them may even be dangerous. I had to source USB power supplies for a product, and it wasn’t easy. But the upside is that I got to tear them all apart and check out their designs.
Searching for USB Power Supplies that Won?t Explode | Hackaday
 
#2 ·
The same applies to any electrical device. Most are fine, but there's a lot of garbage too. All my USB chargers came with equipment, but if I had to buy one, I'd go to a reputable store for it. Also, devices sold in Canada may have CSA approval and there are other rating agencies around the world. But there are also some devices that use the labels, but haven't in fact been tested. So, avoid the extremely cheap/questionable sources.
 
#3 ·
Ditto for 12-24V Auto USB adapters.

I had a cheap one feed 24V directly into my $800 iPad and fry it instantly. Even the 'geniuses' at 'the bar' couldn't revive the device. These things are supposed to fail to an 'open' or 'no power out' state but this one I had picked up from a friend did the absolute worst thing it could. The timing couldn't have been worse either but that is irrelevant to the fact that you get what you pay for so buyer beware.
 
#4 ·
USB Power Suppliers mainly used for small electronic devices like music players, bluetooth devices, mobile phone etc. Of course they are meant to be different. Cause different kind of devices requires different kind power, voltage and everything. And there are always some difference in quality.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top