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The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

themu.co.uk

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Re: The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

#11

Post by gouranga »

To quote:

"Yes – the Mu® USB Adapter has been tested by recognised certification organisations and has the full pre-requisite approvals for CE certification."

What approvals and organisations? Sounds like bullshit. That's the most evasive paragraph ever in the history of time.

Proper UK mains plugs are incredibly over-engineered for a good reason. Excellent mechanical stability, no arcing likely, touch-safety, earth pin, built in fuse and TBH you could beat an elephant to death with one. Add to that, the sockets don't like giving the plugs back which is a good thing!

That thing is flimsy, requires manual twiddling, has zero earth pin - it's plastic (what is the USB port grounded to?), will break in two minutes flat and fry someone.

I very much doubt it's been tested or approved or will be on the market for more than a few weeks.

Also, a small added rant: I can see design awards galore splurged all over it. The designers are positively orgasmic over the thing, yet us engineers are crying. Take the hint.

Re: The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

#15

Post by alexchamberlain »

gouranga wrote: post #11

To quote: "Yes – the Mu® USB Adapter has been tested by recognised certification organisations and has the full pre-requisite approvals for CE certification." What approvals and organisations? Sounds like bullshit. That's the most evasive paragraph ever in the history of time. Proper UK mains plugs are incredibly over-engineered for a good reason. Excellent mechanical stability, no arcing likely, touch-safety, earth…

I've just checked 2 phone chargers and a tablet charger. All of them have plastic earth pins.

Earth != Ground...

Re: The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

#16

Post by unwind »

weavejester wrote: post #6
unwind wrote: post #3

I couldn't find any information about whether or not this contains a fuse ... Isn't that mandatory for UK plugs? Seems quite "daring" to launch something like this for only the UK. Sure, it's a big market, but I hope they're looking at modularizing the plug part internally so they can instantiate the Mu for other markets, too.

It seems rather unlikely they'd be selling this if they didn't comply with UK regulations! I'm also not sure why you think it's daring to launch a product for, in your words, "a big market".

I just meant that while big, it's still more or less one country. But, as other commenters have pointed out, the purpose of the product is to make the clumsy UK plug more managable, so perhaps there is no market in other regions for this product. :)

Re: The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

#18

Post by andyking »

mootothemax wrote: post #9
archivator wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had a plug disintegrate inside the socket. (the metal prongs somehow detached from the plug). So, don't do this! I'd argue that the really good thing about the UK plug is 1) the switches in the sockets and 2) that the devices are all well-grounded. The EU one is usually just 2 contacts, with an optional 3rd one for ground. That's bad, anyway I look at it.

I'd argue that the really good thing about the UK plug is 1) the switches in the sockets and 2) that the devices are all well-grounded There are quite a lot of safety features built in to UK plugs. Other ones I'm aware of are the holes being shuttered until a plug is inserted, and the internal design meaning that if you pull hard enough on the external wire, pulling it out, the internal wires will disconnect in a saf…

At an old workplace, we had a piece of equipment with a European plug that we regularly had to shoehorn into a UK socket. It was a case of shoving a screwdriver or a pencil into the earth hole on the socket to simulate that pin being inserted and unlock the others, then fumble the EU plug into the live and neutral holes. (All while the socket was powered down, of course.)

Not particularly safe, and the result of someone who found you could buy equipment cheaper from Germany!

Re: The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

#19

Post by regularfry »

unwind wrote: post #3

I couldn't find any information about whether or not this contains a fuse ... Isn't that mandatory for UK plugs? Seems quite "daring" to launch something like this for only the UK. Sure, it's a big market, but I hope they're looking at modularizing the plug part internally so they can instantiate the Mu for other markets, too.

The original idea was fused, I presume this is too.

Re: The Mu - Folding UK 3-pin → USB plug

#20

Post by beseku »

gioele wrote: post #17

It is a (design-wise) shame that the UK plug design forces adapters to be so big. Europlug USB adapters are much more slicker http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/339903558/_Euro_Plug_USB_T... .

I think that depends on the angle you approach the issue from. Having spent the last three years in Japan after growing up in the UK, I find the general lack of respect towards electricity as a deadly force that is encapsulated in the flimsy plug design quite startling.

While the UK plug design is unwieldy in comparison, it also features a huge number of cleverly designed elements intended to provide the utmost protection to the everyday user.

Put another way, no. of shocks in Japan: 3 in 3 years. No. of shocks in the UK: 0 in 27 years (16 of which were as a child).

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