31–40 of 127 posts
240 watts over a USB-C connector? What next, USB toasters and coffee pots?
There are things that shouldn't be powered by USB-C. But there are plenty of sub 100W consumer electronics devices that really should be USB-C. I waited years before Panasonic released their lamdash shavers using USB-C.
Speaking of which, does anyone know a line of PD Decoy modules to convert barrel jacks to USB-C without the atrocious behavior of "oh, the charger doesn't have 12V, here's 9V have fun!" that the early ones all did? Ideally I'd like a little red light to come on or something, but I'd settle for not silently browning out the device.
Speaking of which, does anyone know a line of PD Decoy modules to convert barrel jacks to USB-C without the atrocious behavior of "oh, the charger doesn't have 12V, here's 9V have fun!" that the early ones all did? Ideally I'd like a little red light to come on or something, but I'd settle for not silently browning out the device.
iirc theres ones that do. However I dont recall there being any clean fix to the amperage constraint issues. Especially when a lot of usb-c chargers will vary output as they heat up with usage. Which is kinda part the issue, usb-c charging bricks, they aren't usb-c power supplies, there is no expectation of sustained output capacity. Thankfully at least some the multiport ones have renegotiation more or less solved c…
Speaking of which, does anyone know a line of PD Decoy modules to convert barrel jacks to USB-C without the atrocious behavior of "oh, the charger doesn't have 12V, here's 9V have fun!" that the early ones all did? Ideally I'd like a little red light to come on or something, but I'd settle for not silently browning out the device.
There are things like this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5501 haven't used it, trying to find one for my mini pc, mostly so I can use a usb c power bank as a tiny DC ups.
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The thing is, making a 5v-only device PD-compliant is literally one resistor. It costs well under a penny. It's pure ignorance, not a decision, but the lack of one. Lack of caring, lack of having an actual engineer involved, just slapping an oval-shaped port into a product where a trapezoidal port had been, and blindly thinking that magically makes it spec-compliant. Or not thinking about the spec at all. I return th…
There's an otherwise decent shortwave radio out there that was originally charged with a micro-usb, then they released a "new" USB-C model...except it will only charge with a 5V brick because they literally just swapped out the ports. Really annoying.
240 watts over a USB-C connector? What next, USB toasters and coffee pots?
That's only a single ampre at standard European mains voltage. It's still a lot of power for those tiny connectors and insulation, but an order of magnitude insufficient for those appliances. I bet that cable gets plenty hot at 200+ watts.
I've basically stopped buying any portable electronics unless they take USB-C. Currently travelling with a laptop, watch, toothbrush, eReader, camera, bug-bite treater, and phone - all charging from the same power brick. I'm guaranteed of getting a replacement cable / charger wherever I am in the world if I need it. The only slight snag is some cheaper itema refuse to use PD and insist on plain 5V/2A - buy most decen…
I'll bite. What type of watch do you have that has a direct USB-C port on it?
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It's two resistors, actually. But they cost $0.0003 each (that's 0.03¢, or just around 3,333 of them for US$1) from distributors. Though there appears to be a bit of a stock crunch right now. So... yeah. The bigger issue is not really the parts cost, it's the fact that it adds an extra part to the design that has to be purchased and tracked and assembled and blah blah blah. This is the real reason it often gets left…
These companies are not manufacturing the device PCBAs, that is done by dedicated companies such as Flex. The PCBA manufacturing companies have warehouses of different resistors, and 5.1kΩ is extremely common. In fact, most PCB resistor values are quite flexible, to save on SKUs (in practice, to save on loading another carrier on the PnP machine) often if a specific resistor needs a specific value then all (or most o…
5.1k is a surprising resistor value, a lot of modern designs don't really have anything else in that area. I'm often not able to combine anything with it when I'm cost reducing. 4.7k, sure, but there aren't a lot of those either... 2.2k is just not close enough a lot of the time (or ends up as 1k), and same for 10k. So, sadly, it often does stand alone.
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These companies are not manufacturing the device PCBAs, that is done by dedicated companies such as Flex. The PCBA manufacturing companies have warehouses of different resistors, and 5.1kΩ is extremely common. In fact, most PCB resistor values are quite flexible, to save on SKUs (in practice, to save on loading another carrier on the PnP machine) often if a specific resistor needs a specific value then all (or most o…
I was speaking a little more towards the AliExpress end of things, which is a sadly high proportion of the devices out there. For the midsize CMs and up, you're right, they've got piles and piles of stuff and don't charge by the reel loaded. 5.1k is a surprising resistor value, a lot of modern designs don't really have anything else in that area. I'm often not able to combine anything with it when I'm cost reducing.…
I wonder if PD will cause a comeback of that value as more and more legacy device refreshes move to USB-C plugs.
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That's only a single ampre at standard European mains voltage. It's still a lot of power for those tiny connectors and insulation, but an order of magnitude insufficient for those appliances. I bet that cable gets plenty hot at 200+ watts.
USB-C is limited to 48 VDC. Above about 50V, electrical safety codes apply.