Live data from Hacker News

I'm a USB-C Maximalist

shkspr.mobi

441–450 of 461 posts

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#441
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the issue is USB-PD: - 12 V × 5 A = 60 W - 20 V × 5 A = 100 W - 28 V × 5 A = 140 W Meanwhile, that Xbox roughly needs 12 V at 7.5 A (let's say 90 W, but the internal supply is 165W) . So there is just no easy way to do it with USB-PD. Technically, you can make/buy some sort of USB-PD bench power supply to do this, but I'm unaware of anything on the market right now. One that I use (DPS-150) is limited to 5A out…

USB-PD 3.1 supports 240W, which is 48V. It does seem like there's not many chargers that support this, but they do exist.

It's such a rare beast that I didn't include it. Here is what one of these looks like: https://frame.work/products/power-adapter-240w at that point you might as well just take an Xbox power supply. Also, still going to have the problem that Xbox takes 12V and USB-PD just does not provide more than 5A at any voltage.

Doesn't help that many market their power adapters as such, but when you look deeper, it's something like 2x75W + 3x50W + 4x10W.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#442
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’ve got one of the older style Mac chargers, the part which plugs into the wall physically separates from the rest of the charger. You can connect different plugs for all the different countries. There is a plastic seam where the charger separates. It’s easy to miss. I’ve slowly acquired all the global adaptors for Mac chargers. I just bring a usbc Mac charger when I travel with the destination country plug att…

Those Apple chargers in fact use the C7/C8 connector to interface the plug adapter, so you can skip their official parts and use any compatible cord. I for years used a power cable from an Xbox with my old Magsafe1-era Macbooks.

If you do that, you're losing grounding, which will result in the machine having that AC leakage buzz when you touch it. The chrome lug that the plug nub slides onto is a ground connection, and the Apple official cords and some country-specific nubs implement the ground brush connector. There is (was?) a third-party Schuko (not Europlug) nub.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#443
post #29

I don't like USB-C because they all look the same on the outside, but they're not all the same on the inside. Especially my cheap consumer electronics. Sometimes they will charge, sometimes they won't charge, but all the cables look the same, and you don't tend to know in advance.

If switching to a type-A charger fixes it, it’s probably the device manufacturer’s fault, not the cable. Many manufacturers that need the 5v standard you’d normally get from an old type-A charger screw this up. For universal USB-C power support that works with modern power bricks, you need to tie 5k resistors to two pins of the port on the device. This tells the charger to use 5v. I can’t tell you how much cheap stuf…

I know of something expensive that omits it too! My insulin pump controller is a junkpile android phone (a NUU Mobile N5004L for the curious) whose only purpose in life is to run a singular android app.

The device charges via usb-c, but refuses to do so if the charger is any relatively modern usb-c based brick. Only usb-a!

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#444
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If switching to a type-A charger fixes it, it’s probably the device manufacturer’s fault, not the cable. Many manufacturers that need the 5v standard you’d normally get from an old type-A charger screw this up. For universal USB-C power support that works with modern power bricks, you need to tie 5k resistors to two pins of the port on the device. This tells the charger to use 5v. I can’t tell you how much cheap stuf…

I know of something expensive that omits it too! My insulin pump controller is a junkpile android phone (a NUU Mobile N5004L for the curious) whose only purpose in life is to run a singular android app. The device charges via usb-c, but refuses to do so if the charger is any relatively modern usb-c based brick. Only usb-a!

Ugh, that’s infuriating to read, if not at all surprising. This sounds at once totally over-engineered (in the modern day, negative sense of the word) while being simultaneously under-engineered (in the traditional sense).

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#445
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>so that, again, you could use the headphones while you charge them. Yes! And you could charge them off your phone! If I could dream: wouldn't it be nice if you had headphones with charging cables attached to them so that you never had to worry about losing them. And phones could have a convenient extra port for plugging such headphones into. Ah, one could only dream.

See, you also lose me at non-removable cables as a point of failure, for the same reason OP loses me at "toothbrush"

Oh, a great new idea then!

What if the same port could be on both headphones and phone?

For convenience, we could make it, like, round so it could go in which every way.

Then you could use whatever male-to-male cable you want if and when the one you have goes bad.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you believe the 16 TB uSD cards from no name Chinese brands on Amazon as well? If so, I have a bridge to sell - limited time offer! 500W (with 1 port being true 240 W) is the highest legitimate one I've run across - and I search often for real alternatives to buy. Even bulky GaN PC PSUs selling for $500 can't exceed 700W without assisted cooling due to efficiency->heat reasons.

> Do you believe I will just quote myself to answer that. > or so they claim > a no name Chinese brand I am not going to trust

Yet if seeing fakes on Amazon convinces you:

> But they do seem to exist

I still have my bridge to sell. Quoting the parts which lead to a reply isn't really a response as it's guaranteed to lead to the same place.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#448
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those Apple chargers in fact use the C7/C8 connector to interface the plug adapter, so you can skip their official parts and use any compatible cord. I for years used a power cable from an Xbox with my old Magsafe1-era Macbooks.

The issue with a generic cord is that it won't connect the earth pin on those chargers. But it does work in a pinch.

> The issue with a generic cord is that it won't connect the earth pin on those chargers.

Nor does the two-prong "wall wart mode" tip many of them shipped with. The ground was only connected on the extended cord attachment.

Re: I'm a USB-C Maximalist

#449
post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those Apple chargers in fact use the C7/C8 connector to interface the plug adapter, so you can skip their official parts and use any compatible cord. I for years used a power cable from an Xbox with my old Magsafe1-era Macbooks.

If you do that, you're losing grounding, which will result in the machine having that AC leakage buzz when you touch it. The chrome lug that the plug nub slides onto is a ground connection, and the Apple official cords and some country-specific nubs implement the ground brush connector. There is (was?) a third-party Schuko (not Europlug) nub.

Those power supplies often shipped with both a full cord input which was grounded but also a folding two-prong component that made it in to a wall wart and of course was not grounded.
Post reply on HN