Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

USB Killer

kukuruku.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 198 posts

Re: USB Killer

#51

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

philjohn wrote: post #44
twelvechairs wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK power plugs also require a fuse, which I believe is not mandatory anywhere else.

They're ugly as hell, and insanely painful if you tread on them, but UK plugs are a bastion of good engineering. Things like not being able to stick things into the line/neutral holes unless the ground pin (which is longer) is inserted make them very safe, and the plastic lower part of the line/neutral pins to stop you accidentally touching something that will have current running through it until the plug is safely…

I know Britons love their plugs, and I have never quite understood why. They look brutish, clunky and over-engineered. The opposite of elegant.

The reason why they have fuses is so you can use ring circuits, which saves copper compared to the usual radial wiring. So its just about saving a little money.

Everyone now gets to state his favourite plug type. Bring it on!

Mine is the swiss Type J (http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets/j...). Its safe, not an eyesore and very space efficient. Its safe against voltage reversal, usually has a protective shroud and the ground pin is contacting first. Well engineered, very swiss like.

Re: USB Killer

#52

Post by dtech »

twelvechairs wrote: post #41
junto wrote: post #37

Reminds me of a story I heard many years ago. UK power plugs have three prongs to include earth. If you rewire earth, live and neutral AND alter the plug wall socket to match, then all is well, but if someone steals your PC then plugs it in using a standard wall socket then ouch.

UK power plugs also require a fuse, which I believe is not mandatory anywhere else.

This is because Post-WW2 UK houses were wired as one giant ring circuit, while in the rest of the world there generally was a fuseboard with every fused circuit connected to a few sockets. This saves wire (copper) but requires every plug to have a fuse.

I do not now if modern UK homes are still wired like this.

In modern times the individual fuse still makes it safer, but it is also one of the reasons UK plugs are so large and clunky.

Re: USB Killer

#53

Post by julian_t »

dtech wrote: post #52
twelvechairs wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK power plugs also require a fuse, which I believe is not mandatory anywhere else.

This is because Post-WW2 UK houses were wired as one giant ring circuit, while in the rest of the world there generally was a fuseboard with every fused circuit connected to a few sockets. This saves wire (copper) but requires every plug to have a fuse. I do not now if modern UK homes are still wired like this. In modern times the individual fuse still makes it safer, but it is also one of the reasons UK plugs are so…

They definitely shouldn't be.... IANA electrician, but as far as I am aware UK regulations require separate power and lighting circuits and a proper distribution board with RCBs.

And while our plugs may be clunky, I kind of prefer them to the wobbly, spark emitting two-pin plugs that I seem to come across in the US...

Re: USB Killer

#54

Post by vertex-four »

MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #51
philjohn wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're ugly as hell, and insanely painful if you tread on them, but UK plugs are a bastion of good engineering. Things like not being able to stick things into the line/neutral holes unless the ground pin (which is longer) is inserted make them very safe, and the plastic lower part of the line/neutral pins to stop you accidentally touching something that will have current running through it until the plug is safely…

I know Britons love their plugs, and I have never quite understood why. They look brutish, clunky and over-engineered. The opposite of elegant. The reason why they have fuses is so you can use ring circuits, which saves copper compared to the usual radial wiring. So its just about saving a little money. Everyone now gets to state his favourite plug type. Bring it on! Mine is the swiss Type J ( http://www.worldstandar…

Does anyone actually care that their plugs are elegant? In any case, your Type J is missing the fact that in the UK, the cables point down towards the floor rather than sticking out, keeping them flush with the wall and often allowing you to hide the plugs behind things.

Re: USB Killer

#55

Post by Shivetya »

vanontom wrote: post #4

This is just one of many reasons why you should not ever stick unknown things in your healthy ports (or your healthy things in unknown ports). Not without protection. Safety first. But I'm a firm believer that people should be able to consent to this kind of behavior if they really wish to.

So how do we make it absolutely safe?

Can a simple device be created that we can plug any USB into and simply receive an indication its safe and its capacity? How hard can this be?

Re: USB Killer

#56

Post by kissickas »

philjohn wrote: post #44
twelvechairs wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK power plugs also require a fuse, which I believe is not mandatory anywhere else.

They're ugly as hell, and insanely painful if you tread on them, but UK plugs are a bastion of good engineering. Things like not being able to stick things into the line/neutral holes unless the ground pin (which is longer) is inserted make them very safe, and the plastic lower part of the line/neutral pins to stop you accidentally touching something that will have current running through it until the plug is safely…

Very safe theoretically, but in practice (with Malaysian UK-type plugs, full disclosure) I've seen people casually shove pens and even metal spoons in the ground to force the socket to accept their ungrounded laptop plug.

Re: USB Killer

#57

Post by Houshalter »

sudhirj wrote: post #23
ademarre wrote: post #18

Is there any chance this could be dangerous to the human and not just his device?

If one wanted something dangerous to humans, one could just pack a USB stick full of explosives and use the current from the port as a detonator. I'm sure that's already been thought of before.

He's asking because he doesn't want something dangerous to humans. E.g. if someone made these as a prank, and they caused fires and killed people.

Re: USB Killer

#58

Post by comboy »

13 wrote: post #12

I tried to do one better with a small flyback transformer. https://gfycat.com/GlaringGrimCondor Turns out there's not enough clearance in USB ports for tens of thousands of volts.

Nice! But I'm guessing you wouldn't be able to fit that into a size that's comparable with standard USB drive?

Re: USB Killer

#60

Post by lotsofcows »

MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #51
philjohn wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're ugly as hell, and insanely painful if you tread on them, but UK plugs are a bastion of good engineering. Things like not being able to stick things into the line/neutral holes unless the ground pin (which is longer) is inserted make them very safe, and the plastic lower part of the line/neutral pins to stop you accidentally touching something that will have current running through it until the plug is safely…

I know Britons love their plugs, and I have never quite understood why. They look brutish, clunky and over-engineered. The opposite of elegant. The reason why they have fuses is so you can use ring circuits, which saves copper compared to the usual radial wiring. So its just about saving a little money. Everyone now gets to state his favourite plug type. Bring it on! Mine is the swiss Type J ( http://www.worldstandar…

You're right. We should change an established, proven design to make it prettier. I don't understand why it's taken so long for someone to speak out. Stop the presses!
Post reply on HN