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USB Killer

kukuruku.co

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Re: USB Killer

#81

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

lucian1900 wrote: post #65
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…

They are however no safer than Schuko plugs, which are significantly less annoying.

I consider Schuko plugs to fall somewhere between the british and the swiss plug. It certainly is a little too big for what it does, and also hard to unplug. That 16A rating is nice, though.

Re: USB Killer

#82

Post by junto »

jacquesm wrote: post #38
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.

Or, if you end up forgetting about it or your s.o. moves the laptop from your desk to the other side of the room...

The original story actually relates to a computer running a BBS back in the 90's. The plugs were duck taped to sockets and signs more or less read "do not unplug... ever".

When the place was raided by the police and the computer confiscated, the fun and games began.

The computer was never returned.

Re: USB Killer

#83

Post by cstross »

If you're feeling ornery,you could fly with one in your hand luggage.

If the TSA or foreign equivalent border security want to scan your devices, it's their look-out.

Re: USB Killer

#84

Post by cstross »

comboy wrote: post #58
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?

You could fit one into a portable hard drive case, though. Presumably along with an electric motor to make the appropriate noises when whoever you really don't like tries to plug it into their laptop.

Re: USB Killer

#85

Post by EliRivers »

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…

Part of the niceness of the UK plug is that if you pull the cable right out of the housing, the internals disconnect in the safest order. The plug comparison sites I've found don't discuss the internals of the plugs much; does anyone know how other plug types approach this (or do they just ignore it)?

Looking at plugs, I suspect that many get round this by making the housing of the plug much more firmly attached to the cable.

Re: USB Killer

#86

Post by hereonbusiness »

thret wrote: post #79
hereonbusiness wrote: post #46

One could give these out to activists around the world, they seem to be always at risk of getting their electronic devices confiscated by law enforcement.

Women who carry mace might also welcome one of these in their handbags. Or people who keep getting inspected at airports. I'm sure there's a market.

I can already see the marketing slogan: "Stick it to the man" :)

Re: USB Killer

#87

Post by riffraff »

anomie wrote: post #49
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.

When my grandparents died and we sold their house (in the uk) we had some builders in to tidy up some stuff and they discovered that in a big part of the house the earth was actually wired to live in the sockets. They'd lived with it for 40 years or something. Guess not many devices actually use the earth. (The wiring was originally done by my grandad'a brother - use a professional people...)

I've found earth and live wires mixed in 2 different houses I've lived in. Programmers are not the only ones that do shoddy work :)

Re: USB Killer

#88

Post by blueskin_ »

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…

I think they're elegant. The cable points downwards rather than just outwards like most others (US/EU). They have a nice finished edge that's easy to grip rather than a moulded piece of angled plastic.

Re: USB Killer

#89

Post by riffraff »

kissickas wrote: post #56
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…

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.

I have done that, when I was young and stupid and didn't have a UK compatible plug. I have also witnessed a many people doing it.

You can also trick it by doing a sort of dance with te plug where you partially force in the ground, then one live, then you spin it and put the other one in.

The day we have USB wall sockets can't come soon enough.

Re: USB Killer

#90

Post by MrBuddyCasino »

Accacin wrote: post #61
MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'm not really a plug fan, but I did find this interesting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEfP1OKKz_Q

It is, thanks - I didn't know about the additional leeway of the ground cable thats there by design, simple but smart.
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