I bought a ‘Genuine Apple Charger’ from an Australian ebay seller in Australia. I pulled it apart and was clearly a fake. Oh boy did ebay seller go ballistic when I called out the fake product with a negative review. Trouble is, I as an electronic manufacturer spend a small fortune on compliance, but authorities don’t care about unsafe overseas fakes.

@laustinspeiss

2 жыл бұрын

That’s the oddity… importers can bring in almost anything legally as long as it doesn’t crossthe copyright & patent laws, but they can sell *anything*. It’s up to the user to complain after they’re killed using it. Of course there’s no traceable path to the importer or manufacturer.

@DavidMonro

2 жыл бұрын

I had a weird one like that - Australian seller via ebay. Delta-branded 12V supply for LEDs. Didn't like the look of the label when I got it, didn't look quite right. Pulled it apart and it turned out to actually be a Lite-On PSU, with only about half the current capability. I think it was actually safe enough (proper anti-tracking etc), but as far as I can tell that lite-on model was never approved for Australia. I only use it for testing stuff, never leave it plugged in unattended.

@46I37

2 жыл бұрын

@@laustinspeiss Actually, in Australia they have to comply with RCM which covers EMC and Electrical Safety. Trouble is, Chinese will print whatever compliance marks you want without doing the testing, and most ebay importers are mums and dads in a garage who wouldn't have the faintest on their legal obligations.

@man_eating_monkey

2 жыл бұрын

@@DavidMonro I wouldn’t rank Lite-On any worse than Delta. Both are major Taiwanese electronic manufacturers. Apple actually contracts both Delta and Lite-On to manufacture their offical Apple-branded MacBook chargers.

@lathiat

2 жыл бұрын

Catch com au sells counterfeit apple stuff too all very clearly and prominently advertised as “genuine” but so clearly not when you get it. got a refund and reported to apple twice.

0:47 That, ladies and gentlemen, is a genuine USB-A plugging experience. You aren't doing it right if you're successful in less than three attempts, as defined in the USB-A Consortium literature.

@fahad_hassan_92

Жыл бұрын

Usually the empty side is supposed to be up, this shitty fake couldn't manage that

@edherdman9973

6 ай бұрын

Understanding USB plug chirality is way beyond me.

Ah, the "Madman Muntz" school of product engineering! Earl "Mad man" Muntz was an American entrepreneur back in the 1950s who sold bargain-priced TV sets. He'd start removing components from a set until it no longer worked, then add back the last-removed component and turn the result over to manufacturing. He was quite a character...

The irony is that, if the manufacturers of these products, 'splashed out', a fraction more on the cost of these things and made them up to standard, they'd still out-compete the OEM versions but avoid the reputation of making dodgy cheap and often dangerous alternatives. All for a h'appeth of tar.

@Debbiebabe69

2 жыл бұрын

Its a race to the bottom though. You could be in a situation that if you could wholesale the chargers for 98p you would sell 14.3 million, but if you upped your price to 99p you would only sell a few hundred - thats why manufacturers fighting for the bargain market skimp on EVERYTHING.....

@peterg.8245

2 жыл бұрын

What about Anker? They make decent chargers but sometimes you do get a bad component.

@PainterVierax

2 жыл бұрын

I don't buy no name chargers nor the phone brand ones. Both are crap in their own ways. The best in every corners are devices from companies like FSP who are longtime designers and regularly contractors for the big brands.

@1mmickk

2 жыл бұрын

You dont understand Chinese mentality. The first knock off is usually quite good, then they do the cost cutting exercise. No care, no responsibility in China, life is cheap.

@PainterVierax

2 жыл бұрын

@@1mmickk That's not a chinese mentality. Since ages, way before PRC entered the game, a lot of brands applied that to maximize profits.

Problem is that you can't trust any seller, any shop, to not be selling this same crap. We've lost technically intelligent people and companies now comprise primarily of unqualified office desk jockeys, who have no idea what they're retailing.

@smee5437

2 жыл бұрын

Well, if you want an Apple accessory, you can buy it directly from Apple.

@Strider9655

2 жыл бұрын

@@smee5437 If you want an Apple accessory, then i'm afraid there's just no hope for you :p

@damionlee7658

2 жыл бұрын

There also seems to be a lack of regulation enforcement. I cannot believe that CE marking is authentic, and there is so much stuff being sold online, and in many physical stores, that has all the safety quality of your average "Wish" purchase; and yet the problem only seems to be escalating. I recall when working for a retail company at the time the requirement for plugs to come pre-fitted on most consumer electrical devices was brought in. Our company had a full review of the requirements, an evaluation of all existing stock for compliance, and a comprehensive process to monitor all new product ranges for compliance. These days it really seems to me that nobody is remotely concerned with the regulations or whether the products they sell meet them.

@cornholio.2110

2 жыл бұрын

No one cares. Its a dollar in their pocket to pay rent.....

@zacharytaylor8523

2 жыл бұрын

@@damionlee7658 I always felt the CE marking was irrelevant to actual safety as basically everything has it including deathtrap electronics, I know the actual standards are suppose to be rigorous and on par with other standards but no one is bothering to check if shit actually complies when it's small quantities of stuff directly imported from China by end users. If you're unsure of a manufacturer you always have to look for some other testing lab's marking, whether it be TUV, UL, KC, CSA, etc. TUV, ETL and UL are particularly nice as often you can look up the model or manufacturer of something to see the actual certification.

There's really no excuse for this in British power supplies. Your plugs are so damn big there's always going to be ample room to do it right.

@kwinzman

2 жыл бұрын

The space is not the problem. The 99p end consumer price is! So minus the shop's margin and the shipping cost how much is the total budget to make the damn thing? You do so see that they left out as many components from the reference design as possible.

@thomasneal9291

2 жыл бұрын

@@kwinzman it's quite possible that the selling price of this item has little to do with its manufacturing cost. it is much more likely that it is just a loss dump.

@MrGrimsmith

2 жыл бұрын

This is actually a big bonus - makes it easier to wire them and easier to find. Of course, they do like to lie on their backs on the floor waiting for an unsuspecting foot. The first thing I noticed on the opening up though was that the earth pin went to nothing. They might as well have just been honest and made the thing out of plastic rather than metal.

@steeviebops

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrGrimsmith Apple themselves aren't much better. Take a MacBook charger and you'll see that the metal earth pin on the provided plug isn't connected to anything. If you run your fingers along the metal palm rest you'll feel a tingle because it's not earthed. Only the extension cables are properly earthed.

@seraphina985

Жыл бұрын

@@MrGrimsmith Phone chargers generally don't have the earth pin connected so that is not the issue. That said such devices are required to be fully double insulated in order to meet any reasonable safety standards such as CE certification. This device would thus fail any certification testing in the European Union, which would potentially be a problem if someone were to actually bother enforcing the law at some point, it is about time someone woke up the sellers that are importing and selling these uncompliant items. Probably wont happen until someone with a high enough profile to attract serious media attention to the issue dies though.

This brings back memories of working in a corporate environment where something like this was installed to supply USB power in some complex fancy smart whiteboard set up. They frequently went bang and the maintenance team had great fun dismantling everything to replace them with something more appropriate for the task :-)

@MrKillswitch88

2 жыл бұрын

The good old "furnace fights" when something breaks down, for me it was the shrink wrap machines at Coke.

@Kalvinjj

2 жыл бұрын

I can only imagine the face of the suits there in conference rooms when the fancy pretty smart whiteboard goes dumb whiteboard right in the middle of a presentation, then with no clue how to solve it they just look at each other and wonder who the heck paid for that

@mySeaPrince_

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kalvinjj and how much they pocketed..

@wdavem

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kalvinjj and what to do next...

Yup, found out the hard way when I had my vape device plugged into a cheap Samsung-lookalike USB charger. I was just about to take a puff when the whole thing became live. I managed to throw it down and, after the initial shock had worn off, curiously measured the voltage of the USB cable to ground. Roughly 330V! I took it apart and yes, they didn't use a class-Y capacitor between primary and secondary, and the cheap standard cap had become a resistor.

@tonyppe

2 жыл бұрын

I understand why they say vaping is dangerous now :)

@blueredbrick

2 жыл бұрын

Vaping can be bad for your health 🤔that way

@bonzaihb3432

2 жыл бұрын

btw, just in case: in EU (certainly in DE) there will be quite some tax on any kind of vaping liquid shortly, like 200€ on a liter of base, no aroma nor nic added, that's on top... plus vat afaik. Time to bunker stuff...

@guyh3403

2 жыл бұрын

Your vaping device will get back to you in a few years...

@daviddavidson2357

2 жыл бұрын

@@bonzaihb3432 Just buy high concentration nicotine solution in PG or VG. Plenty of places sell it (in the UK) up to about 100mg/ml. It just isn't marked as "for vaping use" and therefore the EU TPD has no effect on it. Then you just buy some VG and flavour.

These cheap chargers are everywhere. Even corner stores sell them. Thanks BC for educating people about these widow makers.

@monad_tcp

2 жыл бұрын

Someone should develop a 4KV portable tester for using in stores that sell those. Just like you teast a lamp before buying. You plug it in, it explodes , you know it was shit. That will teach those stupid vendors.

@JurassicJenkins

2 жыл бұрын

With due respect it’s a equal opportunity killer. ⚡️🔥

Strongly reminds me of a cheap phone charger my father in-law gave me to have a look because it failed. It was horribly cheap constructed and failed because a current limiting resistor got too hot and let out the magic smoke. I refused to repair that thing because upon further inspection it's a death trap similar to the one you had here. There was basically no gap between the primary and the secondary side. I can provide you a picture for giggles and shudders if you want.

Clive, some years ago you reviewed, and praised to high heaven, the triple port IKEA charger. I bought two on the strength of your review and they have been amazing!!!

A couple of years ago the flat below us caught fire due to a cheap phone charger. Luckily everyone got out, even though most of the people in the other flats (10 in total) ignored the fire alarm (it was always going off). Ever since then I don't trust generic chargers or power supplies.

@infernaldaedra

2 жыл бұрын

Generally as long as a power supply has the appropriate ratings and certifications it should be trustworthy in theory.

@willrobbinson1

2 жыл бұрын

dodgy fire alarms r not good either if false alarms too freq , then people ignore

@rogerborg

2 жыл бұрын

Interesting if true. How are you privy to the details of what caused the fire? How cheap was the charger?

@stephhhie17

2 жыл бұрын

@@rogerborg Fire inspectors can usually figure out the source, if it's not obvious to a layperson (like if the tenant left the stove on and the kitchen is badly damaged sort of thing)

@paulhall9811

2 жыл бұрын

@@rogerborg Talking to the fire brigade after they put it out and the neighbor a couple of days later. It was a knockoff charger, the phone was plugged in overnight on a bedside table next to the curtains. It was a block of 10 studio flats with smoke detectors in the cooking areas. The alarms would go off 3-4 times a week. The fire started at about 8am, everyone though it was burning toast and were waiting for the alarm to be reset. It wasn't until a kid ran around to all the flats yelling that it was a fire before the building was cleared. The smoke in the hallway was terrible but the flats had good fire doors so the rooms were ok.

To be fair that was a whole lot better than I was expecting for £1! I was expecting no isolation and a capacitively coupled 5V source with minimal regulation.

A splash of urethane coating on that PCB would have helped with the poor separation and arcing. But then again it would have cost half a penny and not made this thing safe to use so why bother.

Do you have the guts of an Apple charger plug so they could be compared side by side for components and build quality?

@muzikman2008

2 жыл бұрын

I took an old Apple charger apart, there is a hell of a lot more components in one of those, and electrical seperation. I did it out of curiosity, so yes the Apple ones are much better quality lol.

@fersunk

2 жыл бұрын

Apple use Rubicon cap, IRF power ICs, and actual EMC filters, way higher quality that this things

@tin2001

2 жыл бұрын

I can't stand Apple products normally, but there basic 5v USB chargers are some of the best you can get. Probably why half the cheap ones are designed to look like them.

@GBOAC

2 жыл бұрын

@@tin2001 the upside of having vendor support lock-in. If they would ship shitty chargers then it would cost them more in under warranty servicing.

@Rosscoff2000

2 жыл бұрын

could you open a genuine Apple adaptor and do a part by part comparison. That woukd be very interesting.

Amazing how easy that came apart. Could easily see half the plug remaining in the sockets as you go to remove it.. And if really unlucky a nice shock for your troubles

@georgeprout42

2 жыл бұрын

I think Clive mentioned that possibility. But it's another bloody good reason to have switches on the socket when you want to remove the last bit. It's almost as if BS1363 saw cheap chinesium coming.

@matthewlovibond900

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, had that happen to me with a very similar looking usb charger that came with an Amazon network cable tester. Top came straight off leaving the rest of it with all its exposed live bits dangling in the air. Replaced it with a Poundland £2 charger. Worth every one of those 200 pennies.

@ZephodBeeblebrox

2 жыл бұрын

@@georgeprout42 Remember the switch only turns off the live. The neutral and earth are still connected and on so you can still bridge between neutral and earth and end up being zapped by 240v.

@georgeprout42

2 жыл бұрын

@@ZephodBeeblebrox Oh I know. I hate that "I can't do it" but someone with a one day course can. My two year HND with understanding of the underlying principles counts for nothing. Meh, it's their name on the certificate and I now always double check everything is ok after they've gone. Usually just needs a tighten here and there, sometimes green/yellow sleeving. Or red sleeve on a switched live.

@patrick_test123

2 жыл бұрын

@@georgeprout42You don't need that swich for that. For something that rare you can just go tho the switchpanel instead.

I remember buying one of these for £0.49 from eBay including shipping from china. The only components it had in it was a resistor, rectifier diode, zener diode and led. Needless to say the sleeve of the usb output was live. At least your one had more bits inside but didn't seem to have a fuse or any current limiting. Definitely a fire hazard if a diode blows in that tiny bridge or the output transistor pops in the IC due to the omission of the snubber network.

That opened way too easy, someone will go to unplug that one day and the casing will come off very dangerous.

Thanks again for demonstrating the importance of knowledge to prevent accidents from faulty electrical devices and bad electricians plus the coolest led light projects and ways to fix some of rhe same things I've had still kept and wasn't sure how to repair.

For a quid, that's a bargain. It held up pretty well. Over time it might even improve grip and forearm strength. Cancelling my gym membership, and buying me one of these. Should save me a ton of money.

@Paxmax

2 жыл бұрын

You also get that lovely quick acting cardiovascular training at 50 times a second! 😂

I have one remarkably similar to that which was supplied with an automatic pet feeder. The charger made an audible pop and stopped working the very first time it was plugged in. The pet feeder is absolutely fine and now working quite happily with another charger, just the supplied charger that was dodgy.

Skimping on a power supply is always a false economy. It's worth an extra few bob to be sure it's not going to shock you, go on fire or damage the expensive (possibly irreplaceable, if it's a home-brew or restoration project) equipment plugged into it.

I like how they made the earth pin metallic even though it wasn't connected to anything inside.

Always loved how (to a certain maximum) transformers always find someway to look the same. Like mini little micro-wave shockers

could you do this same test on a genuine Apple and samsung chargers? 1 to see if genuine is safer and 2 you have a standard to compare death chargers with giving them a %rating

@willmoindrot

2 жыл бұрын

Here I think is the genuine article A1399 kzread.info/dash/bejne/mGSMprlrZ6S3h5c.html quite a difference!

A great lesson on high/low voltage separation, especially for anyone designing their own boards, There is usually 2 to 4mm distance and a long slotty thing almost cutting the board in half... It's there for a reason! ⚡📲💀

12:29 I've seen this type of transformer before, and I think it's fabulous! The one where there's absolutely no isolation in the transformer - remember that the feedback winding (often referred to as the auxiliary winding) is connected to the negative of the bridge rectifier, so it's essentially referenced to the mains input. So you have the USB output isolated by the thin layer of lacquer on the wire, which is less than 0.05mm thick, and is not designed to isolate mains from humans. This is what DiodeGoneWild would call "super dodgy". ;)

@stargazer7644

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for repeating pretty much exactly what Clive said in the video.

@JaceSomers

7 ай бұрын

So dodgy you'll need to physically dodge the inevitable explosion if you plug it into a wall

For a second, I expected you to probe the diodes in the picture and not on the actual PCB. It's one thing to skimp on (omit) components that affect performance, another thing entirely to skimp on those that affect safety. The lack of separation is particularly inexcusable. It looks like there was enough room in the layout to create sufficient separation by shifting things around a bit. And adding a slot to a PCB costs virtually nothing.

@dave_s_vids

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, me too!! :D

@piconano

2 жыл бұрын

That's not a defect in design. It's a spark gap feature :)

@Slikx666

2 жыл бұрын

He hasn't been drinking enough to make that mistake again. 😆

@monad_tcp

2 жыл бұрын

@@piconano lol, it's part of the protection, It sparks.

@johndododoe1411

2 жыл бұрын

Gaps are a surcharge from the PCB factory. It may or may not be cheaper than increased PCB area. But even with that space routed completely out, the distance may be too small for mains isolation without a dedicated protrusion in the plastic case.

I have some of those usb loads from EBay. I soldered two wires on one and use it as a current regulator in series with a battery for charging or a led, lamp etc to regulate current. It's op-amp controlled and keeps current regulation spot on.

I loved the unboxing experience you provided.

These teardowns show that you really care about the safety for others, thanks for sharing this video big guy!

Not just USB chargers, I've sent out a laptop charger to a user today because they'd bought an ebay special which caught fire.

I can vouch for damage! We had one of those. Was sitting minding my own business and all of a sudden BANG!! ALL lights and power went off in the house and then there was the disgusting stink that ensued.....I thought that the standard lamp bulb had blown, to my surprise and horror, the plug socket looked odd. This "thing" we had shoved into it had gone bang, throwing not only the usb but also the camera that was attached to it and bits of hot plastic everywhere. I'm surprised that the sofa didn't ignite!!!! The other thing I failed to mention earlier was that the three pins were still attached to the charred plate attached to the socket attached to the wall, also blackened by the arc/fireball. Be wary folks, there are these fake chargers.....they do not have the apple logo inside of them and they are not fused.....the plastic also has a vague creamy colour to it, which, when placed side by side to a genuine apple one, you can see the difference. Fortunately I am still here sat in my lounge, able to tell the tale! Thanks to Clive for showing you the insides of one. Unfortunately there was bugger all left of the one I had!

Both clones of iDevice chargers as well as Macbook-chargers are often a great way to jamming the complete RF spectrum (at least up to DAB+ bands ;-)).

@radiohirsch

2 жыл бұрын

Dumb QRM is just sad 😔

@risvegliato

2 жыл бұрын

Yep. when using my SDR with a longwire, you can see the stripes and wiggly lines all the way up beyond 30MHz. I switch off or unplug anything with a switching supply but it still picks up all the neighbours' devices.

@monad_tcp

2 жыл бұрын

Not only it electrocutes you, it also causes interference on your wifi. Nice.

@johndododoe1411

2 жыл бұрын

@@monad_tcp Does it block the signals to call 999 on your mobile?

@Kalvinjj

2 жыл бұрын

@@johndododoe1411 Ultimate Skynet moment. For no more than a pound.

always wondered what's the difference with those charges and if I was just paying for a brand name You're doing great work here.

Shocking - quite litterally lol! I was also surprised at the way the back separates from the front. I could imagine a possible situation where the live and neutral prongs are still stuck in the socket as the back comes away?

I just want to take a moment to celebrate the return of terrifyingly dangerous 240v electronics.

@grahamstevenson1740

2 жыл бұрын

What's so dangerous about 240 or 230 Volts ? Design it right and it's no problem.

@untruenorth

2 жыл бұрын

@@grahamstevenson1740 And therein lies the rub.

@jwstolk

Жыл бұрын

Actually a bit more than 240V, since the the rectified DC voltage is almost the peak-to-peak voltage of the mains sine wave.

@brucemibus9523

Жыл бұрын

And 120v is so much better? Try and design a decent high power amplifier for 120v. Taking so much current that connector heating restriction of current flow. Yes I am talking about serious current for class A amps!

For mobile device adapters I always recommend a reputable third party adapters or if you insist OEM. Pound Shops/Dollar stores, flea markets, no name brands on Amazon, etc are always risky. I also recommending avoiding OEM on Amazon or any model on eBay due to the possibility of getting counterfeits. With USB Power delivery this is getting more important than ever. The latest version of USB Power delivery is now capable of transmitting up to 240 watts of power using up to 48 volts DC versus earlier versions which supported 100 watts and 20 volts at the same 5 amps.

@radellaf

2 жыл бұрын

On the up side, cheapie manufacturers don’t (yet) tend to support high voltage (i.e. 12) or current output. So far I only see it with 5v stuff. Anker or Aukey always seem good. Apple really does make quality power supplies but I want 2 port QC/PD and they just don’t make that.

@fishyfool

2 жыл бұрын

I've been known to use my laptop charger on my phone, scares me though. It charges so fast on the lappy charger that I'm afraid it'll cook the battery

@straightpipediesel

2 жыл бұрын

@@radellaf Your two-port wish was answered last Monday.

@radellaf

2 жыл бұрын

@@straightpipediesel my lord, $60 for a 35W dual-port. $20 for the 20W wasn't _that_ bad...

@radellaf

2 жыл бұрын

@@fishyfool I know what ya mean. It won't cook the battery, but personally I like using 5V-only USB ports for my phone. I don't need a fast charge, and it certainly doesn't _help_ the battery to be fast charged.

that colour coding its doing great job! good idea much easier to understand that circuit! thanks

Thank you, I didn't understand all you talked about(I am not techy) but I did understand the reasons you were concerned.And I am sure with exposure to your site I will understand more of what you are doing.

Terrifying that was on sale RETAIL!

I remember designing PCBs in the 90s - back then I always used 6mm as the minimum creepage for anything that might be a safety issue, or for telecoms approvals. That layout was quite literally, shocking. (OK, I'll get my coat.)

@Toca_waffle843

8 ай бұрын

don't forget your hat

💗 the heads up on this product , much appreciated Thank You for the video.

Turning that voltage ⚡ knob up and up reminded me of when Marty McFly goes to Doc Brown's house and keeps raising the volume knobs up on his guitar amp, and strikes a cord blowing him back! I was cringing the whole time waiting for that thing to explode with shrapnel and fire😰

Ton of these selling in Hong Kong cheap accessories shop, surprise our price here is a double of UK. I really have no faith with this knock-off charger, I use those from better brand name or Japanese made.

Unfortunately, you can warn consumers all you want but ignorance often stands in the way.

Excellent work done, Clive!

Wow, cable loss voltage compensation. That is actually nice!

The product should carry manufacturer/importer name/brand and postcode, so it should be possible for Trading Standards to trace them. When importing, Trading Standards do occasional checks on such items, though clearly not often enough.

@tsm688

2 жыл бұрын

they'd just lie.

I have one of those! It makes a buzzing noise when plugged in, and when you unplug it, the buzzing continues for about 10 seconds

2:35 I love the way the L and N go straight in uninsulated, either side of the metal USB surround, with what looks like 2-3mm clearance.

i got that same load tester as you some while back, very useful

One more thought on this. If that case somehow weakened, say by dropping it on a hard floor, it seems totally possible to just pull the upper case part off and then have live metal parts poking from your outlet.

@PatrikKron

2 жыл бұрын

That happened to me with a genuine power supply for a network switch. The glue had weakened over the years and when I unplugged it, it split in half (luckily I unplugged it fast enough to not touch anything and the way I gripped it the plastic could not fall off completely.

@johndododoe1411

2 жыл бұрын

That's the failure mode that made Apple recall their original chargers.

@mattfleming86

2 жыл бұрын

Unplugging without throwing a breaker would be the most dangerous game of "operation"

you had me at cheat death-wish. I clicked so fast

Great video really enjoy watching all your videos, Can I ask how did you learn electronics, I'm just starting out learning. Thanks Lee

The arc test is really quite nice to see the arcs and what should have been done

Now to do the same tests on an authentic apple one, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't fair any better

@BrianG61UK

2 жыл бұрын

My guess is it'd be better but you still wouldn't feel good about using them once you saw what was inside.

@edc1569

2 жыл бұрын

quality of engineering in the Apple units is excellent

"Dodgy!".

@KeritechElectronics

2 жыл бұрын

Nothing of beauty, joy never.

Love your high voltage tester..love to see arcing.

Thanks Clive I have one of these which is now living in the bin thanks for the potentially lifesaving video.

This might sound stupid but why bother to make the earth pin metal when its doing jack all?

@elvinhaak

2 жыл бұрын

Since it should be connected in the real thing (see the chematic on the end with this safety-cap that is not on the board)

@westelaudio943

2 жыл бұрын

Modern British plugs block off plugs without earth pin

Thanks for making us aware of the dangers of these cheap chargers. Many people assume because something looks like the genuine article it will be safe and perform the same. I've always assumed Poundland electronics are actually very good, as being retail, they are carefully regulated.

@andygozzo72

2 жыл бұрын

ones sold by actual Poundland 'usually' are much better, clive has reviewed some, that said, one of the ones he reviewed i bought, only used a couple of times till it made a popping sound and bit of a smell, i opened the thing up and both ht dc smoothing caps were red hot and one very bulgy about to pop completely, i think the main problem is trying to shrink parts too far, as someone once said, 'you cant miniaturise the watt' , larger sized caps handle the ripple current better without almost boiling

Nice one Clive, really enjoyable.

Videos like this make me wish I had a mini-Clive on my shoulder to analyze dodgy electronics and advise me when I go to make a purchase.

What really irritates me is that they could've made it much safer with only a tiny increase in cost. This seems like the perfect use-case for open-source, publish a safe and cheap design for them to clone and sell.

@SeanBZA

2 жыл бұрын

Still would be redesigned to be cheaper, and smaller. Plenty of room in the case for a larger PCB, but that increases cost, and plenty of manufacturers reference designs with a complete BOM and assembly instructions around as well, complete with layout for a case in them, that are not used, because it is going to add a hundredth of a cent onto the cost. They went as small as possible, as cheap as possible, to maximise profit at all costs. Incidentally faking the CCC compliance mark gets you a bill for the bullet in China, if you are small fry, and not a connected person.

@ischmidt

2 жыл бұрын

Clive showed the reference schematic for the chip in this charger, and half of the circuitry from the reference schematic was missing in the actual charger, which made it less safe. The same thing would happen with a theoretical safe OSS reference design.

You're right calling them "Death wish" charger from pound shops. They are built to Chinese electrical standards, where electrocuting the user is perfectly fine. The separation between the main and the output is 1 millimeter instead of the 20 required from international regulation. Also, the charger lacks any feedback from the output, normally achieved with an optocoupler - which is missing here. Thanks for warning the Internet about these dangerous contraptions...

@wearsjorge55

2 жыл бұрын

I gotta ask, is the electrocuting the user thing a legitimate thing in their country?

@MrSegmentfault

2 жыл бұрын

They are not built to Chinese standards. Chinese domestic market has proper safety standards as well. Crap like this doesn't meet any standards.

I love your sense of humour, Clive! Agree that a hand tightly gripping the phone due to muscle spasms from electrocution isn't an ideal scenario.

Clive you do a well presentation of your videos, if I ever come to Glasgow I’ll look you up to share a nice whisky with you mate. Keep up the awesome videos mate. 🤙🏼🇦🇺

You would LOVE a Soviet "transformer" I came across. I bought a Soviet flashgun to go with a Fed camera that I bought, 30 years ago when I was in Riga. I did not have great confidence in the transformer so I opened the case - it was screwed together. To get the necessary 6v to power the flash they had put a bridge rectifier and then a bloody great big wire-wound resistor. That was it. No isolation. About as unsafe as could be. I don't know if I still have that transformer or whether I threw it away.

@DielectricVideos

2 жыл бұрын

Stick a 5.1V zener diode and a smoothing cap across it and make the least efficient and least safe phone charger ever!

@evzenhedvabny6259

2 жыл бұрын

Soviet stuff was illegal to use even in some countries of the Eastern Block. My graddad worked as a maintenance electrician during 80's. Every equipment they had and was labeled as "сделано в ссср" had to be adapted or used with a safety transformer. The reason was that the USSR used the IT system in their power network so nothing (in theory) can give you a shock unless you touch both wires.

We have a shop in town where the owner has a box full of these. I must say that his do actually look the part, but, who on Earth would be able to buy an entire box of genuine OEM chargers? - Exactly! No, I would not buy one!

@mattmanyam

2 жыл бұрын

They must have fallen off the truck... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"I've somehow lost it" I wonder how? Your desk is so clean! *Has seen the desk proper in the past*

Make your mind up Clive - Poundland and I quote what you said 'Very electrically compliant'. You have done several videos on these and were quite satisfied with all of them.

@bigclivedotcom

2 жыл бұрын

This one isn't from Poundland.

I'm very curious to know what voltage the pcb tracks flashed over at. (presumably >2kV?) That would be pretty impressive given such tiny seperation

Interesting, these remind me of the power supplies CEX sometimes provide if you buy second hand products without the original plugs. I would really hope they choose those that are better specced than this 😂😂

@sodorflubbs5000

Жыл бұрын

I would assume they would as if anything happened the company would be liable for any injuries that occurred. I can’t believe they’d be that daft.

Excellent. Thank you for this video uploader. 🤗

Just watched one of dave's videos, so I've now got to watch one of clive's, so I can listen to his soothing tones and try to forget the ever rising pitch of dave's voice.

In a normal household, are 1 or 2 kV peaks to be expected to occur sometimes normally, or during a thunderstorm perhaps? Or is it more a matter of principle to always make sure spark gaps are wide enough?

@zacharytaylor8523

2 жыл бұрын

There is a slurry of reasons, having a margin is always good. What may be alright for the 400V peak on 220v mains at standard room temperature and humidity may not be good at higher temps and humidity.

Have you ever taken apart a high quality USB supply in order to compare it to cheap crap like this? I've been following you since fanny flambeaux ;) and I can't remember seeing anything like what I've mentioned. I also don't claim to have any sort of elephant memory, though, so maybe you've already made a video along the lines that I've suggested. Thanks for the great content anyway!

It might be the two tall shots of 100 proof corn whiskey I had with dinner, but I love your hands. And thanks for the safety tips!

Good pics, when you pulled out the meter I was expecting the probes to go on the pic and then the little board comes out....

Oh my. I'm not an electrician or electrical engineer, just an IT tech but even audible 50Hz mains hum emitting from LV (I don't call 240V low voltage - but it's relative I guess) power cabinets makes me nervous - I'd be horrified to hear an arcing noise like that from a device on site. De-power immediately.... we're all going to die!! :D Meddling in stuff I shouldn't as a kid and getting some hefty mains zaps as a result taught me caution I think. My Mum used to tell tales of finding me with the back off the CRT TV poking about inside, with it plugged in... at 5 years old. I just wanted to see how it worked I think..... in hindsight, I'm lucky to be alive.

@monad_tcp

2 жыл бұрын

Nah, it's fine. I sleep under my electrical panel, the humming of high current passing through the breakers is soothing.

@monad_tcp

2 жыл бұрын

Gees that TV thing thou, that was really stupid. I knew when I was 5 that the HV from the flyback to the tube could kill. There was a technician TV store that I used play around, they taught me how to play safe with electricity and some overall vision on how the TV works. But I was shocked one time when I was plugging things, it was an power 5V power supply I was using to power lots of crappy electronics , luckily I was insulated from the ground because I always sat on a rubber mat and only plugged things with one hand. That left hand touched the pins and shorted them, lol, it was enough for me to throw it away, luckily it was only 110v. Most of the times I only caused short circuits and tripped breakers. And the magic smoke of my electronics. Ironically I ended up being a programmer because I was too poor to proper have an electronics lab. Programming was expensive back then, a computer could easily cost $5K. But as my father was an engineer, I could use his at night.

@johndododoe1411

2 жыл бұрын

I was poking about with a multimeter in the high voltage circuit to find an intermittent fault in ours. It took weeks of carefully navigating around the open TV to watch the show together with the propped up meter to see if the needle moved when the TV failed.

@monad_tcp

2 жыл бұрын

I used to disassemble everything, once when I was 10yo, I disassembled a tube TV to see inside. I took care wrapping the cable with tape so I knew the TV was off for the entire week before opening it, the TV wasn't being used for a long time thou. Then I shorted the flyback plug to the chassis using a long screw driver just in case. You can do that by sliding the screwdriver under the rubber of the flyback cable. You have to clip it to the chassis using a cable. Always be safe when playing with HV. When I was more younger I was super afraid of dropping things inside the TV as I plugged my videogames on it. I would never put things on the TV. I remember once my mother dropping a bit of water on the TV (it was from that plate used on plants) . It made spark sounds, amazingly it kept working. Those things are like tractors.

I had one of these. My daughter has a metal cased phone and said she got mild shocks whenever touching it. It had to go. The 400V/5V separation and arcing was scary.

@GBOAC

2 жыл бұрын

400V???

@andyonions7864

2 жыл бұрын

@@GBOAC Rectified 230ACV RMS is pushing 400V and can spike over.

Here is a short News video on USB Charger Plugs: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pmioq5Son7iyiJs.html

I often get a tingle in my output - now I know why. (It's the hot little transformer!)

@bigclivedotcom

2 жыл бұрын

Most ungrounded power supplies can give a tingle due to capacitive coupling.

Circuit design done by accountants... as always. Meh. Taking the transformer apart makes me wanna call you BigCliveGoneWild - I like it how deep Daniel goes into the circuits, definitely seeing it here :)

@richardturton6900

2 жыл бұрын

Dan would rate this charger as "Super Dodgy"

It's sad how little life means to the manufacturer of these death traps. Unfortunately government isn't out to protect anyone but themselves. Otherwise, importing these would've required true UL and other approvals, like apple and other name brands do. Pay once, cry once. Buy real name brand electronics.

@grahamstevenson1740

2 жыл бұрын

It was marked CE. To do that is a statement by the manufacturer that it complies with various EN standards that derive from IEC standards just like UL. Clearly the manufacturer was lying. But to see it in Europe it HAS to be marked CE (it's compulsory) so the manufacturer just applies the mark without bothering about compliance. That means that the CE mark is essentially WORTHLESS despite honest companies spending lots to comply. What CE actually has come to mean is CAVEAT EMPTOR !

@alfstewart2592

2 жыл бұрын

Not the government's job

@grahamstevenson1740

2 жыл бұрын

@@alfstewart2592 Sort of half and half. Central government in the UK has 'farmed out' policing CE marking to Trading Standards who are underfunded so it ends up being a mockery of the law. It was the government that brought in those regulations and more recently the UK only CA but they're just 'box ticking' in reality.

@TimoNoko

2 жыл бұрын

Give government enough powers and it will do anything to the max. Great example was in 1970's when government prohibited extension plugs and cables. In Finland. Only legal solution was either lengthen the cables on devices or install new wall plugs, which could only be done by licensed electrician. Lasted only few months, but some new apartments had literally hundreds of wall plugs, which was not too safe either.

For a Pound, this is actually half decent. The electrical isolation isn’t great, but it withstood a couple of thousand volts before breaking down. Amazing anything can be produced, packaged and shipped for the price and still make a profit.

Good Job Clive!

I worried that you were handling the charger and board without discharging it first... You didn't mention any discharge resistor across the mains, Is it necessary in this design? I'm not sure. As a long-time view of your channel, you've taught me well to short them out, probably with a screwdriver holding the plastic handle across those mains before I spudgered it open.

@Kalvinjj

2 жыл бұрын

Honestly, I expected him to doubt that crap's design so much that he would have shorted live and neutral before disassembly. And of course, it would spark.

@raymitchell9736

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kalvinjj Yes, it would have been interesting to find that out. But it's torn to bits now. Maybe Clive will reply on this thread and let us know.

@grahamstevenson1740

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kalvinjj Snorting live to neutral wouldn't have discharged the 2.2uF storage cap because the bridge rectifier is in the way.

@Kalvinjj

2 жыл бұрын

@@grahamstevenson1740 I know, the normal operation would be that, I just mean it's a miracle it isn't SO terrible that you could expect a circuit like those UV germicidal lamps he showed (or was it another channel?) that connected to mains and left a capacitor charged up with no discharge resistor, that would just zap you if you touched mains unplugged. Tho I'm more just exaggerating it, I think that kind of capacitor dropper (was it?) circuit wouldn't be suitable here.

If they would connect the Earth with GND of the secondary side, then they would have a security benefit in case of a connection between the life-wire and the secondary side. But they didn't do this. How would it be if the products get quality-checked from an engineer before we let them enter the European boarder? The possibility that bad things are happening would be much lower.

That's hilarious I just thought about something I wanted to know how it worked and was going to look for you to message you and on my home screen was a notification of a new video lol 😂

@TheMono25

2 жыл бұрын

It's a little heatsink box that has some circuit potted inside of it it's called a new racing CDI and it's some type of electrical component for motorbikes and scooters things like that

If there was a routed slot to give better separation, the blobs of solder on each side would have probably still flashed-across anyway. It would have been a good experiment to see if a slot would have made much difference.

I just looked up Apple UK chargers, and I'm so sorry for you. I love the UK home electrical standards. But I also love the US 5W charger. It lacks power, but fits in any pocket and works reliably on any power strip. Great for overnight charging. That 5W UK charger looks like an abomination.

@emmatitova2154

2 жыл бұрын

5w eu lightning chargers are scary small too!

@edc1569

2 жыл бұрын

The foldable pins 20W one I use for almost everything now, its excellent, pins fold away, can even power the laptop in an emergency. Only £19 too.

@BrianG61UK

2 жыл бұрын

Remember that was a fake. Hopefully the real Apple made ones are somewhat better.

Well, don’t power any TTL-logic chips from this thing; the voltage was edging up to 5.25 volts or so (at around 965 mA). This’ll result in hot, smoky chips - and not BBQ flavor either! 😏

@tsm688

2 жыл бұрын

TTL can tolerate up to 5.4 reasonably well, but poof, no safety margin

@johndavis1465

2 жыл бұрын

TTL speced to 7v

@Vilvaran

2 жыл бұрын

@@johndavis1465 No that's absolute maximum, as in a surge or something. So power supply overshoot of 6V is spicy, but non-volatile, whilst you could only get away with one or two 7V hits before something hates you for it! Specs show 54LS' logic can withstand up to 5.5V - but the more common 74LS' series only handles 5.25V

Hmm, I hear you mate. I'm still using the same Apple mains plug charger at home that came with my iPhone 11pro, but I do use a multi plug charger in my car. It has 2 usb sockets and 3 cigarette lighter type sockets. I use one for my dash cam and often have my iPhone plugged into the usb for Googlemaps.

The Y capacitor, the transformer and the "spark gap" should withstand 5kV for a certain amount of time on modern double insulated equipment. It used to be 4kV, hence the 4kV setting on your tester. 2kV is for earthed equipment. Milling the PCB is not enough since 5kV will bridge 5mm of air; a sheet of insulating material needs to be inserted in the opening as well.

Certainly not Apple, you can open it without destroying it!

Can we take a moment to appreciate that knockoff cap label that has drifted from "Chengx" to "Chongx" to an unintelligible string of unicode? Someone needs to start collecting and documenting these, I've seen so many "Swap Meet Louie" variations of the Chengx (apparently Chengxing Electric, the originator) caps in things with mutated branding.

@tsm688

2 жыл бұрын

chungus

I don't comment nearly enough on Clive's videos, but my goodness they are excellent

I may have a similar charger. Think I’ll bin it and buy chargers direct from Apple in future. Thanks for potentially saving me! :)