2016-08-10, 02:13
I thought i would share my research regarding power supply safety. We all have heard about a usb charger causing a fire but do we really think twice before plugging in a power supply that we get with a new device?
This is not just for cheap Chinese Android boxes but applies to all devices including the much loved Raspberry Pi and Odroid C2. Back when i first got my RPi2 i had the lovely rainbow icon coz i was running off the TV's USB port. I looked and looked but couldn't tell the genuine from the fakes so ended up buying a PowerCube that has 2.1A usb port and used a USB cable from my phone.
These Chinese boxes however had the 2.1 barrel plug which requires bit more research, i ripped apart the power supply from my MXQ and it looks like its hand made with no real insulation. You will see pictures below of the power supply that came with my MXQ as you can see there is no insulation on the transformer and there isn't enough space between high and low voltage. My research was based on North America but should apply for Europe to a degree.
you can see plenty on sale on Amazon , the one I got with the MXQ looks like this and this with a little screw on it. As you cn see it has the FC and CE logos which i think are forged. You cannot see any UL, CSA or ETL logos which guarantee its a fake even if they had the logo they still cannot be trusted.
However not everything is fake and you can check UL directory, such was the power supply made by Juke Eletronics here, if you look them up on the UL directory they are indeed certified and there company profile can be found on alibaba
A good article i was referred to on another forum is here, it goes into detail between a real and fake Apple charger. I would also like to point out not all Chinise boxes are bad, the power supply that came with my Beelink Mini MXIII is a YeS12w power supply certified by ETL which you can google. However with all the power supplies in my house none have the ETL logo so I ended up purchasing a Cisco PA100-NA just to be extra cautious.
The gauge of the cable also matters, most power supplies and usb cables i have come across use either 22AWG or as thin as 28AWG. 22AWG is rated for 1A from my research, the Cisco power supply uses 18AWG which is the proper gauge for 2A.
I just wanted to share this and for people to not go cheap when it comes to power supplies, the Raspberry power supply is very common and they have tons of fakes but are much easier to source do to the micro usb connector. The barrel plug is a bit harder but from what i've seen there are certified power supplies out there, you just have to do your research.
This is not just for cheap Chinese Android boxes but applies to all devices including the much loved Raspberry Pi and Odroid C2. Back when i first got my RPi2 i had the lovely rainbow icon coz i was running off the TV's USB port. I looked and looked but couldn't tell the genuine from the fakes so ended up buying a PowerCube that has 2.1A usb port and used a USB cable from my phone.
These Chinese boxes however had the 2.1 barrel plug which requires bit more research, i ripped apart the power supply from my MXQ and it looks like its hand made with no real insulation. You will see pictures below of the power supply that came with my MXQ as you can see there is no insulation on the transformer and there isn't enough space between high and low voltage. My research was based on North America but should apply for Europe to a degree.
you can see plenty on sale on Amazon , the one I got with the MXQ looks like this and this with a little screw on it. As you cn see it has the FC and CE logos which i think are forged. You cannot see any UL, CSA or ETL logos which guarantee its a fake even if they had the logo they still cannot be trusted.
However not everything is fake and you can check UL directory, such was the power supply made by Juke Eletronics here, if you look them up on the UL directory they are indeed certified and there company profile can be found on alibaba
A good article i was referred to on another forum is here, it goes into detail between a real and fake Apple charger. I would also like to point out not all Chinise boxes are bad, the power supply that came with my Beelink Mini MXIII is a YeS12w power supply certified by ETL which you can google. However with all the power supplies in my house none have the ETL logo so I ended up purchasing a Cisco PA100-NA just to be extra cautious.
The gauge of the cable also matters, most power supplies and usb cables i have come across use either 22AWG or as thin as 28AWG. 22AWG is rated for 1A from my research, the Cisco power supply uses 18AWG which is the proper gauge for 2A.
I just wanted to share this and for people to not go cheap when it comes to power supplies, the Raspberry power supply is very common and they have tons of fakes but are much easier to source do to the micro usb connector. The barrel plug is a bit harder but from what i've seen there are certified power supplies out there, you just have to do your research.
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