Author Topic: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown  (Read 44286 times)

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Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« on: November 20, 2012, 11:36:50 am »


Dave.
 

Offline JoannaK

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2012, 11:48:42 am »
No wonder people get killed with those cheapo powers.
 

Offline T4P

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2012, 11:58:31 am »
No wonder most more advanced phones wouldn't accept a charge without having the UI going all wonky (Sensation and counting only my original LG Optimus would accept a charge no problem)
Even charging a portable speaker is a problem, the noise it couples through to the ground plane while my phone is plugged in makes my phone go wonky
Lack of filtering and lack of a bridge rectifier = DOUBLE TROUBLE
 

Online BravoV

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2012, 12:06:51 pm »
Understand you're a "pro" ranter though, but c'mon Dave, 15 minutes duration should be enough to include some quick & fast measurement say at your scope on these crap charger output to let your audience see apart from the poor build, also how bad they are at their output to give the complete story. Just a suggestion.

« Last Edit: November 20, 2012, 12:08:36 pm by BravoV »
 

Offline mariush

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #4 on: November 20, 2012, 12:12:45 pm »
Understand you're a "pro" ranter though, but c'mon Dave, 15 minutes duration should be enough to include some quick & fast measurement say at your scope on these crap charger output to let your audience see apart from the poor build, also how bad they are at their output to give the complete story. Just a suggestion.

I agree. I frowned the moment i saw the video is only 16 minutes, I knew it was rushed.  Would have loved to see something similar to Mike's teardown, where he put some load and showed voltage dropping just from the length of the cables, not to mention the load amount... and heat going up in those transistors.

 

Offline Sionyn

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #5 on: November 20, 2012, 12:25:59 pm »
i would trust it any further than i could shove it up the designers arse

they do indeed kill this woman bought a gameboy charger for her son which killed him
http://www.destructoid.com/young-boy-dies-from-gameboy-charger-29079.phtml
eecs guy
 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #6 on: November 20, 2012, 12:26:54 pm »
I agree. I frowned the moment i saw the video is only 16 minutes, I knew it was rushed.

Sorry, I didn't have time to do it.
There is always the opportunity for another video you know, it's not the end of the world...

Dave.
 

Offline Sionyn

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2012, 12:31:26 pm »
it could be the end of the world, if you bought those apple chargers
eecs guy
 

Offline tom66

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2012, 12:49:44 pm »
One thing -- that 4R7 resistor probably ties into the base of that NPN through another resistor.

It's a ringing choke converter (two-transistor) and when well designed they can be a low cost alternative, unfortunately in most cases the cost cutting means they often fail. They are suitable for things like LEDs, but not suitable for delicate electronics. And by the time you've designed a really reliable one... you may as well just use a controller IC.
 

Offline andersm

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #9 on: November 20, 2012, 02:16:42 pm »
Do the AC prongs come off these clone chargers just by tugging, like early Apple ones and other cheap clones?

Offline G7PSK

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #10 on: November 20, 2012, 03:08:10 pm »
It is obvious that the small creepage distance is the one hung lo version of a safety device, get the distance small enough so that if you get a power surge it flashes over, saves on a spark gap. >:D
 

Offline Winston

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #11 on: November 20, 2012, 03:08:55 pm »
Before you tore them down, I noted that even the "better" charger had to be a fake.  Note the wording of the CAUTION message.  They omitted the "mation" portion of "infor-mation."  At least the worse looking charger got it more correct, but they still didn't use a hyphen as they should have to split "infor" and "mation," probably because they incorrectly perceived them as two different words.
 

Offline amyk

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #12 on: November 20, 2012, 06:04:51 pm »
i would trust it any further than i could shove it up the designers arse

they do indeed kill this woman bought a gameboy charger for her son which killed him
http://www.destructoid.com/young-boy-dies-from-gameboy-charger-29079.phtml
From that article:
Quote
Hotel management believes the young boy had just come from the pool and while still wet he touched the charger, which caused him to receive a lethal shock from the unit.
How many documented instances of lethal injury have occurred from these cheap chargers, relative to how many are in use? I'd think the actual (vs. perceived) risk is a lot lower than the big companies etc. would want you to think... and lots of people seem to have no trouble with getting around using one of the most dangerous means of transport.

The problem seems to be that these things are either ultra-cheap or ultra-expensive; there's nothing in between, and so tons of people are willing to take the risk.

The lack of a fuse/fusible resistor does scare me a bit, however.
 

Offline G7PSK

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #13 on: November 20, 2012, 06:10:28 pm »
Before you tore them down, I noted that even the "better" charger had to be a fake.  Note the wording of the CAUTION message.  They omitted the "mation" portion of "infor-mation."  At least the worse looking charger got it more correct, but they still didn't use a hyphen as they should have to split "infor" and "mation," probably because they incorrectly perceived them as two different words.
A hyphen in information would also ring alarm bells.
 

Offline DavidDLC

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #14 on: November 20, 2012, 06:13:46 pm »
I agree. I frowned the moment i saw the video is only 16 minutes, I knew it was rushed.

Sorry, I didn't have time to do it.
There is always the opportunity for another video you know, it's not the end of the world...

Dave.

Do it before Dec 21th 2012 !!!!

David.
 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #15 on: November 20, 2012, 09:14:32 pm »
Do it before Dec 21th 2012 !!!!

OH SHIT!!!  :o

Dave.
 

Offline PChi

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #16 on: November 20, 2012, 09:30:40 pm »
Thanks for the tear down.
Definitely a 'Don't turn it on take it apart' (then throw it away). A fire and electrocution hazard.
 

Offline Bored@Work

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #17 on: November 20, 2012, 09:34:11 pm »
How many documented instances of lethal injury have occurred from these cheap chargers, relative to how many are in use?

Who knows?

But something else is apparent. A local newspaper recently published the first preliminary statistics for 2012 regarding causes of fires in this area, based on data collected by the fire brigades and inspector. We have an almost 10% year over year increase in fires caused by electrical appliances of all kinds. A trend continuing from previous years.

From that you can say there is certainly coming a lot of dangerous crap from China, and it is not harmless.

Quote
The problem seems to be that these things are either ultra-cheap or ultra-expensive;

And ultra-expensive doesn't guarantee quality. You might still get crap. It could be genuine crap or counterfeit crap, but just because it is expensive doesn't mean you won't get crap.
I delete PMs unread. If you have something to say, say it in public.
For all else: Profile->[Modify Profile]Buddies/Ignore List->Edit Ignore List
 

Offline tom66

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #18 on: November 20, 2012, 09:40:48 pm »
If I need a cheap USB supply, I'll buy something like a used charger for an Android phone. HTC one for example is available for about £3.

I'm sure it's possible to produce something low cost and reliable -- problem is, it's hard to compete with "absolute cheapest".
 

Offline T4P

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #19 on: November 20, 2012, 09:44:48 pm »
Like the apple one, still a crap charger by any standards just look at the SAMXON caps! Bound to fail!
That thing just terrifies me, well, it costs 30$

If i wanted a USB supply a HTC one is excellent as well as a LG one that i use to charge my HTC (Uhuh ... yeah)
 

Offline tom66

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #20 on: November 20, 2012, 11:34:47 pm »
Apple's new iMacs have been seen with Taicon! and Ltec!!! Both have been seen failing in large numbers. Profit-squeezing bastards...
 

Offline TriodeTiger

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #21 on: November 21, 2012, 12:01:02 am »
Understand you're a "pro" ranter though, but c'mon Dave, 15 minutes duration should be enough to include some quick & fast measurement say at your scope on these crap charger output to let your audience see apart from the poor build, also how bad they are at their output to give the complete story. Just a suggestion.

It's just a teardown! Without even thinking hard I can envision in my crystal brain: 1V+pp ripple, kHz+ noise, volts dropping 1% per mA ::)

I see a theme of impatience sometimes, "Dave do this! this!", I assume this is good as it'll spawn people wanting to actually make blogs about that stuff when Dave can't do "everything". He's just a guy with a scope ok...more like 20.
"Yes, I have deliberately traded off robustness for the sake of having knobs." - Dave Jones.
 

Offline FenderBender

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #22 on: November 21, 2012, 12:03:11 am »
I don't understand..How much more would it cost for 3 more bloody diodes?
 

Offline Sionyn

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #23 on: November 21, 2012, 12:04:14 am »
here the full story from a bbc program about the fake gameboy charger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9BZPadQuC8c#t=107s
eecs guy
 

Offline kaindub

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Re: EEVblog #388 - Fake Apple USB Charger Teardown
« Reply #24 on: November 21, 2012, 03:05:24 am »
One charger has Australian pins, so I assume its targeted at Australia.
It fails because Australian market plugs need to have a plastic ring about 50mm diameter around the pins
Its to stop fingers going behind the plug and touching the pins when its plugged in.
 


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