How cheap is a cheap power supply?

[SpiDeRReal]

I really enjoyed watching your video... both informative and funny :)

[OhNoNotMyPenis]

I once brought a cleap power supply for a netbook and 2 days later the netbook would not even power on, so yea i kinda got done over there

[Atakan2025]

lol I have to laugh so much. :-D

[lelekis]

τωρα που άλλαξες τον πυκνωτή ,το λεντάκι ανάβει?

[pcbheaven]

@lelekis τώρα δουλείυει κανονικά και δε βγαζει παράσιτο

[yo6ial]

I've seen worse...

But the question stands tall: Does it worth it to buy so cheap?

I mean, does it worth it to jeopardize the camera ? (or any other device being powered by such cheap PSUs, including PC PSUs)

[pcbheaven]

@yo6ial good question. the point is on the other hand, does it worth to spend a shitload of money for an original supply? from my point of view, i will continue shopping cheap, but i will first test and probe all equipment.

[yo6ial]

@pcbheaven I don't throw myself to the top-shelf-logo-bearing products neither.

I'd starve.

But I found, the hard way and with the cheapest stuff, that it's cheaper in the long run to get the mid-range stuff.

So called "entry level" stuff.

Ok, I'm thinking bike parts and electronics, all in the same bucket, but I fried a phone with a cheap adapter, replaced dozens of mainboards killed by cheapest supplies, and so on.

Broken shin bone because of cheapest pedals :D.

[jkrsecret]

Very nice!

[makebidz]

There is so much cheap power supplys on ebay. I once bought a cell phone charger for .99 cents.

[pcbheaven]

@makebidz damn! and it works???

[makebidz]

How did you fiqure out the capacitor was bad?

[pcbheaven]

@makebidz if it was ok, it should somehow filter the output.

[cbielite]

You're GREEK, I knew it haha. Efxaristo megale!

[pcbheaven]

@cbielite :D profora-prodotra

[sanches2]

I like your comment on the supply a lot especially the darts part :)

[pcbheaven]

@sanches2 :D

[foil666]

Well, it's still pretty cheap, considering that that you just had to replace a capacitor and a couple of diodes. But for the average user it can be complete hell and bullcrap.

[pcbheaven]

@foil666 if i had no scope, then i would never have seen the output, and maybe today i had no camera....

[connordobie]

i live in the UK and i bought a cheep powersupply for powering cd drives pluged dit in fin started burning dvds then it exploded literally blewits self apart bits of circuitboard and casing everywhere the sockets faceplate was all chared

[pcbheaven]

@connordobie that's bad! that's really bad...

[suplydepot]

No shit... 4,95 indeed :)

[pcbheaven]

@suplydepot no shit!

[0Mervin0]

I cracked up when you made the joke about the diode from the panzer tank, nice video.

[geofdona]

Apo agglikh profora file asta!

[MrSkinnyBill]

Haha loving the sarcasm at some points. This is the first video I have watched from you, and I think I like you already xD

[CoolDudeClem]

Wow that's bad, I've seen some badly done circuit boards but this takes the cake!

[pcbheaven]

@CoolDudeClem the board is not that bad, the operation though takes both the cake and the prize.

[Pagweb]

Damn it. I just bought a power supply from ebay five minutes ago...

[pcbheaven]

@Pagweb :D 

[DanFrederiksen]

pretty amazing that it works for that price though : )

[pcbheaven]

@DanFrederiksen yep indeed it is...

[R3Cat]

Haha. " i can do better soldering than this with my feet while blindfolded" x3

[teflondon91]

LoL I can do better soldiering than this with my feet

[teflondon91]

LoL the PIC went nuts!

[ccronn]

I had to give this a thumb's up, just beacuse of your sense of humor. Yea, I can solder better than that with my feet too...

[TheColinputer]

I quite offtern by cheap power adapters for thing. But before i ever connect them to my device i always hook them upto a multimeter to check they are putting out the right voltage. And a CRO to check they dont have stupid shapped waves like yours did. Alot of the time they are fine. But i have had plenty which put out all manner of dirty power.

Sad thing is though, if you pull apart even brand name LCD TVs and that. Some of the PSUs in them have the dirtiest outputs ive ever seen

[Films4You]

3:25 LOL a Panzer tank, ( that has been shout up) LOL

[buluba8989]

Έλληνας εισαι???(απο προφορά :P)

[v4akias]

@buluba8989 σίγουρα είναι... χαχαχα

[BagosGiAr]

@buluba8989 Afou h LCD tou controler tou egrafe Kostas, Manolis kai Antonis.. ti les na einai?? Pantos Oraio Video ;)

[jollyrgr3]

The unfortunate thing is this is not only found in counterfeit parts but in so called name brand products. And the so called "missing" parts are due to the same board being used in modified form for different products. I have several "Freeplay" wind up radios. From the outside you cannot tell the difference in them. Inside are serveral diffierent configurations.

[123456789robbie]

"i could do better blindfolded holding the iron with my feet" xD amazing.

[Zed1967]

Any electronic engineer / geek can make a series regulator power supply easily and cheaply or adapt one of many plug in SMPSU's that often get thrown away. I have loads of plug in SMPSU's of various voltages and currents that were used to charge mobile phones and other electronics. If you have a bit of knowledge you will never have to buy a PSU ever again.

[ms63129]

Hmmm... I can make a power supply that is WAY better than that, with no important parts omitted or excessive noise and much more efficient (I'm sure that diode got really hot); I have made dozens of switching power supplies ranging from several to several hundred watts for personal projects (all designed by myself using parts I bought and scavenged from discarded electronics), including such advancements like PFC and synchronous rectification (MOSFETS instead of diodes for lower loss).

[greenpogo]

well 5$ worth of humor anyways...  instead we have a theoretical model of an inductor. too funny :P

[jerryg50]

For any name brand camera, I would have bought the original from a local authorised camera shop.

I know of a number of cases where people bought cheap deals from various sites, and eneded up having damage to their equipment, because of defects, or it not being of proper specs.

Jerry G.

[est000dog]

how dafuk that thing even worked?

[kay486]

Damn, i lold so hard at the diode part!

[Intosia]

Good video!

[pemigama]

haha very funny

[iToasterman]

You should buy things like this but fix them your self ;D

[JimsEquipmentShed]

Ha, too funny. But like you said, you did get what you paid for. And if you purchased the components separately it would have cost you more than that to build it yourself. So in the end, you still made out. The next video should be of you soldering with your feet. B-)

[pcbheaven]

@JimsEquipmentShed hehehe sure it will be !

[adisharr]

Wow, that supply is a piece of crap lol. I'm surprised they even used a screw - figured it would be plastic welded :) Thanks for the demo - very interesting!

[saulimus]

from super mario bros. :) same kind of accent...

[pcbheaven]

@saulimus lol well no not exactly. ;)

[ShogaNinja]

@saulimus

He's greek not italian.

[saulimus]

Mario, is that you?

[pcbheaven]

@saulimus mario who?

[Mremiliotheplayer]

@pcbheaven mario from super mario bros



[jassuncao]

I think you created a new concept of comedy. ROFL

[xevilstar]

this is the first video i see from you .... let's just say i subscribed !!!!!

keep up the good work :)

[TheLightningStalker]

I've almost given up on eBay entirely. People are not as honest as they used to be.

[erikbai]

You get what you paid for. I'd rather stick with a cheap eBay power supply ( with a warranty) than paying overpriced power supply from the official companies.

[pcbheaven]

@erikbai the prblem is that this power supply might easily toast my camera.

[HardstyleONWZ]

omg.. this video fails so hard.. this guy talks too much crap. pls. learn some basics

[rtty21]

I Started LAUGHING OUT LOUD when i saw the voltage signal coming from the transformer! omfg! who could, in good conscious, make such a shitty device?

[pcbheaven]

@rtty21 yep, they do :D

[Spoif]

Great video. Thanks. The annoying thing is that you can pay a lot more for stuff of equal crap quality.

[isashach]

Huh, kinda funny how I got 2 batteries for my camera at 2$ a piece, and they're able to go twice as long as the genuine one... and there are absolutely no problems like this.

[pcbheaven]

@isashach this exact same thing happened with me that i got like 4 bateries with battery package for 5 USD i think and they work perfectly fine.

[stivennoni77]

euxaristw gia tin gnosi

[themrworf1701]

You are funny guy! xD check if your house power plugs in your house is grounded BTW! :P

[AintBigAintClever]

@themrworf1701 That won't make a difference here, the input plug is 2-pin, live and neutral. No ground.

[pcbheaven]

@themrworf1701 yep it is, i have a ground meter as well ;)

[chawlamohali]

"solder better with my feet" !! :D :P made my day!!

[Oldbmwr100rs]

Bad deal, but you still ended up with a power supply. It's good you took the time to fix it at least,most people would have thrown it away,just making more waste. I call pretty much all of this junk mostly made in China as premade landfill, as that's where far too much of it ends up, often following it's packaging shortly after it's opened.

[SouthernUK]

Love this video and love the commentary. Hope you have better luck with the next PSU.

[nathanallan1]

Priceless video! I love how the LED lighted when you got your hand close to it. Yep, very cheap stuff. I am not defending them, and at least you were able to repair the capacitor there. You gained a new subscriber :)

[TAFbananaSkill]

Cybershot is a brand name from Sony ;)

[pcbheaven]

@TAFbananaSkill oh, that explains :D :D :D

But i never wanted a Sony... human brain is indeed a strange mechanism.

[frix199]

to sima konteuei ac...

[KristianS80]

Please, don't insult Panzer 4 tanks! :P

[novahcac]

@KristianS80 I'm sure he was merely using it as a timeframe, considering at this point in technology we shouldnt be using that of 60 years ago, regardless of whether it was awesome at the time or not.

[MammaleousMaximus]

OMG.... transcribe the audio on this video, its ridiculous!

[Sillyzombie666]

o great i had to watch this video, right now im waiting for 2 boot leg ps2 power cords on ebay and i be they will be this bad i just didn't feel like spending $20 at gamestop for em.

[pcbheaven]

@Sillyzombie666 don't worry, you might be luckier than i was. Shipping from ebay is some kind of lottery...

[DanNixon2007]

@Sillyzombie666 Aren't they just standard figure 8 mains cables, I don't see how that could be boot leg.

[Sillyzombie666]

@DanNixon2007 the model 2 power cords use a 8.5 volt supply but yes model 1s just use a normal plug

[subliminalvibes]

Thanks for sharing.. These things can lead to a fire or other tragedy.

Peace.

[bikerfreak714]

So when you were you holding the camera with the adapter plugged in and it caused your other hand to light up the LED, does that mean there's stray current passing through your body or leaking from the camera?  Does this pose a health risk to say, ummm, those of us who don't want to have stray current passing through our body??

[pcbheaven]

@bikerfreak714 i am not sure if this could be harmful for health. it is some kind of radiation (low frequency), so it could be indeed.

[plaugewolf]

@pcbheaven mostl likely jusr radio interferance messing up the PIC's clock.

[StinkyCheese9999]

@bikerfreak714

It means that RF was radiated by the power cord and his body, but the current would be a VERY low level not harmful... at least not in the short term, some scientists have claimed that very long term exposure to radio waves does cause harm but I doubt you will be sleeping with it wrapped around your head. :)

[afdhalatifftan92]

Lol! Best review ever!

Thanks for sharing man!

Haha

[SigEpBlue]

I wish I could say that I was surprised by the 'quality' of the supply, but this seems fairly typical for cheap chinese products, unfortunately. Unless I call 'horribly awful' a surprise. lol

Love the commentary, btw! Hilarious! XD The electronics design trade needs more people like you: good sense of humor, understanding of the principles, and a willingness to call out (expose) bad designs!

[gazawrc]

You are hilarious! Great vid

[UNHCoffee]

Great video and thank you.  I wonder if real inductors were used in place of the theoretical models on the PCB (after breaking PCB traces) whether the DC output could be further improved. As for the connector to the camera, maybe the connector is slightly too small and some metallic tape or aluminum foil could help fix it--though maybe only temporarily.

[pcbheaven]

@UNHCoffee i'll give it a shot, but i'm afraid that the problem is inside the plastic of the connector.

[rodjownsu]

What did the DC output look like once you replaced the capacitor? for 5 bucks that's not too bad for a nice project box and a bunch of components I would re-purpose it for my own bidding :)

[pcbheaven]

@rodjownsu lol! basically, i replaced the diode as well and the capacitor. it works much better now. yet again, the connector has the same problem - move it and the camera shuts down. Maybe you'll see this box in a future project of mine.

[rodjownsu]

@pcbheaven haha sounds good! It was probably a connector that was out of specification, hole was too big maybe..

Good video though... and its amazing how small RF interference can be to affect electronics! it's a shame really because any small stray interference can really stuff the project up or be a pain to track down. Thanks for uploading the video :)

[ExplosiveAnyThing]

θα μπορουσε να ειχε σκοτωσει την καμερα σου!

[chiprobot]

Theoretical inductors/ Panzer diodes rock.......nice breakdown ...

[askk1996]

we all have had a lesson here, don't trust ebay that much

[RavenRof]

ROFL oh my god o_o that Canon Powershot has an awesome power protection

[AL6S00740]

Eise kopeli !!! En xanis YoU ARE THE BEST AND THE MAN !!

[playfsx]

gamise :P !! na anevazeis review pio sixna !

[coilsinamotor]

one diode salved from a world war II tank!! XD LOL

[bd594]

@coilsinamotor The power supply was generating alot of RF interferance so I guess the diode is apart of a tank circuit. Oh boy that was a bad attempt at humor.

[skylinmegas9290]

...well the next best thing is to build your own you know its cheaper still but thanks for showing us this i all ways wondered

[Afrotechmods]

"were replaced with.....the theoretical model of an inductor...." LOL!