Imagine plugging your $300 hard drive, not to mention valuable data on it, and than losing all of it because you saved a few bucks on this cheap hub... I would feel very stupid :)
That PSU had iron filings or clippings inside and maybe 1mm creepage, as well as absolutely fake ground connection (the ground connection was tucked very near to high voltage lead from the primary cap), plus the obligatory ridiculous output noise. Lots of fun with these things.
... Does the CE mark actually mean anything nowadays when it is just two printed letters that anybody can print on an item?
I also wonder, does the Chinese government condemn or condone the production of fakes in their own country? After all, fakes will ruin the country's reputation. Maybe they don't care and are happy to take the money?
All these thoughts aside, thanks for an interesting teardown video.
@ForViewingOnly Without a specific standard the real CE mark could refer to ANYTHING concerning the device it marks.
The Chicoms use this crap as industrial warfare. They use our useful idiots to destroy our real economy (read: making things) with regulations and undercut whatever is left with ultra cheap crap like this. And China's reputation with regards to equipment quality is already shot.
Interesting video. I'm really concerned about the dodgy cheap electronics coming out of China. I bought a Samsung phone charger on eBay a few months ago and wondered why the eBay listings kept saying "genuine Samsung product". Now I've seen the 'Fake Britain' TV program I really don't know how we can trust any cheap electronics sold on eBay. Reading reviews of 'genuine' iPod PSUs on Amazon (Marketplace sellers) shows that some of these PSUs have actually popped/exploded! Scary stuff!...
Love it. I have seen USB chargers for a car cigarette plug that use a single resistor as their "power supply." They have really perfected the art of making something look like it works without actually doing the job.
i see "excellent products of china" like that in my country all the time. Nothing really works here properly, for the reasons you show in the video and many others :)
Those cheap powered hubs also usually have a 0 ohm resistor instead of a diode to stop the supply feeding into the port.. if you get a blown port you know why ;)
You must always check these cheap China brand PSU's. I had one explode on me, which I knew was going to happen as it was too hot!. After 15 mins of use the thing blew up! There was no exterior fire or debris but the inside of the case was toasted. I contacted the eBay seller who shipped another one almost instantly, no questions asked. The new one runs far cooler.
I've bought another eBay charger for an old laptop, and this runs around 70*C too which is far to hot, so this needs rebuilding too.
Should've seen the power supply that came with my made-in-PRC USB to SATA converter.
On the 230 cable they printed "3x1,5mm²" but after plugging it in ONCE the cable fell apart. In reality there were only 2 wires of 0,75mm² in it. Who needs protective grounding anyway?
I've seen many vids (and websites) about crappy products and every time I'm amazed that there are engineers that design this shit. Come on, this is just useless crap. That's not how you make a power supply... Good video, though. :)
Well i was actually quite impressed that they manged to make a switchmode power supply with a single cheep transistor, not the best idea to use it for a USB HUB tho that needs amps of current and some safety wouldn't hurt aswell.
I'd recommend changing the video title to include the brand name. My scathing review of Maplin's shitbox jump starters shows up as a recommended video when you view their own jumpstarter advert, nice :)
@AintBigAintClever Problem is stuff like this often goes under multiple names, and I wouldn't be surprised if many different hubs use the same junk PSU.
@OK2BCK in the english language the expression I used means 'no wonder it is so crap, because it didn't cost much'. This isn't justification, this is me merely stating the fact.
Yes is probably a 250mA power supply so just enough for one USB.
I have a 7 port USB hub with a fairly good 5V 4A power supply and is able to provide full 4A with no more than 5% drop in output including the cable. I do not have that with me but I think is also made in China.
@evhgl87 I doubt anyone makes mains adapters outside China these days - there are plenty of perfectly good Chinese ones out there. I always pull apart any Chinese mains stuff to check safety.
I've one of those plug in power meters. Seams to give me totally unpredictable readings below 50W. Seams to vary a great deal depending on what other stuff I have turned on and off in the same room not connected to the power meter.
Why not just put a voltage divider in there, it would work better. What a bunch of cheap made in china crap!
rocketman221projects 1 week ago
You have no idea how sick I feel because of watching this video.
The fact that someone on this planet, is willing to build something like that, let alone sell it, makes me sick.
nikomo0 1 week ago
Imagine plugging your $300 hard drive, not to mention valuable data on it, and than losing all of it because you saved a few bucks on this cheap hub... I would feel very stupid :)
DoubleM55 2 weeks ago
Over on 4hv.org we always wondered how these things managed to work with just one transistor. I see the answer is "they don't" :) Great video!
scopeboyr00lz 1 month ago
This is actually slightly better in some respect than what I found roughly half a year ago
ssj3gohan.tweakblogs. net/blog/6487/een-adapter-van-$4-is-het-wat.html
That PSU had iron filings or clippings inside and maybe 1mm creepage, as well as absolutely fake ground connection (the ground connection was tucked very near to high voltage lead from the primary cap), plus the obligatory ridiculous output noise. Lots of fun with these things.
ssj3gohan456 1 month ago
One layer of sellotape seperating the mains winding from the low voltage winding - scary!
parp12345 1 month ago
... Does the CE mark actually mean anything nowadays when it is just two printed letters that anybody can print on an item?
I also wonder, does the Chinese government condemn or condone the production of fakes in their own country? After all, fakes will ruin the country's reputation. Maybe they don't care and are happy to take the money?
All these thoughts aside, thanks for an interesting teardown video.
ForViewingOnly 1 month ago
@ForViewingOnly It's actually not even a CE mark (the separation between C and E is too small), that is the China Export mark.
HB45175 1 month ago
@ForViewingOnly Without a specific standard the real CE mark could refer to ANYTHING concerning the device it marks.
The Chicoms use this crap as industrial warfare. They use our useful idiots to destroy our real economy (read: making things) with regulations and undercut whatever is left with ultra cheap crap like this. And China's reputation with regards to equipment quality is already shot.
randacnam7321 1 week ago
Interesting video. I'm really concerned about the dodgy cheap electronics coming out of China. I bought a Samsung phone charger on eBay a few months ago and wondered why the eBay listings kept saying "genuine Samsung product". Now I've seen the 'Fake Britain' TV program I really don't know how we can trust any cheap electronics sold on eBay. Reading reviews of 'genuine' iPod PSUs on Amazon (Marketplace sellers) shows that some of these PSUs have actually popped/exploded! Scary stuff!...
ForViewingOnly 1 month ago
I feel like I've discovered some electrical engineer hipster underbelly of YouTube. And I say that with the greatest respect.
heyandy889 1 month ago
"lets carefully remove the ferrite core." *WHAM!*
Love the vid.
charleswolfman 1 month ago 14
Found even crappier one!
plus.google.com/113889052576259143956/posts/7z3ZUKgKRwY
the79jinx 1 month ago
Love it. I have seen USB chargers for a car cigarette plug that use a single resistor as their "power supply." They have really perfected the art of making something look like it works without actually doing the job.
nik282000 1 month ago
i see "excellent products of china" like that in my country all the time. Nothing really works here properly, for the reasons you show in the video and many others :)
mechadrake 1 month ago
Those cheap powered hubs also usually have a 0 ohm resistor instead of a diode to stop the supply feeding into the port.. if you get a blown port you know why ;)
donpalmera 1 month ago
WOW that's a piece of crap PSU ;-)
zaprodk 1 month ago
The way you removed that ferrite was very "photonicinduction style" :)
BeJ95 1 month ago 6
7:50 i wonder if the isolator is flameble...
transistorbaluba 1 month ago
Piece of crap!
TheError404 1 month ago
You must always check these cheap China brand PSU's. I had one explode on me, which I knew was going to happen as it was too hot!. After 15 mins of use the thing blew up! There was no exterior fire or debris but the inside of the case was toasted. I contacted the eBay seller who shipped another one almost instantly, no questions asked. The new one runs far cooler.
I've bought another eBay charger for an old laptop, and this runs around 70*C too which is far to hot, so this needs rebuilding too.
orbiter8 1 month ago
Wonder if it fares any better at 110 volts.
AintBigAintClever 1 month ago
could you make more teardown videos like this of more of these dangerous chinese stuff? plz :D
MrGerbilBrain 1 month ago
Ive seen a board like that where they had a very thin piece of the trace acting as the fuse...
Serostern 1 month ago
@Serostern HAHA, oh yeah, I have seen thick jumper wires as fuses! beat that! xD
MrGerbilBrain 1 month ago
@MrGerbilBrain Not on pcbs, have you?
Serostern 1 month ago
Should've seen the power supply that came with my made-in-PRC USB to SATA converter.
On the 230 cable they printed "3x1,5mm²" but after plugging it in ONCE the cable fell apart. In reality there were only 2 wires of 0,75mm² in it. Who needs protective grounding anyway?
busybjorn 1 month ago
I've seen many vids (and websites) about crappy products and every time I'm amazed that there are engineers that design this shit. Come on, this is just useless crap. That's not how you make a power supply... Good video, though. :)
TheCrazyInventor 1 month ago
Well i was actually quite impressed that they manged to make a switchmode power supply with a single cheep transistor, not the best idea to use it for a USB HUB tho that needs amps of current and some safety wouldn't hurt aswell.
berni8k 1 month ago
Good video, I love my Fluke 77
g60scuzz 1 month ago
I want to see the insides of the actual hub! Is it complete garbage too?
Gameboygenius 1 month ago
@Gameboygenius Yeah, I would like to see the hub too. Probably the same pertinax PCB with barely enough stuff on it to make it work...
TheCrazyInventor 1 month ago
I'd recommend changing the video title to include the brand name. My scathing review of Maplin's shitbox jump starters shows up as a recommended video when you view their own jumpstarter advert, nice :)
AintBigAintClever 1 month ago
@AintBigAintClever Great, I hope someone will check it out before making a choice
OK2BCK 1 month ago
@AintBigAintClever Problem is stuff like this often goes under multiple names, and I wouldn't be surprised if many different hubs use the same junk PSU.
mikeselectricstuff 1 month ago
surely this does not pass any safety certification in your country.
AntiProtonBoy 1 month ago
@AntiProtonBoy Almost certainly not, but safety regs don't usually cover whether anything actually works properly.
mikeselectricstuff 1 month ago
@mikeselectricstuff what was the unwinding supposed to demonstrate here?
StargateMunky 1 month ago
you get what you pay for.
gryzman 1 month ago
@gryzman are you justifying produce of this shit?
OK2BCK 1 month ago
@OK2BCK in the english language the expression I used means 'no wonder it is so crap, because it didn't cost much'. This isn't justification, this is me merely stating the fact.
gryzman 1 month ago
Yes is probably a 250mA power supply so just enough for one USB.
I have a 7 port USB hub with a fairly good 5V 4A power supply and is able to provide full 4A with no more than 5% drop in output including the cable. I do not have that with me but I think is also made in China.
electrodacus 1 month ago
So,if you want to improve it,would you add a couple of mosfets?
Or build one from scratch yourself :)
ElectricSparq 1 month ago
people say simple is better, apparently not in this case lol
MrTurboturbine 1 month ago
Have you seen those hard drives where they just put a USB thumb drive into the case?
Malithion2001 1 month ago
wow. just wow. do you have any made in germany/uk/usa boards to show how its done correctly?
evhgl87 1 month ago
@evhgl87 I doubt anyone makes mains adapters outside China these days - there are plenty of perfectly good Chinese ones out there. I always pull apart any Chinese mains stuff to check safety.
mikeselectricstuff 1 month ago 3
@mikeselectricstuff Poland have Tatarek, UK have Farnell (now APS), US have Acopian... At least these are psu that I know and use.
mysteryMachinePL 1 month ago in playlist Uploaded videos
What a piece of shit!!! :o
TheElectricnoob 1 month ago
I've one of those plug in power meters. Seams to give me totally unpredictable readings below 50W. Seams to vary a great deal depending on what other stuff I have turned on and off in the same room not connected to the power meter.
oliver602 1 month ago
I love how you go into detail about all these things. Just discovered you not 5 minutes ago, instantly subscribed!
jvcrules 1 month ago