Looking to get a couple as they look to be useful. Probably missed the extra long discussion that someone is going to point me to :) But, what are the residents opinions on these?
If they are all certified up then I guess they must be safe, but I don't know, something about them just nags at me...
Obsolescence? How much longer is USB going to last? And you need to make sure they can give enough current, as some tablets now need to draw in excess of 2 amps.
I'd also be a bit annoyed at having to grovel round near floor level to charge my phone. My current (4 output) USB charger is mounted on the desk top, and when the standards grow out of it or it breaks, I just need to unplug it and replace it, rather than killing power to the ring, stripping out a wall socket, replacing it and checking it's safe.
I would not bother.
The spec keeps going up in terms of charging current and every couple of years I end up with a whole new set of ada
What might be good would be a multi-point (say 3-4) 13A PSU adaptor. Must look out for one.
Some people here don't like them and say so forcefully. I can't see that USB charging requirements are going to change that much, if at all, to make the obsolete in the short term. I have one with 2a outputs (one of these:
- there are others) and find it satisfactory. I don't have to keep fiddling around on the floor because I leave a pair of USB leads connected to it, and I have a four-way adapter in my overnight bag.
Well, I don't like them as they are not always current limited. I don't like usb wall warts either. I know a person who trashed their mp3 player charging this way, over cooked the battery. Brian
I don't thin usb as a standard will go away in the next decade, as so many things now use it, but interesting about you having the opposite current issues to those i have. Brian
As others have said, increasing current demands of newer equipment may make the existing current limit a bit lacking in the near future.
Presumably always on, altough their power demands will be very low when unused.
They are not chargers, but 5V (ish) power supplies that can supply a current up to 1 or 2 amps. The charging circuitry is built in to the device (phone, tablet , etc) that is connected.
You would be better purchasing some of these:
If this helps, this link sells them much cheaper:
Brian, any device will only draw the current it needs, as far as I know.
I expect there will be another iteration of usb having an extra pin that enables higher V_out too.
Yes, to the point of trivial now.
No-one's mentioned yet the proliferation of unsafe warts, be a bit careful what you buy or inuslation test it.
NT
Probably, but there presumably is a limit to what the usb connector will handle?
Yeah, not really worth worrying about, our usb walwarts generally are left plugged in and switched on, the draw nothing much
Fine, but the USB plug is on the bottom, which I generally find annoying, and couple of outputs is useful
USB3 is already designed to supply a higher current than the standard usb 500ma, but I'm not sure what it is. Don't think it is as high as the
2+ A supplied by some USB chargers.
Hard though sometimes, when even reputable products may be cheap copies.
I have though found an extension lead with a couple of built in USB ports useful (mine is a Masterplug unit with 4 13A outlets as well).
One advantage of, the built in usb outlets is that you can take the walwart away somewhere else :-)
Oh dear.
That isn't necessarily true. Any well designed device will only take what it needs and then feather the charge current to zero.
A badly designed device will keep taking current until either it overheats and vents the battery or the battery catches fire depending on the precise battery technology being used.
Polite devices are supposed to ask the OS to enable high current mode but some just grab without asking and that can cause trouble sometimes.
Most are short circuit protected and will give very little more than their nominal maximum output. The problem lies with devices that assume that the maximum output is 1A (or worse 0.5A) when there are now 2A units about. Naive older devices can get cooked this way.
I already have more than enough wallwart ones and seldom need more than two in use at a time. I can't see the point in having one in the wall.
At least now they all give the same voltage and a common connector. The previous mobile phone and laptop charger wars led to a proliferation of random voltages, currents and ever more weird connectors.
I doubt that USB charge currents will go up too much more as the present value is close to the limits for the connectors to be reliable.
what has such a technical limit got to do with anything?
If the device being charged is designed for a 1 amp charger, then using a 2 amp will simply charge up quicker. I have used 2 amp chargers for years with all of my devices, even the ones that were supplied with 1 amp chargers. I've never had any problems.
Not entirely - anything with a lithium based battery is supposed to regulate its charging and discharging as going out of bounds in either direction is dangerous (fire risk).
"The micro USB connector has become the de-facto standard, used by almost everyone except Apple, so you only need to take one charger with you. Most chargers will work on any mains supply, from 100 to 240 volts AC 50/60Hz and the output is a standard 5 volts DC, but the current they can deliver does vary, and may be insufficient to charge some devices. The solution is to pack the charger with the highest rated output. This will be printed on the case and is typically between 500mA (milliamps) and 2.5 amps.
This article also agrees with what I'm saying:
"You might think that all chargers are created equally, but nothing could be further from the truth. Wired explains that picking the right charger with the right amperage (a measure of current) can mean the difference between getting your phone charged while you work versus waiting all day before you can unplug it.
This isn't as simple as just "charge your device with the charger it shipped with." You can actually use higher amperage chargers, like the kind that come with tablets, to get your phone charged up in less time than it would if you charged via USB or using the charger the phone came with, and it won't cause a problem. Here's how it breaks down"
your-gadg-1492446246
I noticed this (and posted about it here) a while back, when my (Nokia) would go flat when being used as a satnav, despite having the charger plugged in. Advice from here was to check the charger, and I discovered the one I had been using was unlabelled, but the one for my wifes phone was 2A. I switched to using that, and now the phone charges *and* works as a satnav.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.