USB Socket

Stewart J

Stewart J

Joined
Jul 1, 2010
Posts
3,241
Likes collected
45,080
Location
SW Northumberland
Funster No
12,394
MH
Hymer B 588 DL
Exp
Since September 2010
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Stewart J said:
These seem to be the latest generation of double USB sockets from China/Hong Kong offering 2 x 2.1 amp outlets and a battery voltage display. Have just taken delivery of one but not done anything with it yet. Anyone have thoughts or reviews?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=383531667546
Click to expand...

I fitted one of these a few months ago. Went out at the weekend and one of the two outputs wasn't working, so some QC issues, perhaps?

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This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
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I like the idea of the ones with a switch saves fitting a separate switch.
With all these cheap Chinese ones the front pcb with the USB sockets is only held onto the main board with a blob of solder each side which also acts as a connection. I've repaired 3 of them backing up the joint with tinned copper wire soldered on and then epoxy on the pcb's to glue them together.
Last one I bought I took it apart and epxoied it before fitting. Not had any trouble with any since repairing them.
 
Had one of the older type fail last year when herself plugged her iPad into it alongside mine double usb outlet but only one rated at 2.1amp so guessing it overloaded but no damage or overheating it just went dead. Luckily I had a spare as we were in Spain so swapped it over, the newer type is to be carried for a spare.
 
Stewart J said:
Had one of the older type fail last year when herself plugged her iPad into it alongside mine double usb outlet but only one rated at 2.1amp so guessing it overloaded but no damage or overheating it just went dead. Luckily I had a spare as we were in Spain so swapped it over, the newer type is to be carried for a spare.
Click to expand...
That is what happens when one one of the soldered joints goes that I mentioned.
 
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I fitted Broken Link Removed one. It works OK but quality control does leave a lot to be desired.


Except mine has a switch as well.
 
Even the little blue lights on the firstgen is enough to light the van up at night the voltage display will be like a disco
Interested to know if the new ones are shielded as mine kill radio reception if fittted within 4. Foot of the radio
 
mitzimad said:
Even the little blue lights on the firstgen is enough to light the van up at night the voltage display will be like a disco
Interested to know if the new ones are shielded as mine kill radio reception if fittted within 4. Foot of the radio
Click to expand...
I don't buy anything with blue LED power lights, they are hideous. Ordered a red twin socket last night from my ebay link above. Will test it thoroughly first to make sure it doesn't get too warm and interference isn't too bad. Then if it's good I'll put it in the dash to come on with ignition.
 
mitzimad said:
Even the little blue lights on the firstgen is enough to light the van up at night the voltage display will be like a disco
Interested to know if the new ones are shielded as mine kill radio reception if fittted within 4. Foot of the radio
Click to expand...
I use a little blob of Blutac over the blue led works a treat 👍
Just waiting of a new potentiometer transformer arriving so will test how bright the voltage display is.

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Jev88 said:
Usb. Learned some time ago to buy branded and pay higher price as the generic stuff is flimsy.
Click to expand...
David and Sally said:
I threw a couple of cheapo 12v cigarette / USB adaptors away. They got very hot. I agree with the above. Buy better ones for a bit of a safety margin.
Click to expand...

I agree totally, I've thrown cheap ones away too and use Scosche duel plug ins now.. I was tempted by the aluminium construction and red display, also I've had a couple of high quality things from China lately so they can make good stuff if they really try 😂 anyway I'll report back when I test it 😎
 
David and Sally said:
I threw a couple of cheapo 12v cigarette / USB adaptors away. They got very hot. I agree with the above. Buy better ones for a bit of a safety margin.
Click to expand...
Binned all my usb adaptors poor connections, getting overly warm, sockets are the way to go for me anyway
 
Stewart J said:
Binned all my usb adaptors poor connections, getting overly warm, sockets are the way to go for me anyway
Click to expand...
Poor heat dissipation isn't limited to any particular type, ie plug ins or sockets, anything cheap is crap. I stuck with plug ins because at least you can quickly unplug them and fit a new one if they fail. But since I went for the expensive Scosche ones they don't get hot or fail.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=131095034059
 
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Stewart J said:
These seem to be the latest generation of double USB sockets from China/Hong Kong offering 2 x 2.1 amp
Click to expand...
Sorry to disillusion you, but 2.1 amp USB sockets are positively ancient. The latest standard shape USB sockets have adaptive charging - they communicate with the device and if the response is correct they can boost the amps. They can even boost the voltage to 9V or 12V if the device requests it. Look for 'QuickCharge' or 'QC3'. Apple have their own version, can't remember what it's called.

The latest USB is USB C, which is a very different size and shape, and is reversible. The 'PD' version of that packs a lot of power, enough to charge a laptop for example.

Because things change faster than I change motorhomes, I also prefer the USB adapters that plug into cig-sockets. Others don't like them because the cheaper ones can have iffy connections.

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Last edited:
Here you are this what goes wrong with them, the photo I nicked from one of the better aluminum ones, construction is exactly the same as the cheap ones. I put a big fillet of epoxy over all 4 joints before fitting them.

Selection_137.jpg
 
It's heeeeeeere! 😎
Voltage maybe slightly low but accurate enough.
Standby current is 25ma.

Lenny HB how do these things come apart? Suppose it must have been clipped in from the back, does it push back out?

20200603_115530.jpg


I've had it charging Ann's tablet and it says "connected to fast charger" 👍
I'll have to drain it to 20% and charge it then to see how it copes.
 
Jev88 said:
Usb. Learned some time ago to buy branded and pay higher price as the generic stuff is flimsy.
Click to expand...
I would put all USB leads that have multiple ends, and unbranded USB chargers in the buyer beware category.

As well as reading about cheap chargers catching fire I have my own experience: -
A cheap lightning lead for my iPhone was maybe a 1/10 of a millimetre thicker than an original apple lead.
Eventually the cheap lead mashed up the iPhone's socket contacts :(

You do not know what USB or applicable standards & parts quality have been used for the cheap stuff.

Slightly Off Topic Anecdote?
The phone's lightning socket's contact degradation was gradual.
Which did lead to a fun couple of weeks diagnosing a screen mirroring issue with my Pug 108.
The wife's iPhone 5S and the salesman's iPhone 8 all worked. So wth didn't my SE?

I tried downgrading the IOS, resets and other things.
NB: At this time, my SE did charge & also sync with iTunes :o

Eventually all I could do was charge the SE and that was when a look at the contacts indicated I bought cheap to later spend a lot more :(
 
Richard and Ann said:
@Lenny HB how do these things come apart? Suppose it must have been clipped in from the back, does it push back out?
Click to expand...
Yep the back disc is glued in, just prise it out with a sharp blade. When glueing it back together best to use epoxy as depending on the plastic superglue doesn't always work.
 
All tests complete and it has passed with no faults. Here's a pic of my messy test set up 👌

20200605_201325.jpg


It's charging Ann's tablet here, I tuned the radio (left) into a weak station and bent the aerial over it to see if it would pick up any noise from the charger. It did pick up noise at first but it was coming from my switched mode power supply 🙄 so fetched an old car battery in and repeated the test. No interference on the radio at all.. Test passed 😊

20200605_201156.jpg


Next test heat dissipation. I stuck the sensor on the body with a tiny bit of armaflex tape and loosely wrapped the lot in the tomtom case to simulate being in the dash in a hot country with no ventilation, I also plugged tomtom in which took the power used up to about 18w. It never registered more than about 38°c. Test passed 😊

20200605_191211.jpg


17w continuous, no problems. So along with my previous tests it's all good and worthy of a prized position in our Peugeot Boxer cockpit 🥳

20200603_142616.jpg


20200603_142712.jpg


And of course, I couldn't leave wee UPsie out, you don't buy for one without the other do you 😁

20200606_132407.jpg

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Richard and Ann said:
All tests complete and it has passed with no faults. Here's a pic of my messy test set up 👌

View attachment 394295

It's charging Ann's tablet here, I tuned the radio (left) into a weak station and bent the aerial over it to see if it would pick up any noise from the charger. It did pick up noise at first but it was coming from my switched mode power supply 🙄 so fetched an old car battery in and repeated the test. No interference on the radio at all.. Test passed 😊

View attachment 394298

Next test heat dissipation. I stuck the sensor on the body with a tiny bit of armaflex tape and loosely wrapped the lot in the tomtom case to simulate being in the dash in a hot country with no ventilation, I also plugged tomtom in which took the power used up to about 18w. It never registered more than about 38°c. Test passed 😊

View attachment 394299

17w continuous, no problems. So along with my previous tests it's all good and worthy of a prized position in our Peugeot Boxer cockpit 🥳

View attachment 394302

View attachment 394303

And of course, I couldn't leave wee UPsie out, you don't buy for one without the other do you 😁

View attachment 394304
Click to expand...
Did you take it apart and beef up the connection to the front board?
 
Lenny HB said:
Did you take it apart and beef up the connection to the front board?
Click to expand...
No I didn't want to bust it 🤣 also with the screen in the middle it must be different to the one you pictured. Might still be crap though granted. I'll wait and see if it breaks.
There is no glued ring on the back like you mentioned either 🤔
 
autorouter said:
Sorry to disillusion you, but 2.1 amp USB sockets are positively ancient. The latest standard shape USB sockets have adaptive charging - they communicate with the device and if the response is correct they can boost the amps. They can even boost the voltage to 9V or 12V if the device requests it. Look for 'QuickCharge' or 'QC3'. Apple have their own version, can't remember what it's called.
Click to expand...
I must admit I wasn't aware of these sockets as once fitted tend not to look again.
Got a new phone a couple of days ago makes these sockets look low on power it charges at 6 amps.
 

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