Uk plug to USB adapter - £1 delivered! (ebay)

witnessmenow

I thought this was amazing value - Have tried it with Ipod touch, iphone and htc wildfire (didnt work with ps3 controller though). I thought it might have been charging a little slower than other devices, but was still fine to charge something over night or whatever. I bought 3 a few weeks ago and bought 3 more yesterday! It came in standard HK post kinda time (2 weeks or so)



Linky here

coldfire1x

Thanks, bought one, good value.

mp3kid

coldfire1x wrote: »

Thanks, bought one, good value.

Me too. Best price ive seen.

Redisle

Can you check the plug to see what output current it's rated for? Dosen't say on the auction. Looks like a good deal alright though.

This one is also very nice for the car.

moonboy52

Cheers OP.

Will come in handy for my Zune some day.

witnessmenow

I will check at the weekend, I dont think I have one with me in Limerick

danjo-xx

Redisle wrote: »

Can you check the plug to see what output current it's rated for? Dosen't say on the auction. Looks like a good deal alright though.

This one is also very nice for the car.

The devil is in the detail:)

Input voltage: AC 100V - 240V 50Hz 130mA
Output voltage: DC 5V +/- 5%

Snaggerman

Cheers OP, that'll sort out the sat nav, daughters mp3, ds's etc. Pain in me h**e firing up the PC for these:)

witnessmenow

danjo-xx wrote: »

The devil is in the detail:)

Thats input current

These things are clearly very inefficient if im doing my maths right

In a perfect world
Power (in) = power (out)
Power = Current * Voltage

Assuming it outputs 500ma (what your pc should do) in Ireland its operating with an efficiency of about 10% (ie 90% of the power it uses is thrown away)

Atlantic Dawn

witnessmenow wrote: »

Thats input current

These things are clearly very inefficient if im doing my maths right

In a perfect world
Power (in) = power (out)
Power = Current * Voltage

Assuming it outputs 500ma (what your pc should do) in Ireland its operating with an efficiency of about 10% (ie 90% of the power it uses is thrown away)

It's usually not my own power I would be using when abroad

Redisle

I was thinking the same about efficiency. If it's drawing 130ma @ 230V that's around 30W so if it is only giving 500ma @ 5v it's only 8% efficient!

Im thinking it might be 1000ma output, that car one I linked to above does 1000ma @ 5v which is supported by lots of devices like iphone etc, but the iphone only accepts the 1000ma charge if there's a certain voltage on the data lines, which this one may or may not have. There's more details on those data line voltages in a thread on the bottom of that dx listing.

coldfire1x

Just a small tip for people looking to save some energy - not everyone realises that so many electonic equipment now comes with USB ports, like TV, Dvd player, Media player, music system, home theatre etc... If you hook you phone, sat nav, mp3 players to them they charge just fine. I usually plug my phone to tv (which has a USB port for playing pics etc) and it works just fine

Laphroaig52

Straining my eyes to read the (poorly applied) label in the photo, I note that it is Made in China and appears to have no independent safety certifications.

EU market surveillance authorities find lots of these type of products that don't meet EU safety standards and directives and have them withdrawn from the market.

Now, I have no way of knowing whether this particular model was designed in accordance with EU safety standards or not.....
Or whether, only (usually more expensive) certified components were used internally.....
Or whether the manufacturing process implemented strict quality control measures to ensure the compliance of each manufactured unit.....
Maybe they did.

But given that they can make these, package them, pay ebay/PayPal fees and ship them from Hong Kong (in single units) for less than a quid...............Well, draw your own conclusions.

This is a AC mains operated device....and if it is not designed and manufactured properly, failure of a single component could lead to a fire or electric shock.

If you do use one of these, I suggest that you don't leave it plugged in to the mains unattended or in reach of curious little fingers.

I'll pass.

Aglomerado

coldfire1x wrote: »

Just a small tip for people looking to save some energy - not everyone realises that so many electonic equipment now comes with USB ports, like TV, Dvd player, Media player, music system, home theatre etc... If you hook you phone, sat nav, mp3 players to them they charge just fine. I usually plug my phone to tv (which has a USB port for playing pics etc) and it works just fine

Yes I plug my Creative Zen into the USB ports on the front of my Xbox when I'm playing DVDs or GTA4, handy!

Gumbo

i use one of these to charge my iPhone 4 and it worked on my 3Gs too.

Inbox

kceire wrote: »

i use one of these to charge my iPhone 4 and it worked on my 3Gs too.

Doubt it will work with the superior iPad that have ,it needs 10amp adapter :mad:

witnessmenow

Flyer28 wrote: »

Straining my eyes to read the (poorly applied) label in the photo, I note that it is Made in China and appears to have no independent safety certifications.

EU market surveillance authorities find lots of these type of products that don't meet EU safety standards and directives and have them withdrawn from the market.

Now, I have no way of knowing whether this particular model was designed in accordance with EU safety standards or not.....
Or whether, only (usually more expensive) certified components were used internally.....
Or whether the manufacturing process implemented strict quality control measures to ensure the compliance of each manufactured unit.....
Maybe they did.

But given that they can make these, package them, pay ebay/PayPal fees and ship them from Hong Kong (in single units) for less than a quid...............Well, draw your own conclusions.

This is a AC mains operated device....and if it is not designed and manufactured properly, failure of a single component could lead to a fire or electric shock.

If you do use one of these, I suggest that you don't leave it plugged in to the mains unattended or in reach of curious little fingers.

I'll pass.

You Sir, are like ants at a picnic

Tbh, its probably the exact same thing that would cost €15 over here, but you have just cut out many many middle men

pissed

All sounds good for a £1 but its the luck of the draw. I purchased two on Ebay nice and cheap. Within an hour of using both they literally exploded. Lesson learned so I will pass on this one.

Ended up buying a kit in Heatons in blanch for €5 which included the mains and car chargers as well as the usb cable ... no bang so far .. fingers crossed.

Laphroaig52

witnessmenow wrote: »

You Sir, are like ants at a picnic

Tbh, its probably the exact same thing that would cost €15 over here, but you have just cut out many many middle men

Well you can buy non-compliant product anywhere....and not necessarily cheaply either. But I would not agree that these are the same as branded products made by reputable manufacturers.

Such manufacturers have a reputation to protect and are also aware that litigious customers percieve them as having deep pockets. These manufacturers (who will usually have a representation in the EU) cannot afford to skimp on safety and sometimes they even go beyond the minimum requirements.

An unknown manufacturer in China is accountable to no one in Europe and will not operate under any such constraints.

What motivation does he have to take on the extra costs associated with designing and building a safe and compliant product?

Certified components and specific design constructions are required to build safe products and these cost money.

At £1 each delivered to Europe from Hong Kong, I cannot believe that due dilligence has been applied to safety aspects of this product but I do know that there are many options available to a manufacturer who wishes to cut costs by ignoring safety standards.

I don't mean to put a downer on what is clearly a product at an attractive price point and it's your own choice. but when these things fail, they can fail ugly.

I certainly wouldn't sleep with one of these plugged in the house......but that's just me.

Bob Z

Flyer28 wrote: »

Well you can buy non-compliant product anywhere....and not necessarily cheaply either. But I would not agree that these are the same as branded products made by reputable manufacturers.

Such manufacturers have a reputation to protect and are also aware that litigious customers percieve them as having deep pockets. These manufacturers (who will usually have a representation in the EU) cannot afford to skimp on safety and sometimes they even go beyond the minimum requirements.

An unknown manufacturer in China is accountable to no one in Europe and will not operate under any such constraints.

What motivation does he have to take on the extra costs associated with designing and building a safe and compliant product?

Certified components and specific design constructions are required to build safe products and these cost money.

At £1 each delivered to Europe from Hong Kong, I cannot believe that due dilligence has been applied to safety aspects of this product but I do know that there are many options available to a manufacturer who wishes to cut costs by ignoring safety standards.

I don't mean to put a downer on what is clearly a product at an attractive price point and it's your own choice. but when these things fail, they can fail ugly.

I certainly wouldn't sleep with one of these plugged in the house......but that's just me.

Was gonna buy one till i read this. Better to be safe than sorry i suppose

long_b

Don't know that much about chargers but I'm pretty sure a cheap variable voltage charger from the 2 euro shop slowly fried a beloved mp3 player slowly over a few charges.

Ordered two of these but won't be plugging anything more expensive than an iPod Touch in until I'm happy that it's kosher.

Keano

Flyer28 wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't sleep with one of these plugged in the house......but that's just me.

You should sleep with any sort of device charging overnight. Mobile phone chargers, even those EU certified, can and have gone on fire when left plugged in for too long.

Gumbo

Flyer28 wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't sleep with one of these plugged in the house......but that's just me.

+1
i never charge my phone or anything else while asleep, usually do it before bed or in work.

theavenger

I'd agree with the comment of its the luck of the draw, purchased 1 of these a few months back for my iphone, and it would just connect and disconnect over and over,

witnessmenow

The label Reads:

AC adapter
Input: 100-240v AC 50-60Hz
Output: DC5.0v 1000MA +-5%

has 3 c's in an oval (ccc )

a "CE" mark (Looks very similar but its not the EU one, China Export I believe :pac:)

A square inside another square, A picture of a house and Made in China



So its more power efficient than I first said, probably closer to 20% efficient

Laphroaig52

There is no such thing as a 'China Export' mark. It's just a badly drawn CE Marking.....which is not uncommon.

The picture of the house means that it is for indoor use only.
And the mark with the two squares means that it uses double insulation (rather than earthing) for protection against electric shock.

Both of these marks are appropriate for this type of equipment.

witnessmenow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_mark#China_Export

Laphroaig52

witnessmenow wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_mark#China_Export

Ah well if Wikipedia says it is true then it must be. :rolleyes:
A pity it doesn't provide a reference to the owner or the definition of this 'Chinese Export' mark.

I would prefer to rely on the clarification issued some years ago by the European Commission:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=P-2007-5938&language=EN

Some manufacturers compress the CE Marking lettering either to save space on the label or just through ignorance of the requirements. That is the only reason that you sometimes see distorted CE Marking such as this one.

The connection between CE Marking and 'Chinese Export' arises from facetious suggestions by unkind persons who were skeptical about the effectiveness of the CE Marking approach....which is largely based on a self declaration by the manufacturer. In other words, it's just a joke!

Trust me there is no 'Chinese Export' mark! Although most electronic products marketed in China will be marked with the Compulsory Chinese Certification (CCC) mark, this is entirely distinct from CE Marking or European requirements

mp3ireland2

Got one of these today. Connect my ipod, but it doesn't charge it. The ipod lights up, as in it knows its plugged in, but the battery indicator doesn't light up. Looks like it's not supplying enough power

dominoman

Mp3Ireland2
Its not the power thats the problem it Apple!!

See Blocked USB charging in the link below.
http://anythingbutipod.com/2009/08/usb-charging-guide/

witnessmenow

mp3ireland2 wrote: »

Got one of these today. Connect my ipod, but it doesn't charge it. The ipod lights up, as in it knows its plugged in, but the battery indicator doesn't light up. Looks like it's not supplying enough power

My 2g ipod touch charges off it, so does my brothers 3g ipod touch and my sisters 3gs iphone

coldfire1x

Got mine as well today, working fine, tried on phone and gps and both worked. Happy with the purchase.

mp3ireland2

yeah it claims it works on ipods... so I'm thinking mine is faulty... prob be cheaper to buy a new on than post this back! i'll see if i can get the lend of something off someone to try mine out with something else... not working on my ipod 6g :-(

witnessmenow

is 6g the video ipod? I'll give it a go later on in the week and let you know.

Say it to the guy on ebay, I'd say he'll send a new one and you wont have to post back.

mp3ireland2

witnessmenow wrote: »

is 6g the video ipod? I'll give it a go later on in the week and let you know.

Say it to the guy on ebay, I'd say he'll send a new one and you wont have to post back.

YEah sure I'll see what he says! Yeah its the 6g video ipod, thanks!

Edit: Got a reply very quickly. saying they would give me a full refund and that everything is tested before it leaves. I tried it out on my brothers ipod touch and it charges that! Might just give it to him! IF the product is working I can't really ask for a refund! Conscience!