Electronics Gore - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: AmirTheGreat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 05:14:15 am
content: Hey everyone,we've all seen awful design in electronics and I'm hoping we can share some of our experiences.This is a wall wart that came with a Famicom system. its made to run on 240v 50hz which is no good here in Canada so I decided to pop it open.I was expecting to see more regulation and safety stuff since it would be used to power a game console.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 05:33:20 am
content: Were you expecting more inside? Looks typical for an unregulated plug pack (wall wart). I'd say it has a primary thermal fuse in the outer layer of the transformer.

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 12:00:49 pm
content: And the regulation is inside the console:

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 12:09:27 pm
content: Looks better than the adapter my mother bought from a $1 anything type of show.(pictures removed, though not sure they're physically removed from server, re-posted below)

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 12:17:30 pm
content: Is there some reason that you feel photos are more accurate or explanatory only if they are gigantic?(I was going to say 'so fucking big' but I'm trying to be polite)There's no valid reason to have this sort of image bigger than (say) 1024x768 or 1280x1024.A larger image doesn't covey any more detail than necessary.Remember: Dave pays for all the extra disk space they take up.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 12:30:06 pm
content: Dave has a dedicated server, he has lots of disk space. He pays extra for backups, and it's not my fault the backup solution is too stupid and doesn't use snapshots, or diffs (so that pictures are backed up only ONCE).Anyway, no offense, but it didn't even cross my mind to check the image sizes because I'm so used to fast download and upload speeds (100/6 mbps here) the file size makes no difference to me, and this forum is the only one I visit frequently that doesn't have auto-resizing features therefore inconveniencing forum members.

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 12:36:49 pm
content: mariushMy comments weren't aimed just at you, but the OP as well and hopefully as a reminder to others reading this to consider the size of images they upload, not everyone has a fast connection.

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 01:33:43 pm
content: Quote from: mariushSuch an endearing character :-)Certainly doesn't inconvenience me ... but then maybe I'm odd. Because I like to follow the "house rules" when I visit someone'shome. Especially if they go to a lot of effort to make it a nice home. My fruit seller doesn't offer free Internet, but I don't jump upand down on his produce :-) ... maybe you're just having a bad day huh? Why can't we all get along ! (Mars attacks)

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 01:42:53 pm
content: Have a look at the laminations on that transformer! Looks like they were cut and stacked manually

author: Balaur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 01:48:54 pm
content: Quote from: AlfBaz on April 23, 2013, 01:42:53 pmMore like thrown in the general direction of the bobbin.

author: AmirTheGreat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 03:51:41 pm
content: Thanks for the replys.and I do apologize for the huge pictures, I did shrink them to about a quarter of their original size and I'll make sure that I shrink them even smaller next time.

author: LaurenceW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 10:23:23 pm
content: Well, Amir, that little power supply looks pretty much as I would have expected. Cheeap junk, that you risk your life over, every time you plug it in. You can assume that the (Chinese?) makers don't lie awake at night, worrying too much over regulation or (your) safety! At least it has a transformer, which (probably) gives you better isolation from the mains than a cheap one-transistor switcher. Probably.Viewers to these forums will be used to these crap supplies by now, but we make up - say? - 1% of the public. The other 99% of whom will plug these things into their walls and hand-held devices without a second thought. People scare me...

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2013, 11:26:16 pm
content: Quote from: LaurenceW on April 23, 2013, 10:23:23 pmI suspect most people assume that some sort of government/public safety agency has made sure that whatever electrical or electronic item they've purchased is safe (i.e. too trusting IMHO), so they needn't be concerned.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 12:08:35 am
content: Quote from: LaurenceW on April 23, 2013, 10:23:23 pmIt's a bog standard transformer wart. They're generally perfectly safe.

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 01:50:26 am
content: Quote from: LaurenceWLOL .. I wouldn't class it as a transformer :-) No idea on Primary isolation / breakdown / mechanical safety. Secondary doesn't look like it'dhandle rated current, let alone an overload / short. Thermal / ANY fuse? Metal is cut up car bodies? This is seriously bad.As far as regulation goes - it's a losing battle. Someone has to get fried before regulators are called in - and then try and chase a complexchain of resellers / distributors / VARs / resellers - all who can change / disappear at short notice.IF we (company) find a dangerous product, and it's sold by an aussie business, we dob them in. Sometimes they get nailed.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 02:28:12 am
content: Maybe the OP would like to open up the transformer to see if it has a thermal fuse?Construction wise, it looks like it could have come from any OEM supplier over the last 20 years. It's in a plastic case and the board can't float too far (to short against the transformer).I'd trust something like that over the shitty $5 switch-mode units that dominate the low end of the market these days.Having the regulation in the end device (instead of the plug pack) even makes the device more tolerant of off voltages and means the regulation is right where it's needed.

author: AmirTheGreat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 03:09:59 am
content: Quote from: nanofrog on April 23, 2013, 11:26:16 pmup until about a year ago I would say "A charger is a charger, get the cheapest kind" since I thought there would be no chance that a consumer would be able to buy something that isn't built to some magical code.Quote from: David_AVD on April 24, 2013, 02:28:12 amnot sure if you can see from the picture I posted earlier but the casing was a little warped (from excessive heat I presume, since there was no thermal protection) (oh and the blown cap)

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 03:29:01 am
content: Normally there should be a thermal fuse just under the outer layer of insulation. Did the plug pack claim to have any approvals?

author: AmirTheGreat
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 03:48:45 am
content: the other side of the pack reads"CAUTIONINDOORUSEONLY"I assume since these were built down to a price, they didn't bother hiring a proof reader either.no stickers either, though they may have fallen off since this thing is old. But I doubt it.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2013, 04:17:57 pm
content: Those have been around for decades, even coming from reputable manufacturers. Some good, some not so good, some just blow up. The better ones have a thermal fuse, the cheap ones rely on the wire blowing out as a fuse.