Dodgy gadget cables

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Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Anyone had a problem with gadget cables that don't everything they should?

I recently had the battery changed on my iPod.

Before sending it away, I tried to charge it on the two cables I have, the original Apple one and an Asda cheapie.

Neither worked, but as part of putting the re-batteried iPod back in the car I used the first lead to hand - the Asda one.

It would charge the iPod, but it would not play through the car's stereo.

Change to the Apple cable and all is well.

It seems the Asda cable does not offer full functionality.

All of which reminded me of an incident several years ago when I bought a USB phone charging cable from a motorway service area, having forgotten the original one.

It charged the phone, but a few months later it refused to do one of my rare data transfers.

Seems to me some cables do not function fully, and even more irritatingly, there's no way to know until you come up against the fault.
 

presta

Guru
I bought a cheap SCART lead off Amazon and it wrote off a brand new telly, connections to two of the pins had been reversed. They spent a month trying to repair the TV before giving up and replacing it under guarantee.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Yep - some cheap USB cables won't charge the phones quickly. You can't go wrong with Anker cables off Amazon.

That reminds me I need to change the USB cable for the phone I use in the garage with Zwift - it won't charge properly from the PC and keeps disconnecting.
 

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Interesting. I assumed a cable was, erhh, a cable. I have had problems in the past and put it down to a fault. You live and learn.
 

LonesomeWanderer

Über Member
This is gonna get a whole lot worse now everything’s moving over to USB Type C with so many different combinations and potentially higher power running through the cable.

Even the designers of the latest Raspberry Pi managed to screw up the wiring on the charging port.
 
OP
OP
Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
People still use cables to transfer data? How quaint!

The refund for the road tax on my recently sold car arrived by cheque.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
Interesting. I assumed a cable was, erhh, a cable. I have had problems in the past and put it down to a fault. You live and learn.
There are usually four conductors that are connected on a full-spec USB cable, a power and ground, and DATA+ and DATA-. If the lead is just for charging, the DATA connections are not needed, and the overall cable doesn't need to be screened, so the manufacturers keep costs down by only using a two core cable rather than a four core screened one. It's just a question of economy.

Here's stuff on the different types of USB cables and connectors.....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#Pinouts
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Some aftermarket cables, particularly from the non reputable suppliers have been been identified as a possible fire risk.

Always best to go with the manufacturer's cable, even if it's a little dearer.
 
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