Fake power cord, WHY? It came with a hard drive reader kit.

[edy]

Hey folks,

I needed a power cord to wire up something for a test and looked in my scrap bin and grabbed the old cord that came with my hard drive reader kit (whose power supply broke after 2 days). The kit looks something like this, about $7-10 on eBay:



Anyways, I had the cord laying around because the power supply died after a few days of use. Now I wonder if it was related. Anyways, I cut the cord (which looked very thin) and to my surprise it contained only 2 wires in it, even though it appears to be a grounded 3-prong cord!!! The markings on it make no sense... e.g. what is 3x0.5mm^2 supposed to mean? And the 300/300V... is that supposed to be a fraction saying it is 1V?    What about 10A/250~ ? 

BOTTOM LINE:

I'm not really upset that they used a piss-ant cord for this hard drive reader kit. It probably doesn't need a ground for the power supply, and probably draws nowhere near the current it would take to overwhelm the power cord. My concern is, why didn't they just use a 2-pronged cord with a smaller or non-standard connector to their power supply? Something that you would NOT CONFUSE with a regular power cord? Someone may grab this FAKE cord and plug it into another device that DOES need ground and DOES have a current draw that will overwhelm the cable. Why did they not just choose a crappier cable? I have to look now at the power supply that it came with and see if the ground was even utilized, and if so, could lack of a grounded power cord cause that original power supply to fail? If the power supply didn't need grounding, why waste money on all the fakery? 

Here's a video I made cutting it open and comparing it to a normal cord, maybe others can be warned to prevent some fire or safety risk in the future:



It boggles the mind, I mean they made the kit and I assume could have obtained a power supply that used a proper cord. Why not just use a supply that clearly has no ground and therefore use a cable with a lower rating and 2-conductor and just keep everything legit? Why mix and match and fake everything if they are selling a KIT anyways with a cord that is clearly supposed to ONLY be used with their hard drive reading kit? 

[themadhippy]

The markings on it make no sense... e.g. what is 3x0.5mm^2 supposed to mean? And the 300/300V.

3 core 0.5mm squared ,rated at 300v DC and 300v AC

[soldar]

Yup. I have several of those kits which I use to make backups on old ATA HDD of which I have many, extracted from old machines. I have had to repair several, and replace capacitors.

As you say, most cords are fake 3 and only have two conductors.  I don't know why they put a three prong plug instead of just two.

I do test them and make sure only grounded cords have a three prong plug. If not I will cut the third prong and leave it as a two prong plug.

I have used the prongs I cut off for other things like banana jacks.

[edy]

The markings on it make no sense... e.g. what is 3x0.5mm^2 supposed to mean? And the 300/300V.

3 core 0.5mm squared ,rated at 300v DC and 300v AC

YES!!! That's what I thought... but they must be using an invisible 3rd wire. 

I have used the prongs I cut off for other things like banana jacks.

Hey great idea! I may start doing that!


By the way I found the original power supply that broke after 2 days in the hard drive reading kit... Have a look at the photos, notice that the ground lead is not even soldered to the board and even the PCB doesn't have any use for the ground anyways. It doesn't even seem to be there for extra anchorage of the socket/plug.     So why did they not just use a different plug and power cord to avoid confusion with the real thing, and have to fake this? Nobody would care if it came with a 2-pronger and a 2-prong AC cable. It uses under 1A current draw, just label the freaking cord properly and use a normal 2-prong cord. Why make it easy for someone to confuse the power cord with a real one, so it fits another device that may actually NEED ground and NEED higher current draw? 

[Kleinstein]

The marking with 3 x 0.5 mm² should already be a warning:
This is to thin to reliably trip the mains fuse in case of a short. At least in the EU such cable that may be used on things that take up to some 10 or even 16 A must be good for those 16A. So some  1.5 mm² minimum for extension cords or similar. Even with smaller (e.g. 2 pin) plugs for lower power equipment 0.75 mm² is essentially the minimum for main wiring, unless there is a smaller fuse in the plug.

Even the 3x0.5 mm² marking is obviously fake.

Those dangerous thin cables from China are a real problem - so either scrap them right away or measure the resistance to check the wires before use. Beside to thin copper there are also reports of copper clad iron wires and similar crap.

[Monkeh]

The markings on it make no sense... e.g. what is 3x0.5mm^2 supposed to mean? And the 300/300V.

3 core 0.5mm squared ,rated at 300v DC and 300v AC

Neg. Voltage markings are Uo/U - voltage to earth, voltage between lines.

[sokoloff]

Even the 3x0.5 mm² marking is obviously fake.

On cheap Chinese wires like this, the ² term associates with the 0.5, making for a 0.25 square mm wire...

[soldar]

You get what you pay for and all that jazz. 

I have had to repair several of mine in different ways.  One is so patched up it is barely recognizable. I had to change the electrolytic capacitors and then I added some filtering because the output voltages had a lot of noise.

All my cords of any kind are carefully tested. I will never put a grounded plug on a 2 wire cable.

Regarding conductor section, yes, many are marginal.

I have the practice of keeping cords of all types with their devices. Power cords, USB cords, VGA cords, each one is assigned to its own device.  One USB cord works with one device but not with another. One power cord works with one device but not with another. One PSU (SMPS wall wart) will work with one device but not with another. I got tired of all that. I try to match things and keep them together after that. It saves a lot of trouble.

The PSU for the hard disk drive adapter has its own two wire power cord.

If you assign the power cord to the device then it does not matter if the cord is weak as long as it is good enough for the device.

As you say, in this case the ground is neither needed nor used. The whole thing is floating and the output side and the disk drive will be grounded through the USB cable to the computer (assuming the computer is grounded).

[edy]

I have the practice of keeping cords of all types with their devices. Power cords, USB cords, VGA cords, each one is assigned to its own device. 
...
If you assign the power cord to the device then it does not matter if the cord is weak as long as it is good enough for the device.

Yes that is a good idea! As you can see from this example, even though the power cord is marginal and has fake information on it, for the specific use intended (used with this particular power adapter that is made for the hard disks) it is suitable. The power adapter doesn't make use of the ground anyways, so that it doesn't matter that the cord doesn't have one. And the current rating on the power supply says it is < 1A, again well within the miniscule amount of copper in those 2 conductors.

I just don't like that they chose to use the "format" of a normal 3-conductor power cord that fits the IEC C13 connector, and then decided to fake the label on it (or use one from a faked supplier). Many people would not follow your practice of keeping cords with the devices they come from. That is a wise move!    But most people might just "bin" the extra cords (like I do) into a scrap bin... and then when I need to use it for something, grab it and plug it in. That's not going to happen anymore! I've learned my lesson! Especially since it uses a C13 connector which is widely used on many other devices, and I have lots of legitimate C13 power cords, I never thought to check. Now I'll have to.

Look at all of these other connector types they could have used:





I'm not sure if these would be any better, but for example if they used something like a C7, they are not grounded so right away that would eliminate one possible misuse. Second, perhaps they pick one typically used on smaller devices so even if someone decides to re-purpose the cord, it will go into something that doesn't draw much power (like a little portable radio, calculator or something like that). Now I'm making excuses for them... but there is no excuse. Maybe they have in the factory a machine that churns out IEC C13 type 3-prong power cords by the millions... and it is the cheapest possible option if all they change is the wire, it is cheaper than if they try to re-tool the machine to make other type ends? No, another excuse... I can't come up with any legitimate reason here. Cheapness of the power cord contents I understand... but the terminal ENDS of the cord I still don't get why they chose IEC C13 type with a ground connection when it is useless. Seems like it would cost more to do that than using 2-prong ends.

[soldar]

The only reason I can think of is that the same case is used for other PSU models.

Again, when I buy at such really low prices I do not expect much in the way of quality. If I need quality and reliability I expect to pay more.

With repairs and modifications I have had mine working for many years now.

I have also bought enclosures with adapters to convert an internal drive into an external USB drive. 

Old drives are pretty much free and make good backup storage. The more the better.

[Nusa]

Caveat emptor, especially when buying cheap stuff from China.

In this case it's an obvious fake. For less obvious cases, you can check the content of the wire. Use a magnet to see if it's copper coated steel. Use a cigarette lighter to see if it's copper coated aluminum (solid copper wire won't be affected by the flame, aluminum will melt and droop).

[soldar]

You should only buy brand names of recognizable quality:

[wraper]

Caveat emptor, especially when buying cheap stuff from China.

In this case it's an obvious fake. For less obvious cases, you can check the content of the wire. Use a magnet to see if it's copper coated steel. Use a cigarette lighter to see if it's copper coated aluminum (solid copper wire won't be affected by the flame, aluminum will melt and droop).

Just measure resistance. Non destructive and tells if cable is good or fake crap.

[Shock]

Typical Chinese shit products, the only reason they get away with it is its sold over the net and people think they are getting a bargain because it's cheap. Golden rule is don't buy cheap Chinese smps, power cables or mains powered products unless it's made to spec in a known name brand factory. If you absolutely must then inspect it and test it, but don't trust it.

[Stray Electron]

Caveat emptor, especially when buying cheap stuff from China.

In this case it's an obvious fake. For less obvious cases, you can check the content of the wire. Use a magnet to see if it's copper coated steel. Use a cigarette lighter to see if it's copper coated aluminum (solid copper wire won't be affected by the flame, aluminum will melt and droop).

Just measure resistance. Non destructive and tells if cable is good or fake crap.

    That works in theory but you need a meter that uses a Kelvin connection and is accurate down to fractions of an ohm.  You'd be surprised at how many people think that they can measure low resistance like this with an ordinary two wire meter. The lead resistance of my kick-it-around work-a-day meter is 0.8 Ohms each so trying to measure something like this would be pointless.   

   You have to wonder why the Chinese do things like this?  How much money can they actually being saving by leaving out that tiny amount of copper?

[soldar]

Typical Chinese shit products, the only reason they get away with it is its sold over the net and people think they are getting a bargain because it's cheap.

Strongly disagree. I have bought several of these disk to USB adapters and enclosures for anywhere between $2 and $7 or $8. Even though some have needed repairs they are all working fine after several years of use. It's not that I thought I was getting a bargain. It WAS a bargain. It may not be for people who want better quality or who do not have the knowledge I have but they were definitely a very good bargain for the prices I paid.

For me they are better value for money than the equivalent bought in Amazon which would cost twice as much.

It is no more "shit" than flying cattle class when you can fly first class. You get what you pay for.

[SilverSolder]

China keeps making super cheap products because that's what a lot of people want...   when push comes to shove, few can afford the best of everything...

...you have to prioritize!

[Shock]

It is no more "shit" than flying cattle class when you can fly first class. You get what you pay for.

If I was flying economy I would not expect to buy a defective or dangerous product. The fact you admit to have to repair things yourself is justification alone, most people won't and just bin it. I'm not saying cheaper products shouldn't exist though. It's the fraudulent, dangerous and defective ones that are being sold is the issue, where it ends up after being thrown out is another issue.

[edy]

I have bought several of these disk to USB adapters and enclosures for anywhere between $2 and $7 or $8. Even though some have needed repairs they are all working fine after several years of use.

That is true, I am still using the actual DATA-Connector cable part of my original kit that hooks up to hard drives. It has USB on one end, and the other end is this funny looking multi-port-adapter block that connects to SATA and 2 kinds of IDE connectors. When I read a laptop hard drive I don't need any power, it runs it off the SATA connector alone which gets power from the USB 5V. But when I plug in a normal PC hard drive that takes either a regular SATA power or one of those Molex 4-pin cables (requiring both 5V and 12V), I need to have an external power source.... and since the one in the kit died I have been resorting to using a scavenged PC PSU with pins shorted to trick it into turning on.

So other than the power supply, that cheap $7 Chinese Hard Drive reading kit actually has been doing very well and I'm happy to pay for another one... knowing the PSU is garbage and I have to use my own, the rest of the kit is actually worth it. I would probably buy another kit and chuck the power cable/supply straight into the garbage. 

I got tired of dragging a PC PSU around every time I wanted to power my drives, so I was able to recently pick up one of these for next to nothing at Sayal:

http://www.sayal.com/STORE/View_SPEC.asp?SKU=228644



They are on sale for under $6 Canadian... I had to wire up a grounded mains input and a few Molex connectors on the output to bridge to a standard 4-pin like you'd find in a PC, and I have a Molex-to-SATA power cable that came with the original kit. So now I have no problem powering my larger drives. I may end up picking up a few more of these power supplies... they output 3.3, 5, +/-12V and are good for powering a drive but not enough to run a PC (they are only about 100W... maybe some thin PC's these days with SSD and very low power needs may work). This power supply is built well, has good quality caps, it is simply a superb deal but needs a bit of work to build an enclosure and wire up the pins to some connectors. But for such a low price for a nice supply like this it's worth it.

Here's my hack job so far (my first time crimping ends and constructing Molex cables):

[soldar]

So other than the power supply, that cheap $7 Chinese Hard Drive reading kit actually has been doing very well and I'm happy to pay for another one... knowing the PSU is garbage and I have to use my own, the rest of the kit is actually worth it. I would probably buy another kit and chuck the power cable/supply straight into the garbage. 

I have repaired a couple of them, the others are still going good. The ones I repaired needed (IIRC) output capacitor replacement which is simple to do. No reason to throw them away. The cases are glued together and you have to cut them to open them. After the repair a couple of nylon ties hold them together. This is a very common form of failure in many SMPS and I have repaired countless numbers in all sorts of electronic devices  as well as stand-alone PSUs. You can buy expensive consumer electronics which can fail the same way. It is an easy repair and no reason to throw things away.

The PSU of the computer I am using right now developed a similar problem of needing output capacitors replacement. To confirm the diagnosis I thought I would experiment and connect some capacitors outside the PSU, at the output cables. This way I did not have to open the PSU, just connect the capacitors to a free PSU connector. After doing this the PSU worked flawlessly ... and has been working like that for like five years because I never got around to doing the permanent repair.  ... Oh, man, I just checked and it is there, indeed, but the amount of dust inside the computer is astounding.

[wraper]

Here's my hack job so far (my first time crimping ends and constructing Molex cables):

It seems that not a single wire is crimped correctly, insulation is not crimped at all.

[OwO]

I'm pretty sure you can get usb-sata adapters without a power supply but with a barrel jack for 12V in. What I did was just buy an unpowered usb-sata adapter and solder on two wires for 12V input.

[soldar]

I'm pretty sure you can get usb-sata adapters without a power supply but with a barrel jack for 12V in. What I did was just buy an unpowered usb-sata adapter and solder on two wires for 12V input.

I use them mostly for IDE-ATA drives where you need 5 and 12V.

Yes, there are many ways to do this. For the price I paid for my adapters and their PSUs I think I got very good value for money.

For people whose time is worth a lot they have more expensive solutions better adapted to their needs. Probably those people are not messing with this kind of thing anyway.

[edy]

Here's my hack job so far (my first time crimping ends and constructing Molex cables):

It seems that not a single wire is crimped correctly, insulation is not crimped at all.

Yes it's pretty bad... I need to redo this... I had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately I have a few more connectors around so I can practice!

[SparkyFX]

The marking with 3 x 0.5 mm² should already be a warning:
This is to thin to reliably trip the mains fuse in case of a short.

You ignored that the length of the wire plays an important role, next to cross sectional area regarding the current rating. There are downgrades possible based on length.