Review request for HKJ [USB Power Devices]


https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10002784/2162000-enb-4-18650-li-ion-battery-usb-emergency-charger
I purchased this power bank and am curious to how it performs, especially since the smaller ENB banks have received such good reviews. I used it on a hike of the Apalachian Trail along with my Armytek Wizard pro and my Galaxy Note 3.

An all too vague request — if there is any power supply made yet that minimizes vampire drain, I’d sure like to see such things reviewed.

Here’s the news I found a few years ago about a reference design, using a supercapacitor:
http://cache.freescale.com/files/microcontrollers/doc/ref_manual/DRM130.pdf

A second request — a little essay on when to trash/recycle a power supply.
Specifically — when a wall wart switching power supply is audible, with a buzz/rapid clicking, I’d guess that’s a capacitor breaking down and it’s becoming junk?
What other reasons are there?

(When I give up on electronics, generally I cut off the wire and plug, crack the case, landfull the plastic parts, and recycle the electronic parts.)

I do include information about that in most of my reviews. Most usb power supplies is around 0.25 watt when unloaded, but a few are better.

The noise is not directly a signal about it being old, a new one can also be audible, but the noise pattern will probably change.

The typically old age breakdown is the capacitors loosing capacity, it can be measured, but is a difficult to detect without measuring equipment. The adapter will get hotter and it will probably increase the noise in AM radios.

http://m.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_197038.html?currency=AUD&gclid=CLHLwuqIwcYCFYiVvQodjZYE5A

Might be a good one to test.

RAVPower 3200mAh Power Bank (3rd Gen) Model:RP-PB08 EAN:6950639095127 ebay.co.uk amazon.com amazon.de
Widely available, inexpensive, 1 Amp output, single brand name 18650 (LGABB41865), smart USB DCP controller (switches USB coding to match device), 100 lumen flashlight :smiley: (also available in non-flashlight version).

Looks like the same internals might even be available under different names.
Anker 3200mAh Astro mini 2nd gen ,

Thanks for all your work, HKJ.

Hi HKJ,

I ordererd two of these “Original Kingzone USB wall charger” at Banggood.

Allready received them and have them in use but I have my doubts about them.
No brand marks on them or whatsoever and they get pretty warm in my opinion.
If you want to test one of these I am willing to pay for one and get it shipped your way. :slight_smile:

My problem just now is a long queue of usb chargers, even if I got it today it would probably be more than 3 months before I publish the review.

I try to publish reviews as fast as possible, but with both battery and charger reviews I cannot do more than one usb charger each week.

I would be interested in reviews of single 18650 battery boxes. Because of there size, I find them very suitable for EDCing. I'm willing to send you some widely available ones if your interested in testing them.

I am very interested in them and I might be able to test/review some in a month or two.

Even if the review queue is quite full, I wonder if you can review some Quick charge 2.0 usb charger.
I wonder what kind of signal is used to trigger the 9V and 12V from the charger.

Here is a cheap one
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-xiaomi-mi4-Fast-Mobile-USB-Travelling-Charger-With-Qualcomm-Quick-Charge-2-0-US-Wall/32309739200.html

Here is a more serious one
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Qualcomm-Certified-Aukey-Quick-Charge-2-0-54W-5-Ports-USB-Desktop-Charging-Station-Wall/32375717507.html
also available on amazon.fr, better chance to get a genuine one
http://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=sr_pg_3?rh=n%3A340858031%2Cp_4%3AAukey&page=3&sort=price-asc-rank&ie=UTF8&qid=1438158020
Sorry it’s in french but on it don’t appear on amazon.co.uk.

The quick charge is probably using usb power delivery standard, but as long as I cannot use it there is not much point in reviewing adapters with it.

If anybody see some circuit boards than can be used to trigger it, please post a link to where I can get it.

You could give this lenovo USB charger a go. Would be interesting to see how safe they are.

You can find it here

I have ordered it, but it might be some time before I have a review ready.

No worries mate. Thanks for sharing your work!

http://www.tomopowerbank.com/product/tomo-power-bank-v8-4/

http://www.tomopowerbank.com/blog/tear-down-tomo-v8-4-to-check-if-its-the-best-portable-power-bank-of-yours/

claims "10-protection" and "93% efficiency".

too many claims!!!

I’m confused whether they actually include batteries - it does say “Battery not including”, but also says “Built in18650 batteries can be replaced …”, so I suspect they aren’t included, which makes it a little expensive, compared to, say, the Xiaomi powerbank.

I also love the “Panasonic or Trustfire? It’s your choice”. :wink:

Hi HKJ,

Did you already test a DROK usb meter?
Such as:
https://www.pretzellogix.net/2015/04/20/the-portable-led-usb-multimeter-that-you-didnt-know-you-needed/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S2HJAUE/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S2IA3DG/
http://www.droking.com/drok-new-version-micro-oled-usb-3-0-meter-voltage-current-charger-detector-a-must-have-tool-for-a-geek/ (USB 3.0 13V version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Ud9sJNX84

It seems to be very interesting on paper, that’s why your expertise would be very appreciated :slight_smile:

I have not tested the DROK brand, but something similar:

http://lygte-info.dk/review/USBmeter%20Volt%20Current%20Capacity%20UK.html

http://lygte-info.dk/review/USBmeter%20voltage%20tester%20OLED%20UK.html

Hmm, if they are similar they are not very accurate then :_(