USB cables 2 wire or 4 wire help

flydiver · 2019-02-26T22:36:12.000Z

Don’t worry about that. These are ‘technical details’ that are supposed to mean something, but these are all made in China so they don’t actually mean squat. You want low resistance in the length you require. I got one of those little plug-in USB testers and tested everything I have. I threw a bunch out, mostly stuff that came with cheap flashlights, power banks, and chargers. That monoprice came out tops in all lengths tested up to 6’. I was surprised as I thought some of the beefier looking cables would do better.

You can get them from 6” (my favorite) on up and in a bunch of colors if you want.
They simply work, charging and data.

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-26T22:36:25.000Z

thanks flydriver! gonna order a few. Is monoprice shipping like banggood and Aliexpress where it takes forever?

flydiver · 2019-02-26T22:59:46.000Z

No, state side. Get it in a few days. They have a huge site and sell lots of stuff. So far I have only gotten good results with them.

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-26T23:05:02.000Z

I just bookmarked them! Good prices. I use HDMI cables a lot. Might try them with HDMI soon with all these cheap ones i got here. Rocketfish from Best Buy is pricey and not long enough :-\

Thanks. Don’t think i’ve ever heard of monoprice

raccoon · 2019-02-26T23:06:59.000Z

Monoprice has some very good stuff at good prices.

Be sure to read the customer feedback because not everything they have is worth buying.

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-26T23:11:07.000Z

raccoon city:

Monoprice has some very good stuff at good prices.

Be sure to read the customer feedback because not everything they have is worth buying.

I always do read the feedback.

Thanks for the help guys. Much more helpful than the folks at mtbr……

Marc_E · 2019-02-26T23:38:30.000Z

The only non-destructive way i know how to tell the difference between a 2 (power only) and 4 (power and data) USB cable is to use it to connect a data device (phone, camera etc) to my PC and see if it shows up as a device (4 cable) or just powers on but doesn’t talk to the PC (2 cable).
Although if you’ve got small enough multimeter probes you could test for continuity at each end of the cable, i don’t have small enough probes though.

If you’re talking about knowing the difference when you’re buying then you need to choose a data cable. But if you’re going to use it for charging only then it doesn’t matter whether it has 2 or 4 wires, those extra 2 wires are not used for power transfer and as mentioned by Flydiver it’s the quality of the cable that matters so go with his/her recommendation, testing is the only way to know for sure and he/she has already done that for you

HDMI is another matter though, it’s used for communication only, not to power a device, and as a standard it has built in error detection so the cable either works or it doesn’t (except for a very fine margin of error where it’s obvious you’re dropping blocks). If an HDMI cable is working there’s no way for another one to work better.
It’s the same with a USB cable, it either communicates or it doesn’t, a better USB cable won’t transfer data any differently (unless there is an obvious problem), it will only affect the power being delivered to a powered device which is a separate thing.

To summarise, for data a cable either works or it doesn’t, there’s no such thing as a ‘better’ cable. That applies to both HDMI and USB.
For USB charging, or USB power, you’re looking for the lowest resistance in the cables that transfer the power.

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-26T23:39:42.000Z

I went with flydrivers mono cables. Hdmi i know the cheap ones work. Dad got me$60 hdmi cable for my Roku ultra and it didn’t work. $10 from CVS works perfect lol.

I just need the charging. Thank you. i don’t have one of them testers and dont feel like buying one lol.

Idk what comes with these thrunite flashlights like the Cat V6 USB wise, but if the mono cables are the least resistance then good purchase

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-26T23:42:57.000Z

I’m going to try that PC thing right now actually. I just have cables that came with phones and them tiny cables that Sofirn sends with those cheap chargers

Lightbringer · 2019-02-27T00:00:03.000Z

If you wanna go crazy, get some zipwire and a set of usb sockets in the right size, and solder ‘em up. You could use 100’ of 16ga wire if you want just power.

BlueSwordM · 2019-02-27T00:01:56.000Z

@Mikeadoo, get these cables:
https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Braided-Charger-Charging-Controller/dp/B01NAGJ49R/

UGreen makes great cables, and I’ve actually tested them to be quite low resistance and have good build quality.

Pete7874 · 2019-02-27T00:04:07.000Z

These are excellent. Very low internal resistance:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTXZ3U8/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_ZoDDCbKXB23WD

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T00:09:30.000Z

just bought one of those too. I like the braided stuff

flydiver · 2019-02-27T00:23:27.000Z

I used a UM24C USB Color Display Tester + USB resistor load, to check the resistance. If it had not been for the info of this forum and the spectacular and tireless work of [HJK] I would not have had a clue that this was even an option. He’s tested a number of devices of this sort: Test of RD Tech USB Meter TC64
This is the one I got but there are a bunch of this sort:https://www.vipprogrammer.com/um24-um24c-color-screen-display-usb-tester-dc-voltmeter-ammeter-programmer-5206
I’d go with HJK suggestion if you were getting one.

Prior to figuring that out I was using: UNI-T UT658 USB tester
I thought that was pretty cool, and for everyday work it is. I hardly use it now.

HKJ · 2019-02-27T09:36:07.000Z

I is best always to get 4 wire usb cables.
The 2 wire is power only, i.e. no data and will not support any fast charge schemes with phones or tablets, some may even refuse to charge with a 2-wire cable.

Other usb powered equipment will often work fine with 2 wire cables, because they ignore any fast charge schemes and just draw the power they need.

To test if a cable is 2 or 4 wire, use it to connect a phone/tablet to a computer, if the computer sees some new equipment it is a 4 wire cable (It do not matter if it recognises it).

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T12:24:31.000Z

HKJ:

I is best always to get 4 wire usb cables.
The 2 wire is power only, i.e. no data and will not support any fast charge schemes with phones or tablets, some may even refuse to charge with a 2-wire cable.

Other usb powered equipment will often work fine with 2 wire cables, because they ignore any fast charge schemes and just draw the power they need.

To test if a cable is 2 or 4 wire, use it to connect a phone/tablet to a computer, if the computer sees some new equipment it is a 4 wire cable (It do not matter if it recognises it).

Thanks HKJ… I tested almost all of my USB cables I have and the only USB cables that wouldn’t play the Bad Boys 2 movie I have on one of my phones on a micro sd card onto my laptop screen was those USB cables that came with the Sofirn charger kits.

But most of mine are either 6 feet or 1.5 feet.

I went with a monoprice like flydriver suggested and one of those UGREEN cables.

I don’t know if you test out USB wall plugs (like iPad charger, Anker other brands etc…)

But my Anker wall plug that came with my 97wh (I believe) power bank says the wall plug charges at 3A.

Not sure if that’s true or not. I found that that charger works really well along with the iPad chargers that I think are 2.1A?

Correct me if I’m wrong though cuz I probably am about something. The SD card thing, idk if that is considered browsing files on my phone because it’s on a memory card and not in the internal storage.

HKJ · 2019-02-27T12:32:09.000Z

Mikeadoo:

I don’t know if you test out USB wall plugs (like iPad charger, Anker other brands etc…)

A bit over 200: Index of tested and reviewed USB power supplies/chargers
And car chargers: Index of tested USB DC power supplies/chargers (Car chargers)

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T12:58:15.000Z

Nice thanks bud! I’ll give it a good read. About lots of stuff.

You da man

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T20:59:40.000Z

ok guys i pretty much got the point about the cables and what not. I went for about a 5 hour total bike ride and down some trails last night till about 4:30am this morning. Little snow flurries here in Chesterfield.

anyway my Ion Pro RT died (red flashing) after about 3.5 hours on medium mode constantly. Great run time for me. Stopped at Best Buy for a charger with included cable Insignia and IDK if its the charger or better cable than the ones I have ATM, but it SEEMS to be charging up quite a bit quicker.

Here is what I got on sale for $15

probably not the greatest, but the charger is so much smaller than the 12W iPad charger.

It works great. might get a second if this thing keeps working and dont fail or fall apart…

Pete7874 · 2019-02-27T20:51:02.000Z

Mikeadoo:

but its charging up quite a bit quicker.

How exactly are you measuring this?