USB cables 2 wire or 4 wire help

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?

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T20:58:18.000Z

Pete7874:

Mikeadoo:

but its charging up quite a bit quicker.

How exactly are you measuring this?

I’m not. Just using the timer on my wrist watch. No fancy tools. Last charge took about 21 hours to go from blinky red to full charge with the included USB.

It just SEEMS to be working better (the blinking light when its charging is blinking twice per second instead of the once per second). I dont have any measuring tools.

only thing i did notice just from reading whats claimed is iPad charger 2.1A and this Insignia 2.4A but that could be BS too.

I bought the charger for my iPad and figured id try it with my headlight.

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T21:00:42.000Z

Pete I thought i said it seems to be charging a bit quicker my bad. I went and fixed it

Mikeadoo · 2019-02-27T21:05:34.000Z

I dont understand how two 12 watts chargers iPad and this Insignia can have different amps. iPad 2.1, Insignia 2.4….

Anyone else think its just a marketing thing, or if its actually possible? I have the Anker PoerPort+1 charger that claims 3A

flydiver · 2019-02-27T21:42:12.000Z

Without measurement you really have no good idea what is happening.
Input devices for the most part are designed to have a maximum current they will deal with (accept). You can provide more, but they won’t use it.
If the output device provides a lower current than the input device can accept, then the charge will proceed, but more slowly.
If you put a high resistance cable between that will also slow down the process.
You cannot depend on the specs printed on the power ports. The better the ‘brand name’ the more likely it’s accurate. But, verify. For instance I have some Belkins 110v plug extenders with USB charging that are pathetic.

Get a measuring device, minimally something like this: Test of UNI-T UT658 USB tester
I have 2 of them and for basic use they are fine.

If you want to step up to being able to measure resistance then you have to get something like the UM24C tester and a suitable resistor load like I mentioned previously.

Those are the devices I’m familiar with. There may be better or more suitable options that you can dig out of the review or people in this forum may suggest. But you need something.