Fake Samsung charger with interesting circuitry

[@acmefixer1]

It really bothers me that any manufacturer would go to the trouble of deceiving the purchaser by adding weights to the device. Thanks, Clive.

[@Ekriirke]

This has been common forever

[@j.f.christ8421]

Yah, lots of old PC keyboards had rather hefty weights in them to increase the quality. IBM, HP, Compaq etc. The manufacturers would claim it was to stop the keyboard from sliding around, but nah, Feel the quality!

[@TheMrMarkW]

Bang and Olufsen used to do this all the time to their remote controls. They always felt heavy due to the large block of metal inside them to weight them down.

[@Alacritous]

@@j.f.christ8421 I liked that. I still buy mice with the adjustable weights because I like them to feel like I won't fling them across the room if I'm not paying attention. The IBM Model M 104 Key keyboard with the mouse nub was my favorite.

[@PeTTs0n88]

Lol, people comparing ergonomic devices like mice or keyboards (where mass can alter the characteristics of the product) to power supplies. One is more scammy than the other.

[@JfromUK_]

I like how Clive only needs "one moment please" to analyse the circuitry and bam: Marked-up printouts, full working knowledge and everything. This guy is superhuman.

[@BubbleDouble]

He probably doesn't even cut the video, it simply takes him 2 seconds to fully understand the board

[@Mitchell527]

Someday we will have chips in out head, and pay to access human knowledge date base.

[@alexoja2918]

How ironic would it be if the steel block was a counterfeit, hollowed out and filled with resin 😂

[@patrickbuick5459]

Don't give them ideas lol.

[@Shrek_Has_Covid19]

resin is expensive... they would probably fill the resin with something cheap like stones

[@procrastinator1842]

​@Shrek_Has_Covid19 Usually they just fill things with sand.

[@pirig-gal]

@@procrastinator1842 I used to have a soldering station that had a plastic bag inside, filled with a fine lead shot. It wasn't a scam though, as it wasn't claiming to be anything more than a cheap soldering station. The additional weight was probably so it didn't move too much.

[@ropeburn6684]

Plot twist: it's steel plated gold pressed latinum 😂

[@jameslmorehead]

I've designed this type of circuit for work. The SDC5091 is a saturation flyback driver IC. It has a depletion mode FET that ties the 2.2uF cap as a bootstrap supply. The IC also has a power MOSFET on pins 5-8. These normally have pin 1 and the bottom as ground. The IC turns on the MOSFET, charging the primary side of the flyback transformer. The opto-isolator triggers the IC to turn off the MOSFET when the core of the flyback reaches saturation. As the magnetic field collapses, it is forced into the secondary side, providing power to the output. When the core is no longer saturated and the output starts to dip, the opto-isolator turns off, triggering the IC to turn on the MOSFET again. The odd configuration of the freewheel/snubber circuit is because you want the primary side to be able to reach a highish voltage while the field collapses into the secondary, but not too high that it damages the MOSFET, or puts the body diode of the FET or MOSFET into conduction. This circuit could just be the resistor and capacitor, but there is a high likely hood of unwanted oscillations. So, the diode is added to eliminate any oscillation. It is common for this diode to be a power zener, or a TVS depending on input supply and flyback specs.

[@mohinderkaur6671]

Great explanation! Thanks!

[@hibbs79]

Obviously you are speaking Arabic as I understand none of this

[@justsayen2024]

Funny that's what I was thinking😂

[@alexdavies7112]

Hey I know some of these words!

[@regi3.1]

This kind of a detailed technical explanation can only come from some who has More Head😁

[@marcogenovesi8570]

Wow they didn't spare any expense here, they even added the metal fake weight. True quality right there

[@Broken_Yugo]

And two bridge rectifiers, and not a single abused 1N4148! Still a noncompliant shock hazard with those transformers though, you need that triple insulated wire on the secondary side and flying secondary leads or a bobbin with an extended secondary side terminal strip to properly isolate a winding in a transformer that small.

[@zebo-the-fat]

not a metal fake weight... it's a real weight!

[@RFC3514]

@@zebo-the-fat - It's a built-in load.

[@sometimesleela5947]

Clive might want to give that weight a quick wisk with the geiger counter. I've found that 'easter eggs " like this tend to have a higher chance of being metal they wanted to get rid of anyway., possibly even getting reimbursed for its disposal in the process.

[@abs_nobody]

... sum of its parts ...

[@iamdarkyoshi]

I don't know which one I hate more, this one or the one DiodeGoneWild took apart with an LED voltmeter inside. With a display that uses two wires. Because it only ever displays 5.1V.

[@j.f.christ8421]

The fake volt meter was awesome.

[@TheSpotify95]

The DiodeGoneWild one showed 5.2V no matter what the voltage was, it was just LED segments lit up to a power source. I think that charger didn't supply the full output current either, as well as having various electrical issues (e.g. missing fuse/interference suppression/safety capacitor being 1kV only/transformer with no isolation etc etc).

[@tubastuff]

@@TheSpotify95 Reminds me of the speed indicator LED displays on some old PCs. Didn't measure a thing, just switched between two hardwired 7 segment displays, depending on the level of the "turbo" line.

[@uzlonewolf]

@@tubastuff I remember those, mine had jumpers on the back that could be changed to make it display whatever numbers you wanted.

[@tubastuff]

@@uzlonewolf I jumpered mine to to show "Hi" and "LO"--I figured that was more honest. :)

[@BjornV78]

The simple 1 USB port fake black Samsung chargers can be identified by the part number printed on the outside. That part number on the fake one is ETA-U90EWE, which is actually the part number on the white original Samsung charger. The genuine black Samsung charger uses ETA-U90EBE as part no. So I bet this "mistake" in part no can also be the case with other fake Samsung charger types. I used some of those fake Samsung type 1 single USB port chargers for a while, until one night in 2018 when I was still awake and charging my smartphone in the other room when suddenly heard circuit breakers tripping and all the power in the house when off. I found my way to the fuse panel and found out that the fuse on the wall outlets and main switch had blown. So I pushed them both back on, and they stayed on, but suddenly I smell something burning. I took a tour of the house and when I got to the room where my smartphone was charging I found the culprit. That fake Samsung charger was burning with an eight inch flame around it, I ripped the charger from the power strip by pulling the USB cable, and threw it into the sink where I was able to extinguish it with water. Fortunately, the smartphone was not damaged, and i was still awake when this occured and could take action. I have smoke detectors in almost every room,and also in the room where this occured, but the fire started on the otherside of the room then where the smoke detector is installed. Never used a fake charger for a smartphone again since that day.

[@ecospider5]

Yep it’s crazy how these fail. Failure of not working, ok it was cheap. Failure of it bursting into flames, not cool.

[@rolfs2165]

Depending on the room size, you might want to either move the smoke detector or install a second one.

[@mrfrenzy.]

I think the biggest lesson here is never "flip a circuit braker back on" until you found the culprit. If you can't see any problems in the rooms without power at least unplug all devices before flipping it back on so you can be in the room when plugging them back in.

[@konradc12]

@@mrfrenzy. Spot on! That is my procedure. If the breaker to a particular room only trips, it narrows down the search.

[@konradc12]

I assume you got these fakes off an internet seller? I won't touch an unknown source. Always from official sources with comeback!

[@ecospider5]

The Samsung branding is what bums me out. Normal people would have a hard time accepting that is fake.

[@DJOllieK]

The bag it comes in should be a clue its fake. They no longer use the blue oval logo on their consumer electronics.

[@aaronali822]

Is not Samsung its samdung

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

It'd break and people wouldn't even know if it was actual Samsung

[@ecospider5]

@aaronali822 It said Samsung on the outer plastic bag. Few people will check the fine print on the device itself.

[@aranpedernales19]

​@@aaronali822Smasnug*

[@ErrorMessageNotFound]

It might be useful if somebody were to do this kind of analysis on the most popular chargers on Amazon.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

Yeah I wouldn't mind an "Amazon usb charger teardown" series

[@samuell.foxton4177]

“Super dodgy”

[@Broken_Yugo]

If you want a safe one just don't buy anything without a UL/ETL mark, and do so in a well established corporate brick and mortar store you can sue with good odds of success if it burns your house down. Places like that make some effort to not sell unsafe junk, on account of said lawsuit potential.

[@TheSpotify95]

@@samuell.foxton4177 Aah, DiodeGoneWild, I love his Dangerous USB Phone Chargers series! Very interesting, also note that he covers the really cheap ones and he doesn't hold videos ransom for 4 weeks!

[@thejusmar]

I thought Linus Tech Tips was gonna try doing that. Edit-Post Gamer's Nexus roast: lmaoooooo

[@radioflyer2030]

Hey Clive. rather than worrying about "plugging expensive devices" into "questionable" PD chargers, you might consider getting some cheap Power Delivery "decoy" boards. These things cost from a couple bucks each up to about fifteen for a fully programmable unit. The most basic ones spoof the PD charger for a single voltage and provide + & - measurement / connection points, slightly more advanced models have short-able pads to select the PD output voltage, and the most advanced modes cost around 15 bucks and use a push-button and colored LED system to program the output. So instead of risking any PD equipment, you can just decoy the different voltages, measure them with a meter & apply a load if you so desire.

[@QBFreak]

I came here to say this. I have one QC trigger that has a button and LEDs on it to choose between four voltages, and came with the option of USB, screw terminals, or barrel jack for output. And I have several others that are just USB-C cables with barrel plugs on the other end that each operated at a fixed voltage. I think there's also some PD trigger stuff in the my drawer too, but I can't remember now. Aliexpress has plenty of choices, which makes me think eBay will too.

[@acmefixer1]

Clive already has a variable load to test USB chargers.

[@radioflyer2030]

@@acmefixer1 Uuhhhhhh.... a decoy board is NOT a load...!!! A decoy board simulates an actual device by negotiating the voltage that the charger will provide... as low as 5 volts for run of the mill USB devices, all the way up to 20 volts for laptops & other high power devices. Extremely useful to have in your kit. The USB test load plugs into the decoy to test if the PD charger can deliver it's ratings.

[@ziginox]

There are also newer USB volt/amp meters that can act as PD triggers (as well as querying the supply and informing the user of what it supports) like the FN58/FNB58. Might not be a bad time for Clive to upgrade from the old Ruideng meter.

[@gadgetman36]

The genuine 65W Samsung multi port charger is £54 direct from Samsung, so at £15 the price is too good to be true. My recommendation for multi-port chargers is Anker, Belkin, Juicebitz, Spigen. They don’t need to be Apple or Samsung branded.

[@gregorythomas333]

I use both Anker & Belkin exclusively...never had any issues with their products.

[@HoppyStar]

I’ve always used Anker to supplement the genuine ones and never had issues. Recently bought a ugreen 65w travel charger, hoping it’s on par with Anker products 🤞🏻 (so far so good)

[@Lutefisk_lover]

Ditto. Why risk hundreds/thousands £/$ to save a dozen or two?

[@Tim_3100]

Agree a lot of samsung phones and watches refuse to charge on non safe chargers but ps5 will charge a samsung phone

[@Knowbody42]

@@Tim_3100 Obviously everyone should buy a PS5 to make sure they can safely charge their phone.

[@kevinjbakertribe]

The company I work for was selling some expensive kit to the CHAPS banking network in the mid 1980s (19" rack stuff, circa £20k each). Apparently the marketing director thought the kit was a bit light for that price so the demo unit had two house bricks added for "Improved value".....

[@kristiansolstad9068]

Clive is the true master of delicate non-destructive disassembly....

[@habbyhouse]

Everyone who is preparing for IELTS test should give this guy a listen.

[@bikkiikun]

FYI: The SDC5091 is acc. to one Aliexpress seller a 20W switching power supply PD fast charge chip. Oh and they only sell it in a pack of 4,000.

[@gregorythomas333]

Wow...the level of deception is high in this one...a hunk of steel flopping around in a mains-connected device is pretty bad. The least they could have done was stick it to the transformers...but I guess that little act was way too expensive...unlike mirrored power supplies :)

[@ralphshoop8822]

If the worker doesn't spend the 5 seconds to peel the wax paper off they can push out a few more adapters per hour. Something something something, capitalism. In defense of steel weights, I own a computer store and we occasionally open up legitimate manufacturers laptops like HP and find steel weights like these inside them. I'm not sure if the point was to balance them or what exactly but they were there nonetheless.

[@tncorgi92]

They could have just packed it full of sand but that might cause a thermal issue. At least now you get a nice weight you can use in another project, with adhesive even!

[@309electronics5]

​@@ralphshoop8822also some pc mice have weights in them

[@ralphshoop8822]

@@309electronics5 yep. Some gaming mice include different weights so you can customize it to your liking as well. If you do recycling or just like taking lots of stuff apart you find weights in lots of unexpected places.

[@celinematerzok6421]

@@309electronics5 computer mices are ridiculously lightweight sometimes without these weights. They are there so they basicly dont fly away like a small piece of paper when you open the door next to your computer desk.😂 Exageration besides, they are there to increase friction somewhat controllable, without them you would very easily, accidently or just because of cable weight, have your mice moving on its own.

[@adamholmes91]

If that was priced correctly (£1-2) it would just be a fake. But because they charge £15 it would be classed as counterfeit.

[@dgwdgw]

Because they charge £15 _and print "SAMSUNG" on the label_

[@Iwishiwasflying]

@@dgwdgwwould it not be the case of a product is purporting to be “Samsung” hence counterfeit. Samsung also has legal rights to pursue due to said product claiming to be genuine.

[@Locutus]

No, both would be fake, regardless of the price. Because they slapped the Samsung logo on there, it is a counterfeit.

[@railgap]

How Big Clive manages to keep the frustration out of his voice, I'll never know... You're so down to earth, sir, and I think you for your calm delivery, cuz I am a hot-headed maniac and I would be screaming at some of the stuff you uncover. Oi, perhaps that's another reason you have a channel and I don't, lol. Keep up the outstanding work.

[@AltimeterAlligator]

False weight, you love to see it. I once opened a karaoke microphone and found a huge block of solder inside, dumped in there like chocolate inside an ice cream cone. That block of solder took up 80% of the internal space, and also acted as physical support for a small chip just floating around in the housing.

[@mrfrenzy.]

That's a nice bit of lead for the landfill...

[@TheSpotify95]

For just under £15, you can actually get a reputable 3rd party charger, from a supermarket or similar, which will do just as good of a job (or better). £15 for a fake is too much, though the problem has been made worse in recent years due to many manufacturers of phones failing to supply a charger with them.

[@tubastuff]

You pay the money for the fake "Samsung" labeling.

[@mjc0961]

Not a problem at all. I already have too many chargers knocking about, I don't need phone manufacturers to keep supplying them. Not sure who these people are who claim to still need chargers but I suspect they're just complaining to complain about something.

[@Tsiikki]

@@mjc0961 Sure you have Honor Supercharger? 11 V and 6 Amps? I didn't have it so I had to buy one. Nice try. Did phone prices drop 30 € for missing charger? I can tell you no, they pocket the money and laugh at you.

[@johnmood5653]

Target has done very nice high wattage output chargers. I have been running my FIRE Stick on one for a year, works quite well

[@irpnet]

I once bought a lamp from a Chinese manufacturer. Thinking it "felt" quality because of the weight, I took it to bits and also discovered a bar of steel. Once removed the item was featherweight. Funny how we associate weight with quality!

[@AndrejaKostic]

It really is funny. I've had a similar situation for a microphone of a Japanese radio transceiver (Icom HM-219). The microphone is actually quite good, but it has two weights on the inside. With the weights, to me, it feels much more solid in the hand. When I remove the weights, it feels like a piece of plastic junk.

[@stinkycheese804]

Lamp? If the weight was in the base, it was due to being higher quality than the same lamp would be without it. You don't want your lamp to too easily tip over or scoot around, so making it bottom heavy is the right design choice.

[@teardowndan5364]

Skipped the transformer autopsy to see whether it falls in the good enough or death trap category. Dumping a chunk of steel into stuff to make it "feel higher quality" is a pretty common trick. I've even seen a review of a Chinese ATX PSU that used a concrete PFC transformer - just a wire cast in concrete.

[@Broken_Yugo]

You don't really need to unwind one that small, just the fact the secondary is plain magnet wire terminated on a regular bobbin is an instant DQ, it should be triple insulated wire terminated away from the windings.

[@TheSpotify95]

@@Broken_Yugo There are some transformers that don't have any isolation at all whatsoever...

[@Broken_Yugo]

@@TheSpotify95 yes, there are different grades of shit, but it's still all shit. It doesn't matter if they actually used tape, you can't use enough of it with a core window that narrow, think of the winding near the edge, easy arc over the edge of the tape. The solution to that is "margin tape" but like I said, you won't have have room for a winding after installing it in a core that small. AFAIK TIW is the only way to actually make a safe (i.e. approved) one that small, and it's easy to visually ID that thicker usually yellow insulated wire coming out of the transformer.

[@Dennan]

i dont like how these scammers dirty the name of well respected companies.

[@Gameboygenius]

Some of those USB testers can exhaustively check all power standards. I'd be curious to know if this supply actually communicates over any of those standards or if the chips are just dummy chips. (Stranger things have happened.)

[@wizkid723]

Quick looking the 6606ACA looks like a Fitipower FP6606AC with the last A a power rating (A looks like a 18W, so very limited QC support, e.g. only 12V so some QC devices may not trigger fast charge)

[@ConstantlyDamaged]

Hrmm, there really needs to be a USB PSU tester that has a dummy load AND the QC/PD negotiation chips on it. Might be a good idea for a project?

[@iamdarkyoshi]

You can bet USB PD "trigger" boards that go inline with the dummy load. I have some adjustable ones that let me request a voltage. Gotta be careful what you plug into the USB output jack though since it can go to voltages outside of USB spec without the connected device requesting it, because the trigger board does.

[@ConstantlyDamaged]

@@iamdarkyoshi Yeah, found some of them eventually (seems like youtube deleted my comment stating that). They came with multiple dummy loads you can plug in that were 20W per load.

[@andrewsawesome]

You should tear apart those "polymer" capacitors and see if they really are polymer.

[@johndododoe1411]

Yeah, At least one reliable brand of electrolytics look exactly the same .

[@morelenmir]

The fact it has the capability to negotiate voltages makes me even *more* wary of this thing! It is a perfectly fine piece of functionality if it works, but... IF... I would not want 16v shunting into my Kindle or rechargeable headset thank you very much!

[@kelly4187]

This sort of stuff is why I use apps and extensions like Cultivate to let me see where the product is from. If it’s from China, I scroll on. No way I’m letting my house burn down because of chinesium charger.

[@gtretroworld]

Hitting it with pliers gave me a lovely little giggle Clive.I will continue to watch the rest but just had to get that in.

[@youdontknowme5969]

A Chinese Watt must be around ⅔ of the rest of the world's Watt. 🙃

[@rallystar555]

I remember back when most electronic devices had lead weights added to give the illusion of quality.

[@RFC3514]

With RoHS, they've had to improve their products and use _steel_ weights instead.

[@Derek_Garnham]

I know it was done with cameras, but the weight was kind of functional as an anti shake device.

[@gs425]

It'd the sort of sneaky Jerry trick that thst crook Alan Sugar used to do in his shite products

[@rounakr94]

Yess, all hail Chamchung 😂 I also bought one from the local store and once I connected it poof it went 😅

[@tullgutten]

I bought an rather expensive but great USB tester, FNIRSI FNB48P and it goes from 3.8v (0v if connect extra micro usb for just the tester) to 24v and 0 to 6.5Amps. It can check the charger and cable for every fast charge ability, and also it can force quick charge voltages for any voltage you want then you can test the amp load on the usb c or a output. It also shows voltage ripple graph/oscilloscope down to 3.1 uS and 1mV Can estimate calculate charged current to a 3.6v lipo battery, and is actually within 5% from factory (can adjust conversion efficiency on it for the calculation) I love it and it have revealed one super fake charger

[@keithking1985]

I found a lump of high quality steel in a charger when I was opening "everything" when I 1st started learning electronics. I thought it was a loose heat sink at 1st till I picked it up. That looks like they didn't skimp on parts.

[@piconano]

I very much doubt it can deliver 65W, or even 20W for that matter. look at those cute tiny transformers! Max 2A each? It's not a Samsung, it's a Samsong.

[@fierytechknowhows]

There are qc 2.0/qc 3.0 capable usb controllable loads so you don’t have to use qc devices to trigger qc

[@dennislarsson1723]

A few years ago I built a plastic injection mold for the end caps of a high power power amplifier for Pioneer. In each end cap was clip features to hold a section of concrete reinforcing rebar. Pioneer stated that the customer wants to feel the weight as they don't believe a lightweight power amp develops any substantial power. Heavy sells!

[@disophisis]

"Quality Feel Lump of Steel" would be a good t-shirt

[@gavincurtis]

Not since white van speakers with bricks inside has ballast mass loading enhancement technology been used so eloquently.

[@jobblejosh9713]

Ah yes, the Vice of Knowledge. My favourite tool.

[@zebo-the-fat]

Don't forget the big hammer of truth!

[@nowster]

It might be interesting to look inside one of the recent chargers from Lidl.

[@fattomandeibu]

To be fair to the random lump of metal, I've got a few things(every remote I own, and a few computer mouses) that would be improved immeasurably by the addition of a lump of metal. Of course, there's a difference between a lump of metal just randomly in a power supply that might possibly lead to undesirable operation and a lump of metal to improve the feel when used.

[@kthwkr]

Years ago I got an Sandisk SD card that was fake. But not only did it work at the advertised size but it also ran just a little faster than the real Sandisk.

[@MrAaroncissell]

All of the Best Buy Stores here in the USA have what looks exactly like that one with side symbols just our 2 prong plug on the back with a little plate screwed on between the prongs. They are selling them for $60 US. If you pick up the package and shake while holding the item inside through the box yo can hear and feel a weighty thing banging about inside. It sadly might actually be a Samsung as advertised.

[@ginbot86]

The chip marked 6606ACA is a Fitipower FP6606AC, which is a dual USB-C PD/QC and USB-A QC charger controller. The last letter denotes what list of USB PD voltage/currents will be presented to a PD-capable device; the A suffix means the USB PD protocol will present 5V/3A, 9V/2A, and 12V/1.5A. The chip marked N603 I couldn't find information for, and searching for an FP6603 didn't turn up any useful data (but there is a datasheet for an FP6601 and it seems similar enough in pinout). From what I can tell it is just a QC controller that looks at the D+/D- lines, but I can't quite make out what is going on with the CC identification lines on that board since it's not a simple 56k pullup resistor to indicate a USB-C power source.

[@fookingsog]

I'm no USB charger expert, but my 3rd party "Go-To" for chargers and charge cords has consistently been the "Anker" brand!!!...and they seem to always be coming to market with improved charging technology and circuitry!!! I can't say I've ever been disappointed with one of their charging products I've purchased!!!

[@TheSpotify95]

Yeah I've got a 2 port Anker charger - 5V 2.1A per port - and it seems to work well enough. I also have a 2 port charger from LIDL supermarkets which also works well, with the Type C outlet doing fast charging as well.

[@Sashazur]

I also mainly buy Anker brand.

[@neiltonks4627]

Yes I use those too. They always charge at an acceptable rate and don’t get hot in the process!

[@NinoJoel]

They are well manufactured and come at reasonable prices. The internals look well designed as weol

[@baqcasanke]

Ive tested my anker power bank with usb power meter and the charge circuitry seems very advanced. It def regulates and changes power based on device and battery charge.

[@XxmetalHeadxX88]

I remember vwestlife made a video on fake counterfeit chargers a long time ago. He connected the charger to a camera, and the fake charger was causing radio interference.

[@terrym1065]

Watt or Whaaaatt? Yeah, you just never know. Thanks Clive for throwing some light on this.

[@chaython]

There's a lot more components than I was expecting.

[@samuelrieder5480]

Perfect timing with that video. I just wanted to buy my sister this charger for her Macbook

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

I seem to remember adding to a transformer like that will change fields characteristics but I'm drawing a blank on what the change will be.

[@GabrieleR95]

Indeed, it looks like it could couple some of the magnetic field of one transformer to the other.

[@johndododoe1411]

The main magnetic field forms a square circuit in the transformer metal, so not much magnetic energy leaks into the weight .

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

@@johndododoe1411 EI transformers are not efficient generally and their fields extend but i have no clue what these little ones are like as i've never dug into them. I have zero clue what your talking about as all fields form nothing other than a vector field arc.

[@AnoraJohnson]

Your power plugs in the UK are great. In the US, a heavier charger box leans away from the wall and eventually exposes the prongs.

[@stinkycheese804]

Why would you be plugging them into a wall in the first place? Multi-outlet power strip FTW! I can't recall the last time I actually plugged one straight into a wall outlet.

[@AnoraJohnson]

@@stinkycheese804 Power strips plug in and hang from the wall too, though. Also, power strips and extension cords don't solve every problem. I watched a space heater that was powered off spontaneously break out into flames while plugged into an extension cord.

[@albear972]

And the icing on the cake is that that thing doesn't have a *real* ground, sorry, earth. Hope you discharged the capacitors. Even those small ones pack a punch. 🐻

[@brucepickess8097]

Class 2 double insulated adapter, doesn't need to be earthed/grounded.

[@mrb.5610]

Got one of those chargers - probably a genuine one as it came with the phone. And it got way too warm for comfort - so ended up in the E-waste bin

[@uksuperrascal]

Unusual, but accurate low voltage probe (with schematic) POST TO CLIVE - 08032023 - The Diode across the 3V3 Reg is to discharge the 100nF Cap and Set the MCU to read from zero V. So is a Zero V Reset Diode.

[@franktuckwell196]

Most informative. I do not profess to understand all that you talk of, but it generally serves as a clear warning.

[@graemedavidson499]

Over a decade ago I had a knock-off Dell laptop charger come in for repair, similarly weighted down with a steel plate to give the illusion of quality. It was duly disposed of…

[@QBFreak]

At least that long ago, I did desktop PC support for an organization that used all Dell equipment. I remember dismantling one of the slightly nicer mice and finding a weight in it. In that particular case it made sense though, I found the heavier mice easier to handle than the new ones they were shipping us that weighed nothing. The idea of a metal weight floating around loose inside a SMPS is terrifying.

[@scottfirman]

I have seen weights in many cheap knock off electronics. The idea is to make it feel like the authentic brand. Its a crooked method but not a new practice. I remember buying a cheap Getto Blaster once that contained weights hot glued into it. That was back in the 80's. My guess is the chips you couldnt identify are also knock offs.

[@davidroberts5090]

Watching Fran trying to open a Sinclair portable television yesterday makes me appreciate the odd One Moment Please from Clive for a destructive disassembly...

[@daviddavidson2357]

Test that weight with a geiger counter. It's probably just normal steel, but you never know if China will send you something extra spicy.

[@ziginox]

Clive, coming back to this video now that I know a bit more about things... The reason the feedback circuit doesn't just flip in different resistances is so the supply can vary the output voltage as the device requests, via the Programmable Power Supply (PPS) feature added in the USB PD 3.0 spec. The idea is optimizing the input voltage to best charge the battery. As for the two independent supplies, this makes sure one of the outputs can supply max wattage, while the other two are splitting up the wattage capability of the other supply. The other two ports have to be at the same voltage, and if you connect something, the other port will temporarily shut off while it re-negotiates. There's definitely some excess duplication, though, and no way can this do 65W. As for not wanting to plug expensive devices in, there are newer USB testers that can query and negotiate with PD and QC2.0/3.0 supplies. It's great for seeing what they support, and triggering the higher voltages to feed into a load tester. I personally like my FNB58, but there are other options on the market.

[@twocvbloke]

It's nice when they include a lump of genuine chinesium for the high qualities weighting... :P

[@lightcapmath2777]

Such clarity showing falsity...Big C... you ROCK! .. across the pond.. DVD:)

[@SqualidsargeStudios]

Smasnug should figure out who is manufacturing these things and sue them into bankruptcy

[@Sashazur]

They could spend all their time and money doing that. There are dozens of places making knockoff Samsung phones and chargers etc.

[@johndododoe1411]

​@@SashazurThey could have a separate team of bounty hunters funded mostly by the lawsuit profits .

[@stinkycheese804]

You think the Chinese court would side with a Korean company over their own subsidized company operating in China? The answer to that would be a big no.

[@dmmgualb]

The 431 is being used as a voltage detector, not as a reference. As the ref pin goes above 2.5V, it immediately turns on the optocoupler's led. Actually, that way of using it is quite common as far as I know, and even described in application notes.

[@ElvenSpellmaker]

I've noticed OnePlus chargers give a massive shock if you accidentally touch the pins after unplugging so I assume (it'd be cool if you could tear one down) they have no discharge capacitor to stop the shock. I've been shocked a few times by it and it's quite a shock! Which means first party isn't always the safest or nicest chargers around.

[@Broken_Yugo]

That means they bothered to install an across the line interference capacitor (great!) but no shock prevention bleeder resistor, which is not great, but that probably won't kill anyone.

[@NinoJoel]

Id suspect a faulty model. Never had that kind of issue but then again it has been a while using this brand

[@LeePorte]

Apple laptop chargers have done that for the past 12 years. Cheap ass bastards

[@arcticfox037]

Never had this issue with my realme charger; 65W charger right? 10V 6.5A?

[@ricaflorin]

Very nice fake reveal clip. Watching this an ideea come to my mind so I decide to ask you here. Those days I was looking into some 2 TB (even 16 TB) ssd memory stick from Aliexpress labeled as a Kingston/Samsung etc wich cost somewhere like 2 to 10 dollars something like this, some ridiculous cheap amount of money. So maybe you can have a look and crack down another fake brand labeled video in the near future. 😊

[@VintageSG]

I used to have a handheld game player ( PSP!/MP5! 10,000 games! ) that was basically a Nintendo-onna-chip with a few support ICs to give FM radio, MP3 playback and ( limited ) video playback. It was surprisingly good for NES/SNES/GB/GBC/GBA emulation. The radio worked, with headphones, and MP3 playback was acceptable. Good battery life too. The screen was clear and bright. One day though, it failed to charge. 'Spicy pillow' was my first thought. Sure enough, the battery needed either Benadryl or Viking funeral. It got the latter. Nestled between the battery and back panel was a strip of heft adding steel. It didn't need it. It was a good product at a keen price. I mackled a BL-5C clone battery in and got another years use from it before mislaying it somewhere. That strip of steel made me chuckle at the time. That it's still being done a decade or so later?, not quite so funny.

[@alexoja2918]

I would solder the steel blob as a resistor or attach it to a transistor as a heatsink. That way it would just be a very good component.

[@paulmeynell8866]

Excellent video , I was once told Parker chairs put a block of concrete in the frame to make the quality feel better!

[@Grid56]

I like how the "steel bar of power" hadn't even had its sticky surface revealed. The Chinese time and motion guy saved a full half second there !😂

[@ElvenSpellmaker]

Ahh you said vice without _"of knowledge"_ several times and I got sad but then you said to remove the vice of knowledge and my faith was restored!

[@jagmarc]

edit: Being a flyback converter and the needed pri/sec separation distance interacts with the gap in the circulating magnetic flux circuit (where the actual energy is stored), means there's inherent leakage inductance. L/I increases with pri/sec separation. The snubber burns off the energy from the primary L/I when mag field collapses. The energy if not burned off translates to a voltage spike, which not just a voltage stress+ringing but its dv/dt via the d/g 'Miller' coupling affects the fet's clean turn-off.

[@johndododoe1411]

In switchers like this the gap between primary and secondary coil is just a few layers of yellow tape . The difference between good and bad quality is if the windings get close enough to short out when pinched . Switchers work by storing energy in the magnetic field, then discharging it into the output .

[@jagmarc]

A geometry thing. Energy is stored in the gap in the magnetic core flux path. Whether it's a discrete-gap core that you have control over, or a distributed gap core that you're stuck with, not all the energy stored in the core gap couples because of the geometry. I wish I hadn't mentioned it now maybe someone else can explain better

[@thomasglessner6067]

26 grams additional mass makes the end user feel the quality. Great video.

[@standardman6535]

when someone says "i know a guy who knows a guy who knows electronics", this is that guy

[@tubaman66]

Not usually a good sign when they've had to add the "feel the quality, feel the weight" lump of metal. 🤣

[@stepheneyles2198]

I've come across weights like that inside the plastic 'pull cord' things used for window blinds. Maybe they had too many of them left in the factory and needed to get rid of them!

[@SolderBrothers]

I just love your channel through explanation and circuit description.

[@RichardSchuldt]

Always a good day when the Vice-of-Knowledge comes out to play!

[@stephena2720]

An Amazon special. Have tried to purchase these chargers multiple times from amazon and received at least 3 of these.

[@PinkAgaricus]

Also, official chargers would usually come in a sale hanging box package, even if you order it online. Usually, through the Amazon website from the Samsung storefront there.

[@stinkycheese804]

It's not that simple. Aside from retail packaged product, they have had chargers to bundle with products and will have excess stock once the warranty is over for a generation of product. The question is then what happens to that stock. I'd bought white box major brand products several times over the years, as well as samsung phones that had chargers just in a little plastic baggie.

[@ianhosier4042]

At least it had a transformer in it unlike the one I bought some years ago that only contained a 1n4007 diode, a resistor, an LED and a 5v zener diode and of course a large stone to make it feel heavy.

[@johndododoe1411]

At least most stones aren't conductive .

[@ianhosier4042]

@@johndododoe1411 they compensated for that defect by ensuring that the sleeve of the usb socket was connected straight to mains live!

[@Banat0]

You should get one of those usb power delivery triggers to test such things safely

[@brianjrichman]

Sometimes it is worth paying the full RRP for something at the phone carrier's store...

[@Mister0men]

almost at a million clive! been awesome watching your channel grow so well

[@dsagman]

i came for the thumbnail and stayed for the off camera brutality

[@KasparRottschaefer]

You have the Perfect Voice for potcasts

[@mos8541]

Ok bro, you dont mock our good universal American "accent" ... "is it gonna come ooffff?"... and i wont keep impersonating SeanconneryCliveGerardbutlerEwanMacGregor saying im Irish.... hah!

[@dcallan812]

Sumsung my arse. 🤣 I dont think I would leave anything plugged in without supervision. 🔥🔥 interesting video 2x👍

[@BritishEngineer]

Clive, instead of using a vise or cutting things, you should get an arbour press and add mini screwdriver flat head attachments on the head. It would prove itself for ultrasonically welded boxes like power adapters or warts, and other things.

[@Broken_Yugo]

I just hold one corner on the concrete and hit the other with a hammer, takes up a lot less bench space.

[@andyhill242]

That reminds me, I have some unbranded. USB chargers that I bought from Amazon some years ago. They worked perfectly for several years but were then subject to a product recall by Amazon due to the risk of electric shock. I was refunded in full but never had to return them. I keep meaning to send them to you for analysis, but I never got around to it! The only point of this comment is to fix it in my mind again. Great video by the way.

[@Sashazur]

Smash them and throw them away, ensures nobody else will use them.

[@AngelaTheSephira]

​@@SashazurWhat? Why do that when we could get free content from them here?

[@danielconlon2388]

Always a great video when the vice of knowledge comes out. As my father in law says..when all else fails, brute force and ignorance

[@Ghost63123]

I agree, or get a bigger hammer😂

[@markiangooley]

I’ll take a piece of steel over a plastic pouch full of mildly radioactive thoria powder… Note that thoria is 10 grams per cc but iron is about 7.8. Powdered or granular thoria would have some spaces in it, so density might even be a bit lower than that of solid steel.

[@yorinov2001]

when Texas Instruments first came out with their high end highest priced calculators ($200 to $300 in the '80s) they put steel weights in them too. the calculators themselves were designed well but much lighter without the weights than older style, much cheaper, calculators.

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

Just note, I tested a cheap charger a few years ago, and found that a Chinese amp is equal to ~1/3 of an amp, in the rest of the world. From one of the Jurassic Park films, when the Jeff Goldblum character sees his kid handling a piece of equipment, He asks, "Is it heavy". The kid answers, "yes", He replies, "then its expensive, put it down". I think the "sacrificial" lawyer has similar interaction, in the first movie.

[@grimlicentia]

My guess is that this is a chip manufacturer for samsung products and they are selling their own "copy" on the side. Which may explain why it's hard to find documentation.

[@stinkycheese804]

No need to, there's a wealth of existing tech for SMPS so no real need to copy samsung especially if they wish to alter the circuit to a lower price point. Remember, it's China, if they want to make a custom IC to do an exact thing like this, they can, and produce it dirt cheap as well, It's just not sophisticated enough tech to need to rip IP off of anyone else to do it.

[@ZacabebOTG]

You need to get one of those fancy molten hairdryers so that you can make an autopsy of the transformers.

[@veraxis9961]

Now I have your "Cheap sh!tty pink USB charger from China song" stuck in my head. Going to have to listen to that again.

[@laserspike]

Apart from the other awfulness, the opto-isolator arrangement doesn't seem very failsafe: if I'm not confused, if/when the isolator fails (say the LED dies) then the supply side will keep feeding current to the output side, no? If so, I wonder how high the voltage would get before something went bang.