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Having quite enjoyed exploring some other keychain power banks I thought I'd check out some other ones from eBay.

Let's just say that this one has a disappointing feature, and it's very fortunate that my Ruideng USB tester apparently has reverse polarity protection!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fVt1PG4uXE

Files

eBay keyring phone-killer

This is unfortunate. It's a well designed miniature keyring power bank that has a design flaw that means a simple factory error can result in it damaging equipment it is plugged into. It won't affect all of these units, but it definitely affects the one that I bought. It's fortunate that the first thing I plugged it into was a Ruideng USB test meter which appears to have reverse polarity protection . The lithium cell is still under test, but I expect it to fall well short of the 1500mAh stated on the eBay listing. (Which is completely normal for eBay these days.) If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- http://www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty. #ElectronicsCreators

Comments

Anonymous

Its almost five, clive!

evilution

I know that the iPhone has reverse polarity protection. If you plug in a reverse polarity, the phone shuts down to protect it. I'd imagine it'd be the same on big name Android phones too.

Curtis Hoffmann

USB circuit killers. The silent killers. For when your best friend stiffs you on a restaurant bill and you want to thank him for it.

Nani Isobel

I bet a donut this was a factory reject that someone got cheap and resold as if it was ok.

Anonymous

Has the unit got a CE mark anywhere?

Mike Hughes

Given the fact that the CCP virtually imprisoned it's citizens for three years because of their idiotic covid regime, I am inclined to think that this is a deliberate mistake, that is performed many times per shift, just to cause nause to the State owned company., or just one persons way of sticking two fingers up at their employers, who obviously exploit them with the ridiculous work ethnics in China. Unfortunately it is consumers in the West that are the brunt of their frustrations, but an interesting twist on an otherwise good product.

Zane Revai

Interesting twist on the connector.

henrik ostrov

Look at this on it haas evrything on it € 21,05 60%OFF | LED Lamp Bulb Light Voltage Power Quick Fast Tester for E27 B22 E14 Lamp Bulb Light Test Box with Sound Alarm EU US plug https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtygVVo

bigclive

It does look like the luxury version, but I don't think it has the extra luxury "anti explosion" feature.

Gordo

Ha ha, from the description I was expecting a bank of capacitors that get charged up to 1000V and discharge through your USB port. Have you ever featured one of those on the channel? Would that even be wise?

bigclive

I've never featured the USB killer because I don't want to promote it. It's one of the most malicious products I've come across and has probably caused a lot of suffering when people have had their computers and work destroyed by non-technical people.

Gordo

I get that. I guess your audience doesn't need told that they shouldn't plug in a thumb-drive they find in the car-park (or use a public phone charger, unsanctioned charge-lead, mouse etc.). It's a scary world for the uninformed

bigclive

I would expect most technically inclined people to know not to plug random memory devices into their computers. It's a common technique for seeding malware.

Dave Frederick

Ha. I got one of these in 20 days from Ali for just under $5.00 including shipping. Looks identical except the slide out button on mine is black. Mine was actually wired correctly but there are differences in the board. The charging cuts out nicely at 4.201 volts and discharge quits at 3.2 volts though it only puts out half an amp. The battery I measured is roughly half the size with it taking just under 300 mAh. I would have thought more but maybe it's just the in out range - Measures 37 x 29 x 6. If you care for a look real quick? The Board: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EXbY5wpD1M8p4ifn6 Back of the Board: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QxEpht8RuBaRe75S8 The Chip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vH4fgER8YTtnfU1U8 (Thanks a while back for the tip of wiping on some thermal paste to see the numbers - that works really well)

bigclive

Interesting variations, including the two pinout options for the cell protection chip. The cell is roughly the same size. I may have to do a fresh test on it. Was that 5V boosted mAh or the cell itself?

Dave Frederick

5V on the meter like yours, 5.08 or 5.09 actually. The voltage I was measuring above was charge and discharge voltages of the battery itself. Cell protection voltage seems pretty solid. On a full discharge, the charge state started at just under an amp and then seemed to handshake down to less than 80 mAh before being satisfied. Seems like a nice little charging circuit. That chip placement is completely different though the pinout is the same? Chip numbers I didn't look up - sorry. Side note: I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+, what, five years old or something like that. New, it boasted a 3500 mAh battery. I let mine drain to 80% and hooked this little guy up. No problem getting it to 100% with (I should have measured) a little room to spare. In a glove box and if your phone dies, this might be a handy gizmo!

Dave Frederick

Oh, sorry. The charge cycle was at 5V. Measured on another little usb analyzer thing. Measures mAh and watt hours and charge time. I should probably familiarize myself with the capabilities of the little yellow USB thingy like yours.

Dave Frederick

I like the display and mostly use it to watch current for now. Jeeze, I think you can test your cables with it?