You know you've used them at least once or twice in the past... The quick and dirty way to power up an HDD by using one of those cheap Chinese switching brick adapters that may have come as part of an IDE to USB kit...
Here is an amateur examination of two different Chinese adapters. First we have the "GX26W-5-12", a very common model that comes with the aforementioned kits:
Next is the "Yu Feng" JYCC-168:
Both very similar in advertised spec, aside from the slight difference in the amperes rating.
On the right we have the Yu Feng, on the left, the GX26W. This picture speaks for itself (Sorry about the lighting, I really ought to get a decent lamp for this sort of thing instead of trying to aim a flashlight while taking the photo). The Yu Feng has excellent input protection (X cap, Y-Cap, choke, high quality fuse). The secondary is a world ahead of the no name brand adapter. Compare the following: Tiny transformer, cost cutting 4 diode rectification, cheap glass fuse, and lack of coils for the filtering caps.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the two diodes in its secondary are being used to inexpensively step down the voltage to 12V and 5V, whereas the Yu Feng has two actual full fledged seperate transistors on the secondary heatsink (One is YG902, other's markings are obstructed by caps). The transistor attached to the side heatsink says "STK" on it, which I assume is a Sanken part (Can't make out the rest, which is blocked by the transformer).
In case you're wondering, the lone transistor attached partially to the tiny "heatsink" on the GX26W is a Fairchild 2N60.
The cheap adapter's wires are much flimsier and skinnier than the Yu Feng, and its cord lacks a ferrite core. When it's plugged in the wall, the AM radio gets a lot of static.
The only complaints I have with the Yu Feng are the quality of the caps (Nicon for the primary, and "SWCON" for the rest), and the fact that since this came from an old USB2 external enclosure, it's not a molex connector (Which means I'll have to do some splicing).
Lesson learned: Don't blindly use cheap Chinese adapters, the can destroy your equipment, but at the same time, don't discount all Chinese products as junk, the manufacturers can produce high quality products if they want to, but even then, crack it open and change the caps to make sure it lasts forever.
Here is an amateur examination of two different Chinese adapters. First we have the "GX26W-5-12", a very common model that comes with the aforementioned kits:
Next is the "Yu Feng" JYCC-168:
Both very similar in advertised spec, aside from the slight difference in the amperes rating.
On the right we have the Yu Feng, on the left, the GX26W. This picture speaks for itself (Sorry about the lighting, I really ought to get a decent lamp for this sort of thing instead of trying to aim a flashlight while taking the photo). The Yu Feng has excellent input protection (X cap, Y-Cap, choke, high quality fuse). The secondary is a world ahead of the no name brand adapter. Compare the following: Tiny transformer, cost cutting 4 diode rectification, cheap glass fuse, and lack of coils for the filtering caps.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the two diodes in its secondary are being used to inexpensively step down the voltage to 12V and 5V, whereas the Yu Feng has two actual full fledged seperate transistors on the secondary heatsink (One is YG902, other's markings are obstructed by caps). The transistor attached to the side heatsink says "STK" on it, which I assume is a Sanken part (Can't make out the rest, which is blocked by the transformer).
In case you're wondering, the lone transistor attached partially to the tiny "heatsink" on the GX26W is a Fairchild 2N60.
The cheap adapter's wires are much flimsier and skinnier than the Yu Feng, and its cord lacks a ferrite core. When it's plugged in the wall, the AM radio gets a lot of static.
The only complaints I have with the Yu Feng are the quality of the caps (Nicon for the primary, and "SWCON" for the rest), and the fact that since this came from an old USB2 external enclosure, it's not a molex connector (Which means I'll have to do some splicing).
Lesson learned: Don't blindly use cheap Chinese adapters, the can destroy your equipment, but at the same time, don't discount all Chinese products as junk, the manufacturers can produce high quality products if they want to, but even then, crack it open and change the caps to make sure it lasts forever.
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