Having a USB-C charging standard is great. Until you get chargers like this one with USB-C connector and 9V. Using that would be a great way to kill some devices. Apparently, GTMEDIA just replaced the original DC port with USB-C without other changes to the device and the charger

@nijel USB-C can have a higher voltage, can't it? Up to 20, I believe.

It will default to 5, I believe, unless the connected device negotiates a higher voltage.

@mt this doesn't negotiate, this is just a DC power supply with USB-C instead of the original DC cylindrical connector.

@nijel Wow. How can device like this get any certifications? CE? FCC? What else should they check on electric device like this?

@nijel Are you sure it outputs 9V without any negotiations?

@nijel Wow, that's horrible. 😳 What is it supposed to power?

@Razemix Satellite/DVB signal measuring device, https://gtmedia.global/products/satellite-v8-finder-pro

@stepan Unfortunately I don't have away to measure the USB-C connector, but looking at the supply label it does (the label actually states it has a circular DC connector). It doesn't list 5V at all, unlike any other USB-C power supply I have around.

@nijel How can this even be legal? I hope that if complaints are filed (at member state level, not EU) , the local consumer protection agency will react quickly. Or at least the press needs to be alerted. Where are these things sold?

@tml @nijel Seems that it isn't legal. The updated EU regulation mentions not just the mandatory USB-C port but also Power Delivery compliance according to EN IEC 62680-1-2:2021. (Which I assume describes voltage negotiation etc.)

https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-industries-eei/radio-equipment-directive-red/one-common-charging-solution-all_en#:~:text=the%20Commission%20Delegated,for%20wired%20charging.

@nijel Lol, they even have a Power Delivery symbol next to the charging port. I doubt that it does any voltage negotiation. That's cursed. 😂

@Razemix Not on my device

@nijel @Razemix Wondering whether a spec-compliant USB-C charger can damage this device then.

@ondra @tml @nijel The funny thing is that in this case they didn't have to include the USB-C port. EU mandates it only for specific categories of devices (phones, tablets, cameras etc.). So they voluntarily made their life harder and managed to violate the spec in a truly spectacular way. 😂

@Razemix @tml @nijel Oh, that's a good point. So maybe it's not illegal, after all.

Reminds me of the good old days when people like Benson Leung tested each USB-C device, cable and charger for spec compliance and published their results.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benson_Leung

@Razemix Looking again at it there seems to be "Gtmedia Satellite V8 Finder Pro" which has PD icon and "Gtmedia Satellite V8 Finder Pro 2" which I have and doesn't have it. That's what I call an upgraded version!

@nijel @stepan

I would suspect that it is only 2 strand cable, and for power negotiation you need the data strands. So "measuring" may be as easy as cutting it open and looking at the cables.

@plactagonic @stepan I still need the charger, so I'm not considering destructive ways to measure it.

@nijel so the "CE" mark doesn't mean it's been tested for that kind of compliance?

@nijel @plactagonic @stepan It could still be able to provide 9V and 5V if the connector has a smart PD chip at the connector able to regulate the voltage from the adapter. One way to know without opening the connector is to try to charge a power bank that accepts PD and has a screen to tell you if the device is using the protocol (and what voltage is being delivered). I think there are small gadgets that you can buy from China that will tell you this too.

@nijel @mt How tf is that legal to sell anywhere in the EU?

@nijel Even old Nokias designed for custom chargers were 15V tolerant... so this is probably not as bad as it looks. If you are designing device with USB-C, you should be ready for 20V, really... Still, this is not good.

@liskin @mt @nijel Take this as a business opportunity to sell USB-C DC-DC converters.

@stepan I've just confirmed that.

@nijel pak je to nabíječka porušujíci usb-c specifikaci 🤷‍♂️