Faulty/Incorrect monitor adapter?

[LukeDJ]

Hi everyone,

 

Around two years ago, I purchased the following monitor on Tmall: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32975586687.html

I was really disappointed when, shortly after using it for the first time, coloured vertical lines appeared on the screen:

I included this image in a reddit post where I explained the issue and the troubleshooting steps I'd tried, but was unable to find a solution to the problem.

Eventually, I gave up, and the monitor went into storage...until recently when I stumbled across the following post on this forum:

I tried adjusting the power cable while it was connected to the monitor just like Vamo_Elysian did and sure enough, re-positioning the cable does temporarily cause the artifacts to go away. I hadn't even considered that the power adapter might be at fault, but it looks like that could be the case.

My question is, do you think my current power adapter is faulty, or do you think it's output isn't suitable (too low/high)? I don't want to waste money on an adapter that's exactly the same if that isn't the problem, but I also don't want to do any damage to the monitor by undervolting/overvolting (if that's even possible, I don't know much about electronics ).

The power adapter in Vamo_Elysian's post is rated for 19V & 3.42A (65 watts), whereas the one this monitor's currently using is rated for 12V & 4A (48 watts), which is quite a bit lower (translation) :

The only information I could find on the monitor itself was this (translation) :

The connector looks like it has the same inner diameter and outer diameter as Vamo_Elysian's one:

 

Any help with this would be much appreciated

[Guest]

2 hours ago, LukeDJ said:

 I don't want to waste money on an adapter that's exactly the same if that isn't the problem

Buy it from Amazon so if it doesn't fix the problem, you can just return it.

 

Get one with universal tips that allows it to work on almost everything.

 

Stop buying dodgy electronics from dodgy people.

 

2 hours ago, LukeDJ said:

but I also don't want to do any damage to the monitor by undervolting/overvolting

As long as the adapter is +12V and not +19V, it shouldn't hurt the monitor.  Just make sure it can output a higher amount of current, like this one:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-100-240V-Transformers-Switching-Splitter/dp/B07C2FBLLQ/

[LukeDJ]

14 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Buy it from Amazon so if it doesn't fix the problem, you can just return it.

 

Get one with universal tips that allows it to work on almost everything.

Thanks for the quick reply, this is good advice

14 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Stop buying dodgy electronics from dodgy people.

Totally agree, I learned my lesson after this

14 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

As long as the adapter is +12V and not +19V, it shouldn't hurt the monitor.  Just make sure it can output a higher amount of current, like this one:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-100-240V-Transformers-Switching-Splitter/dp/B07C2FBLLQ/

So you reckon going for a 12V 5A adapter rather than a 12V 4A one should do the trick?

[Guest]

I don't know if lack of power is the reason you're getting the lines or not, but 48W does seem kind of low for that big of a monitor.  If the monitor pulls too much, the voltage can drop and that could actually cause that kind of problem.  That and the adapter looks shifty as hell anyway.  I seriously doubt it's actually putting out a stable +12V as it is!

 

[LukeDJ]

51 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

I don't know if lack of power is the reason you're getting the lines or not, but 48W does seem kind of low for that big of a monitor.  If the monitor pulls too much, the voltage can drop and that could actually cause that kind of problem.

Definitely sounds like that's a possibility then

51 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

That and the adapter looks shifty as hell anyway.  I seriously doubt it's actually putting out a stable +12V as it is!

Agreed, it doesn't look super trustworthy...

Do you think this one looks reasonable? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CM3LM7R

[Guest]

1 hour ago, LukeDJ said:

Definitely sounds like that's a possibility then

Agreed, it doesn't look super trustworthy...

Do you think this one looks reasonable? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CM3LM7R

Like your monitor, it's not from a reputable brand and lacks any kind of safety certification (FCC and CE are not safety certs), but it might work ok.

[LukeDJ]

1 hour ago, jonnyGURU said:

Like your monitor, it's not from a reputable brand and lacks any kind of safety certification (FCC and CE are not safety certs), but it might work ok.

I'd like to get one with a proper safety certification if I can. The only UL-listed 12V 5A one I can find on amazon.co.uk is this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HENQAMS

It doesn't come with multiple tips so I'd have to get those separately if its tip is the wrong size, and it uses a US-style plug but I already have a UK power lead I can use.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, LukeDJ said:

I'd like to get one with a proper safety certification if I can. The only UL-listed 12V 5A one I can find on amazon.co.uk is this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HENQAMS

It doesn't come with multiple tips so I'd have to get those separately if its tip is the wrong size, and it uses a US-style plug but I already have a UK power lead I can use.

It doesn't have to be UL.  It can have TÜV, CB, etc.

 

UL is American.  So of course it's an adapter with an American plug.

 

Keep looking.

 

[LukeDJ]

24 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

It doesn't have to be UL.  It can have TÜV, CB, etc.

 

UL is American.  So of course it's an adapter with an American plug.

 

Keep looking.

I think I've managed to find two that, based off their pictures, are Geprüfte Sicherheit (TÜV) certified:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004HCCVLI
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OGQMH50

[LukeDJ]

13 minutes ago, LukeDJ said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OGQMH50

This one's tip is 2.1mm/5.5mm, which would be compatible with this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07R41MFH4

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, LukeDJ said:

This one's tip is 2.1mm/5.5mm, which would be compatible with this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07R41MFH4

So that tip set adapts 2.1-5.5mm jacks to other sizes?  That's pretty cool.

 

Yeah... both of those adapters are VERY good units.

 

[LukeDJ]

11 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

So that tip set adapts 2.1-5.5mm jacks to other sizes?  That's pretty cool.

Yup! It looks pretty nifty

11 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Yeah... both of those adapters are VERY good units.

I've ordered the JnDee adapter & the barrel jack tips set which should arrive mid-next week.

Thanks a lot for your advice with all this, I didn't expect to learn about different types of electrical safety certifications this weekend but here we are!

Fingers-crossed that the new adapter does the trick when it arrives next week

[LukeDJ]

On 3/29/2020 at 10:56 PM, jonnyGURU said:

Yeah... both of those adapters are VERY good units.

Turns out the JnDee adapter isn't TÜV certified after all, looks like they used the wrong product pic on the listing...

Either way, the new adapter doesn't seem to have fixed the issue. The lines still appear on the display after a minute, and re-positioning the cable while it's in the monitor does make them temporarily disappear.

Now I'm thinking either the power supply's output could still be the wrong amount for the monitor, or maybe that there's a problem with the port that the power cable's using?

[Guest]

Well, I would definitely demand a full refund for misrepresenting a product.  Saying a product is certified and then shipping a non-certified product is a pretty big deal.

 

One more thing:  What are you using to output to the monitor?  A display port cable, HDMI, etc?

 

And have you tried a different cable?

 

[LukeDJ]

15 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Well, I would definitely demand a full refund for misrepresenting a product.  Saying a product is certified and then shipping a non-certified product is a pretty big deal.

Yeah the image shows that it has 10+ certifications on it...

...whereas the actual product only has FCC, CE, & RoHS

15 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

One more thing:  What are you using to output to the monitor?  A display port cable, HDMI, etc?

 

And have you tried a different cable?

I tried a few different HDMI/DP cables when I first had the issue, but nothing seemed to make any difference. Currently trying it with a DP cable.