How bad could dollar store tech be?

[HenrySalayne]

On 2/17/2022 at 5:10 PM, BrianTheElectrician said:

I should note though, as I can't see the bottom half of the case it is possible that with how they join it may clamp on the cord where it exits the case and act as a strain relief.

Thanks for your opinion on that matter.

I'm strongly suggesting there is no adequate strain relief from the housing because there are no indentation marks on the cable. The cable needs to be squeezed quite a bit to be held in place by the case.

But that's just an educated guess. It doesn't look thought out and well put together, so I would give this one a pass.

[BrianTheElectrician]

On 2/19/2022 at 12:01 PM, HenrySalayne said:

Thanks for your opinion on that matter.

I'm strongly suggesting there is no adequate strain relief from the housing because there are no indentation marks on the cable. The cable needs to be squeezed quite a bit to be held in place by the case.

But that's just an educated guess. It doesn't look thought out and well put together, so I would give this one a pass.

That's a good point on there not being any indentation in the cable jacket. It maybe possible that the case grabs it tight enough to handle the odd light tug but honestly I think that's doubtful. I have to agree with you that that would be giving them too much credit I would def avoid this power strip.

 

Hmm, i should open up one from ikea. They're pretty cheap i wonder how well they're put together...

[HenrySalayne]

9 hours ago, BrianTheElectrician said:

Hmm, i should open up one from ikea. They're pretty cheap i wonder how well they're put together...

You should give Linus a call about that. There is also equipment to measure the contact resistance and loop impedance. I heard Linus just loves to spend money on cable testers. 

[BrianTheElectrician]

3 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

You should give Linus a call about that. There is also equipment to measure the contact resistance and loop impedance. I heard Linus just loves to spend money on cable testers. 

It's also amazing what can be done with a good multimeter and some enginuity and/or math lol

[Bitter]

1 hour ago, BrianTheElectrician said:

It's also amazing what can be done with a good multimeter and some enginuity and/or math lol

I wonder how bad it droops at the last outlet when fully loaded? I try to put my heaviest draws nearest the cord.

[HenrySalayne]

2 hours ago, Bitter said:

I wonder how bad it droops at the last outlet when fully loaded? I try to put my heaviest draws nearest the cord.

The size of the contact bars is generally more than enough to get power to the last outlet without any noticeable losses. You shouldn't use "loose feeling" outlets (in this case the contact springs are bent or broken) and there might be more flimsy designs than the one in the LTT video. But this would be the least of my worries (for this particular product), 

 

4 hours ago, BrianTheElectrician said:

It's also amazing what can be done with a good multimeter and some enginuity and/or math lol

Yes, but I wouldn't trust my multi-meter to measure sub-ohm resistances (I know there are workarounds).

DGUV Vorschrift 3 (work and health safety requirements) here in Germany actually mandates that all "portable" electronics* have to be tested annually (in a business environment). So most companies moving a lot of electronics (like media outlets or contractors) with more than 20 employees have the equipment to do these tests (and document them). I don't know if there are similar regulations in Canada, so I just assumed with the rapid expansion of LMG this might be needed in the near future. And nothing is simpler than a device with one button telling you if something is safe to use or if it should end up in the next bin. 

 

*(everything with a plug and all cables to plug these things in - and this is meant in the broadest sense imaginable: if you can move it from A to B, it doesn't matter if it weighs 4 tons, it needs to be tested) 

[Bitter]

36 minutes ago, HenrySalayne said:

The size of the contact bars is generally more than enough to get power to the last outlet without any noticeable losses. You shouldn't use "loose feeling" outlets (in this case the contact springs are bent or broken) and there might be more flimsy designs than the one in the LTT video. But this would be the least of my worries (for this particular product), 

 

Yes, but I wouldn't trust my multi-meter to measure sub-ohm resistances (I know there are workarounds).

DGUV Vorschrift 3 (work and health safety requirements) here in Germany actually mandates that all "portable" electronics have to be tested annually (in a business environment). So most companies moving a lot of electronics (like media outlets or contractors) with more than 20 employees have the equipment to do these tests (and document them). I don't know if there are similar regulations in Canada, so I just assumed with the rapid expansion of LMG this might be needed in the near future. And nothing is simpler than a device with one button telling you if something is safe to use or if it should end up in the next bin. 

 

*(everything with a plug and all cables to plug these things in - and this is meant in the broadest sense imaginable: if you can move it from A to B, it doesn't matter if it weighs 4 tons, it needs to be tested) 

You Euros also have much much better sockets than us and at 220 volt you're carrying half the amps we do. You droop a couple percent it's ok, we do and it's much worse.