Toys for USB drive owners

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Woodstock
Posts: 10338
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:21 pm

Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Woodstock » Thu Feb 24, 2022 4:09 am

Just a suggestion for those tracking down power problems on their USB optical drives.

Do a search for "USB Power Tester" on your favorite search engine (or online store). There are a variety of testers that will show you the voltage output of your computer/hub, the power consumption of the attached device, and a few other parameters. If the voltage drops as the drive speeds up, the port likely won't support full-speed operation.

I've been using them for a year or so now while testing various Raspberry Pi projects. Only thought about them for optical drive testing a little while ago.

Billycar11
Posts: 4359
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:49 am

Re: Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Billycar11 » Thu Feb 24, 2022 7:26 am

i actually do use them i have 2 they some seem to based on a flawed chip/ math error.
5v counts mah fine but 9v pd counts wrong but you can just add 80% to it and it should be about right
not sure how the 19 volt monitoring works.
but defiantly a good tool to see you your laptop or desktop has a junky low power usb port that dips below 5v at not even 1 amp and thats no good for optical drives
a BU40N uses about .85 amps at full 6x speed but has peaks higher
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Wolf359
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:19 am

Re: Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Wolf359 » Sun Mar 13, 2022 7:43 pm

checked these out on amazon... which one is good? A lot of junk out there. How about this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-ET ... C78&sr=8-6
kinda spendy though. Anyone have thoughts? This looks like a good toy to have.

Woodstock
Posts: 10338
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:21 pm

Re: Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Woodstock » Sun Mar 13, 2022 9:32 pm

Have not tried the Klein personally. Their products are generally pretty good. Having the connectors on leads could be an advantage.

The two types I have seem to use the same chip set, just different packaging. The "X" style is what I use most, but I also have an in-line style that came with the resistor pack for load-testing USB power packs.

If I were targeting "precise readings", I'll go for the Klein or similar. Relative readings? Any of the ones with 4 or more stars would be "good enough". 2 of the 3 I bought have hundreds of hours on them. 3rd one I gave away, so I don't think it's had as much use. One of them has several months continuous operation at 0c (monitoring fans in a refridgerator).

Wolf359
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:19 am

Re: Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Wolf359 » Sun Mar 13, 2022 9:37 pm

I got the Klein. Arrives tomorrow. I hope it's worth the money. Looks nice and should last a while which is important.

Woodstock
Posts: 10338
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:21 pm

Re: Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Woodstock » Sun Mar 13, 2022 10:59 pm

(it will also have the advantage of being harder to lose in a drawer)

(don't ask how I know)

Wolf359
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:19 am

Re: Toys for USB drive owners

Post by Wolf359 » Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:07 pm

:D

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