We like USB-C right here at Hackaday, however like all specs it’s as much as producers to comply with it and typically… they don’t. Sick of economic cables both don’t label their protected wattage, or straight up lie about it, [GreatScott!] determined to DIY his personal final USB-C-PD cable for sooner charging in his newest video, which is embedded beneath.
It’s a really fast challenge that makes use of off-the-shelf elements from Aliexpress: the silicone-insulated cable, the USB-C plugs (one with the all-important identifier chip), and the tip shells. The top consequence is a little more costly than a cable from Aliexpress, however it’s much more reliable. Not like the random cable from Aliexpress, [GreatScott!] may be certain his has sufficient copper in it to deal with the 240W it’s designed for. It must also work properly with USB PPS, which he clued us into some time again. Whereas [GreatScott!] was focusing right here on making an influence cable, he did hook up the low-speed information strains, giving him a reliable USB2.0 connection.
This isn’t the primary time we’ve seen somebody take a look at USB gear and discover it wanting, although the issue might have improved in the previous couple of years. These days it’s the information cables you can not belief, so possibly rolling your personal information cables will make a comeback. (Which might not less than be much less tedious than than DB-25 was again within the day. Anybody else bear in mind doing that?) USB-C can get fairly sophisticated with regards to all its information modes, however now we have an explainer to get you began on that.
