XPost: alt.home.repair, sci.electronics.repair
On Mon, 3/3/2025 8:45 PM, Bill Powell wrote:
What is /different/ about a 60 watt USB-C cable that says it charges just about everything, including Android, iPhone, Mac, Dell, Thinkpad, Nintendo and Apple TV?
Is it thicker wires?
Better insulation?
Different wiring inside?
What makes it 60 watts?
I'm thinking of buying this USB charger with an included 60 Watt cable. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQ7XFYQB
That $17 charger is only 35 Watts but the cable is said to be 60 Watts.
What is it about that USB cable (or any USB cable) that makes it 60 Watts?
It says it works for iPhone 16/15/14/13, Galaxy S24, Note 20, Pixel 8 Pro/8/7, iPad/iPad Mini, MacBook, iPhone 15/15 Pro/15 Pro Max,
iPhone 14/14 Mini/14 Pro/14 Pro Max , iPhone 13 /13 Mini/13 Pro/13 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2020), Samsung S22/S21/S20, Samsung Note 20/20 Ultra/10+/10,
AirPods Pro/3, Nintendo Switch, MacBook Air 2020, ThinkPad X1/X390/E490, Google Pixelbook, Dell XPS 13/9360/9380, iPad Air 5/4, iPad Pro 2021/2020/2018.
Most cables don't even say what their wattage is, like this one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNFHM4TW
But they still say they work with almost everything that is out there.
Like this one which says it works with Apple TV but doesn't say the watts. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPG21DZS
This one is 100 watts.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKZ7V21Y
This one is 240 watts.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PB8DJ28/
What is it about a USB-C cable that makes it high wattage, and can we tell
by looking at something in the cable or by running some kind of test?
I would hope that some aspect of the cable, reflects those details.
I wanted a USB PD article, but this is all I found so far.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware
Standard Power Range (SPR)
Extended Power Range (EPR)
Power Delivery 3.0 SPR 3 A 5 V 15 W \
Power Delivery 3.0 SPR 3 A 9 V 27 W \___ Cable protocol and details
Power Delivery 3.0 SPR 3 A 15 V 45 W / cover these four cases.
Power Delivery 3.0 SPR 3 A 20 V 60 W / 5V @ 3A would be quite a common case.
Power Delivery 3.0 SPR Type-C 5 A[d] 20 V 100 W
Power Delivery 3.1 EPR Type-C 5 A[d] 28 V[e] 140 W
Power Delivery 3.1 EPR Type-C 5 A[d] 36 V[e] 180 W
Power Delivery 3.1 EPR Type-C 5 A[d] 48 V[e] 240 W <=== Delusional option (may not have been used yet)
[d] >3 A ( >60 W) operation requires an electronically marked cable rated at 5 A.
[e] >20 V (>100 W) operation requires an electronically marked Extended Power Range (EPR) cable.
*******
Example of a cable with a chip, being checked out via a readout.
https://www.chargerlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023052910184342.png
Measuring a cable with in-line DMM while a device is being charged (100W charging session).
https://www.chargerlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023052910184771.png
Inside the metal shell of this cable, is a marker chip [Infineon, model CYPD2103A]
It's a processor. The size, and functional level of cables like this, is also why they are treated with suspicion. Just about any chip could be put in there, for any purpose you can imagine.
https://www.chargerlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023052910191366.png
And not only are these cables potentially sophisticated, they can
also be mis-wired :-)
"Google engineer finds USB Type-C cable that’s so bad it fried his Chromebook Pixel"
https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/43zi0a/google_engineer_finds_usb_typec_cable_thats_so/
These ideas are wonderful... once everyone gets their shit together.
An example of an early issue, was when I bought an Antec computer
case with USB ports on the front, and they weren't compatible
with USB2. I made it a practice of always ripping the PCB and
connectors out of Antec cases, so I would not be caught checking
the wiring with a multimeter before use. Easier to just remove
the assembly and forget-about-it.
Every generation has had some surprises. The variation in USB header
designs being one. Today, they're consistent and you are highly likely
to find the same design on each motherboard. But each time a "new thing" is introduced, there are a pile of variations (look at all the TPM pinouts
as an example -- some companies have three different models, and now they
cost $70 and nobody wants them).
Paul
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