Micro-reviews, round 6
Posted: August 7th, 2021, 6:47 am
Appliances
- Onix ON-PDF15 USB-rechargeable desk fan: While I don't generally buy from this name, I was willing to make an exception this time since it was on clearance for about AU$15 while the original price looked sufficient (was it around AU$40?) to make a reasonable product; the motor is brushless (although the sleeve bearing could have been better-oiled, but problem solved with an application of my Zoom Spout oiler) and it moves air well enough for its size (vaguely Vornado-esque in design although it has 5 blades and the front grille slats aren't angled for optimal flow-focusing, but at least they swirl the right way and seem to work adequately). There's a questionable electrolytic capacitor inside, but then we never really expected the good stuff in much of any home appliances anyway. Charger is not included, so we don't have to worry if it's safe or not.
- TaoTronics TT-DL22 LED desk lamp: The lamp itself (with 48 LEDs, 30 of 5000K and 18 of 3000K; can also combine both sets to approximate 4000K) is functional enough, but the USB charge output interferes with digital TV when loaded. Not yet sure of the exact deficiency, but it would have been perfectly easy to ground the metal base for a bottom shield (and I can't imagine a suitable top shield adding much more cost either).
The 3 electrolytic capacitors inside are again your usual mediocrity (Kehong brand, "LOWESR" but no actual series stated).
- Jaycar/Electus "Concord Multimedia" WA7502 (3.5mm to stereo RCA, 2m total of which L and R are separate for 25cm):
These cords are a con , with no shielding. (It does otherwise work, but clearly not worth the AU$12.95)
- Crest PWA04984 and PWA04985: The most-decent (not that the bar's been set high ) modern power-boards I've seen so far (surprisingly available at Coles), with reasonably sturdy casings and socket contacts of ordinary design but clean brass; the PWA04984 has 4 sockets, while PWA04985 has 6 sockets and a master switch (which is actually double-pole although not stated as such); otherwise they're much the same, and on both models the left-most socket has a wider spacing (55mm) than the rest (45mm). Both contain a single 14mm MOV (claimed to absorb 175J suggesting a nominal 470V or thereabouts) from active to neutral, protected by an adjacent thermal fuse plus F3.15A HRC fuse (although with the usual arrangement where the load remains on); the indicators are green InGaN LEDs driven half-wave through 3MΩ resistors, so heating there is negligible (and they are in opposite polarities to cancel out the DC component, however small it is, for as long as the MOV remains enabled). The cord (standard H05VV-F3G1.0 with a side-entry plug, manufactured by Conghao) measures accurate to the stated 1.2m, and at 20A the circuit breaker trips in about 15 seconds.
Viewing their (admittedly bloated) site, related models include the PWA04980 (4 individually-switched sockets) and PWA04986 (6 individually-switched sockets); and for those who fancy USB charging (up to 2.4A rated), PWA04982 (4 sockets + 2 USB ports), PWA04987 (6 individually-switched sockets + 2 USB ports) and PWA06021 (4 sockets + 4 USB) all with presumably the same MOV (though I can't guarantee without checking individually); there's also a slimmer 6 socket + 2 USB model (PWA06205) if you aren't bothered about surge suppression.
Even more interesting is their "Connect" series which have an IEC C14 inlet instead of a wired-in cord (they also sell 1m, 3m and 5m C13 cordsets in case you don't already have 150 of them ); these include the PWC4100 (4-socket master switched), PWC4400 (4-socket individually switched), PWC4402 (the same + 2 USB) and PWC6100 (6-socket master switched), none of which claim any surge suppression (although all have the same wide-spaced socket on the left). Will add those to this thread if I get one (or more)…
The two "plain" power-boards they sell (CCPB4 and CCPB6) aren't so interesting (looking like an ordinary rebranded Chinese design), but at least they're priced accordingly and hopefully-compliant (the only recall under the brand was back in 2002).