Instead of the sane approach of specifying 5, 9, 12, 15, and/or 20 volts and the amperages, products insist on listing every model of device in existence instead.
Most will do 12V, but I always want to make sure it’ll power my laptop (20V) as well.
A big thank you to reviewers who post images of the actual products where it shows the relevant info in one short line on the labels:
e.g. PD Output: 5V=3A, 9V=3A, 12V=3A, 15V=3A, 20V=3A
This is mostly the fault of what people search for.
90% of your average buyers don’t go on shopping sites and search “20W USB-C PD Charger” they go on and search “Samsung S22 charger” or whatever they’ve got.
Sellers are incentivised to design the listings around that, or they simply won’t get the clicks.
Yeah, I get the “SEO” aspect of it, but they could at least include the actual specs somewhere.
I always do just so other people can search for it later. There’s sellers of aftermerket chargers that will blur out the specs so you can’t just find a cheaper one.
🫡
Basically amps is capped at 5 ampere, so it’s watts / 5. So for 20V you need 100 watt. USB Power Delivery specification revision 2.0 does up to 240W with 48V which is pretty awesome.
I’d love a 20V battery for power tools that just has a USB3 plug instead of special chargers.
I’d love a 20V battery for power tools that just has a USB3 plug instead of special chargers.
Good news, I’m starting to see products like this on the market!
Citizen, desist using science words immediately, and get back to consuming ContentSlop™ as appropriate for your clearance level.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit spicy, but getting googlebombed by basic stuff when I’m looking for something technical does feel like this. Duckduckgo will even replace your search with a totally different search sometimes!
Frustrates me as well, but the reason is quite simple that people search for “$device cable”, and sellers need to list all of them so the search engine of choice lands the user there.
They should still list the specs though.
For some reason, “amperage” mildly infuriates me. It’s current.
Voltage equals amperage times ohmage.
Ohmage? You mean resistance?
That was the joke. They are making everything in the equation end in -age. Because “amperage” bugs them.
Volt + age
Amper(e) + age
Ohm + ageIn other words, ohmage is an homage to amperage.
That’s the joke. Edit: oops, you got the message already! 😂
Then why doesn’t “voltage” bug you? It’s the same sort of word: unit + “age”.
To fully satisfy you, it should be:
electrical potential difference = current * resistance.
Potential or electromotive force. “Voltage” is long accepted. The only use of “amperage” you’ll find in The Art of Electronics is in the index: Amperage, see current. Ampère called current “intensité du courant”, hence I in V = I × R.
I don’t know why it bugs me. This is Mildly Infuriating… The place for nitpicking! 😅
Agreed, and thanks for the history lesson!
Why is ‘voltage’ fine then?
Because potential sounds weird?
Tension.
Tension makes me think of how one “can’t let go” if high-voltage AC is flowing through their arms. 😬
…and warnings in multiple languages. HAUTE TENSION!
It only sounds weird because you’re used to ‘voltage’.
And wattage only sounds weird because you’re used to power.
Where did I say wattage sounds weird?
I guess ohmage was the one that f4f mentioned.
I raise you “cubic capacity” meaning volume.
Lmao, I got this same problem looking for webcams. It has “1080p” in the title, but it doesn’t says how much MP has, so I can’t buy a proper webcam because I can get a shitty ass camera with 1080p but with a shitty image quality.
Also it should be ‘any device’
Any device made according to the spec. So mostly “not Nintendo Switch”.
Should be, but not all of them support 20V. I’m less concerned with the wattage (I usually buy a minimum of 20W) since my laptop is designed for 45W but is smart enough to throttle and not charge the battery if supplied with less. I’ve tested it down to 20W (which the BIOS warned me about) and it works about the same as when it’s in “Battery saver” mode. However, if I put it to sleep or power it down, it’ll charge from 20W just fine.
With all the low wattage usb chargers that all of us probably have at home my strategy is to only buy laptop chargers (so I can travel with just one) so usually minimum of 45W, for me ideally 65W (so 20V 3.25A) just because I have a few old thinkpads with the larger battery. A GAN 65W charger is as compact as an old 20W phone charger, look for example at the Anker Nano II which is the last one I bought.
That’s exactly what I do.
I’ve got a 2-port 100W GaN PD travel charger that I use for pretty much everything. When I travel, my laptop and phone are hooked into that, and the laptop acts as a charging hub for all of the smaller stuff.
Nice, good strategy
I meant the grammatical error of putting a plural after any.
Oh, well, silver lining: the misinterpretation of that comment inspired more discussion than it would have had it been interpreted correctly as grammar pedantry lol
To be faaaaaaair… The devices no longer have the DC voltage and current ratings listed on them like they used to.
deleted by creator
Don’t buy cheap Chinese shit off Amazon and you won’t have this problem
