346

This little gadget to find out which type of USB-C cable you have (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 3 days ago by quiescentcurrent@discuss.tchncs.de to c/technology@lemmy.world

72 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/22828099

USB was supposed to rule them all but it's now a mess of standards sharing the same connector. Different speeds, voltage, charging protocols, alt modes, even the number of pins used is variable.... For those asking, the thing is available on Kickstarter

top 50 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] gencha@lemm.ee 6 points 1 day ago

This is nothing new. You can buy these USB cable testers on Amazon or directly from Alibaba. They just put some fancy visualization on top so you don't have to look up what the individual LEDs on the tester mean.

As others have generally noted about Kickstarter, this is just another scam with cheap Chinese gadgets.

[-] quiescentcurrent@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 18 hours ago

The thing is from Austria though?

[-] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 2 days ago

Imagine the world if USB cables where properly labeled.

[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

i know the cable is a piece of shit because i plug it into my camera and it doesn't do anything

[-] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 93 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

If only USB-IF would do their fucking job and create actual standardized names with standard features instead of shit like USB 3.2 Gen 2x2

[-] SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago

This 100%. Wi-Fi Alliance did it right ditching the standard names like 802.11ac and 802.11ax and going to simple names like Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6. Everyone knows 6 is better than 5 so there's no confusion.

USB-IF needs to do the same thing, and also stand up a little bit to the manufacturers who want to build the cheapest possible products. Set a couple of certification levels. Like level 3 cable supports 30 w and 480 Mbps USB 2.0, level 4 cable supports 100w and 2 gbps, level 5 cable supports 100w and 10gbps, level 6 cable supports 240w and 20gbps etc We don't need infinite variations of power and data capability. It just confuses customers. But customers will understand a level 5 cable is better than a level 4 cable. And if the device says you need a level 5 cable for full capability, they will understand a level 4 cable isn't good enough.

[-] nous@programming.dev 4 points 1 day ago

And then relabel all the old standards when they create a new one so every generation you need to figure-out what al the new names mean.

[-] quiescentcurrent@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 18 hours ago

They actually renamed the types which makes everything even more confusing

[-] dan@upvote.au 42 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

like USB 3.2 Gen 2x2

Did you see that the newest version is called USB 4 2.0? lol

[-] snowfalldreamland@lemmy.ml 23 points 2 days ago

That is very very explicitly just the name of technical the specification. Its a documents for people who design usb devices. The tech media failed us by reporting on it like they did.

The spec also explicitly tells us that we should refer to the usb cables/ports/devices as e.g. "USB4 40Gib" or "USB 3 20GiB". So in fact we have easy to understand names but only a few manufacturers actually print that on the boxes or cables.

[-] asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

It could have been USB 4 Spec 2.0, couldn't it?

[-] snowfalldreamland@lemmy.ml 2 points 13 hours ago

That's a really good idea! So good in fact that that is actually what they did call it! https://www.usb.org/document-library/usb4r-specification-v20

[-] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 55 points 3 days ago

That U is becoming more and more a joke..

[-] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 61 points 3 days ago

It's very universal, you can plug it into any port that is USB C, whether it does what you ask it to or not is a whole other story.

[-] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

That U is becoming more and more a joke..

Importantly, it’s universal compared to having parallel and Serial and PS/2 and the old joystick port and FireWire and whatnot.

How annoyed everyone is/was about Lightning sticking around should be pretty good evidence of how universal USB is. Especially since Lightning still used USB-A or USB-C on the host end.

Sure there are different versions of USB, but they will still work. They might not work at their best if they don’t have compatible higher-end features, but they’ll still communicate.

[-] And009@lemmynsfw.com 12 points 3 days ago

I want this device, can't expect every cable to be thunderbolt grade.

A Chinese projector light uses the same port for charging, can't expect a thicc cable there

[-] olympicyes@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

The most expensive Thunderbolt 3 USB-C cables let you get lengths of 2 meters + at 40 Gbps but only hit USB 2.0 480 Mbps speeds if used as a regular USB C cable.

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

Fuck Kickstarter.

[-] fuckingkangaroos@lemm.ee 8 points 3 days ago

Why?

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

90% of the projects are scams and have been for years.

[-] UnfairUtan@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago

Guess I've only been supporting the 10%

[-] Chadus_Maximus@lemm.ee 7 points 2 days ago

...so which website should I use for my next scam as a substitute for Kickstarter?

load more comments (3 replies)

[-] lone_faerie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 days ago

There's only one thing I can think of that actually succeeded out of Kickstarter, and that's the Pebble watch. Still the best smartwatch ever made imo

[-] TheRealKuni@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

The most successful Kickstarter in history (so far) was Brandon Sanderson’s “Secret Project.” He had written four novels during the pandemic which were not written for or promised to any publisher, so they did a Kickstarter to publish them through Dragonsteel, his company, and added on things like monthly loot boxes, digital editions, etc.

Raised over $40 million dollars (some of which they used to fund almost every publishing project on Kickstarter at the time, which was pretty cool).

Other than some snafus with manufacturing (getting the fancy colored pages from the printer to the binder took longer than anticipated, so the first book didn’t reach people until a month or two late, and instead they moved up the boxes planned for February to January, March to February, etc.) the delivery went really well. I have my four high-quality hardcover copies displayed proudly in my living room, and I have various Cosmere-related merch all over the house.

Of course, Sanderson already had an audience and a company. The Kickstarter let them do something they hadn’t done previously, but he obviously would’ve been able to publish those books through one of the publishers he works with regardless. Still, it was fun to be a part of community funding for something I was excited about.

[-] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 13 points 2 days ago

Eh, I have a few things from Kickstarter that were successful. Exploding Kittens is probably the most successful one of all the ones I own.

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] Grass@sh.itjust.works 25 points 3 days ago

but where is the diy version that we actually want that uses arduino or esp or something with all the details on a git readme?

[-] spechter@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago

Yeah, no. They're trying to sell them for 89$

[-] slampisko@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Are they insane? I already have a free tester -- the device I want to use the cable on. I would pay maybe $15 for this, but perhaps I am not part of the target market

[-] greenskye@lemm.ee 5 points 2 days ago

Will this just become obsolete the next time they update usb c to support something new? A tester that goes out of date as quickly as the cables it's testing feels pretty pointless to me

[-] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 5 points 2 days ago

It doesn't loose its ability to tell all the variations up to the point in time.

[-] Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Aren't we all going to die one day? Doing anything to improve one's life seems pretty pointless to me.

load more comments (4 replies)

[-] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

For the switch to 240W USB-C it may become obsolote but at least you will know they are 100W and 10gbit capable?

[-] answersplease77@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I just bought an expensive c-type ($18) which said superfast on its packing only to found out now its charging speed is super slow: more than 3 hrs to charge my phone while another c-type I have does it in less than 1.5 hrs.

[-] quiescentcurrent@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 18 hours ago

Yeah, unfortunately fast data and fast charging are two independent characteristics...

[-] realitista@lemm.ee 12 points 3 days ago

I'd pay $30-40 for one, but the asking price now is too much.

[-] Tattorack@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Hmm... This looks like something that could just work as software on a PC, or as an app on a phone. I'd be surprised if it doesn't already exist.

[-] hikaru755@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago

You need both ends of the cable connected, so the phone is out. And even on PC, I'm not sure if it would work with the USB drivers in-between the software and the actual ports

[-] dsilverz@thelemmy.club 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

~~Media doesn't load here (both through my instance's web front, as well as through discuss.tchncs.de's web front)~~

Edit: never mind, I got it to load now, maybe it was a temporary lag. It remembers me these Ethernet testers (in such a way that it's capable of testing individual pins for electrical continuity), but digital and with more features:

[-] quiescentcurrent@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 15 hours ago

I have one of those, it may pass as the great grandfather ;)

load more comments (1 replies)

[-] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 days ago

I guess it's neat that it's kinda like whatever this guy is called https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CF95VL2Y plus the power-z tester built into one. I wonder if the power-z could be updated via software to do cable pinout testing.

What I'd really like to see is a device that actually tries to send 40gbits of data down the cable and makes sure it comes through clearly and provides a signal integrity reading. The only devices I've seen that do that are essentially just oscilloscopes and signal generators.

[-] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Sounds and reads as a solid product idea.

load more comments

this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2024

346 points (96.3% liked)

Technology

58645 readers

3372 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS