UK Plug style USB charger 1A AR1000



Official specifications:

• Type: USB Wall Charger
• Material: ABS
• Plug Type: UK Plug
• Input: AC 100 - 240V 0.15A
• Frequency: 50/60Hz
• Output: 5V, 1A

I got it from Ebay dealer: janeeilo



It was packed in a plastic bag inside an envelop, there was some soft stuff around the charger.









Measurements

• Power consumption when idle is 0.05 Watt
• USB output is coded as usb charger (DCP)
• Weight: 22.9g
• Size: 48 x 44 x 39mm

The charger can only deliver about 0.7A, not the rated 1A



At 120VAC it has problems delivering 0.5A



I did the 1 hour test at 0.7A, the output voltage drops significantly when the charger gets warm.
The temperature photos below are taken between 30 minutes and 60 minutes into the one hour test.



M1: 47.2°C, HS1: 56.5°C
HS1 is the rectifier diode.



HS1: 57.6°C



M1: 44.6°C, M2: 39.5°C, HS1: 45.6°C



HS1: 40.3°C



HS1: 61.0°C



The unloaded regulation is not very good on this charger: 88mV rms and 885mVpp



At 0.5A load the noise increases to 126mV rms and 1116mVpp.





Tear down



A spudger could easily break this charge open, not very good for safety.



There is a bridge rectifier, two transistors instead of a IC, opto coupler for feedback, a small diode for output rectification and a zener diode to set the output voltage. The blue capacitor is not a safety capacitor, but is mounted where a safety capacitor is supposed to be used.








The circuit board was loose inside the charger, the white pad prevented it from rattling.





About 2mm between mains and low volt side, it is supposed to be above 6mm

The charger passed the 2830 volt test, but failed the 4242 volt test and shorted between mains and low volt side, this makes it unsafe everywhere.



Conclusion

The power supply has lot of noise, cannot deliver rated current and is dangerous.

Stay away.



Notes

The charger was supplied by a reader for review.

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