6 ms·

I wish these were more widely available: https://caberqu.com/home/20-42-c2c-caberqu-746052578813.html#/26-case-without_case https://caberqu.com/home/20-42-c2c-

I wish these were more widely available: https://caberqu.com/home/20-42-c2c-caberqu-746052578813.html#/26-case-without_case https://caberqu.com/home/20-42-c2c-caberqu-746052578813.html... I have one from the kickstarter, and every new USB-C cable gets tested and labeled. Most are USB 2.0. A few will have the power delivery pins. It's such a crapshoot on any shopping site. It should be mandatory that these cables are correctly spec'd and labeled.

izacus 3y ago
Unfortunately it doesn't check for the last piece of the puzzle - the USB-C cable e-marker which has to be present to signal advanced capabilities for charging and thunderbolt. So it's not sufficient to test for high performance cables :/
- masto 3y ago
  For that, I use an FNB58 (which I got from AliExpress - https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804478930060.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804478930060.html).
  - izacus 3y ago
    Oh this looks interesting, thanks.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- kalleboo 3y ago
  Yeah for that you need one of the POWER-Z (or I'm sure there are other brands now) USB-C cable testers on AliExpress. Will even tell you the brand of the chipset in the cable https://kalleboo.com/microblog/posts/109391700632886806.html https://kalleboo.com/microblog/posts/109391700632886806.html
  - izacus 3y ago
    I actually have a POWER-Z tester (the KM003C) and it can read the eMarker (yay), but it doesn't actually test the cable pins (boo). So it'll tell me if a cable is capable of charging the laptop at 100W, but it won't tell me if data lines are all fine and if it reports thunderbolt capability. It's pretty much useful for testing charging, but not use for e.g. eGPUs. :/
    - kalleboo 3y ago
      I have the KT002, and while it doesn't specifically test all the pins, the E-Marker data readout does contain if it declares Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.2 Gen1, etc compatibility[0]. And I have yet to see a cable that bothers to have a E-marker like that that then doesn't actually have the pins connected. I suspect if the e-marker lies then rather than just dropping down to a lower spec the cable will just outright fail [0] See the bottom 2 lines of https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files.bitbang.social_media_attachments_files_109_391_689_484_576_837_original_c5967ab55926d534.jpeg https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files... https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files.bitbang.social_media_attachments_files_109_391_689_464_670_221_original_279d9faf94d33809.jpeg https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files... https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files.bitbang.social_media_attachments_files_109_391_689_505_763_554_original_af2fda2c8db9117e.jpeg https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files...
mardifoufs 3y ago
There are tons of them on AliExpress! Some can even test resistance, emarkers, etc.
- larschdk 3y ago
  Tons of 4-pin cable testers, no 24-pin testers that I can find.
  - mardifoufs 3y ago
    I have the FNB-58 which says has a 24 pin interface but that might not necessarily mean that it tests all of them! I should probably test it. It's a bit pricy but very well built, and pretty stable as long as you update the firmware or get one with a newer version already installed.
    - jamesdwilson 3y ago
      it SAYS it has a 24 pin interface but have you run it through a tester tester?
      - mardifoufs 3y ago
        Hahahahaha yes I realized it was a bit stupid as I was writing it.They only mention having 24pin interfaces, not testing though I don't see how they could do one without the other, or how it would support 120w passthrough without those pins being connected! But it's AliExpress! One of my favorite online stores, but you absolutely have to always double check what you buy. Still, more trustworthy than buying more niche electronics from Amazon imo.
        ilyt 3y ago
        > I don't see how they could do one without the other, or how it would support 120w passthrough without those pins being connected! I'd imagine simplest one would be just to... passthru pins and leech off power at whatever voltage other device is commanding. Testing cable is a quite bit more complicated on top of acting as "PD analyzer" and if it isn't advertising it it's probably not doing it.
mensetmanusman 3y ago
Just purchase apple’s $100 cables for everything and you will never wonder! /s
criddell 3y ago
> It should be mandatory that these cables are correctly spec’s and labeled Why doesn’t the USB standards group mandate labeling of some type? Probably not words, but symbols would be good enough.
- colejohnson66 3y ago
  Because the USB Consortium is partially made up of the same companies that make garbage cables.
- duped 3y ago
  Why stop a labeling? You could design the connectors to only terminate at another connector that supports the same features, preventing anyone from confusing one cable for another. And the reason we don't do that is because it would expose the lie that there can be a universal data and power connector for all devices, and rather than live in a world where everything can connect perfectly fine with the right cables, we have chosen to live in one where the market can be flooded with garbage cables that don't work for your devices. And rather than blame the device manufacturer for choosing a shoddy cable, or the government for forcing them to, we can happily blame the cable manufacturer instead. If you just slap a label on it, it's not going to fix the problem. No one is going to read them, and people are going to lie.
  - asdajksah2123 3y ago
    > And the reason we don't do that is because it would expose the lie that there can be a universal data and power connector for all devices And yet, such a connector and cable does exist! > everything can connect perfectly fine with the right cables Right, because carrying 3 different cables to give a presentation, which I wont be able to if I forget one of them, or it gets too bent in my backpack is indeed "perfectly fine". As opposed to carrying just 1 USB-C cable (which as a bonus I can use to charge my Android phone in case the battery unexpectedly starts running out before the end of the day) and even if it gets damaged or broken, odds are increasingly that there will be several other people who will also have that cable. > rather than blame the device manufacturer for choosing a shoddy cable, or the government for forcing them to, we can happily blame the cable manufacturer instead And we can't do that with universal cables because?
moonfern 3y ago
"USB-IF strongly discourages its members and the industry at-large from using specification names/terminology in consumer-facing branding, packaging, advertisements, and other marketing materials." They recommend the following naming: XYZ's USB 40Gbps 60W USB Type-C® Cable or USB 40Gbps 60W USB Type-C® Cable USB 40Gbps... correspond to the USB4 Gen 3×2 mode Hi-Speed USB is USB 2.0 (High-Speed). A tip usb cable and a number in the logo = not USB2. A usb c cable and black/white in the logo = not USB2 Sometimes the marketing name and a logo specify a certain mode like USB 10Gbps the marketing name is only used for USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 mode, the black/white logo with 10 Gbps always correspond to USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 mode. If you see USB in blue and 10 Gbps in red than it's either USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 or USB4 Gen 2×1 ( those modes have different encodings )
- fireflash38 3y ago
  What a clusterfuck of branding. The inability to easily differentiate between capabilities makes everything the same as the lowest common denominator - the shittiest USB-C cable from wish.
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    There should be a colour banding system, like resistors use.
    - extraduder_ire 3y ago
      Something like that was tried with usb 1.1, 2, and 3, being white/black/blue. But many manufacturers got very loosey-goosey with it. I'm sure it'd be worse as soon as a common spec for this popped up for USB-C.
      - NikolaNovak 3y ago
        Yeah, that was actually quite helpful (when properly implemented). Especially in era of laptops that had a mixture, you knew to plug in the portable drive into blue not the black USB port (and put your phone to charge into yellow one:).
alvarop 3y ago
Shameless plug: I made a version of this you can order yourself from JLCPCB (with some bonus connectors.) https://alvarop.com/2023/07/usb-cable-tester https://alvarop.com/2023/07/usb-cable-tester Github project: https://github.com/alvarop/usb_c_cable_tester https://github.com/alvarop/usb_c_cable_tester
- eqvinox 3y ago
  I think your tester would actually break that active Apple cable (because an active cable essentially behaves as a "device" since it has active circuitry on the high-speed lines.)
- asicsarecool 3y ago
  That is freaking awesome. Feels like every nerd should have one. Would be cool to have a version where it measures the resistance of the power wires too
joshstrange 3y ago
Maybe I'm just stupid but I want one of these that just prints out (or lights up next to text) something like: 5w 10w 15w 20w ... and 480mbps 5gbps 10gbps 20gbps 40gbps and maybe USB2 USB3.0 USB3.1 USB3.2 gen 1 USB3.2 gen 2 Thunderbolt 3 Thunderbolt 4 Or something like that. At least once I month I go searching for USB cable testers for this exact purpose and within 10min my eyes are crossed and I just close all the tabs giving up.
- bloopernova 3y ago
  I think I recall the designer of the tester I got was unable to reliably ascertain the different types of cable, so pin testing was the next best thing. I agree, it would be great to have a smarter cable tester.

izacus 3y ago

Unfortunately it doesn't check for the last piece of the puzzle - the USB-C cable e-marker which has to be present to signal advanced capabilities for charging and thunderbolt. So it's not sufficient to test for high performance cables :/

masto 3y ago
For that, I use an FNB58 (which I got from AliExpress - https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804478930060.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804478930060.html).
- izacus 3y ago
  Oh this looks interesting, thanks.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
kalleboo 3y ago
Yeah for that you need one of the POWER-Z (or I'm sure there are other brands now) USB-C cable testers on AliExpress. Will even tell you the brand of the chipset in the cable https://kalleboo.com/microblog/posts/109391700632886806.html https://kalleboo.com/microblog/posts/109391700632886806.html
- izacus 3y ago
  I actually have a POWER-Z tester (the KM003C) and it can read the eMarker (yay), but it doesn't actually test the cable pins (boo). So it'll tell me if a cable is capable of charging the laptop at 100W, but it won't tell me if data lines are all fine and if it reports thunderbolt capability. It's pretty much useful for testing charging, but not use for e.g. eGPUs. :/
  - kalleboo 3y ago
    I have the KT002, and while it doesn't specifically test all the pins, the E-Marker data readout does contain if it declares Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.2 Gen1, etc compatibility[0]. And I have yet to see a cable that bothers to have a E-marker like that that then doesn't actually have the pins connected. I suspect if the e-marker lies then rather than just dropping down to a lower spec the cable will just outright fail [0] See the bottom 2 lines of https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files.bitbang.social_media_attachments_files_109_391_689_484_576_837_original_c5967ab55926d534.jpeg https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files... https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files.bitbang.social_media_attachments_files_109_391_689_464_670_221_original_279d9faf94d33809.jpeg https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files... https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files.bitbang.social_media_attachments_files_109_391_689_505_763_554_original_af2fda2c8db9117e.jpeg https://kalleboo.com/microblog/images/original/https___files...

mardifoufs 3y ago

There are tons of them on AliExpress! Some can even test resistance, emarkers, etc.

larschdk 3y ago
Tons of 4-pin cable testers, no 24-pin testers that I can find.
- mardifoufs 3y ago
  I have the FNB-58 which says has a 24 pin interface but that might not necessarily mean that it tests all of them! I should probably test it. It's a bit pricy but very well built, and pretty stable as long as you update the firmware or get one with a newer version already installed.
  - jamesdwilson 3y ago
    it SAYS it has a 24 pin interface but have you run it through a tester tester?
    - mardifoufs 3y ago
      Hahahahaha yes I realized it was a bit stupid as I was writing it.They only mention having 24pin interfaces, not testing though I don't see how they could do one without the other, or how it would support 120w passthrough without those pins being connected! But it's AliExpress! One of my favorite online stores, but you absolutely have to always double check what you buy. Still, more trustworthy than buying more niche electronics from Amazon imo.
      - ilyt 3y ago
        > I don't see how they could do one without the other, or how it would support 120w passthrough without those pins being connected! I'd imagine simplest one would be just to... passthru pins and leech off power at whatever voltage other device is commanding. Testing cable is a quite bit more complicated on top of acting as "PD analyzer" and if it isn't advertising it it's probably not doing it.

mensetmanusman 3y ago

Just purchase apple’s $100 cables for everything and you will never wonder! /s

criddell 3y ago

> It should be mandatory that these cables are correctly spec’s and labeled Why doesn’t the USB standards group mandate labeling of some type? Probably not words, but symbols would be good enough.

colejohnson66 3y ago
Because the USB Consortium is partially made up of the same companies that make garbage cables.
duped 3y ago
Why stop a labeling? You could design the connectors to only terminate at another connector that supports the same features, preventing anyone from confusing one cable for another. And the reason we don't do that is because it would expose the lie that there can be a universal data and power connector for all devices, and rather than live in a world where everything can connect perfectly fine with the right cables, we have chosen to live in one where the market can be flooded with garbage cables that don't work for your devices. And rather than blame the device manufacturer for choosing a shoddy cable, or the government for forcing them to, we can happily blame the cable manufacturer instead. If you just slap a label on it, it's not going to fix the problem. No one is going to read them, and people are going to lie.
- asdajksah2123 3y ago
  > And the reason we don't do that is because it would expose the lie that there can be a universal data and power connector for all devices And yet, such a connector and cable does exist! > everything can connect perfectly fine with the right cables Right, because carrying 3 different cables to give a presentation, which I wont be able to if I forget one of them, or it gets too bent in my backpack is indeed "perfectly fine". As opposed to carrying just 1 USB-C cable (which as a bonus I can use to charge my Android phone in case the battery unexpectedly starts running out before the end of the day) and even if it gets damaged or broken, odds are increasingly that there will be several other people who will also have that cable. > rather than blame the device manufacturer for choosing a shoddy cable, or the government for forcing them to, we can happily blame the cable manufacturer instead And we can't do that with universal cables because?

moonfern 3y ago

"USB-IF strongly discourages its members and the industry at-large from using specification names/terminology in consumer-facing branding, packaging, advertisements, and other marketing materials." They recommend the following naming: XYZ's USB 40Gbps 60W USB Type-C® Cable or USB 40Gbps 60W USB Type-C® Cable USB 40Gbps... correspond to the USB4 Gen 3×2 mode Hi-Speed USB is USB 2.0 (High-Speed). A tip usb cable and a number in the logo = not USB2. A usb c cable and black/white in the logo = not USB2 Sometimes the marketing name and a logo specify a certain mode like USB 10Gbps the marketing name is only used for USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 mode, the black/white logo with 10 Gbps always correspond to USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 mode. If you see USB in blue and 10 Gbps in red than it's either USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 or USB4 Gen 2×1 ( those modes have different encodings )

fireflash38 3y ago
What a clusterfuck of branding. The inability to easily differentiate between capabilities makes everything the same as the lowest common denominator - the shittiest USB-C cable from wish.
- mitthrowaway2 3y ago
  There should be a colour banding system, like resistors use.
  - extraduder_ire 3y ago
    Something like that was tried with usb 1.1, 2, and 3, being white/black/blue. But many manufacturers got very loosey-goosey with it. I'm sure it'd be worse as soon as a common spec for this popped up for USB-C.
    - NikolaNovak 3y ago
      Yeah, that was actually quite helpful (when properly implemented). Especially in era of laptops that had a mixture, you knew to plug in the portable drive into blue not the black USB port (and put your phone to charge into yellow one:).

alvarop 3y ago

Shameless plug: I made a version of this you can order yourself from JLCPCB (with some bonus connectors.) https://alvarop.com/2023/07/usb-cable-tester https://alvarop.com/2023/07/usb-cable-tester Github project: https://github.com/alvarop/usb_c_cable_tester https://github.com/alvarop/usb_c_cable_tester

eqvinox 3y ago
I think your tester would actually break that active Apple cable (because an active cable essentially behaves as a "device" since it has active circuitry on the high-speed lines.)
asicsarecool 3y ago
That is freaking awesome. Feels like every nerd should have one. Would be cool to have a version where it measures the resistance of the power wires too

joshstrange 3y ago

Maybe I'm just stupid but I want one of these that just prints out (or lights up next to text) something like: 5w 10w 15w 20w ... and 480mbps 5gbps 10gbps 20gbps 40gbps and maybe USB2 USB3.0 USB3.1 USB3.2 gen 1 USB3.2 gen 2 Thunderbolt 3 Thunderbolt 4 Or something like that. At least once I month I go searching for USB cable testers for this exact purpose and within 10min my eyes are crossed and I just close all the tabs giving up.

bloopernova 3y ago
I think I recall the designer of the tester I got was unable to reliably ascertain the different types of cable, so pin testing was the next best thing. I agree, it would be great to have a smarter cable tester.