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To quote: "Yes – the Mu® USB Adapter has been tested by recognised certification organisations and has the full pre-requisite approvals for CE certification."

To quote: "Yes – the Mu® USB Adapter has been tested by recognised certification organisations and has the full pre-requisite approvals for CE certification." What approvals and organisations? Sounds like bullshit. That's the most evasive paragraph ever in the history of time. Proper UK mains plugs are incredibly over-engineered for a good reason. Excellent mechanical stability, no arcing likely, touch-safety, earth pin, built in fuse and TBH you could beat an elephant to death with one. Add to that, the sockets don't like giving the plugs back which is a good thing! That thing is flimsy, requires manual twiddling, has zero earth pin - it's plastic (what is the USB port grounded to?), will break in two minutes flat and fry someone. I very much doubt it's been tested or approved or will be on the market for more than a few weeks. Also, a small added rant: I can see design awards galore splurged all over it. The designers are positively orgasmic over the thing, yet us engineers are crying. Take the hint.

alexchamberlain 14y ago
I've just checked 2 phone chargers and a tablet charger. All of them have plastic earth pins. Earth != Ground...
- celticninja 14y ago
  you dont need to earth it when the power consumption is so low. The plastic pin is essentially to open the covers for the lower 2 pins.
  - alexchamberlain 14y ago
    Correct. I was pointing out to the parent comment that the earth pin isn't used to form the usual circuit.
__alexs 14y ago
Class II appliances do not require a metal earth pin, it's there so that you can't electrocute yourself by touching the case. You should also have an RCD or something on your circuits at home anyway which will cut the power very fast if anything bad happens.
- gouranga 14y ago
  Agreed - excuse my ignorance on the matter. I have upvoted you accordingly.
mmcnickle 14y ago
Class II (double insulated) appliances don't require an conducting earth pin. It's only needed at all to open the shutters that cover the live/neutral holes in the socket. >>> That thing is flimsy, requires manual twiddling Have you tried the product yet? >>> I very much doubt it's been tested or approved They've stated that it's been independently tested, which is sufficient for self-certification for the CE mark. What makes you think they're lying? >>> us engineers are crying <strike>I doubt you are an electrical engineer.</strike> Edit: apologies.
- gouranga 14y ago
  I've never worked with appliances so please excuse my ignorance on the subject. I retract that part of the rant. You are correct and I've upvoted you accordingly. My comment regarding the flimsy nature of it will be proven. A rotating mechanical joint which needs to be pulled HARD (UK plus need to be pulled very hard) will fail rapidly and expose live wires. Not only that, the profile of the unit is very narrow and a small knock on the side of the device will most likely weaken the rotating joint resulting in complete failure. With respect to the testing, similar devices have appeared in the past and have not been approved. I don't have a reference at hand but there was one around 2003 which was removed from the market rapidly after they lied over testing. I was an electronics engineer until 2002 (specialist VLSI/FPGA/Avionics equipment).
  - cstross 14y ago
    I've got a Mu plug. I'm quite impressed by it; while it probably is less robust than a regular plug, my gut feeling is you'd have to hit it side-on with a hammer to stand a chance of breaking it while it was in a socket. The fold-out shield around the pins is reinforced and angled to deflect side-impacts. A USB cable seated in it pulls out long before it can exert enough leverage or force to pull the Mu's pins out of a socket. The rotating pin arrangement feels solidly built. While I think it's a bit gimmicky at this point (and: £25 for a USB charger?!?) it's better designed than a lot of the crappy kit you see out there, and shows promise for something better to come.
    - 14y ago

alexchamberlain 14y ago

I've just checked 2 phone chargers and a tablet charger. All of them have plastic earth pins. Earth != Ground...

celticninja 14y ago
you dont need to earth it when the power consumption is so low. The plastic pin is essentially to open the covers for the lower 2 pins.
- alexchamberlain 14y ago
  Correct. I was pointing out to the parent comment that the earth pin isn't used to form the usual circuit.

__alexs 14y ago

Class II appliances do not require a metal earth pin, it's there so that you can't electrocute yourself by touching the case. You should also have an RCD or something on your circuits at home anyway which will cut the power very fast if anything bad happens.

gouranga 14y ago
Agreed - excuse my ignorance on the matter. I have upvoted you accordingly.

mmcnickle 14y ago

Class II (double insulated) appliances don't require an conducting earth pin. It's only needed at all to open the shutters that cover the live/neutral holes in the socket. >>> That thing is flimsy, requires manual twiddling Have you tried the product yet? >>> I very much doubt it's been tested or approved They've stated that it's been independently tested, which is sufficient for self-certification for the CE mark. What makes you think they're lying? >>> us engineers are crying <strike>I doubt you are an electrical engineer.</strike> Edit: apologies.

gouranga 14y ago
I've never worked with appliances so please excuse my ignorance on the subject. I retract that part of the rant. You are correct and I've upvoted you accordingly. My comment regarding the flimsy nature of it will be proven. A rotating mechanical joint which needs to be pulled HARD (UK plus need to be pulled very hard) will fail rapidly and expose live wires. Not only that, the profile of the unit is very narrow and a small knock on the side of the device will most likely weaken the rotating joint resulting in complete failure. With respect to the testing, similar devices have appeared in the past and have not been approved. I don't have a reference at hand but there was one around 2003 which was removed from the market rapidly after they lied over testing. I was an electronics engineer until 2002 (specialist VLSI/FPGA/Avionics equipment).
- cstross 14y ago
  I've got a Mu plug. I'm quite impressed by it; while it probably is less robust than a regular plug, my gut feeling is you'd have to hit it side-on with a hammer to stand a chance of breaking it while it was in a socket. The fold-out shield around the pins is reinforced and angled to deflect side-impacts. A USB cable seated in it pulls out long before it can exert enough leverage or force to pull the Mu's pins out of a socket. The rotating pin arrangement feels solidly built. While I think it's a bit gimmicky at this point (and: £25 for a USB charger?!?) it's better designed than a lot of the crappy kit you see out there, and shows promise for something better to come.
  - 14y ago