thebigcheese wrote:
I mean I'm no expert and there is certainly a lot of debate, but I feel like the potential for problems is enough to warrant at least a note on the video saying, "I know I said this specific one I linked to would be good, but it turns out quality control isn't great, so if you order one, please open it up and compare." That's all I'm saying.
Exactly. The video goes over in detail how safe & well made the station is and the description says "These links (affiliates) will get you the EXACT equipment that I'm using, not the crappy ones!". I think it's hypocritical of Voultar to harshly criticize others over engineering mistakes (3.3 vs 5V flash, shorted SCART cables) but react to even good natured, polite criticism with an "OMG, forumz" tweet. Why not just give people a head's up?
xwred5 wrote:Retro Gaming: Where some are concerned about 3.3V flash potentially killing our consoles but argue against 115V being dangerous.
That's hilarious. But I mean, everybody knows how to make another human, but there's not going to be anymore Mega Drives...
retrorgb wrote:
So, if someone were to buy one of these that were bad and ONLY plugged it in when they use it, what's the chance of REAL risk? Is there a clear and concise answer yet?
I'm happy to repeat the points from the thread so far. In a nutshell:
- In many places, there is no RCD/GFI. >40% of homes in the UK lack one. My house didn't have any. I specifically installed one for my electronic workbench cause I got nervous due to my cheap Chinese gear and my need to work on running consoles with open frame PSUs
- If you get a shock and there's no RCD/GFI you only have the mains fuse to protect you. In my house, that means 16A @ 220V. Yeah, 3500W baby. Not going to help you.
- In Europe, most countries don't have polarized plugs. That means you don't know which line is hot or neutral. The T12 station has a fuse in the plug case, a fuse on the board and an off switch. They're all on the same line. This means there's a 50% chance that none of them will actually disconnect AC (phase) from the station. Even if you have the station plugged into a turned off power strip (they usually just switch one side...) it might still have AC going all the way onto the PSU PCB. No switch, no fuse, nothing.
- The case is not grounded. So any potential on the case will go through you if you touch it. (again, no fuse, no switch might be on the hot line). See picture of exposed metal on my case.
- How could mains voltage get on the case the case? Some loose metal bits could short it to the case (see picture of what I found in my station), some bad solder work could break off and touch the case (see picture of unsoldered ground and cold solder joint neutral on my station) or all it would take is an untrimmed component leg (see picture) scraping against the case (remember the SCART pin against solder mask scraping controversy we just had? The one Voultar loudly complaint about?)
- xwred5 made some convincing arguments about the transformer & creepage potentially not being up to snuff, and I have to again point out the placement of the battery on top of it. If it leaks, it'll leak on an (allegedly) improperly isolated transformer. That could short to the front end, maybe the case, I haven't checked if the metal ring of the plug is connected, etc.
I think that constitutes a real risk. Like I said to you before, my electronics workbench is 90% cheap Chinese designed & made gear. This stuff can be great value, but if you just poke around a few EEVBlog gear threads and watch a few fixup videos on YT you can see how frequently these devices have serious safety flaws. Opening them up and checking for bad wiring, loose metal bits, grounding, fuses, insulation etc. is mandatory IMHO.
btw, I got the recommended stand today. It's pretty good, but mine came without feet and slides around. Make sure to spend another 50c on feet when you order yours