Starter for ten......

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:50 am

Can anybody tell me what this device could be used for ?

It was sent to me from China along with a replacement battery for a mobile phone I bought a month or two ago.

Side view......

Side view held open with a two pence coin......

Top View......

Bottom view.....

It looks as if the two prongs are to be plugged into mains electric, and the adjustable probes (seen in the opened side view) come into contact with your device.....somehow.

The clear plastic top shows levers that swivel the contacts.

Would anyone here use it, even if they knew what it is for?

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:05 am

What does the battery look like?

At a guess it's a charger for the battery. You'd normally get an adaptor that accepts the two pins on the underside and plugs into a normal mains socket. The two pivoting arms on the top would hold the battery in place during charging and adjust to the distance between the battery terminals.

AnneBoleyn · Post by **AnneBoleyn** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:02 am

That was my guess, too--a charger.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:12 am

The pins are American-Style power plugs (115v DC). If it was for a phone I imagine either the battery removes from the phone & slots into it (if it's a very old phone) or the phone itself slots into it. Another option (which is not as likely) is that it could be some sort of a docking station for a cordless phone. Although my own cordless requires an additional cable to be plugged into the wall, I know that you can get additional handsets which just have docking stations to keep them charged. Either way, it looks like a charger - if not for a mobile phone, perhaps for a Camcorder Battery.

Does it have a barcode on it at all? If you already have such as app on your phone you can read it to identify the product - if you haven't, you can easily download one (useful little gizmoes sometimes).

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:35 am

The battery is a large flat one with contacts at the end, and charges inside the phone, there is no way it would fit in this device. On the delivery there was also a round two pronged adapter for USB charging and a dodgy looking three pinned plug to accept that. The three pinned plug is ultra small,similar to some I saw on TV as unfit for use. The barcode is not recognised.

I wouldn't use any of them.

Post by **spot** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:50 am

If you went to see the new Star Wars film you'd recognize it as a model of Emperor Palpatine's emergency escape pod from Death Star II.

Post by **LarsMac** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:58 am

Those adjustable pins appear to be key to figuring it out, I think. What are the numbers associated with them?

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:54 pm

It looks like 0-5 from the centre outward.

Both levers work independently.

Mark Aspam · Post by **Mark Aspam** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:05 pm

FourPart;1490720 wrote: The pins are American-Style power plugs (115v DC). FP, I'm just curious. Can you tell me where in the USA they have 115 volt DC current? I've lived here most of my life and that's a new one on me. Seems like distribution would be a real bitch!

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:13 pm

I thought they were still using DC. It appears I was mistaken.

Post by **spot** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:26 pm

FourPart;1490748 wrote: I thought they were still using DC. It appears I was mistaken.America abandoned commercial DC distribution eight years ago.

If I find a reference to it I'll add a link.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:37 pm

spot;1490750 wrote: America abandoned commercial DC distribution eight years ago.

If I find a reference to it I'll add a link.

I'm not questioning it. Last time I was over there was getting on to about 15 years ago (in the week before Gulf War II - I was staying next to the Andrews Air Force Base, and the jets were practicing, with sonic booms all the time). I'm sure it was DC then - although I could be wrong - I was only there about a week.

Mark Aspam · Post by **Mark Aspam** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:45 pm

FourPart;1490748 wrote: I thought they were still using DC. It appears I was mistaken.I was just having a little fun, no offence intended.

I agree with some of the other posters, it looks like some sort of adjustable charging device.

Post by **spot** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:49 pm

Mark Aspam;1490754 wrote: I agree with some of the other posters, it looks like some sort of adjustable charging device.

I don't see how it can be. Why would you have two continuously-variable rheostats on a charger?

I think it's to monitor the mains supply, the voltage and the frequency. See the three LEDs? I think you tune the left and right rheostat until you get the left and right LEDs to stay on instead of flashing, and that gives you some sort of readout on the 100V-120V and the 55-65Hz, and the center LED shows power on or off.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:50 pm

Mark Aspam;1490754 wrote: I was just having a little fun, no offence intended.

I agree with some of the other posters, it looks like some sort of adjustable charging device.
No offence taken. I know that, regardless of the voltage or current, I never felt those plugs were safe though. They felt way to flimsy, and without an earth.

Mark Aspam · Post by **Mark Aspam** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:50 pm

spot;1490750 wrote: America abandoned commercial DC distribution eight years ago.

If I find a reference to it I'll add a link.More like eighty years ago, or more - except for special applications.

Anything with a transformer would require AC.

Post by **spot** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:52 pm

Mark Aspam;1490757 wrote: More like eighty years ago, or more - except for special applications.

Anything with a transformer would require AC.

Nonono - November 2007, give or take a month. It was the tail end of the Edison supply company finally stopped supplying.

Post by **spot** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:54 pm

Here we are - Edison's press release:In January 1998, Consolidated Edison began a program to eliminate DC service in its operating territory. At that time there were over 4,600 DC customers. By 2006, sixty remained. Between then and today, when the last customer at 10 East 40th Street was switched to rectifiers on their side of the meter to generate direct current to supply its building’s elevators and sprinkler system, Con Edison has been switching DC customers to alternating current.

Con Edison: newsroom - news release - A/C But No D/C: Last Con Edison Direct Current Customer is History

Mark Aspam · Post by **Mark Aspam** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:01 pm

spot;1490758 wrote: Nonono - November 2007, give or take a month. It was the tail end of the Edison supply company finally stopped supplying.How about some documentation on that? As I recall (from historical sources, not my own experience), Edison supplied parts of Manhattan homes with DC BARELY into the 20th century. If you're sure about the 2007 date, it must have been for some sort of industrial use - maybe subway trains?

Added later: Just after posting this I saw your above post - that's about what I thought - special uses only.

Post by **spot** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 6:05 pm

Mark Aspam;1490761 wrote: How about some documentation on that? As I recall (from historical sources, not my own experience), Edison supplied parts of Manhattan homes with DC BARELY into the 20th century. If you're sure about the 2007 date, it must have been for some sort of industrial use - maybe subway trains?

Really - they're just original Edison consumers with equipment they had no intention of ripping out. Elevators in domestic building blocks, in the example given, that had been in place from the 19th century and refurbished but never replaced. They're still running, still using DC, it's just that the DC is now created on-site by rectifying the AC feed.

Mark Aspam · Post by **Mark Aspam** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:21 am

spot;1490764 wrote: Really - they're just original Edison consumers with equipment they had no intention of ripping out. Elevators in domestic building blocks, in the example given, that had been in place from the 19th century and refurbished but never replaced. They're still running, still using DC, it's just that the DC is now created on-site by rectifying the AC feed.The AC/DC discussion shook me all night long.

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:07 pm

After an image search found a lot of similar images

And found HERE that it appears to be a phone battery charger......scroll down to see it in use.

I will not be using it anytime soon.

Post by **spot** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 4:20 pm

Bruv;1490819 wrote:

And found HERE that it appears to be a phone battery charger......scroll down to see it in use.

I so like what Google Translate makes of it. I often "try to avoid filling the night", for example. Perhaps "the clip, too loose too tight is not good".

And who would disagree that "in the online search for "charger with wet hands", it has been because the hand touch the charger in humid led to his being clicked when things happen, it was still pregnant!"

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 5:39 pm

Bruv;1490741 wrote: It looks like 0-5 from the centre outward.

Both levers work independently.

From checking Google Translate, I can only manage to get ...........................

Travel charger, Mataå«: universal charge, cause only required å‡*ä¸ª metal contact piece å¯¹ä¸Š, å°±å¯ ä»¥å…… ç»å¤§ part batteries è€Œå¾— name. Tadashize è¿™ç§ charger usually production ç®€é™‹, use unfair ä¹Ÿæž å…¶ easy å‘ç”Ÿ å±é™©. Likelihood å…¶æ˜¯ å¤¹å*, è¿‡æ¾ è¿‡ç´§ Metropolitan not good.

So you are as wise as I am now !!!

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:37 pm

I like the picture that seems to say "Don't use if suffering from leprosy".

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 5:30 am

FourPart;1490860 wrote: I like the picture that seems to say "Don't use if suffering from leprosy".

It should read "Don't use for pain of death"

Post by **spot** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 8:14 am

Mark Aspam;1490761 wrote: Added later: Just after posting this I saw your above post - that's about what I thought - special uses only.

There's at least one "special use" still operating in the UK - the whole of London Underground runs on 630V DC.

There's an article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_e ... at_Britain which just shows the power-mongering that's gone on over the last 140 years in the British Rail soap-opera. Every manager seems to have wanted to define the network in his own image, there's been no intelligent policy at all.

Mark Aspam · Post by **Mark Aspam** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 6:32 pm

spot;1490882 wrote: There's at least one "special use" still operating in the UK - the whole of London Underground runs on 630V DC.Just curious - do you know if the relatively new light rail line also uses 630V DC?

Post by **spot** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 7:48 pm

750V DC. I'm surprised these different standards don't go down to individual trains, that way they could have to switch the voltage level supplied to every section of track as new trains come into each area. And on that line they don't have any staff at all on the trains themselves, no driver, no guard, no ticket inspector, not even a buffet attendant.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Fri Dec 25, 2015 5:31 pm

My father / stepmother's place used to have 415v industrial standard wired to their cottage (not sure if it was AC or DC). The Electic Company denied it & said it wasn't possible until one day they came to do the routine meter calibration. The thing was that the cottage used to be the CO's cottage on the Fleet Air Arm airfield, and the 415v was wired to the attached aircraft hangar, where it was wired up to a massive bench saw, which would be used to cut up old pallets into regularly sized pieces of wood for the wood burning stove. Not sure if they removed the 415v side of things or not.

Post by **spot** » Fri Dec 25, 2015 5:41 pm

FourPart;1490921 wrote: My father / stepmother's place used to have 415v industrial standard wired to their cottage (not sure if it was AC or DC). The Electic Company denied it & said it wasn't possible until one day they came to do the routine meter calibration. The thing was that the cottage used to be the CO's cottage on the Fleet Air Arm airfield, and the 415v was wired to the attached aircraft hangar, where it was wired up to a massive bench saw, which would be used to cut up old pallets into regularly sized pieces of wood for the wood burning stove. Not sure if they removed the 415v side of things or not.That's what I have in the place I'm living now, it's called three phase AC and it terrifies me. Each phase here has a 100 amp strap and the distribution board takes up a small wall. Any one of the phases behaves like a normal 240v supply but if you get caught unprotected between two phases you're hit by the full 415v as one sucks while the other blows. I'm told that can also happen to neighbours if they each run an extension out to a mutual barbecue, too.