USB Tester

[KK4JUG]

I didn't know where to put this so, what the heck? I put it here.

Is there any reasonably- priced USB cable tester out there? Over time, I have accumulated a lot of USB cables: A, B, Mini-B and C. Some of them came with wall warts and are very possibly charge only, with no data capability but they've gotten mixed up with all the others.

Most of mine are A (2.0 & 3.0) to mini-B. My band has a cable tester that does practically all types of audio cables but I've failed to find anything that tests USB, Is there such a thing that doesn't require a bank loan?

 

[AK9R]

There seem to be a lot of testers available that will test the continuity of a USB cable or show the voltage and current going through a cable from your charger. Since these cables are often used for power as much as data, it'd be nice to have one that not only verifies continuity, but puts a fair amount of current through the cable. Of course, a "high" current test might end up being a destructive test for some cables.

 

[KevinC]

Something like this maybe...

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Charger-Quality-Tester-Dummies/dp/B01LZIXGYW

 

[KK4JUG]

Something like this maybe...

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Charger-Quality-Tester-Dummies/dp/B01LZIXGYW

Yeah, something like that. The Qoo Pow brand sounds like something I might find on the ground in a barnyard. Shipping from China is $10.00 and they say it might not arrive for 2 months.

I gotta look a little more before I drop $45.00.

Thanks

 

[wyShack]

Goolge is your friend(and so is Amazon). Looks like there are a wide variety of cable testers out there -looks like just a mater of what you want and your pain point. I would guess that you can buy a few converter cables for just testing and keep them in a bag with whatever you buy.

have fun shopping

 

[KK4JUG]

I appreciate that but I've already checked "Goolge," Amazon and even eBay. Virtually everything reasonably priced is merely a continuity tester and/or power supply tester. Everything has a "charge" light so I know whether it charges or not. I'm concerned with whether the cable is a power cable or both a power and data cable. I've seen testers that are over $1700. I gotta be honest, it's not $1700 worth of important to me.

I don't think I've ever seen a Type A 3.0 cable that wasn't both power and data. I don't have a life so I'll just separate those and just hook a piece of electronics to each of the rest of the cables and figure it out.

 

[Ubbe]

I've also search the whole internet and found one device that had indicator LEDs for the datasignals and other LEDs for power. Just the thing needed to check if a device actually sends out any data and to check for intermittent connections. It was something like $27 and had all kinds of USB connectors but unfortunatly it has been out of stock for a long time and doesn't seem to come available again.

It's such a simple device, just a IC to act as a buffer between datasignals and LEDs and would be a tremendous help when you run into USB problems but you do not want to mess with it building one yourself when you do not have the right equipment.

/Ubbe