Gadget Review: Plugable USB-C Voltage & Amperage Meter (240W)
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All USB-C cables are equal. But some, as the saying goes, are more equal than others.
This little gadget from Plugable is a fantastic bit of kit. Plug your USB-C power supply into one end of the gadget, plug the gadget in to your laptop, phone, or any other USB-C device. Watch the screen to see how much power is flowing.
Action Shot
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Features
- A black and white screen!
- A button to flip the display over!
- That's it!
There's no Bluetooth or WiFi to get the results out. There's no flash storage to record anything. There's no graphs. It shows you volts, amps, watts, and direction of power. That's all I need it for, and that's all it does.
As you can see, the screen reacts quickly. So you can get a good idea of what power load your various apps have.
Usefulness
This is great. My work Windows laptop was complaining that it wasn't receiving enough power from my USB-C docking station and, with this, I was able to see that it was getting about 40W.
I was able to test some USB-C cables to see how much power they could support.
Even better, this doesn't interfere with normal USB-C functions. It happily passed through video, audio, peripherals, etc.
Cost
It's about £20 - £35 online depending on whether The Algorithm favours you or not. You can find cheaper ones - but they tend not to go up to 240W.
This is an indispensable gadget - especially if you have dozens of cables of uncertain provenance. It'll tell you just how much they're capable of delivering.
Now I just need to find a USB-C plug which can actually deliver 240W via PD!
shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/10/gadge…
Plugable USB-C Voltage & Amperage Meter for High Power Devices (240W E
For a multimeter, the Plugable USB-C Amperage and Voltage Tester (USBC-VAMETER3) manages to fit a lot of useful features into a sturdy little package.Plugable Technologies
Gadget Review: Mokin USB-C Docking Station (+ Linux information)
shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/08/gadge…I've been looking for this rare beast for ages - a hub which has multiple USB-C outputs!
You see it is a truth, universally acknowledged, that computers don't have enough ports on them. And laptops? Pah! A couple of USB-C if you're lucky, and one of them has to be used for power. What a world!
This is the MOKiN USB-C Triple-Display Docking Station - MODK1402. It's a bit over £100 depending on the deal you get.
Shiny! This turns one USB port on your laptop to fourteen extra ports.
So, what's it packing?
On the back is:
- Ethernet.
- USB 2.0 - for your slow gadgets.
- HDMI.
- 2x DisplayPort.
- USB-C host. Take the included 1 metre long C-to-C cable and connect your laptop to the hub.
- USB-C power input. Shove a 100W adapter in there and it will power your laptop, gadgets, and toaster.
- There's also a Kensington Lock port on the side if you're worried about theft.
On the front is:
- 2x USB-C. Yes! This is what I'm here for! They won't do PD levels of charging, but you can happily plug in your phones to charge, transfer data, or anything else.
- USB 3.1. The highest speed USB-A port. Plug in a drive and watch the bits fly
- 3.5mm TRRS port. Stereo audio out, mono mic in.
- Bright white LED. Stick some tape on it and never have it bother you again.
- SD & MicroSD slots. A bit weird, but I guess useful to some.
- 2x USB 3. Another couple of USB slots.
- Power button. Hold to toggle.
Testing
On both Windows 11 and Linux, everything worked just fine. Sorry there isn't anything more interesting to report there! No drivers to install. No weird command-line incantations. The promise of Plug-And-Play is met.Well... Mostly. See the niggles section.
I tried using a single 1080p external monitor over HDMI and that was picked up. I don't have any screens with DisplayPort, so I can't test them. I also don't have a Mac to test with, but it all should work1.
The Ethernet maxed out my 500Mbps Internet connection. I was able to quickly transfer files from between the SD card and the drives. All the USB gadgets I plugged in worked. Again, super boring - which is just what I wanted.
The volume from the audio output was loud and stereo separated.
I had a dozen things plugged in and it kept on chugging.
There's no fan, so there's no noise from it. Basically, it is a small and boring box which does its job extremely well.
Now, a quick disclaimer. I am not a particularly demanding user. I don't have 3x 4K displays which are streaming live video from a USB stick while I download all of Wikipedia via Ethernet onto an SD card at the same time as blasting 5.1 audio and charging a dozen laptops. There's always going to be a limit to how much data and power you can squeeze through a single cable.
Niggles
I found that after my laptop went to sleep it sometimes didn't detect the HDMI output. I pressed the power button on the hub to turn in off. Then - and this will shock you - turned it back on again. HDMI sprang to life without a complaint. Perhaps it's my laptop, or my monitor, or the HDMI? Either way, not a show stopper.Windows complained that the cable wasn't providing enough power and I should use the original Dell®™ charger. But it charged up quickly. I don't have a PD cable tester to see how many Watts it is actually delivering.
It did get a little warm after a few hours use. Nothing to be concerned about, but don't cover it with a cloth.
The audio out is louder than I was getting via HDMI and there is a bit of cross-chatter. If your speakers' volume is up high, you'll hear a bit of an electronic squeal / hum when no sound is playing.
The white LED is - like all modern electronics - bright. I'd have preferred something a bit more subtle.
Personally, I'd rather have extra HDMI than DisplayPorts. But I get that it is more efficient and better future-proofed.
It takes up a small amount of desk-space. A tower-design might have been nice. But I suspect the heat dissipation might have been an issue.
These are weak complaints. In terms of price:port ratio, it is excellent.
Linux Info
For nerds like me, this is whatlsusbspits out:Bus 004 Device 014: ID 0b95:1790 ASIX Electronics Corp. AX88179 Gigabit EthernetBus 004 Device 013: ID 0bda:0326 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Card readerBus 004 Device 012: ID 0bda:0411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HubBus 004 Device 011: ID 0bda:0420 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 4-Port USB 3.0 HubBus 001 Device 042: ID 0bda:1100 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. HID DeviceBus 001 Device 041: ID 0d8c:0134 C-Media Electronics, Inc. USB PnP Audio DeviceBus 001 Device 039: ID 0bda:5411 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5411 HubBus 001 Device 037: ID 1b3f:2008 Generalplus Technology Inc. USB Audio DeviceBus 001 Device 035: ID 1a40:0101 Terminus Technology Inc. HubBus 001 Device 034: ID 0bda:5420 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub
Lots of hubs just smushed together! I didn't bother cracking the case open. If you do, please leave a picture in the comments.Triple monitors?
The MODK1402 can drive 3 external monitors. But, again, there's a limit to how much you can squirt down a single USB-C cable. They aren't magic!Here are the configs that it lists. I don't have an 8K monitor to test(![url=https://onlycasino.legal/users/MostlyHarmless])[/url] so please report back if you do have a suitable set of monitors.
In DP1.4 HDMI DP 1 DP 2 Single display 8k@30Hz
4K@120Hz8k@30Hz
4K@120Hz8k@30Hz
4K@120HzDual display 4K@60Hz 4K@60Hz 4K@60Hz 4K@60Hz 4K@60Hz 4K@60Hz Triple display 4K@60Hz 4K@30Hz 4K@30Hz
In DP1.2 HDMI DP 1 DP 2 Single display 4K@30Hz 4K@30Hz 4K@30Hz Dual display 2K@60Hz 1080P@60Hz 2K@60Hz 1080P@60Hz 1080P@60Hz 2K@60Hz Triple display Only can light up two displays Verdict
If you need multiple USB-C ports out from your hub, this is one of the few devices which is capable of doing so. Having 4 extra USB-A ports is excellent. Three monitors is overkill for me - but it is good to be future-proof. The long cable makes it easy to swap between laptops which have their ports on different sides.At the end of the day, one cable turns into 14 working ports. All for a bit over a hundred quid. Nice!
- Although MacOS is prevented from using more than one external monitor, as decreed by The Word of St Jobs. Anyone wanting to use more without buying an Apple-blessed device is a heretic and must be shunned. ↩
shkspr.mobi/blog/2023/08/gadge…Gadget Review: Mokin USB-C Docking Station (+ Linux information)
I've been looking for this rare beast for ages - a hub which has multiple USB-C outputs! You see it is a truth, universally acknowledged, that computers don't have enough ports on them.Terence Eden’s Blog
