junebug1701 wrote:
On Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 8:42:40 PM UTC-5, David Farber
wrote:
I bought this item last year. www.ebay.com/itm/331250999094 I didn't
have an occasion to use the power adapter until last month when I
had a SATA notebook drive to check. (When I bought it, I was mainly
interested in the PATA adapter which does not require the separate
power supply as the power is derived through the USB port.)

I had everything wired to go when I plugged in the AC cord into the
adapter. Kaboom and poof. I saw a nice spark from the AC terminals
as it first made contact with the adapter. I remembered when I
purchased it and did some research into the feed back of the seller
and found a few similar comments

I have one exactly like that and of course I tested it when it
arrived. It's been working fine for several years running external
hard drives for backing up files. Before using the new one I would
connect a 12V bulb to the output as a load and see what happens when
you apply power. Chinese quality control is almost non-existant, but
when you get a good one, it seems to last. What do you expect for
less than 10 bucks?

At any price, I would not expect it to blowup the first time I use it! If I
do use a light bulb, I will start at the other end in front of the AC power
input where the short was.
--
David Farber
Los Osos, CA