Originally announced last September, Anker is finally preparing to release PowerLine USB-C to DC… Here’s a look at compatible devices across the four different versions:
So is this as I suspected, from the lack of selector switch, that you buy one of the four versions for your laptop? So not 1 product with 4 attachments, but 4 discrete SKUs?
That is a voltage, plug size and polarity question. The diagrams above tell us the plug size, so you’d have to look up the voltage and polarity of the others above and look across.
What Dell laptop?
Thought experiment:
someone typically makes their most expensive decision 1st, then decide their next most expensive decision 2nd.
so someone has one of these laptops, which come with their non-PD chargers included.
such a person may then want an multi AC outlet to power their laptop non-PD brick and possibly some USB ports for other devices like phone, buds.
So why would such a person have a USB-PD port and then use it to power this cable? Who has excess USB-PD ports they bought and use for a non-PD laptop?
So I am thinking this would make the most sense for travel, for a person with a non-PD laptop and another device, like a work laptop and a personal device, and just want to carry a PD charger.
Would be interested to see if PowerLine USB-C to DC would also be compatible for Anker / soundcore products - Model Zero, Rave / Rave Mini / Trance, Wakey
That would be the easiest option to migrate existing Anker / Soundcore products to use USB-C
The product does not make electronic sense to be capable of 4 different plugs. To make one cable for 4 plugs would need the USB-PD mode to be selected within the plug, not in the cable, so why that bulge in the middle of the cable? No, it would be selecting the USB-PD in the bulge and you have the plug then dumb.
I remember seeing this cable in person at the AnkerOnboard 2019 event. But don’t remember seeing any attachments. I was under the assumption it would be a DC port to USB-C. Can you confirm?
Because it has that fat middle bit, it must be selecting the USB-PD mode and possibly adding a resistor to lower the voltage a little, e.g. laptops often use 19V so the left side there is connected to a 20V capable USB-PD output, the middle of all the modes 5V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 20V then selects the 20V only, resists it down to 19V and presents it to the right side. I don’t see any joins in the connector to detach, swap, attach, therefore logically it’s a unique cable per right side shape.
Based solely on the photos, it has to be glued to a single unit one cable type, not different. The bulge in the middle must be doing the USB-PD mode selection and any voltage reduction. They could have made a different product with the selection done in the ends but photos would look totally different, the middle fat bit would be gone or you’d see a non-permanent connector to it.
That end no way can contain the USB-PD mode selection. It could possibly hold a resistor.
Anker certainly can make a system where you buy one cable and it has a set of ends, but it would look physically totally different.
These are not big enough to have a DC-DC conversion go in within, at most they do a small amount of resistance down e.g. 20V to 19V. So you’re talking you’d have to use a Powercore / Powerport with a voltage out mode matching the laptops, e.g. a Powercore / Powerport with a 20V output mode would then offer 20V or 19V out the end.
It cannot do a buck-boost type in the size of the product in the photos, so you cannot put in say 9V 3A one end and get 20V 1A out the other.
Most people reading this will be thinking Watts, when what matters is Volts 1st, Amps 2nd. Volts determines does it work or not. For anything which works, Amps then determines how fast it is. So someone in the future will see a 45W laptop requirement and buy an Anker product 45w made up of 15V 3A and it the laptop needs 20V 2.25A so would not with this cable. Anker will have to be very clear with what Powercore/port products work with each cable due to the Voltage and no buck-boost DC-DC (other than a small step-down via resistor)