Net Work September 2023

This month’s column has a practical angle, looking at broadband router choices and advice about choosing quality mains adaptors. Aspects of DC connectors and USB charging are discussed, and there’s a new online shopping mall to try.

A few weeks ago, my home network went down late one night without warning. I delved under the desk to check the simple things first: swapping Ethernet cables around and jiggling them in their Ethernet ports just to make sure everything was secure, but it was to no avail. My ISP confirmed my broadband supply to be in order, so everything pointed to a problem with my router. My trusty Billion 7800N dual WAN router was designed for heavy SOHO use. It uses a separate modem which is hooked to the telephone socket. The modem’s power and ‘DSL’ LEDs were glowing, proving that the broadband was running, but the modem’s ‘WAN’ LED was off, a sign that the router itself wasn’t working for some reason.

I found that none of the router’s port status LEDs were illuminated either but, strangely, the router’s power LED was flashing very faintly. In this month’s article I describe how I pinpointed a problem with the router’s switched-mode power supply and I examine the topic of sourcing quality mains adaptors, DC connectors and CE/ UKCA quality approvals.

The route ahead

If a router replacement is on the cards, then it’s worth trying to buy one that’s as futureproof as possible.  Some Wi-Fi routers only offered 2.4GHz radios, not 5GHz, which is an essential choice for the future, so check those specs closely.

^ The TP-Link TL-MR6400 router has a slot for a fail-over SIM card. It needs a separate modem.

The latest routers offer Wi-Fi 6 and dual or triple bands and many now have built-in modems. A few have a SIM-card ‘fail-over’ slot for a SIM card data plan, a backup in case the main broadband goes down: the spec sheet will mention ‘4G/ LTE’ somewhere. One example is the TP-Link TL-MR6400 which costs about £75, though higher spec. models cater for more demanding users. These routers need a separate modem.

A whole-home mesh router is another option for upgraders, and major brands each have their own mesh product ranges. Amazon now owns Eero, the pioneer of whole-home mesh, TP-Link sells Deco Wi-Fi mesh, Netgear offers Orbi, D-Link’s mesh system is called ‘Covr’ and Tenda sells Nova. D-Link also offers Wi-Fi 6 routers that are mesh-ready. My Mercusys (by TP-Link) mesh system is adequate enough for now though, and I was relieved to patch up my network for the price of a £12 mains adaptor – a bargain!

Power mad

While sourcing a new mains adaptor for my router, I found a huge variety of unlabelled types on all the usual websites. I avoid cheap unbranded ones that have no manufacturer’s details, as these are untraceable back to their source, they may be non-compliant and any UKCA or CE marks can be considered dubious. Shoddily-made adaptors can snap apart when you pull them out of a typical British mains socket, exposing live wires inside.

I finally chose a multivoltage 34W type branded ‘Zolt’ (photo, left) which offers 3V through to 12V as well as 5V and a USB A-type port, rated at up to 2A.

This UKCA-labelled adaptor seems well made and also has an LED pilot light and comes with nine DC plug adaptors for its 5.5mm plug, including some handy USB types. It’s happily powering my router as I write, and the multivoltage selector makes it an ideal spare to keep in stock. It is hard-wired as centre (tip) positive. At the time of writing it’s available on Amazon (B08L3HD4MR).

Obviously a matching DC jack was also needed for the router. Until they invent a DC connector measuring tool, I often end up checking the outer diameter with digital callipers. Getting the correct innermost conductor size is more problematic: some plugs are a wobbly fit, and finding the most reliable size takes some trial and error. DC plugs with bifurcated contacts (recognisable with their slotted centres) provide the best grip and electrical connection. Confusingly, they are sometimes specified as having two inner diameters – with their spring contacts open (ie when slack, unsprung), and when compressed tightly shut (in situ).

^ A selection of DC connector adaptors some with ‘bifurcated’ contacts, recognised by their slotted centres.

More USB gadgetry…

^ A Ryobi 18V One+ battery with USB adaptor provides two 5V USB charger ports. I used one to power a USB pilot light I bought off eBay.

^ Charging up a solar floodlight using a 5V USB supply and USB lead with appropriate DC connector. Useful when winter daylight levels aren’t adequate.

Numerous USB-powered accessories are now sold online through the usual sources. A 5V supply for electronics gear can be derived from a USB A-type lead terminated with a suitable DC adaptor plug – kits of these are available online. I use one to charge up solar floodlights from an 18V Ryobi USB adaptor when overcast weather is preventing the solar cells from charging in the daytime. This home-brew 18V USB powerbank is kept in a marine battery box to withstand wintry weather. Sometime I’ll modify the Ryobi adaptor to add an LED power-on pilot light, which is a strange omission, but for now I use a USB LED pilot light on a spare port (see photo) as a reminder.

An inline USB digital voltmeter/ammeter (available online for a few pounds) allows me to monitor the charging current and capacity. The one shown above has ten memories, scrolled through using the pushbutton.

With the holiday season in mind, here are some useful travel tips: if ever readers find themselves needing to charge up their mobile phone or tablet at a public USB outlet (eg at an airport, shopping mall or cafe), then a clever USB pass-through adaptor is available that provides power only, with the serial data pins omitted. This claims to overcome the risk of so-called ‘juice jacking’, where a hacked USB outlet might try to install malware over the USB data bus. The PortaPow Data Blocker adaptor is available from the usual online sources for about £7 each.

When out and about, readers will be aware of the risks of using untrusted wireless hotspots which may eavesdrop, hijack or try to install malware through compromised web sites: using a VPN connection to surf the web, check mail or use apps is the safest bet.

^ The PortaPow Data Blocker has no data pins and claims to prevent ‘juice jacking’ if a public USB charging point is used. USB A-type and C-type dongles are available.

Tee (Moo) Time

It’s a fact of life that cheap electronic devices, novelties, gadgets and myriad household items can now be sourced from the Far East with little more than a mouse click. Most readers probably buy online from websites such as Alibaba, AliExpress or Banggood at one time or another.

Many eBay sellers are based overseas and their online stores often contain a wacky selection of items of dubious value. Even so, eBay can be a goldmine, although one must keep an eye on the risk of incurring UK import duty and VAT (see https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty).

Lately a new web-based e-commerce brand has arrived in the UK that is gunning for a big slice of the action. Already hugely popular in the US, the Chinese sales platform Temu (‘Tee-Moo’) has come from nowhere and is setting out to rival Amazon and AliExpress as a consumer-friendly online bazaar that sells a huge range of mostly unbranded gadgets, gifts, novelties and accessories of the sort that you probably won’t mind gambling on buying, in the hope that things won’t go wrong.

The Temu app is currently the most downloaded one from Apple’s store, and Temu’s online advertising has reached saturation level: brand recognition is the name of the game for now, and Temu is carving its way relentlessly into the market with crazy loss-leading prices and free shipping.

Dark pattern promos are everywhere and I have seldom seen such aggressive marketing. Be wary of so-called ‘aff’ codes (affiliate) trying to cash in on your orders; some reviewers claim that no extra discounts will appear. I also see codes for ‘games’ such as farmland or fishland that win ‘free’ goods – it seems to me to be another attempt to buy their way into the market.

Early reviews on Trustpilot (see https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/temu.com) from UK customers are mixed.  You can sign up at temu.com if you want to try those early discounts.

From Bard to Worse

Microsoft’s Bing search engine now offers a ‘chatty’ style of working based on ChatGPT which I find makes a pleasant change from the usual mindless Google searches. Microsoft Windows is also expected to incorporate a humanoid chatbot Help system in future software releases.  Meantime, Google is developing Google Bard, an experimental AI chatbot designed to write creative content and answer questions ‘thoughtfully’. Try it out at https://bard.google.com.

^ Ariane 6 is the new heavy lifter from the European Space Agency

In other news, the European Space Agency successfully launched the last mission of its Ariane 5 heavy lifter on July 5th, the ESA being keen to boast of their ‘Franco-German success’, transporting two satellites into space for the French and German governments. Now ESA’s focus is on the forthcoming Ariane 6, which will launch from French Guiana and will use either two or four boosters depending on the payload. Interested readers can learn more about Ariane 6 at https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Launch_vehicles/Ariane_6

I’m enjoying using my Ecowitt network-enabled weather station which displays readings and statistics from the last 72 hours on a 7” TFT colour LCD display (Net Work, July 2023). The Ecowitt HP2551 can read data from up to eight 868MHz (in the UK) outdoor wireless sensors and they have a range of 100m. I’ve had no problems at all receiving wireless data from the remote sensor array. I’ve now got my sights on adding a lightning sensor, which detects and counts lightning strikes in the area, though the website https://map.blitzortung.org is handy for showing the progress of live thunderstorms online. The Ecowitt range is available from Amazon, but do benchmark prices carefully as these vary hugely over time. I’ve added lots of screenshots showing typical displays on my July ‘23 Net Work blog.

Regular web users will recognise scam adverts when they see them, but a new and deeply worrying trend is emerging that involves deep-fake videos of well-known presenters promoting bogus financial services. A deep-fake movie showing Martin Lewis, the popular UK consumer campaigner, talking about Elon Musk’s supposed new ‘investment project’ for UK investors is utterly convincing, and a clip can be seen at https://twitter.com/t0uchscreenguru/status/1676993059563741185. Lewis is pushing hard to have scam ads like these banned because, in his words, people will lose money and they will ruin lives. Maybe alert your friends and family about them.

Finally this month, more than 1,000 LED drones were used by Sky Elements in a Guinness world-record display to celebrate the 4^th July in Texas. The display showcased milestone events in American history in the night-time skies and extracts of the colourful show can be seen on a Youtube movie at https://youtu.be/zdOTV2RH9IY

See you next month for more Net Work!