Like this perhaps, 2 5v USB out with through 13A

John

As Robert says it’s down to cost. Not just the cost of the power supply, but the logistics costs – each cable length is an additional SKU to be managed, distributed and tracked. Which length would be included, or would all retail outlets be required to stock a choice and manage the pick and pack.

In addition there are the potential support and warranty costs. Customer plugs the wrong cable in and blows up the unit.

The manufacturing mantra is “keep it simple”.

On 15 January 2024 at 20:52 peak4 Said:

On 15 January 2024 at 20:21 Peter Greene Said:

USB? What I said was “coaxial power connector” and the link above clearly shows what I mean.

…I have wall-wart types, with co-ax connectors in at least 3, 3.7, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 7.5, 9, 11, 12, 13V, etc, in both DC & AC variants, as well as at least half a dozen different diameters on the plugs, some of which vary polarity.It’s a nightmare remembering which ones power which devices.
There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of a standard, other than with some laptop PSUs, where different voltages are different shaped plugs.

I do electrical testing and repairs for a local charity shop, and I have dozens of PSUs stashed away in my work-room, all different and mostly not compatible with anything.  As far as I can tell there are no standards of any sort, apart from USB, and even there one has to check the available current output.

There are some wall-warts with built in female connectors, but I have only encountered them on low voltage light strings.  They are as un-standardised as all the rest.  It’s all a bit of a nightmare, and very frustrating when things are donated without a PSU (as they regrettably often are).

George

I can assure you the leads on the low voltage side are no longer than thought necessary to please the customer. About 10 years ago for a product I had to alter the spec from 1m to 1.5m so the device could more easily be placed on a table. This increased the unit cost by about 40p in half million volumes.

Hi Peter, maybe you are looking for something like this;

https://pro.maplin.co.uk/products/3-12v-1a-mini-regulated-voltage-adjustable-power-supply

Regards Nick.

If cost is not the issue, something like this Ciocks DC7 PSU could do the job. Seven independently switchable 9/12/15/18v outputs ( albeit only 6W each), plus cables.

There you go😄

John

I appreciate what Peter is after; that is tidying up the wiring, but I’m not sure there is an easy solution.
Personally, coming from a telecoms background, I use double sided Velcro tape, which does make a neat job, and is easily removeable for future modifications.
I also change cable lengths with solder and heat shrink tubing, but that’s more problematic if the manufacturers have used co-ax cable as well as plugs; some just use round or flat 2 core.

To add the usual topic diversion, my issue when travelling is too many mains connector cables needed.
Again my solution is heat shrink and solder; two layers of insulation on each core, with a further 2 layers on top, and checked with a megger.

I have others with UK & US plugs; there’s no issue with overloading as the high voltage power demands are quite small.
The end with the blue band, has been Dremmel modified to fit a cloverleaf, so it can be used for my laptop  charger.
I did check, the original cloverleaf – UK cable is only 2 core.

Bill