CX-2 And USB-C charging

[azstinger11]

That’s weird as they’ve always been very responsive to me. Have you tried calling?

I have not, guess that’s up next. I truly despise calling companies, answer your emails damn it lol

 

[Manatee Diver]

Welcome to the confusing world of USB-C. USB-C is just a connector, it can support multiple USB standards that support different charging speeds, along with at least one non-USB standard. Unfortunately many chargers that support USB Powder Delivery don’t seem to be able to negotiate with devices that want standard 5v charging only.

 

[wmperry]

Bought two CX2s the other day and tried them with the 6 different USB-C chargers from various manufacturers (Apple, Dell, Anker) and not a single one is recognized by either CX2.

At some point if you don’t work with any real USB-C charger and have to be charged from a laptop or a crap USB-A that just adapts the plug size you can’t really say you are supporting charging via USB-C

I got a response from DiveRite within minutes yesterday - support guy is checking with the engineers. I’ll follow up if I get any reasonable response

 

[Manatee Diver]

At some point if you don’t work with any real USB-C charger and have to be charged from a laptop or a crap USB-A that just adapts the plug size you can’t really say you are supporting charging via USB-C

Yes, because USB-C is just a connector, not a charging standard. This is a very common problem IME. I have at least three devices that have USB-C plugs but only support 5v charging and thus don't work with most USB-C PD chargers.

IMO this faults lies at the feet of the USB Industry forum, they could've tighten the standard up and required a higher standards to use USB-C, but in their rush to trash USB-A and USB-B plugs they created this mess.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Great. Now I have to dig through all my sh*t and check this out. I love my CX2 torch / hammer combo.

 

[Gone for diving]

thus don't work with most USB-C PD chargers.

I have always understood that USB-c PD charger could do all the different voltages... but I don't normally use them,
Only on an Ipad.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I have always understood that USB-c PD charger could do all the different voltages... but I don't normally use them,
Only on an Ipad.

They claim to do that, but I've not seen one actually be able to charge 5v devices. I have all kinds of USB-C chargers from Apple's 18W one to fancy multi-port GaN chargers.

 

[sabbe]

Thanks for posting this, I having same issue and thought my CX-2 was dead. I’m on a dive trip and brought close to the bare minimum of cables but after trying everything I own I was lucky to hit on the Anker GaN charger will charge it but only from the USB-A charger port using the slower USB-A to USB-C cable, not any of the USB-C to USB-C cables. Won’t charge from my laptop or tablet.

I have built in USB-A charging ports in my outlets at home and I don’t think any of them met the picky Dive Rite requirements either.

Sam

 

[makar0n]

So I have a CX-2 backup light and generally really like the device, with one major caveat. Despite it charging through "USB-C" it doesn't really seem to support the standard, just the physical port. When you buy the light it comes with a USB-C to USB-A (old school rectangle USB) cable. Why do I say it doesn't support the standard? Well trying to charge from USB-C to USB-C doesn't work at all (so from a MacBook Pro wall charger cable, generic Anker USB C wall outlet, or a powerbrick all of which work with all my other USB C devices). The number of wall outlets/and USB-C to USB-A cables it supports is also apparently limited or very picky. Trying to use a powered USB A hub is a no-go (have tried multiple), charging off multiple computer USB A ports doesn't work, it really is hyper limited to just a few cables and wall charger combinations. My guess is that the charging port is for a lack of better word, dumb and that dive rite didn't implement power delivery negotiations on the board. It can really only safely handle a very narrow power input and the USB specification can deliver a wide range, many of which would be too high/damaging for their device. Good USB C devices are capable of performing a negotiation with the device delivery the power and say (in simplified terms) that's great you can provide X, i however only need Y in order to safeguard them. It seems Dive Rite didn't do that. Meaning you plug in something and if its too powerful you are out of luck. I will admit I am a bit perplexed why the USB-C to USB-A cable matters, but other USB-C to USB-A cables are really hit or miss with this light, on cables that work on other USB C to USB A devices just fine.

Leaving us with a product that is hyper picky about how it's charged despite using what is meant to be a unifying port. This is disappointing and something I would hope they change on future revisions. I have to make sure now I don't loose/damage the very specific combination of charger/cable that this light works. I can only imagine how frustrating/difficult this would be to replace while traveling, not only is not just a USB C cable, its a USB C to USB A, and you better hope the device likes the particular variant of the cable.

While not critical it is annoying. I didn't select this light solely for its USB-C connection but it was a factor. It was meant to allow for one less unique cable/adapter while traveling and just in general.

I have reached out to Dive Rite customer service a few times and gotten no reply. So just wanted to make people aware and see if anyone else has had the same experience.

From a reddit thread, but looks like answers your question pretty much:

Reddit - why_the_obsession_with_usb_c2c

Just reiterating what ferrybig was already mentioning: No, if you plug your non-C2C-capable device into a USB-C charger with a cable that has USB-C plugs at both ends, it will NOT charge. Nothing will happen. This is because, as ferrybig already said, the device is missing transistors that tell the USB-C charger what voltage to provide for the device. As the charger isn’t told what voltage to provide, it doesn’t output anything - nothing is happening. If you charge the device with a C2A cable, the USB-A charger will always give out 5V (it does not rely on a transistor on the other side to tell it what Voltage to give out) and as a result, the device will charge.

When we’re complaining about C2C, we’re complaining about the fact that manufacturers replaced a micro-USB interface with a USB-C interface but did not add the transistors (because it was cheaper and it worked in their lab tests with a USB-A cable).

In other words, I suspect that the torch is basically microUSB masquerading as an USB-C... sadly this is extremely common in battery charging world, real USB-C chargers are barely existing, most manufacturers do the very thing, just change socket shape and call it a day. Sure, when charging a single battery, you hardly need 100W of power hence it is somehow ok, however it does create confusion.


Another issue are A-C cables - lots of those are one way i.e. they might charge/transfer data only from port 1 to 2 but not the other way around. Just see Amazon reviews from all the e-Bike owners xD
This is very common with all the el-cheapo chinese, non USB-IF certified cables. Best always get a USB-IF certified one, they really don't cost that much more and they will last. Plus if you try to charge 100-240W through one it won't burn your house down. And you will get advertised transfer rates. Club3D is a pretty neat brand out there.

Also, some chargers can also be finicky, both in terms of supported protocols and negotiated voltage - been using a 100W one from Satechi, worked on everything from battery chargers to laptops, however I recently been testing latest and greatest in the laptop world, lo and behold it refuses to work, basically failing to negotiate anything beyond 5V. Seems does not support PD 3.0 protocol, at least that is my guess. So switched to Verbatim 200W and all works fine