My AA battery charger started rattling after an encounter with some airport baggage handlers. Rather than plugging it in and hoping I decided to open it and check what was loose. Luckily I already have a set of bits for removing almost all types of tamper proof screws.
It turned out that the first smoothing capacitor had fallen off the PCB. Some quick work with a soldering iron and it was ready for use again.
Some of the design was ok, with good separation between the mains parts and the touchable parts. There is a plastic blade on part of the case that fits into the slot in the PCB. I am not so sure about the use of 400V rated capacitors directly after the bridge rectifier though.
My AA battery charger started rattling after an encounter with some airport baggage handlers. Rather than plugging it in and hoping I decided to open it and check what was loose. Luckily I already have a set of bits for removing almost all types of tamper proof screws.
It turned out that the first smoothing capacitor had fallen off the PCB. Some quick work with a soldering iron and it was ready for use again.
Some of the design was ok, with good separation between the mains parts and the touchable parts. There is a plastic blade on part of the case that fits into the slot in the PCB. I am not so sure about the use of 400V rated capacitors directly after the bridge rectifier though.
