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Kmart lied to me, so I hacked their lamp [video]

92 points| jackedEngineer | 11 months ago |youtube.com | reply

48 comments

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[+] consp|11 months ago|reply
https://www.thestockpot.net/videos/whykmart for those who do not want to watch a video like me.

Isn't the use of USB-C promotion without at minimum basic USB compatability disallowed?

I have a few devices which have a USB-A to barrel plug, but they do not advertise anything and afaik that is perfectly fine. And they also only work with a normal USB charger, not the fancy ones.

[+] bkor|11 months ago|reply
> for those who do not want to watch a video like me.

Thanks! It made me read his other articles. I liked this one more: https://www.thestockpot.net/videos/3dprinteddownpipe. A 3D printed downpipe. Because that's what the solution he was able to do.

I don't entirely agree with the paint colour. Which is really nitpicking, or said in another way: I'm quite impressed!

[+] Mountain_Skies|11 months ago|reply
Sure but the sheer quantity of goods being imported makes it impossible to verify compliance proactively. You need someone like him to discover the violation and speak out about it (which he has beautifully). Someone could contact Australia's customs service, the USB Forum, or the electronics certifying agencies to get the device recalled and blocked but it likely wouldn't stop another similar item from being imported under a different name and design.
[+] fusslo|11 months ago|reply
Thank you!

As an aside, while I'm trying to read the page, and it is a fun page, I kept getting distracted by the 'load-on-scroll' images and text.

My eyes kept darting down to what loaded, rather than keeping with the text I'm trying to read

[+] theothertimcook|11 months ago|reply
Kmart DGAF they’re the primary junk purveyors in Oceana.
[+] AStonesThrow|11 months ago|reply
YouTube features Transcripts for most videos now, including this one. So simply click through to that, and you can read along with virtually anything, including linked time stamps.
[+] stavros|11 months ago|reply
> The ESP32 has its own charging circuit.

What?

_reads on_

Turns out, he uses a specific ESP32 breakout board (AFAIK a Lolin one) that includes a charging circuit for a 1S battery. It's a really nice board, but to say that ESP32 includes a charging circuit is wrong, for anyone else curious.

[+] hk1337|11 months ago|reply
I’m rather surprised anyone would want a battery operated lamp at their bedside anyways, unless it was a backup battery for when the power goes out. There’s no battery indicator to know when it is low so you would just have to guess or pay attention when it looks like it needs to be charged. Most people would probably just plug it in and leave it plugged in all the time.
[+] joshstrange|11 months ago|reply
Thank you! I thought I missing something when this wasn’t the top comment. The idea of adding another device that I have to “tend to” is not attractive to me.
[+] lifestyleguru|11 months ago|reply
I actively avoid adding to my life devices which require charging. Still at any moment at least 2-3 devices are being charged.
[+] JohnTHaller|11 months ago|reply
He has it setup to charge whenever he is not charging his phone. So, it's charging during the day and being used at night most likely. I have friends that have used battery operated lights where there aren't enough outlets or to avoid a cord to trip over.
[+] AStonesThrow|11 months ago|reply
> anyone would want a battery operated lamp at their bedside

Thomas Merton could still be alive, if only...

[+] PebblesHD|11 months ago|reply
Both the video and related post are incredibly high quality productions. The animated circuit diagram on brown paper in the video is a very approachable way to explain the problem and solution. Nice! And it’s always nice to see some Australia pop up on my browsing.
[+] glohbalrob|11 months ago|reply
Agreed. Its a great way to communicate, and shows the person speaking has thought out the process.
[+] zerof1l|11 months ago|reply
I also have such a lamp. Supposedly it's USB-C connection, but it only works when connecting with USB-A to USB-C cable.

My guess is it's due to the requirement to comply with EU law about USB-C. But proper USB-C requires active circuitry but manufacturers don't add it to save a few cents.

[+] franciscop|11 months ago|reply
This is usually a single tiny resistor in the right place that is missing, which is not a few cents in a mass production, it is just a fraction of a cent. But someone needs to know to actually put it there.
[+] mystified5016|11 months ago|reply
Proper USB-C charging requires no active circuitry. You need a pull-down resistor on both CC lines. Not just one, or your thing only charges if the USB C cable is rotated the right way up.

As mentioned, the requisite resistors are less than one cent each in quantity.

[+] danbruc|11 months ago|reply
I am really missing an explaination of how the cable and PCB were non-standard and if that would have been fixable. This feels more like building a new lamp for an existing housing than hacking the existing one.
[+] minus7|11 months ago|reply
There's a pinned comment on the video about the cable:

    For everyone that's interested, the included USB cable is wired like this:
    
    GND    -------> GND
    D+  -------> VCC
    D-   -------> VCC
    VCC -------> VCC
    
    So it is a non-standard cable! I measured by checking continuity between the USB A plug, and the USB C connector with a USB A adapter on it. None of my probes are small enough for a USB C connector's pins directly.

    There was a bit in the video about this that ended up on the cutting room floor, my bad!
[+] mcphage|11 months ago|reply
I was not aware Kmart was still in business.
[+] Gigachad|11 months ago|reply
Don’t think the Australian version has much if anything to do with the American one. It’s huge in Australia. Mostly selling cheap junk.
[+] AdmiralAsshat|11 months ago|reply
Meanwhile I probably would've just returned the lamp and bought a $20 lamp off Amazon that has a proper USB-C charger: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087CDBKCH/

I guess I'm not a very good 'hacker'.

[+] bayindirh|11 months ago|reply
> I guess I'm not a very good 'hacker'.

It depends. For me, the outcome is a function of spare time I have in the upcoming days. I have written complete tools in a weekend, or written much smaller tools over the years. On the other hand, there is a mount of projects waiting to be started, but I have no time whatsoever to touch them.

Just don't hit yourself what engages you or your priorities is different than the person who's on the video/website you're visiting.

[+] BizarroLand|11 months ago|reply
Ok, but can you find one that also has homeassistant integration?

That's the real value add with all of the work done. You could also purchase a 1 buck usb-c lithium charging IC chip and wire the outs in place of the broken "usb-c" port and have the original working the way it was "supposed" to.

[+] morgunkorn|11 months ago|reply
I'm in the same boat, but it wouldn't make a great youtube video of me vlogging my kmart trip and my subsequent amazon shopping spree ^^
[+] unzadunza|11 months ago|reply
Shoot, I was expecting to see a hacked blue light special.
[+] mschuster91|11 months ago|reply
It's 2025. For fucks sake, getting _basic_ USB-C compliance for power is a matter of two fucking SMD resistors. And yet, people are _still_ messing that up.
[+] Joker_vD|11 months ago|reply
It seems "vibe electronics" have arrived way earlier than "vibe coding" did.
[+] alnwlsn|11 months ago|reply
Compared to plain wires with your intended voltage and your choice of any 2-pin connector, USB-C is not so basic. SMD resistors imply you have a PCB or something to put them on. Which means that your power connector is no longer just a couple pieces of stamped metal and some plastic. It's also a tiny connector with close together pins. For everything else since the introduction of electric lighting, you can just solder two wires on the back and call it a day.

Not that I'm making excuses here - there's some weird stuff going on inside that lamp. There's a PCB for the battery charger, but the USB-C socket isn't on it, it's on a wire pigtail that connects to the board with another connector. And I don't usually see so many removable connectors inside something made so cheaply. They clearly could have done it correctly in this case, but didn't.

[+] qwertox|11 months ago|reply
I wonder if a lawsuit could force them to recall all their lamps and fix the USB port. Then this won't happen again.

At least here in Europe this would actually need to be a USB port which can be charged with any charger and cable.

[+] ktnt|11 months ago|reply
The OP end result is cooler but I believe they could have sorted out the USB power issue a lot easier with a <$1 (sans tariffs) "USB tricker". Basically USB PD in one end and your choice of output voltage. Then just add a resistor.
[+] qwertox|11 months ago|reply
Those Lolin32 are really a great form factor and they have the ability to recharge batteries. My only wish is that it should pass the battery voltage level directly to an ADC pin.