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Anyone contemplating the purchase of the Satechi CHR-61 might want to know about a design feature that's not documented on either the Amazon or Satechi websites.
The Amazon/Satechi photos and descriptions mention LED's associated with each of the 4 main power ports as well as for the USB port. It turns out that there are actually two sets of LED's associated with each of the main power ports and a single fifth LED associated with the USB port.
When the 4 main 12V ports are switched off, blue LED's mounted beneath each push button switch glow brightly. When the ports are switched on, the blue LED's turn off and red LED's mounted above each of the push buttons turn on. The fifth LED associated with the USB port always glows blue, and does not change color, even when an attached device becomes fully charged (as is the case with most USB chargers).
The issue I have is that even when turned off, each of the main power ports' associated LED's are always on with no way to disable them. That means that if you plug this unit into a cigarette lighter socket that always on (as is the case with many vehicles), these 5 very bright LED's could eventually drain your vehicle's battery. I know that LED's typically don't draw very much current, but given enough time, full drain could occur.
Additionally, because they're so bright, I think many might find them distracting, especially when driving at night. While some customers might like these always-on LED's, I don't, and think they're inclusion is a dumb design decision.
Because I was otherwise OK with this unit's design, I decided to try disabling the blue LED's myself. If my experiment failed, no big deal; I'd just trash the thing and purchase something else.
I disassembled the unit by removing 4 small bottom screws, and then, using a pair of needle nose pliers, extracted the 4 main, rectangular, blue LED's from the circuit board. The fifth USB-related LED is round and attaches to the circuit board via 2 lead wires, which can be easily severed using wire cutters. I left the remaining upper row of red LED's intact.
After reassembly (it's a bit tricky to get all the parts aligned properly), I plugged the unit back into my cigarette lighter and determined that removing the blue LED's had no apparent effect on operation. That is, all main 12V ports still operated normally except that now there is no glowing LED when a push button switch is off, but the red LED does glow when a switch is on.
The 5V USB port is now permanently dark, but otherwise continues to function normally. I should note that it's also possible that the remaining circuitry might also draw some small amount of current even when all switches are off, but I have no way to test whether or not this is the case.
If you don't like the always-on LED feature of this unit, but are not inclined to tinker (the hack I describe also clearly voids the warranty), then you might want to consider another product.
By the way, I'd judge the overall build quality of the Satechi CHR-61 to be adequate, though not great. The push button switches don't operate very smoothly, but they're probably OK for their purpose. The circuit board and internal construction look OK to me (I'm a former electronics manufacturing engineer).
As a final note, if you're considering a semi-permanent installation of this unit in your vehicle, you might want to use sticky-back Velcro, rather than the included 3M adhesive pad. While perhaps not as stable as the adhesive pad, the Velcro would allow for easy removal and re-attachment.
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I wanted something like this with four switched outlets badly enough to start building my own. With this thing's measly $20 price, I kicked the homebrew solution to the curb. I'd rather have the switches and the jacks on the same face instead of on opposite sides so I could tuck it into a little cubby below my stereo, but I'll get over that.
Fears of battery drain from the LEDs are absurd.
Yes, the blue LEDs are bright, but that brightness does not necessarily require high power consumption. With all switches off, my unit consumes 30mA @ 12V. With all switches on and no accessories plugged in, illuminating the reds consumes 36 mA @ 12V.
The energy in a single alkaline AA battery, ignoring for a moment that an AA battery only supplies 1.5V, could power this thing for five days. In the context of a 40-pound lead-acid storage battery with orders-of-magnitude more energy capacity than the AA cell, 30mA is utterly negligible. If you're not going to drive your car for a month, sure, go ahead and unplug it. Leaving your vehicle idle for a weekend, don't worry about it.
My unit has a curious but ultimately trivial defect: the plug labels are reversed. The "plug 1" switch operates the socket labeled "plug 4". I don't know if all units are the same way. I first assumed the assembler simply oriented the plate wrong, so I disassembled it to correct the flaw. Well, surprise on me, the plate is keyed to the shell so it can't be reoriented. I now figure that whoever printed the labels on the plate goofed.
Jim Wood said in his review "it's a bit tricky to get all the parts aligned properly" when reassembling it. I'd change "a bit tricky" to "ridiculously fussy." Resist the urge to take it apart unless you have a really good reason.
During my peek inside, I saw some rather poor craftsmanship. The PCBs look fine, but they're surely assembled by robots. The hand-soldering, on the other hand, is generously described as "amateurish." I'm not afraid that the unit is going to catch on fire or fry my phone charger or cause any other trouble, but I won't be surprised if it flakes out in a year.
Don't mistake criticism for dissatisfaction. I'm really happy with the purchase. It fulfills a simple need in a simple way. It's unobtrusive enough to go unnoticed, but good-looking enough that it doesn't need to be hidden.
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There isn't much more to say about this product than it works and has worked well with everything I've plugged into it thus far. Right now it is charging my iPhone 3G through the USB port, but it has also charged my GPS and another iPhone through the main sockets at the same time without any problems. It is also a nice option to be able to deactivate the unused ports to ensure that you aren't draining any power from your car battery unnecessarily.
I will also say that the main cord is a nice length and is long enough so that the adapter is currently connected my dashboard socket, but is physically situated between my center console and the passenger seat without any problems. It's a very nice product and I have had zero compatibility issues so far.
Honest reviews on Satechi CHR-61 4-Way 12V Car Socket Extender Charger Adapter
This item puts a large amount of Radio Frequency noise. Enough noise to effectively block my FM transmitter. Only when I plugged the FM transmitter in a separate outlet and placed the two devices as far apart as possible, the radio could receive a very weak static filled signal of my music. I is the FM transmitter every day and planned on plugging it into this car socket power stip. I like all of the features except the always on led lights. If you do not plan on using this with a FM transmitter I think it is a great buy.
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i have this for about a month now, its ok but its not actually that great
Pros : Great concept and design
Cons: the Charger holes are a tad big, if your actually mounting it sideways,
where the Buttons is facing up and the charger plug holes facing down, it Loses connection
