Power Supply Design Flaw

[MarkHaysHarris777]

<snip>
It is a long established truism that power should be transmitted at high voltages and stepped down at the application -- 5V in was simply a bad mistake born of tunnel vision from the SBC Pine64.

I must agree.  My SBC(s) are 12v systems (stepped down and filtered) including my supply for the pinebook.  You can easily get the correct supply from the Pine Store.  Also, you can get a 1m or 2m usb cable with the correct (quality) plug ;  I use the cable with my 12v-->5v CPT and passive filter design.

Hmm. The non-USB end plug appears the same poorly designed hardware with red, instead of black, strain relief molding. If I have to order, I'll get that cable simply because I don't like being tied to that very proprietary wall wart, though it still leaves me at the mercy of that fragile plug. I would like better if it were easy to hack one of the Pinebook's USB ports to jump 5V in to the power connector. Carrying a compact 4 port USB hub would make up for the loss of one USB connector, and replacing a worn USB cable is much more convenient. At least opening up the Pinebook is pretty straight forward.

I find the plugs to be quite tough, well made, and electrically sound.

Tips:  straight in, straight out;  no wiggle, no twist !   ... will last a long long time.

The primary reason (pointed out by lukasz) for the plug vs the micro usb is to guard against the inherent flaws of the micro usb !   The reason for not using the larger standard "Arduino" plug is to guard against someone accidentally plugging 7-12 volts into the pine device and blowing it !  The reason for not using 19v IN is to hold back on costs!  Personally, I think that the power IN should be 19v (like many other notebooks) with the standard plug or magnetic connection ( like apple's );  however, I find that the 3.1mm plug works very well, and the 5v design is adequate ;  has not caused any problems for my setup so far.

[Siliconserf]

When an organization does something right they should be recognized. Some here have had problems with warranty issues. I don't know how serious that may be as we tend to hear only from those with issues, and not so much from those where there were no problems to resolved. In this case Pine64.org is sending me a new supply. In return I've sent high resolution photos to try and help the power supply source figure out why the defective supply failed and how it escaped detection in manufacturing test. If they ask for the part back I will be happy to oblige. So, Kudos to Pine64 for honoring their warranty, and for taking an interest in the root cause of the problem.