# Does anyone know where I can get a MaleUSB to FemaleAC cord?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 28, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923 "2015-10-28T01:02:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/21 "2015-10-28T15:53:10Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> What will you plug in that will consume no more than 5 watts? Maybe you could charge some other device that doesn’t have a USB charger. But the loss in converting 5VDC to 120VAC is going to limit you even further.
it’s even worse than that, USB 1.1 and 2.0 only mandate the port be able to supply 500 mA, so you can only expect _one_ watt. what OP is asking for is nonsensical; such an inverter would consume the available power via USB just by heating itself up.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/22 "2015-10-28T15:55:18Z")
USB 3 and USB C aren’t as exotic as they used to be. They should provide plenty of power for a variety of different devices.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/23 "2015-10-28T16:00:43Z")
can you please answer the people who have asked you what AC devices you want to connect to this thing?
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/24 "2015-10-28T16:01:19Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> But other things would!
Not very many things would.
Assuming you have USB ports capable of 1 amp, then you have 5 watts available. You’ll lose some of that as heat loss in the inverter, so figure at most 4 watts available.
A CFL light bulb will be somewhere between about 10 and 30 watts, depending on its brightness, so you can’t even power a lamp.
A small clock is going to be a couple of watts, so you could power one of those. If it has a radio, though, it will easily exceed 4 watts so that will blow your device. So you can have a small clock, but not a clock radio.
A fan is going to be somewhere around 50 watts to a couple hundred watts depending on the size, so that’s out.
A phone or tablet charger will work, but it would be much simpler (with less losses) to just use the USB to charge your phone or tablet.
You could power your electric toothbrush charger. As far as other things from your bathroom go though, no dice. A shaver will draw too much power. A curling iron will draw too much power. A hair dryer will be over 1000 watts, so no way in heck.
A television will be over 100 watts (probably closer to 200 depending on its size). No luck there either.
A can opener, toaster, microwave, waffle iron, George Foreman grill, etc. all draw far too much power.
An electric blanket or a heating pad will draw way too much power.
So what the heck do you think that you could power from this thing?
> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> jerry–rigged
> adjective jer·ry–rigged \ˈjer-ē-ˌrigd\
>
> : made in a quick or careless way : not built or designed well
This has its roots in WWII, where “jerry” in this case referred to the Germans. Since it is basically a slur against Germans, some folks find it offensive. Some folks use “jury rigged” as a supposedly non-offensive version of the term.
Jerry rigged is not nearly as universally offensive as the version that uses the N word though.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/25 "2015-10-28T16:04:52Z")
gazpacho said I could have up to 100 watts though…
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> can you please answer the people who have asked you what AC devices you want to connect to this thing?
A fan, perhaps. Or a blender. TBH I don’t have anything specific in mind at the moment but I’d like the option.
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### Author:  [@Darth\_Ayebaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Ayebaw)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/26 "2015-10-28T16:06:25Z")
Also some airports or hotels or other places have power outlets with only USB slots lacking the AC slot. So I’d be able to use those to charge or run my devices.
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/27 "2015-10-28T16:10:29Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> gazpacho said I could have up to 100 watts though…
> A fan, perhaps. Or a blender. TBH I don’t have anything specific in mind at the moment but I’d like the option.
“The option” involves violating either USB standard engineering or physics.
Sorry. A single USB port (even current USB C) is restricted to 900 ma per port. That’s less than 5 watts (5 volts at 900 milli-amps is 4.5 watts), before conversion losses. Which are inevitable for a 5 vdc to 110 vac stepup device.
So you’ll be able to power a night-light light bulb. A low-power one, not one of those deluxe 7w ones.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/28 "2015-10-28T16:26:34Z")
I thought USB Type-C allowed up to 100W?
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/29 "2015-10-28T16:26:42Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> gazpacho said I could have up to 100 watts though…
You’re not getting 100 watts out of the ports you are talking about. 4 watts is much more realistic.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/30 "2015-10-28T16:28:59Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> gazpacho said I could have up to 100 watts though…
But you can only get 100 watts if you’re willing to step down to 12-20 volts.
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> Unless you are using the more exotic USB 3.0 and USB C power modes which deliver 12 and 20 V with 60W to 100W this seems pretty useless.
The only things that will work at that voltage are automotive accessories, [like this.](https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-work-light-for-tractors/6in-round-10w-handheld-spot-led-work-light/2240/5234/#/tab/Specifications) And they don’t have AC plug-in style connectors.
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### Author:  [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/31 "2015-10-28T17:28:18Z")
Yeah, from my understanding of USB 3.0 and USB C, the goal is to charge your laptop the same way you do your phone – from a wall wart over a USB cable. Basically the same way you do now, only with a standardized interface. This requires a lot more power than the 5 watts your Android phone needs. The goal is not (and probably never will be) to power household appliances from your laptop battery over USB.
My current laptop charger outputs 19.5 V with a top rated current of 3.3 amps. That’s 64 watts, and most of that goes to charge the battery or run my laptop. There just isn’t much leftover to power anything else, except for small loads like a smartphone or external hard drive.
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/32 "2015-10-28T17:50:19Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#):
>
> This has its roots in WWII, where “jerry” in this case referred to the Germans.
Googling suggests an uncertain origin around 1900.
> [@](#):
>
> Some folks use “jury rigged” as a supposedly non-offensive version of the term.
This has a much earlier (late 18th century) nautical origin.
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### Author:  [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/33 "2015-10-28T18:03:04Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> But you can only get 100 watts if you’re willing to step down to 12-20 volts.
>
> The only things that will work at that voltage are automotive accessories, [like this.](https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/led-work-light-for-tractors/6in-round-10w-handheld-spot-led-work-light/2240/5234/#/tab/Specifications) And they don’t have AC plug-in style connectors.
Sadly, not even that will work.
The power output on a 5V USB charger is just to low to power anything really powerful.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/34 "2015-10-28T18:10:25Z")
> [@jz78817](#):
>
> I can see no purpose whatsoever for such a device. Seriously, that thing looks like a joke.
It’s either a joke or a demonstration of how to break the most fundamental rule of designing any kind of electrical/electronic adapter: “never build an adapter that can create a damaging interconnection.” Actually this one goes a lot further and violates the special-case rule “never build an adapter that can set your house on fire”. 😉
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### Author:  [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/35 "2015-10-28T18:17:59Z")
> [@Darth\_Ayebaw](#):
>
> It’s definitely doable to transform 5VDC to 120VAC that’s what inverters are for.
>
> [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://i.imgur.com/wDjBS66.jpg) is basically what I’m looking for.
To reiterate what \*\*jz78817 \*\*said, that cable pictured is a (badly) Photoshopped fake/joke. Even if such a (useless) cable were to exist there would have to be an inverter box in the middle of it to convert the voltage from 5VDC to 120VAC and, as has been said, it wouldn’t provide more than a few watts.
In fact, Google Image Search shows that the AC outlet & cable part of that picture is indeed cropped from a stock photo [like this one on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Edison-Female-Adapter/dp/B0015V1GXS) (the reflections on the cable are identical)…
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### Author:  [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/36 "2015-10-28T18:27:57Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#):
>
> To reiterate what \*\*jz78817 \*\*said, that cable pictured is a (badly) Photoshopped fake/joke. Even if such a (useless) cable were to exist there would have to be an inverter box in the middle of it to convert the voltage from 5VDC to 120VAC and, as has been said, it wouldn’t provide more than a few watts.
>
> In fact, Google Image Search shows that the AC outlet & cable part of that picture is indeed cropped from a stock photo [like this one on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Edison-Female-Adapter/dp/B0015V1GXS) (the reflections on the cable are identical)…
What do you expect?When people believe [this](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nxG6mvw2aDM/Ummkq_MoLqI/AAAAAAAAVyU/mQzd-KVq5iU/s400/self-charger.jpg) is real and works.
I had this picture hanging up in the shop a while back and people wanted to buy that cable.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/37 "2015-10-28T18:49:33Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#):
>
> So what the heck do you think that you could power from this thing?
Vibrator.
😉
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/38 "2015-10-28T18:52:48Z")
> [@Doughbag](#):
>
> What do you expect?When people believe [this](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nxG6mvw2aDM/Ummkq_MoLqI/AAAAAAAAVyU/mQzd-KVq5iU/s400/self-charger.jpg) is real and works.
> I had this picture hanging up in the shop a while back and people wanted to buy that cable.
You could have sold them the cable, and then sold them [one of these](https://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Magnetism/Guide/Magnetism/einsteinmotionb.jpg) to take it home.
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### Author:  [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/39 "2015-10-28T18:53:18Z")
> [@Xema](#):
>
> Googling suggests an uncertain origin around 1900.
> This has a much earlier (late 18th century) nautical origin.
I was going to mention this. I’ll add:
> [@](#):
>
> [A Temporary Fix](http://classroom.synonym.com/origin-phrase-jury-rigged-8552.html)
> In sailing, a “jury mast” referred to a makeshift mast erected on a sailing ship, usually after the original was lost or damaged. A “jury-rigged” ship came to describe a ship, then eventually any structure or device, with a jury mast or other temporary fixes. An Old French word, “ajurie,” that means “help or relief” is possibly the source for this use of “jury” as an adjective. “Jury-rigged” is often confused with the phrases “jerry-built” or “jerry-rigged,” which are often inappropriately used in its place. “Jerry-built” refers to a house built using less-than-satisfactory materials and dates from the middle of the 1800s. It may be a contraction of “Jericho” or the name of a building firm in Liverpool that was known for its shoddy work.
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-where-i-can-get-a-maleusb-to-femaleac-cord/735923/40 "2015-10-28T20:02:35Z")
> [@Xema](#):
>
> Googling suggests an uncertain origin around 1900.
There are plenty of cites that also indicate it comes from the slur of Germans during WWII. I also found one cite that claimed it went back to at least the 1860s or so. This makes me think that the term was around earlier, but was probably popularized during WWII with many folks not realizing that it didn’t originally refer to Germans.
> [@Xema](#):
>
> This has a much earlier (late 18th century) nautical origin.
Interesting. I did not know that. I always thought that it was a corruption of jerry-rigging.
Anyway, my point still stands. Some folks think of jerry-rigging as a German slur. The fact that they are wrong about the origin of the phrase doesn’t mean you can’t get yourself into trouble using it. 🙂
Sorry for starting this hijack.
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