Cheap Chinese electrolytics - a plague - Re: TV -> D-Sub converter

Yo uare lucky. Most of the well-warts we get in the UK have no intenral protectio nt all, they rely on the 30A ring main fuse.... I am told that the transformer is supposed ot burn out in a safe way if overlaoded, mu expeirencie si that this does not happen, at least not until the thing has got hot enough to melt the case and emit a lot of magic smoke. It was fiding the thermal fuse that I regarded as a suprise on such a cheap product. I can rememebr the Philips radios and tape recorders with thermal fuses slotted into the intenral mains transofmer, and instructions in the service manual for yanking it out nad replacing it if it failed. The PSU for my Philis G7000 video game (not strictly a wall wart, it's got a short mains input lead on it) has both mains nad output-side fuses and a thermal fuse inside. And in a screwed-together case so it can be repaired. The wall wart for my LogicDart also has a separate (and thus replaceable) thermal fuse on thge PCB, in a screwed-together case. But such things are vey much i nthe minority now. -tony