Assuming the chip isn't fraudulently added. Like in the article, some manufacturers are shady & will sell cables with e-marker chips for capabilities the cable can't actually support.
Yes, but the only way to test for something like that would be to put the rated load and see if the cable smokes. Not something a family-friendly tester would do.
No need to check for smoke, just need to check the voltage drop between source port & sink port.
You need a >5A output power supply, two voltmeter channels (for source & sink), one ammeter channel (to sense applied load), an electronic DC load (actively cooled FET that uses the ammeter to set a constant current), a microcontroller, screen, some buttons, and software to run the whole thing. Or the manual version: Lab power supply, some USB connector breakout boards, a DC load, optionally a multimeter, a pencil, and some graph paper. Set the power supply current limit over 5A, voltage to 5V, set the DC load to 500mA, and measure the voltage at the power supply & DC load every 100mA as you increase it up to 5A load (or 3A if the cable isn't marked for 5A capability). If the sink drops more than 0.6V below the source, the cable is not compliant.
Right, but you can't expect a pocket sized tester like the Treedix to implement that, even if it is the USB standard test for compliance. The Treedix does measure resistance on the cable, however, so if a cable exceeds 250mΩ it would also flunk your more accurate test.
I wanted to have a model which tells me the modes which are supported and which is actually selected for a reasonable price and which I can order at a reasonable trader. this model seems to do the trick
