Related
I have been searching high and low for a good international USB charger for my TP2 (and other devices). I've found several, but reviews tend to be either mixed or non-existent.
My dream gizmo is something very compact and lightweight that can be jammed into almost any wall outlet in the world, which I can then plug a USB cable into and charge my TP2 (and ideally other stuff which can be charged with a standard USB cable).
Do any of you fine forum folks have suggestions? Or at least warnings for which products to avoid?
Well, when I travel I have a universal travel adaptor (ie it can fit into any power plug), and I plug into that the USB charger that came from HTC. Or I charge from my laptop.
HTC itself sells an international charger kit, but if you're going to multiple countries, it just means extra weight.
leginag said:
Well, when I travel I have a universal travel adaptor (ie it can fit into any power plug), and I plug into that the USB charger that came from HTC. Or I charge from my laptop.
HTC itself sells an international charger kit, but if you're going to multiple countries, it just means extra weight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just about any USB charger that has a 5.0V output should do fine. I use the same one that charges my iPod to charge various gadgets.
I picked up a nice one on one of Cathy Pacific's flights. They also sell them on their site.
http://www.cathaypacific.com/shop/c...riaType=category&criteria=Travel+Accessories#
Oh! I also have iGO laptop charger and various adapters. iGo works great.
http://www.igo.com/?gclid=CM-sr_GL954CFR4vagodU2RV4g
Just received "Tomtom Navigator 6 GPS Kit". Didn't test it yet as GPS, still charging.
What I noticed that it comes with the car charger that completely compatible with G-Tab. Connector size and 12V, 2A center positive.
Just to let people know who are looking for the car charger for the Tab.
Have you tried it yet?
I have one that someone gave me, from a broken portable DVD player. It also is rated 12V 2A, but I am afraid to try it.
The weird thing is that they also gave me the wall wart for the same DVD player, and it is rated at 9V 2.2A. That works perfectly for my ZT-180 tablet.
wasserkapf said:
Have you tried it yet?
I have one that someone gave me, from a broken portable DVD player. It also is rated 12V 2A, but I am afraid to try it.
The weird thing is that they also gave me the wall wart for the same DVD player, and it is rated at 9V 2.2A. That works perfectly for my ZT-180 tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested Bluetooth GPS unit with G-tab... Works perfect on GAdam 1.1.1.
As of charger, I'll give it a shot later on. Will post the results.
wasserkapf said:
Have you tried it yet?
I have one that someone gave me, from a broken portable DVD player. It also is rated 12V 2A, but I am afraid to try it.
The weird thing is that they also gave me the wall wart for the same DVD player, and it is rated at 9V 2.2A. That works perfectly for my ZT-180 tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried my DVD car charger either because even though it fits, it has a sticker on it that says "Do not use for battery recharging".
SORRY!!!
Made an a$$ of myself.
Have to read more careful... That was input 12V, 2A... Although the plug is the right size.
Unfortunately output is 5V, 2A that does not charge the Tab....
So.... Went to Walmart and bought an inverter: "Philips" model DVDP32.
It charges Tab using regular A/C plug supplied with G-tab.
Price $20.
Now can use the Tab as GPS without draining the battery.
glad that the tomtom gps works!
may I ask which navigation software you use?
I'm still looking for a good one.
hopefully a nice affordable offline nav app...
This is great to know.
themsn said:
glad that the tomtom gps works!
may I ask which navigation software you use?
I'm still looking for a good one.
hopefully a nice affordable offline nav app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Intend to use CoPilot live 8.
Great GPS, have one on my HD2, windows thou.
Nice part is that you're not dependent on any connection, WiFi or 3G.
All maps are pre-loaded and updates coming regularly. It's nice to have it on the phone, but screen is small comparing to G-Tab. Otherwise NA edition costs only $19 right now, discounted from usual $26.
Tester30 said:
Intend to use CoPilot live 8.
Great GPS, have one on my HD2, windows thou.
Nice part is that you're not dependent on any connection, WiFi or 3G.
All maps are pre-loaded and updates coming regularly. It's nice to have it on the phone, but screen is small comparing to G-Tab. Otherwise NA edition costs only $19 right now, discounted from usual $26.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the tip as well as the deal tip.
but I can't find copilot on my market. (read somewhere that certain apps may not show up if hardware specs aren't fulfilled)
so hopefully I'll be able to find it before the sale ends.
I downloaded CoPilot Live 8 from market.android.com . The US version is only $4.95 and it works great for me with BlueGPS on my Gtab. I am running VegaN 5.1
Got to Radio Shack and get a 12V auto adapter, they sell one that has changeable tips. There is nothing magic about the charger 12V 2A DC that's it.
Rumbleweed said:
Got to Radio Shack and get a 12V auto adapter, they sell one that has changeable tips. There is nothing magic about the charger 12V 2A DC that's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as that won't fry the tablet in the long run, sounds like an excellent idea.
Keep in mind that cars run about 13v to 14.6v, so unless the car adapter is already doing some regulation it might be higher than 12v. Personally, to be safe, I would get a cheap auto adapter, crack it open, put a voltage regulator inside to drop it down to something closer to the charger voltage, which IIRC is 7.4v (correct me if I am wrong) The factory charger is 12v 2a, so probably the charger is exactly perfect. But then again, I'm a belt and suspenders kinda guy.
Does anyone know if it is actually fine/good to charge it off 12v? Or is it one of those things that works fine but in a few months will end up frying the internal voltage regulator for the charging circuit because it got too hot or was just at the limit of its capabilities from running at 12v?
Too bad the device wont charge over USB...
LowSky said:
Too bad the device wont charge over USB...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, really wish it did... also wish that it had micro USB, not mini.
Now if only I could open it up and set up the USB power to raise up to the charging voltage and connect that to the charger. I doubt it has the room though. Anyone have pics of the inside?
Cocide said:
Keep in mind that cars run about 13v to 14.6v, so unless the car adapter is already doing some regulation it might be higher than 12v.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the auto adapter says that it has an output of 12V 2A, then that is what it will usually output. You can check the voltage fairly easily.
Cocide said:
Personally, to be safe, I would get a cheap auto adapter, crack it open, put a voltage regulator inside to drop it down to something closer to the charger voltage, which IIRC is 7.4v (correct me if I am wrong).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're wrong.
It is 12V 2A, I don't know where you got your information from. Why don't you just look at the specs on the power supply?
wasserkapf said:
If the auto adapter says that it has an output of 12V 2A, then that is what it will usually output. You can check the voltage fairly easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was under the impression he was using one of the adapters that just gave you power from the car but had no form of voltage control and just a fuse. I had a friend fry a Garmin with a cheap '12 v' adapter that was just fused, so just wanted to make sure.
wasserkapf said:
You're wrong.
It is 12V 2A, I don't know where you got your information from. Why don't you just look at the specs on the power supply?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the correction, I just didn't have a charger near me to check when I posted. But now I feel a lot better about car charging.
I've been looking for a car charger for my incoming tab, I'll have to check out the shack.
The cheapo' ones from places like monopice or merit line bleed off extra voltage via heat, so they are easy to fry. A good charger that has the proper regulator circuitry to output at it's given rating should not get warm when used.
Cocide said:
I know, really wish it did... also wish that it had micro USB, not mini.
Now if only I could open it up and set up the USB power to raise up to the charging voltage and connect that to the charger. I doubt it has the room though. Anyone have pics of the inside?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree I have changed all of my plugs from mini usb to micro now. =/
Found one
Radio Shack has a 12v 2A charger with interchangable tips. The "B" tip is the one that fits, and I confirm it working. I am an idiot and didn't realize that the tip connections are polarized so I thought the charger was broken at first. Make sure to have the word "TIP" on the connector line up with the "INPUT" on the actual charger.
well..you guys are somewhat right and somewhat wrong.
the 12VDC on a car can be anywhere from 11VDC (engine off, battery low) to 14.5VDC.
Careful with some of the plugs. If they are not regulated, it's just a voltage divider resistor in the power stage and may not be current limited.
On the other hand, if it is current limited, and the tablet starts pulling 2A from a 500mA (most cell chargers) plug, you'll let out the magic smoke that makes it work.
I've got it on the docket to do a true regulated 12VDC / 2A charger as well. I'll see if I can get some cheapies and do some testing to show you guys what I'm talking about but I need to get a small controllable load.
Trying to gauge interest for a pet project.
How many of you would be interested in an adapter that would allow you to use a laptop "brick" to charge your G-Tab?
First design is going to be for the Dell laptop power supplies (since I have a plethora of them )
If there is enough interest in other laptop supplies I will look at different connectors as well.
No idea on mfg costs right now, need to prove concept first. Cost target (Resale) is ~$10
I'd like to see and adapter that fits the Dell D and E series Latitude chargers.
That's the one I'm aiming for initially. Newer series Dell with the ROUND receptacle. I "think" it might still work with the octagonal receptecles though. Need to get some samples and try it out for fit.
Cost might be sligthly higher than I originally anticipated (Still <$20 though) - the damn Dell connector is a quasi-custom and cheapest I've found is $6+ shipping....grumble....
If the old receptacles work, that brings the cost down.
Haven't priced the tablet side connector yet, but I'm guessing it's going to be a couple bucks with a lead on it.
More to come....hoping to have some parts by next week to start building up protos.
I'd be very interested in something that would plug into a USB port on a desktop or laptop or any USB power supply.
I have a couple of D-Series laptops and would love to use the same charger for them and my G-Tab. I would definitely buy one.
nunjabusiness said:
I'd be very interested in something that would plug into a USB port on a desktop or laptop or any USB power supply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have USB3.0 it "might" be possible as that has higher current carrying (3.6W) potential than USB1 and USB2.0 which are ~500mW at best. That's one disadvanage to the big ass battery in these things, which I think are 7.2V, so they usually require a higher input voltage (hence why we get 12V in). Even with USB3.0 though, we are still looking at long (10x+) charging times versus the wall-wart.
It's "technically" possible to step up the current USB 5V to 12V, but the power level is so low that it would take forever and a day to charge ( or about 48x longer than the current 12V/2A wall charger)
without a proper teardown though, it's tough to tell what the charging circuit looks like on the board. My guess is it's a 12V / 7.2V buck charger as it's cheaper than a boost/buck to implement. My bigger question about the internal charging circuit though is what it actually draws in terms of power...the wall wart is rated for 12V/2A, but those are usually overbuilt to prevent them from blowing up. Hoping it's closer to 1A draw, but again without knowing what the charger chip is, there's no (Easy) way to determine this without probing the connections.
bnovak said:
How many of you would be interested in an adapter that would allow you to use a laptop "brick" to charge your G-Tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Count me in as well. I travel a ton for work and having one less charger to stuff in my carry-on would be great - well worth the sub-$20 price.
I currently pack a PA-4E, stock charger for a Latitude E6510
I would be interested, though I have an ASUS laptop at the moment.
On a side note, if you did only decide to make one and it were for Dell, anyone could purchase a universal adapter and care the one adapter and two tips. Just a thought.
Just bought this for (what I think) was a really good deal... then noticed after I bought it that the power cable is proprietary... (ugh)...
I was hoping to get some sort of battery pack for this in case it goes dead on a trip, anyone know of one that would work? OR even better, is there an adapter to charge the tablet S off of usb somehow?
... I'm hoping I didn't just get buyers remorse....
The AC adapter is two pieces. The cable with the prongs, then the little box with the cable that goes to the tablet. I bet you can find a cable that has a cigarette adapter instead of prongs. If thou find one, link me, I would be interested.
Sent from my Sony Tablet S
Why don't you just get something like THIS and save yourself a lot of headache. Plus you can use it with all of your devices! I've had one for a few years now and it's a must have!
Won't 75w be too little? I think it will be less than 1 amp the charger requires. Maybe i m wrong in my calcs on this
Sent from my R800i
No, you're probably right. I don't think iPads can charge via car chargers either now that I think about it, but I've used to to power laptops and charge cell phones. I haven't tried mine yet with the tablet s but maybe I shall soon.
annoying
anakinjay said:
Just bought this for (what I think) was a really good deal... then noticed after I bought it that the power cable is proprietary... (ugh)...
I was hoping to get some sort of battery pack for this in case it goes dead on a trip, anyone know of one that would work? OR even better, is there an adapter to charge the tablet S off of usb somehow?
... I'm hoping I didn't just get buyers remorse....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I don't like so far is the crazy plug. Why does Sony have to be different than everyone else?
Gonna make a trip to Fry's Electronics and see what they have.
would this 150w one work? http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-inverter-converter-blackberry-MRI1511U-4/dp/B003SGJIRO/ref=pd_vtp_e_2. I'm not sure about how the wattage works with car chargers so please let me know if the cars battery can only produce a certain max output.
puredreamz said:
would this 150w one work? http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-inverter-converter-blackberry-MRI1511U-4/dp/B003SGJIRO/ref=pd_vtp_e_2. I'm not sure about how the wattage works with car chargers so please let me know if the cars battery can only produce a certain max output.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think wattage works as multiplication of voltage times amp. I don't have the charger here, but if you divide 150 watt by whatever voltage your converter produces you get the amps. I.e. Assuming 100-110v you get up to 1.5amp, or assuming 220v you get up to almost 700mAmp. I think sony charger requires 1amp but im not sure for what voltage they quote it. Hope it helps
Sent from my R800i
I just wanted to let people know that Scosche just released a new dual 2.4A car charger. This is not a car charger that splits 2.4A between two ports, but one that has full 2.4A per port. You can charge tablets and phones at the same time. What I love about this charger, is that it sits flush in the car. No stick protruding out.
I used to have their older model, the 2.1A dual car charger USBC202M. I purchased it in May. When I saw that they had this one available on their site, I asked a representative through chat if I could exchange my USBC202M for the USBC242M one. He said sure and gave me the info on how to do the exchange. I only paid the shipping to them and got a brand new item. I did not send the original box or anything. Great customer service!
I will try this later on. I have a dedicated USB charge only cable so I will not run into any of the charging issues that some people might have using a data/charge cable.
The USBC202M and USBC242M are listed as the same price on SCOSCHE's website. The USBC242M is not up on Amazon yet, which is where I purchased the original charger.
Link to USBC242M: http://www.scosche.com/chargers/ipad-usb-car-charger-two-port
Link to the charge only cable I am using (nice 5ft): http://www.amazon.com/Specialised-M...=UTF8&qid=1385138950&sr=8-1&keywords=portapow . I like how it is a little thinner than the Mediabridge 6ft one that everyone seems to be using. And the connections are a little less bulkier as well so I am able to connect with my phone that is using a Spigen Slim Armor.
Pics up soon.
How do you use that micro usb charging only cable with the Note 3?
CreekDirt said:
How do you use that micro usb charging only cable with the Note 3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's like any other USB cable, you just plug it in to a USB port. It allows AC charging regardless if you plug it into an AC adapter or a USB port on your PC. This will not allow any data when used in a PC.
CreekDirt said:
How do you use that micro usb charging only cable with the Note 3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/2013/11/samsung-galaxy-note-3-usb-3-0-and-microusb-compatibility/
Just look at your Note 3's USB 3.0 port on the phone. See that one slot is bigger. Thats where you plug the USB 2.0 cable into. It will work just fine.
USBC202M
That same model number is on Amazon. it lists it differently though..
Dual 10 WATT (2.1A) USB Ports
http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-USBC202M-Charger-works-iPhone/dp/B0077PM3KG
It is only $16 which is a lot less than $24
UPDATE
I see the difference. The packaging you have a picture of has that Model number listed as USBC242M not USBC202M
The lesser should be more than adequate for the Note 3 as it exceeds the 1.8A it will really use at the most.
krelvinaz said:
USBC202M
That same model number is on Amazon. it lists it differently though..
Dual 10 WATT (2.1A) USB Ports
http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-USBC202M-Charger-works-iPhone/dp/B0077PM3KG
It is only $16 which is a lot less than $24
UPDATE
I see the difference. The packaging you have a picture of has that Model number listed as USBC242M not USBC202M
The lesser should be more than adequate for the Note 3 as it exceeds the 1.8A it will really use at the most.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I had the original USBC202M that you see on Amazon. I paid that back in May. I contacted Scosche through chat on their website (took about 30 min before someone was even available) and asked if I could just swap it with the newer model since they were selling it for the same price. He just needed the receipt (which showed my cost of $16) when I send my original one. It was done as a warranty exchange since it was within a year.
I know 2.4A is more than enough but this is great if you also wanted to charge a tablet as well. Or if people were running kernels that allowed more than 1.8A charging.
Here's a much cheaper Anker dual 2.4A that I was looking at but hate how large it is. The price is soooo nice too. $11.99
http://www.amazon.com/Release-Anker...5144055&sr=8-1&keywords=2.4a+car+charger+dual
jteran5 said:
Here's a much cheaper Anker dual 2.4A that I was looking at but hate how large it is. The price is soooo nice too. $11.99
http://www.amazon.com/Release-Anker...5144055&sr=8-1&keywords=2.4a+car+charger+dual
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Anker is good and the price is right.
cpufrost said:
The Anker is good and the price is right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anker makes quality products. The price is great but I was really looking for a flush look when installed in my car. Most of my interior is black and this is a bright pearl white. Is there an advantage of a stick design as opposed to a flush?
jteran5 said:
Anker makes quality products. The price is great but I was really looking for a flush look when installed in my car. Most of my interior is black and this is a bright pearl white. Is there an advantage of a stick design as opposed to a flush?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, looks aside the compact version is going to run much hotter if both outlets are used at capacity.
jteran5 said:
Anker makes quality products. The price is great but I was really looking for a flush look when installed in my car. Most of my interior is black and this is a bright pearl white. Is there an advantage of a stick design as opposed to a flush?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spray paint.
KroniK187 said:
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/blog/2013/11/samsung-galaxy-note-3-usb-3-0-and-microusb-compatibility/
Just look at your Note 3's USB 3.0 port on the phone. See that one slot is bigger. Thats where you plug the USB 2.0 cable into. It will work just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I had totally missed that until I saw this thread. After posting the question I looked at the port and saw that it is a two in one port. Just the other day I was bummed that I forgot the N3 charging cable at home. I spent all day reserving battery when I had my S4 cable in my bag the whole time. Doh!
I am getting one of these. So basically this is overkill right? Since 1.8a is max? Does the charge only cable benefit more in any way than a charge/data cable or are the charging amps the same?
Update.
I ended up getting the less amp USBC202M via Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0077PM3KG and ordered two Charging MicroUSB cables also from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009W34X1I
The cables are designed for full charge (just like being plugged into an AC charger) but in the car. I can charge my Note 3 and Tablet both with 1800mA each. The cables are straight 6FT heavy cables which are hard to break, and give you lots of room to use the phone or tablet while it is plugged in.
Just like having AC power in the car/truck with fast charge times
The difference between wall charging and usb charging, is that the wall charger ties the two usb data pins together. Phones detect that and charge slower on usb to protect computer ports from high current drain. Good car chargers solder together the two data pins to cheat the phone into thinking that is connected into a wall charger and thus charge the fastest possible.
You could find usb cables that internally connect the data pins, however that cable won't allow you to send data.
This applies to most usb charged devices, like android, iphone, ipad, etc.
---------- Post added at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 AM ----------
The Scosche does not work with the galaxy s5; the anker does but is larger physically.
I found my dual micro high current car charger on boxwave. It was cheap, and works great. No problems at all. The phone shouldnt pull more power then it needs. If so id check with tech services.
Thinkfreshdell said:
I found my dual micro high current car charger on boxwave. It was cheap, and works great. No problems at all. The phone shouldnt pull more power then it needs. If so id check with tech services.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't worry. If the charger is required more power than is able to provIde it will just cut to the top.
Output of that plug states 10v 12w
Official note 3 charger is 5.3v 2amp I cant see how this could be good for your phone/battery.
idone said:
Output of that plug states 10v 12w
Official note 3 charger is 5.3v 2amp I cant see how this could be good for your phone/battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where does it say 10v?
Anyway, I've finally bought the Anker 24W, which is compatible with the Galaxy S5, so there are much higher probability to be compatible with newer devices like Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy note 4, etc.
scandiun said:
Where does it say 10v?
Anyway, I've finally bought the Anker 24W, which is compatible with the Galaxy S5, so there are much higher probability to be compatible with newer devices like Galaxy Tab S, Galaxy note 4, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Second picture in the first post, twards the bottom left.
idone said:
Second picture in the first post, twards the bottom left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously this is a mistake, it's referring to input voltage.
12V USB Adapter
Input Voltage: 10-16V
USB Output Voltage: 5VDC, Dual 12 Watt (2.4A)
http://www.scosche.com/chargers/ipad-usb-car-charger-two-port
Note that some car chargers allow 12-24V because you can use also trucks and vans for charging. Doesn't seem the case for Scosche.