Any pure USB external battery chargers? - Touch HD Accessories

I have looked around eBay for a while now, and all I can find are those external battery chargers that have a built-in powersupply for 110-240V. What I'm looking for is something I have for my dear, old Atom Life (which now seems like a little toy when I look at it...): A charger for a loose battery that could be hooked up to a regular wall or car charger.
Why? Because when I'm in the slopes in the winter, I have one battery charging in the car while I use the other battery to play music and all the other stuff I do when I really ought to pay attention to what's happening in the slopes...which is why I wear a helmet! So has anybody seen something like that for the HD yet?

There are quite a few USB cradles with a slot for charging a spare battery on eBay. They have two USB connections, one is for the phone to sync to the PC the other is for the power supply to the cradle.
For example http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB-Cradle-w-...trkparms=65:12|66:2|39:1|72:1683|293:1|294:50
You could use that with a 12v to USB adapter and a USB to mini USB lead to power it.

Thanks, I've seen those. But I was really looking for one that only charged the battery and was half the size. I may have to settle for one of these cradles, though. Doesn't seem like they have stuff like this, which I have for the Atom Life:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Momax-Smart-Bat...temQQimsxZ20090716?IMSfp=TL090716142005r13968
EDIT: Although that looks like a cradle with a blanking plug where the cradle would have been.

Thanks! Bought. Have no idea why I didn't see that... Silly me!

Related

Battery charger bug!!:-)

I had a BIG problem with a third party battery charger (RIMAX).
It is a Car charger and a wall mount charger, with USB plug and cable, but IT WORKS ONLY WHEN THE WIZARD IS ON! If the battery goes down for some reason and the phone couldn't turn on, you're lost! :evil:
So, the lesson learned is: before travelling without your original charger check if the one you have could charge the wizard also when is OFF and not only in stand-by mode!
I also have a strange issue with a third party car charger - after plugging in the car charger I have to switch the universal off then on again to make it charge...very wierd!
I've also got one of those, though would prefere one with a bit of cable in the middle to reduce stress on the connector.
Have you checked the amp output on the chargers. They're probably putting out 0.5 amps (USB spec). If you look at the wall charger that came with the wizard, it puts out 1.0 amps. That's why when your battery is completely dead, the 0.5 amp charger can't put enough juice into it to get the battery up to a high enough level.
Actually, according to the USB spec, a device is not supposed to consume more than 100mA without being recognized by the USB host. That is, the USB host is only going to give your phone 100mA until the phone says, "hey, i'd like 500mA, please!"
Sometimes manufacturers may shortcut this and just allow the port 500mA at all times, but a standards-conforming one won't.
This MAY be part of the reason why we have problems charging a completely dead Wizard -- it's only going to get 100mA until the device has enough juice to wake up and request more.
This MAY be part of the reason why we have problems charging a completely dead Wizard -- it's only going to get 100mA until the device has enough juice to wake up and request more.
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Click to collapse
Ah! - That's the problem I had yesterday - had left my Vario on with TomTom draining away the battery and forgotten about it on Saturday night, had just spent the day moving house and everything was in chaos and had no idea where the charger was.
So when I realised it was dead on Sunday whilst out in the car, I plugged it into the car charger that came with my GPS unit, which I have used to charge the phone many times before - but it would not charge, no light, nothing!
When I got home all I could find was the mains charger for the GPS and a USB cable - tried both and none would put any charge into the phone.
By this stage I was shi**ing myself that the phone, which I got mainly for GPS for travelling around Germany in June, was DEAD - with 3 weeks to go!
of course later in the day, once I had eventually found the proper charger, it took a slight pause after being plugged in and then the little orange light of joy came on and brought me salvation!!!!!
I suspected it might have been something like the previous poster said but not being very technical I really didn't know!!
Thanks.
I've had the same frustrating experience. When the battery is very low or dead the only charger that will work is the original adapter, not the car charger or cradle or pass thru my laptop. As I result I have to carry the original adapter whenever I travel and I often wake up with a dead Wizard if I dont realize how low the battery is when I park it in the cradle.
Very frustrating. I dont understand why Boxwave doesnt use a beefier adapter connected to the cradle.
I've had the same frustrating experience. When the battery is very low or dead the only charger that will work is the original adapter, not the car charger or cradle or pass thru my laptop. As I result I have to carry the original adapter whenever I travel and I often wake up with a dead Wizard if I dont realize how low the battery is when I park it in the cradle.
Very frustrating. I dont understand why Boxwave doesnt use a beefier adapter connected to the cradle.
I've had the same frustrating experience. When the battery is very low or dead the only charger that will work is the original adapter, not the car charger or cradle or pass thru my laptop. As I result I have to carry the original adapter whenever I travel and I often wake up with a dead Wizard if I dont realize how low the battery is when I park it in the cradle.
Very frustrating. I dont understand why Boxwave doesnt use a beefier adapter connected to the cradle.

Spare Battery Charger anyone?

Has anyone found a craddle that could charge a spare battery for the Mini S? Have found so many spare batteries with extra power but no chargers. Its really weird why nobody has thought of bringing out one? I am sure there is a lot of demand. Wonder what the issue could be? Any ideas anyone?
I'm trying to make a charger for my Blue Angel batteries - I find the cradle too big when travelling. I'm thinking of super-glueing electronics board with some solder onto crocodile clips and attaching a USB plug to the end of the wires to be used with a USB charger. I haven't figured out which strips on the battery are positive and negative yet.

...of chargers & cradles...

so,
i was readin gon the forum that its not a good idea to use the usb charger as it does not fully charge the phone.
now, i was looking on eBay for a charger and they have crazy deals like $.99 for a wall charger & car charger w. $3 shipping.. ($4, NOT BAD!!!) but, they seem to be the mini-usb tipped ones which would indicate slow-trickle charging right?
i am looking for something that i can have in my car and possibly office to charge my phone quickly and "the right way"...
please let me know what good experiences you have...
btw, i am also trying to keep it on the thrifty side.. so i cant throw around $30 per item....
thanks,
.milkman
This is what I had ordered for my 8525...
http://www.elitextreme.com/usbsyandchcr.html
although, this is what they sent me instead...
http://www.elitextreme.com/ci85usbsyand.html
Not what I wanted because of the large footprint this style leaves... but it still works the same and gets the job done quickly.
both come with wall chargers for the unit (and also a USB cable so you could plug it in to the computer if you choose that way instead)

portable battery pack.

Has anyone found a portable Battery pack that we can use on the TF? I have several that I have used for my iPhone and my old iPad2 but all are only 5v. is there one out there that can charge out TF or is the keyboard dock the only way to go for extra Battery?
There are several battery packs used for notebook computers that will work listed on Amazon. Just be sure they have a 12Volt output. EverReady had as battery pack that will also work but you will need an adapter provided by them. The key is that you need an output of 12 to 15 volts to charge the TF or Keyboard. You might read Devcake's post on a DIY charger for the TF as information on the voltages required to charge the TF. There is also a post on external batteries that might help.
hshoem1
By chance do you have a link to the EverReady battery pack? I would like to see it
hshoem1 said:
There are several battery packs used for notebook computers that will work listed on Amazon. Just be sure they have a 12Volt output. EverReady had as battery pack that will also work but you will need an adapter provided by them. The key is that you need an output of 12 to 15 volts to charge the TF or Keyboard. You might read Devcake's post on a DIY charger for the TF as information on the voltages required to charge the TF. There is also a post on external batteries that might help.
hshoem1
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Click to collapse
I have an XP8000 from Energizer, and work perfectly.
w w w.energizerpowerpacks.com/us/products/xp8000/
You will need a conector for Asus (Willy cable WI15) from them. You will have two free tips a year for the life of product
By any chance do you know the tip number?
The cable you note doesn't appear to connect directly to the Transformer.
What setup are you using to connect to the Transformer?
Thanks
steve
The cable it's a Female USB with 16V output. You need the Asus cable.
xp8000
I looked in the web site and it is expensiver than Asus keyboard!
alberteske said:
I looked in the web site and it is expensiver than Asus keyboard!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May as well get the keyboard then xD. Thats the whole point of it being a transformer anyways
RojoNinja said:
May as well get the keyboard then xD. Thats the whole point of it being a transformer anyways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or get both, even better
I just saw this while I'm looking for a battery pack.
On a german page I found this interesting:
w w w.intecro.de/XTPower-MP-16000-Powerbank-mobiler-Akku-mit-16000mAh-fuer-Laptop-Handy-iPhone-iPod-iPad-PDA-MP3-Player-mit-20-Adaptern
(can'f find an english page for this product)
Could I use this one by using an adapter?
I just got an Anker Astro3 10000mAh battery pack. I plan to use it while camping this summer, mainly to charge a phone, but occasionally to charge my tablet.
It is intended to charge 5V USB devices, and has two USB ports. It also has a 12 volt port. The adapters for the 12 volt port, of course, do not work with USB or the Transformer. So I made an adapter, and I am good to go now for charging the tablet.
The battery pack charges from a 12 volt wall charger. I have also made an adapter to charge it from the 12 volts on my motorcycle. So I will be charging it from the motorcycle during the day when riding, then using it to charge my devices in the evening at the camp. I've already tried it a couple of times, and it worked well.
I tried to charge the battery pack using a solar panel, but the solar panel was far too wimpy. It was like trying to run a house air conditioner from a penlight battery. It may make you feel good to try it, but it isn't going to do much.
So far so good. This is very close to what I need.
The issues I have had to work around are:
1) I want to also charge an in helmet bluetooth intercom from the USB port. But the charge current is so low, the battery pack auto powers off, thinking nothing is plugged in. Not a big deal because I can plug in my phone at the same time. That keeps it turned on until everything is charged, then it auto shuts down.
2) When I charge the Asus Tablet, it doesn't appear to auto shut down. Just the opposite of #1, it looks like the load stays high enough to never shut down when charging the tablet. This may not really be true, as I have only tried it a couple of times. Also, it isn't good for much more then one and a half charges of the tablet, as expected.
3) You need to figure out your own harness to get the 12 volts to the tablet.
4) No charge cable for a car. I mean this is rated for an input of like 10 to 15 volts, or some such. This thing is GREAT for charging portable devices. Charging it from a car is as simple as a cable, but there isn't one.
Over all this charger is a winner. At right around $55 US, I recommend it, if you can fabricate a plug for charging the Transformer.
Try a 12V UPS type battery along with a 2A fuse and adapters. It only costs about $20 or so. Plan on using only 50% of its capacity and recharge often to get the most life out of it.
Someone posted this product on another post
http://www.sobuying.com/products/Solar-Charger-For-Notebook,-Ipad,-tablet-pc,-Cell-phone,-MP3,-Laptop-11200mAh.html
May suit your needs
NiHaoMike said:
Try a 12V UPS type battery along with a 2A fuse and adapters. It only costs about $20 or so. Plan on using only 50% of its capacity and recharge often to get the most life out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, this is actually what I use now. But it has issues.
One is simply that it is large. I carry it in the trailer that I tow behind the motorcycle, so it is OK, but a bit too large and heavy. It is a gel cell that has about a 48 WattHr capacity. LiIon has a a lot less and weight. In this case, it has about the same capacity, in a very small light weight package.
The other problem is charging the lead acid battery is an issue. I need to carry a AC charger and find AC when camping. I put a diode/resistor combo in the trailer and tapped off of the taillights. but by the time the weak motorcycle voltage gets to the taillights, add in the diode and other losses, and I'm lucky to see 13 volts at the battery. Not enough to charge it very well. The LiIon pack I use has the supply built in to charge properly from +12.
So I've tossed the lead brick battery (literally) and upgraded to a portable LiIon pack. So far so good.
This is what I use "Portable 12V DC USB 5V Rechargeable Lithium Li-ion Battery Pack for CCTV Camera" search on ebay, you can get one up to 13AH
I got a 3.8AH version for $16 , Dimension: 9.2cm X 6.0cm X 3.0cm
Outout rated 5V (5.8AH) and 12.8V (3.8AH)
small modification because the charger is NON-US wall plug, I just pull the plug pin out and add in a regular power cord cut off from an old appliance
Keep the USB plug for 5V use, cut the 12V DC cable and connect it to a female USB cable (pin 1 and pin 4) , then you can plug in the Asus usb/charge cable directly and charge or power the Asus
...

Help understanding USB cables...

Ok, So I figured USB cables were pretty straight forward, but apparently i'm wrong, so maybe some of you can shed some light on this?
I have purchased several of those external battery type things to carry around when I need extra juice and am away from power for an extended time and I have found the following regarding cables very odd..
With the stock samsung wall charger/cable I get around 1000ma charge rate. Good...
If I take the above cable and use it with an external battery device I get 500ma.. Bad...
If I use the coiled cable that comes with the external battery I get 800ma charge rate.. Huh?
If I use the short straight cable that comes with the external battery I get 900ma charge rate.. Double Huh?
The external battery has a 1000ma charging port that I am using. (as well as a 2A)
When traveling around i'd like to bring just 1 cable instead of many cables each for a different device as these are all Micro USB and supposed to be standard, and I realized that some cables have the data pins shorted for extra power above an beyond the "standard" 500ma charge from a computer USB port.
What I don't get is how some of the cables deliver more than the normal 500ma from one device but not the other? Either the extra pins are shorted or not?
I know some of you will say who cares about 500ma or 1000ma, but I am using a 5400mah battery in my Note, and 5 hours vs 10 hours recharge time is a pretty big difference.
I just want one long cable that will charge at close to 1000ma from anything
While I don't know a great deal about USB cables, I do know that even our stock cables are cheap at best.
A year or so ago, I had an HTC cable go bad and decided to buy a high capacity cable.
I went online , to monstercable.com and found a 6 foot long brute..
It was nearly double the wire strand size, and used gold plated connections.
I could charge my phone in just under an hour ...using my stock HTC adapter.
I'm convinced that the resistance in the cable is your main issue. And a quality cable will solve it.
I paid $29.00 for the cable plus shipping, and I still use it today ....g

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