I was looking for a portable power source for my tablet. Most of the reviews for these devices are not too good and I believe the batteries used are mostly the reason they are not reliable.
I bought two Chinese units called Power Bank with a capacity of 13800mah. I charged them to capacity and after charging the tab from 30% back to 100% they were nearly empty. Since the Tab has a battery rated at 4000mah this does not seem correct.
One unit had five 18650 cells in parallel (blue cells pictured below) and the other unit had two square cells (pictured below) tied together. I tested both battery packs and they were not near the rated value of 13800mah.
When I bought these two units my plan was to replace the Chinese cells with Panasonic NCR18650A cells (green cells pictured below). They now charge the tab twice and my phone 1 1/2 times too. I would rate the unit at about 10,000mah and not 15,500mah. Since the modified unit uses a 1A 5V USB type charger it takes a long time to get these two guys completely charged. But so far they are working great and the modification was pretty easy.
I bought my cells from a distributer here in the US that includes the cells with tabs (in picture below covered by black shrink tubing) at a small additional charge. Soldering on cells will destroy a battery very quickly. The tabs are welded with a machine specifically made for attaching tabs to the cells.
I paid $34.00 for the Chinese unit and $75.75 for the five cells. I hope the internal Chinese logic cards hold up for at least a few years. I know the batteries are good for about 1000 full discharges/recharges.
I use one and my gal uses the other one, they have 120 days use now.
:good:
bark777 said:
I was looking for a portable power source for my tablet. Most of the reviews for these devices are not too good and I believe the batteries used are mostly the reason they are not reliable.
I bought two Chinese units called Power Bank with a capacity of 13800mah. I charged them to capacity and after charging the tab from 30% back to 100% they were nearly empty. Since the Tab has a battery rated at 4000mah this does not seem correct.
One unit had five 18650 cells in parallel (blue cells pictured below) and the other unit had two square cells (pictured below) tied together. I tested both battery packs and they were not near the rated value of 13800mah.
When I bought these two units my plan was to replace the Chinese cells with Panasonic NCR18650A cells (green cells pictured below). They now charge the tab twice and my phone 1 1/2 times too. I would rate the unit at about 10,000mah and not 15,500mah. Since the modified unit uses a 1A 5V USB type charger it takes a long time to get these two guys completely charged. But so far they are working great and the modification was pretty easy.
I bought my cells from a distributer here in the US that includes the cells with tabs (in picture below covered by black shrink tubing) at a small additional charge. Soldering on cells will destroy a battery very quickly. The tabs are welded with a machine specifically made for attaching tabs to the cells.
I paid $34.00 for the Chinese unit and $75.75 for the five cells. I hope the internal Chinese logic cards hold up for at least a few years. I know the batteries are good for about 1000 full discharges/recharges.
I use one and my gal uses the other one, they have 120 days use now.
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you could buy one of these for about $60 and charge / operate your tablet for over 50 hours.
http://www.amazon.com/APC-BE550G-Ba...ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1350776129&sr=1-1
Too funny...13 pounds or 11 ounces, I guess you missed the portable part or maybe you are a world class weight lifter...Thanks for the giggle.
:highfive:
This one worked for me
http://www.jr.com/scosche/pe/SCE_IPDBAT2/
I got this battery. It comes with a voltage adapter for the GTab2. I found that I actually didn't need it with this battery. However, another 2.1A battery that I have did not work with my GTab2, and this adapter makes it work. I'm hoping it will also make a 2.1A car USB charger work with my tablet as well. I'm waiting for its arrival and will test when I get it.
Related
here's how we make cheap external batteries here in Romania.
this is a DIY concept so if you're not that type of person this may not be for you.
Anyway you must get yourself a sealed acid-lead 12v battery (they are built in the same way as a car battery but smaller) from an electronics shop. They are cheap and come in various sizes. If you want more juice, just buy 2 or 3 of those and couple them in parallel.
Next buy a 12v-220v converter like the ones used in cars. Those that are connected via the cigarete lighter. The smallest cheaper model you'll find will do the job right as long as it can provide 30w.
Don't connect the shift to the batteries, don't be tempted to do this, even if apparently the shift needs 12 v and those batteries supply this voltage. Use the converter.
Now, as you may guesed, simply connect the batteries to the converter and the shift's charger to the converter's output. The converter will suply about 220v at it's output. That's good and that's desirable. Even if your country may use standard 110V values at it's sockets, buy a 220v converter instead.
Now you got a bulky, ugly looking external battery. What's the fun with it?
Well here's the good part.
A standard external battery will give you about 2-3 hours of usage because by the time this is over, it's voltage output will drop from it's nominal value to somewhere around 9-10V. The battery will still be able to provide a fairly large amount of current (amps) but however by this time the shift will be powered off because it needs a nominal value of 12 v (+/- 0.80V) to work (it's internal converter needs it, and has a small tollerance about variations in this voltage). So, 2-3-4 hours of usage, then recharge.
The home made external battery has the following advantage.
After some usage (couple of hours - depending on how much big is the battery you use) the output voltage of the cells will drop. This is normal, and this will happen like the case with standard batteries. BUT you have that converter hooked up. If the converter needs 12 V to supply an output of 220V ac, if you apply only 10 V (the voltage on the battery has dropped because of usage) it will supply only 180V ac. (an estimation). This is well under 220 v. BUT the shift will still work. Why? Here's the cool part. The shift power charger has a nominal imput voltage of 100-240 V (it is rated on it's sticker as the imput voltage). THIS MEANS IT WILL SUPPLY THE 12 V OUTPUT FOR THE SHIFT AS LONG AS THE INPUT VOLTAGE IS SOMETHING IN THE AREA 100-240 V ac. So the converter supplies 180V but that's ok, the shift will still work. So you use it for a longer period of time. When the battery is flat out and has somewhere around 7 volts the converter will supply somewhere under 100v or will stop to work because the battery will also have not enought current (amps) to run the converter's main circuitry or to supply the shift's power requiests.
There are some things that must be said about the eficiency of this method. First you use 2 converters one will raise the voltage from the external batteries ( - your car converter) and the other will lower the voltage to the 12v required by the shift ( - your shift charger). These, both have an eficiency factor. Because of the tehnology used you will have a general factor of about 85%. The rest will be lost in the transfer as thermal heat or EM field radiation.
Still you should get 30-50% more juice then a similar capacity comercial product . And it's more cheaper to buy.
You may achieve the same results if you buy a converter...aah...and a car. Car batteries will provide some good dozens of hours for the shift to work.
That is smart!
But too bulky for me.
yep it's bulky. I'll use it on small camping vacations when a longer battery life is required. No way i'm carring this battery with me as a simple replacement.
yep... I've made one already.
Introducing the shift external battery version 1.0.0. At a hefty 8 kilo it is made for the strong people. It is practically a mobile power house composed of two 12V / 15A acid-lead batteries and a power converter that can output 150W max at 220V. It should give the Shift some 30h of continuos power at maximum requirements. It can also be recharged or powered from anything you can throw at it. Total costs, something around 100 euro. Therefore, shift goes to camping along with my asus eeepc. Hope I find an WLAN enabled forest or something.
Shift external battery version 1.1.0 will use prismatic Li-Polimer cells linked in a matrix and capable of delivering the same amount of power but at 1,5 kilograms. This will be expensive as hell.
sorry, i was probably too amused with my creation and double posted.
you should try this with a battery like first robotics compition uses not that they are that great but they are small batteries like the size of a small boat battery, like 9inches wide by 6 tall and like 4thick but it is like 45 lbs, but outputting a redicoulus 200amps id last like 200 hours continuos max draw...
Dear facdemol ,
It is a very bright idea to mod using sealed lead acid battery to power up our htc shift , i too keen to try out your idea , but how do you recharge back the used acid battery , what charger did you bought and used , can you help me by posting some - many pictures of both your batteries configuration and charger as well ? How long ( hours ) is it you need to fully charge your batteries from flat out ? I dont mind if the set up is looking big and ugly and messy , as long as it is cheap , easy , enough power to last at least 6 hours of solid shift usages , i really now thinking of investing into this . So , please help out and assist in any way possible - will you ? Thanks and best regards to you -
jimmunsw
Dear facdemol ,
What charger are u using to recharge your diy battery ( volt and amp ) ? And how many hours it take to fully charge both of your diy batteries ? I am keen to try out your idea as today i have found many cheap sealed batteries sizes for sale in my area and it fits my usage requirement of just 6 to 7 hours of continious shift usage . Thanks and regards - jimmunsw
Has anyone bought a solar charger for the G1? I'm going camping for 2 weeks soon and have been looking at the chargers but not sure about them. Anybody have good experiences with any of them? Satisfied with the performance and charge time? I've a 2600 mAh seidio battery.
Solar Powered Charger
Well, I was browsing around one of the numerous Chinese websites that sell random no-brand parts and accessories, and stumbled upon this:
http://www.davismicro.com/products/product_1950.htm
It is a solar powered charger, and based on the specs, it says it can charge a RAZR V3. If I am not mistaken, charging specifications on the RAZR are similar to that of the G1. Any ideas? I couldn't use this, living in Oregon I would probably have to put this on the roof surrounded by mirrors.
dont get it. i got one from best buy and it sucked. never chared my phone once.
BestBuy sells this kinda stuff??
Awesome this is whats needed
I wouldn't bothewr with something cheap like that.
A Friend in OZ got something very much like that and it was rubbish and just wouldn't charge anything so he got one like mine.
A freeloader: http://www.hookarama.com/items/1925_1216480SIL
There's probably better sellers than that and it's a bit more expensive than the cheap ones but you get what you pay for.
Tha advantage of this one is that it has a built in battery and removeable solar panels so once it's charged it's battery you can remove the panels and just take the little battery pack with you.
Charges the G1 just fine too!
Phil
http://www.google.com/products?q=Solar+mobile+charger&oe=utf-8&hl=en&scoring=p
Quite a few.
-bZj
Free Loader
I have a Free Loader Solar Charger, and this is my experience:
The device itself is a couple of centimetres longer than the G1 and the same width/depth and well designed, it comprises of a battery and two solar panels that click onto the battery. It come with 12 different adapters making it very versatile.
The two small solar panels that attach to the device are very small and it takes about 2 days of (admittedly dull) English sunshine for it to reach a full charge. this is pretty impractical.
I purchased a larger solar panel produced by the same company, it has a USB port, so if you know how you could put a usb port on any solar panel and use it to charge this battery via traditional USB to mini USB. On a sunny day this larger panel took only 3 hours to reach a full charge. Making the device very practical and usable.
However even a full charge of this battery achieved via charging from computer USB will only power the G1 up to 60% battery level.
This is purely anecdotal but I get the feeling that this charge then runs down quicker than when i charge direct from USB or mains. Is this just me or could there be an explanation for this?
I use it by charging via the computer and then taking it along as a second battery. In an emergency a few hours of sunshine even with dull light will give just enough for a phone call.
Hi everybody,
Since the TP2 is using a whole lot more power than my old HTC Universal, I am looking for a decent Solar charging solution for on my bike.
TomTomnavigator + GPS use more than 500mA (I mean when I put in a car charger of this type hte phone says "insufficient current to blablabl")
I surfed the net, but decent info is hard to find about this specific problem. I mean I want to plug my phone in the solar charger and KNOW that it will give sufficient powersupply to charge the battery (or at least keep it at the same level)
Anybody an idea or maybe a link to a DECENT site (with CORRECT technical info)? Commercial sites with the best product ever, i have seen enough until you test it!
thanx to all!
Kjoere
I have one of these that I got on Amazon for 80 bucks and I love this thing! It also acts as a spare battery, and you can adjust the voltage. I brought it with me when I went camping. It's definitely worth it.
http://www.icetechusa.com/catalogue-solar-167464-spec.html
I've tried several of the cheap Chinese solar chargers and also a Solio, and they are all crap
Solar charger need direct sunlight. If cloudy, they can take a few days (daylight days not 24hr days!) to charge. So unless you live on the African Savanah where it will charge in 7 hours, then you will have a long wait.
I put my Solio on my window cill in January this year, and by the midle of February it got a full charge. I kid you not
You are probably much better off with a external power pack that uses 1 or 2 standard AA batteries or a minimum 2000mAh lithium battery
This solar 'card' from Swiss batteries looks interesting.
A 1mm thick bendable, weather-proof card of more efficient modern solar cell technology, with a claimed [up to] 40% greater efficiency than other cells. A portable battery option (as with the power monkey ) is also available.
And check out the solar bags on their site too!
PaulusUK said:
You are probably much better off with a external power pack that uses 1 or 2 standard AA batteries or a minimum 2000mAh lithium battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where might I get an external power pack with more than one AA battery? I can only find 1xAA packs, and I can't imagine a little old alkaline AA could produce NEARLY enough current at 5v to charge our beefy phones. Not for any amount of time, anyway, and not without heating up to what I would consider dangerous levels...
godefroi said:
Where might I get an external power pack with more than one AA battery? I can only find 1xAA packs, and I can't imagine a little old alkaline AA could produce NEARLY enough current at 5v to charge our beefy phones. Not for any amount of time, anyway, and not without heating up to what I would consider dangerous levels...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm afraid too that alcaline AA's won't do the job pretty well, although rechargeable NiMh could be worth a try
For outdoor-recharge, I'm using this general USB-charger featuring a rechargeable 2200 mAh 18650 LiOn battery:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.18883
It has the advantage that you can change the 18650 easily, thus enabling you to take several ones with you for long voyages
MeCry
godefroi said:
Where might I get an external power pack with more than one AA battery? I can only find 1xAA packs, and I can't imagine a little old alkaline AA could produce NEARLY enough current at 5v to charge our beefy phones. Not for any amount of time, anyway, and not without heating up to what I would consider dangerous levels...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the best on I have found
Its a massive 3400mAh with a 5v 700ma output so will charge most phones and other gadgets no problem. It is just a bit smaller than the TP2 so is easy to carry around in a pocket
I got mine off ebay for less money - same unit but a different manufacturer. AFAIK, these are commonly rebranded, but look for the shape and the 3400 mah spec.
Most of the other Chinese ones from places like Dealextreme are lower capacity
I was really hoping for something using standard AA (maybe NiMH, 4 of those would be 4.8V).
In fact, 2xAA NiMH should be able to deliver the sort of current we're talking about here, right?
And, sure enough, Here is someone that's built exactly what I want. Who wants to assemble me one?
One product springs to mind: The powermonkey-eXplorer
https://powertraveller.com/iwantsome/primatepower/powermonkey-explorer/
thanx roger
I got an Energizer 2xAA charger, and it works on my TP2 absolutely fine. You need to use good quality batteries in it, but it's fairly compact and keeps the battery topped up while I'm out using the GPS with no car nearby!!!
http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl...a=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4
gringolian said:
I got an Energizer 2xAA charger, and it works on my TP2 absolutely fine. You need to use good quality batteries in it, but it's fairly compact and keeps the battery topped up while I'm out using the GPS with no car nearby!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Energizer says it needs Lithium batteries (which I think are 1.7v), have you tried with NiMH perhaps (which are 1.2v)? I'd think it'd figure the batteries were empty even when they were newly charged.
godefroi said:
Energizer says it needs Lithium batteries (which I think are 1.7v), have you tried with NiMH perhaps (which are 1.2v)? I'd think it'd figure the batteries were empty even when they were newly charged.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got standard Duracell 1.5V alkaline batteries in it right now, and it charges it just fine! I think energizer say that to make you buy their ridiculously expensive lithium batteries!!
Does anyone know if the charger pack u charge to act as a charger for your phone (when not near electricity)is compatible with the note? I've seen them but i didn't know if they are compatible with the note since it has such a large battery. Also does anyone have a link to one?
Sent from my Galaxy Note
I just bought this Anker one from Amazon. Reviews are almost overwhelmingly positive and I can confirm that it does work on the Note just as well as it works on my Atrix 4G.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-5600mAh...5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330474615&sr=1-5
Does the higher the amount of mah on the battery pack equate to numerous recharges for your phone(depending on the phone's battery mah)?
Sent from my Galaxy Note
Yup. It's just shy of three full charges for my Atrix, which has a ~1900mAh battery. Should be two charges for a Note, give or take a little bit.
That's great! I just saw one on amazon with 11200 mah for $69 i think im going to get it.
Sent from my Galaxy Note
How long is the charge time on yours? I've never had one so i don't the slightest idea of how long it could take to charge one.
Sent from my Galaxy Note
I was going to get that one, but it was just too huge. I can slip the Anker 5600 I bought into a jacket or pants pocket with the cable and it's just fine. No problems with portability. Charge time is equal to what it'd be from an AC charger in my experience so far, but I only got mine a few days ago.
I meant wats the charge time of the battery pack?
Sent from my Galaxy Note
Haha...sorry. It was about half-charged when I got it (2/4 indicator lights) and took two hours to charge to four lights.
I got the mycharge ones since the cables are built in. 3Ah and 6Ah depending on my needs (1 or 2 nights). I like them even though they aren't 10Ah monsters.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note
Just ordered the anker. I appreciate the info.
Sent from my Galaxy Note
Does it hold the charge or do you constantly have to recharge it?
Sent from my Galaxy Note
Most portable USB battery chargers do not support the signals that allow the Note to go to high current charge mode. Pins 2 and 3 of the USB connection need to be shorted with a low resistance. The Note senses this and switches on a high charge otherwise, it will stick to a standard USB charge of less than 500ma even if the battery charger can put out 1A.
I bought a Scosche 5000 mah portable battery charger that comes with a special USB adapter designed for the Galaxy Tab. I tested it with my Note. With the adapter, the Note charges in under four hours. Without the adapter, it takes overnight to charge the Note even though the Scosche has a USB port that puts out 2.1A to charge an Ipad.
Staples sells the Scosche battery for $80 but there is a $29 online coupon that is good until 3/5/2012.
Hmm... I have a rechargeable battery from Monoprice that I use with my iPhone 4 but I haven't tried it with my Note yet. It will probably only charge the battery about half way. Monoprice has good cheap rechargeable batteries to charge on the go if anyone is looking for something similar.
After a few more days with the Anker, it charges my Atrix and my Vivid at least as fast as my AC charger. Probably placebo effect, but it honestly feels like it charges it faster.
Why not just carry a couple of extra batteries and get a charging station for them? Seems cumbersome to have to have one of these attached to your device when you need more juice, when swapping out a battery is quick and has an instant full charge...?
welchertc said:
Why not just carry a couple of extra batteries and get a charging station for them? Seems cumbersome to have to have one of these attached to your device when you need more juice, when swapping out a battery is quick and has an instant full charge...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1^^^
If you're gonna carry something anyway you might as well just have a single, spare battery instead of a power pack plus a cable. The Note has such an easy back to pull off and swap. Bing-bang-boom.
kimtyson said:
+1^^^
If you're gonna carry something anyway you might as well just have a single, spare battery instead of a power pack plus a cable. The Note has such an easy back to pull off and swap. Bing-bang-boom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who used to do this exact same thing with the captivate, it's definitely convenient to carry, however the interruption while you take off the case, remove the cover, replace the battery/reboot, can get annoying especiallky if you're right in the middle of doing something.
I'm getting ready to take a long plane flight, and I bought some battery packs from monoprice just now, with the intention of using one of them up front while I use the phone, so we'll see how that goes.
brookssw said:
As someone who used to do this exact same thing with the captivate, it's definitely convenient to carry, however the interruption while you take off the case, remove the cover, replace the battery/reboot, can get annoying especiallky if you're right in the middle of doing something.
I'm getting ready to take a long plane flight, and I bought some battery packs from monoprice just now, with the intention of using one of them up front while I use the phone, so we'll see how that goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note sure if it's just me, but the minute or so that my phone is down to swap the battery and reboot seems much more appealing and convenient than having a battery pack dangling by a cord from my phone for multiple hours while it charges, or keeps it charged.
Not to mention how many spare batteries you could buy for the price of one external battery pack.
welchertc said:
Note sure if it's just me, but the minute or so that my phone is down to swap the battery and reboot seems much more appealing and convenient than having a battery pack dangling by a cord from my phone for multiple hours while it charges, or keeps it charged.
Not to mention how many spare batteries you could buy for the price of one external battery pack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually agree partially, however I just found out that monoprice.com sells 2800mah battery packs for like $13 each. I just bought three:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10833&cs_id=1083311&p_id=7664&seq=1&format=2
That said, I likely will still buy an extra regular battery that I can just carry in my pocket. The main reason I'm going with the external batteries is because I'm getting ready to go on a trip with 15 month old twins to europe, and I can use these external packs to power up both my phone, and my touchpad (Which I need for playing childrens shows)
I am going away on a trip next week and will need to be able to charge on the go.
I originally ordered the Aukey PB-Y14-US power bank but I was unable to get it to charge my OnePlus 6t. It charged my wife's Pixel 3 XL with no problems.
It seems the only Dash Charging compatible power bank that I can find is the Sdoutech which has mixed reviews.
I am looking for something that is 20000 or more as I need to be able to fully charge 2 phones and have a little extra to spare.
What are you guys using? Any suggestions would be awesome.
I have RavPower 28k mah with PD charging. It doesn't rapid charge my 6T, but it does not slow charge either. I've been happy with it, had it for over a year now.
I use something like this when I travel.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/163251892502
I use Panasonic 18650 cells rated at 3400mAh so around 17,000 mAh which are about 20$ for four packs. I find it hard to believe that there are battery packs not using 18650 cells that are rated any higher than 10k mAh. I get about three or four complete charges with the one I posted.
A five cell 18650 battery pack is a bit large and a bit heavy. I use 10 amp cells but if you want dual fast charge then maybe get 20 amp cells I do not think that 30 amp cells will be of benefit. I have used many of these eBay style of 18650 cells over the last five or six years and the differ in circuits most will do the rated quick charge. A 20,000 mAh cell could be pretty big if true to the rating. The few that I have had over the years that use custom flat cell phone style cells are pure rubbish.
This one supports Dash Charge and works pretty well: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32963417817.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dbg2AjO
pOpY
popy2006 said:
This one supports Dash Charge and works pretty well: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32963417817.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dbg2AjO
pOpY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks nice but if it is 18650 cells I fail to see how it can reach 20000mAh . But if it is just a charge bank and the user provides the cells then at least one can bring their own cells and have a decent unit.
Official from OPPO
The sister company? of OnePlus --> Oppo has just announced two new power banks which support VOOC (20W) and Super VOOC (50W) fast charging ! I think these should be compatible with OnePlus Dash Charge or Wrap Charge !!!
Sorry, Chinese website links only !
https://item.jd.com/100003487497.html
https://item.jd.com/100005787914.html
ivanegg said:
The sister company? of OnePlus --> Oppo has just announced two new power banks which support VOOC (20W) and Super VOOC (50W) fast charging ! I think these should be compatible with OnePlus Dash Charge or Wrap Charge !!!
Sorry, Chinese website links only !
https://item.jd.com/100003487497.html
https://item.jd.com/100005787914.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would be nice if this will be available on gearbest, aliexpress, ...
Have'nt found it yet.
Hi,
what do you think of this?
https://www.oppo.com/ph/accessory-vooc-power-bank/