What do you think about the solar charger available on the bay?
Link?
There are a few solar charger systems out there... I am currently reviewing this one http://www.amazon.com/Multifunction-Portable-Battery-compatible-smartphones/dp/B0091PLQ08 for The Gageteer... and I think these are the most usable systems unless you want to haul a giant panel around (and you are in the desert )
The panel generates enough juice to slowly recharge a fairly large battery, and then you use that battery to recharge your USB-charged devices.
I've seen direct charge solar panels, but they're either too low powered to charge anything quickly (the panel with the r.pod manages 1.65W in full sun) or too damn big to carry around - so a panel to battery (most of a day) to use to recharge device over night works out pretty well.
http://www.ebay.it/itm/350595771857?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_3352wt_929
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This might be wishing the impossible but I was wondering if there any charger and/or dock on the market that will automatically cut the power when the phone is fully charged.
I know the concept is workable because I've seen a different product that works along the same principles - a trailing socket that completely cuts the power when the load drops.
This could be adapted to suit a phone charger so that when it drops to a trickle, the charger cuts the power completely.
I know it's probably unnecessary but the reason I'm asking is that I know it's not advisable to leave your phone on charge overnight but given how easily the HD chews it way through batteries, having to do so is bound to prove inevitable at some point and I'd like to avoid having to switch off my handset when it does happen (after all, what's the point in having a phone if you can't be contacted on it?).
I suppose the alternative is some sort of program that chimes when the handset is fully charged, so that I'd be woken up and can take it off but I'd rather have a good night's sleep
Step666 said:
I know it's not advisable to leave your phone on charge overnight
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Click to collapse
Why do you think that?
Surely the charging circuit is controlled by the handset, and it stops feeding power to the battery when it is fully charged...
Two parts.
Firstly, whilst there is a charge control circuit in the handset, that's all well and good whilst the handset is off but not so good if it's left on.
If the phone is off, it will charge 'til full then drop to a trickle charge to stay there without damaging the battery. If it's on, it will do the same thing, except when the phone checks in with the network or does anything else that uses the battery, the charge level will drop, the charger will ramp up to full power, hit maximum, drop back down to a trickle and so on - it's just not as good for the battery over time.
Secondly, it's better for the environment.
Since I first posted this, Carphone Warehouse in the UK has released a range of 'eco-chargers' for Nokia, SE and Samsung phones that cut out when the load drops (ie when the phone reaches full charge) and will stay off until the user presses a button on the wall plug.
It's a good idea, if a somewhat-impractical design. Placing the button on the wall plug is a bit stupid IMO.
I was actually using a Motorola wall charger at work recently and it seems it has the same function built-in.
When I checked to see if it was fully-charged, my HD wasn't showing as being connected to a charger, it was just showing a full battery. At first I thought it had been un-plugged it switched off by a colleague but when I checked, it wasn't. So I disconnected the phone and re-connected it and the charger symbol appeared in the bar at the top of the screen but, lo-and-behold, a few minutes later the same thing had happened.
Surely chargers these days are intelligent enough to drop to virtually zero output once the battery has charged and then only supply sufficient to maintain that charge.
It's not like leaving the tap on in the bathtub running overnight and flooding the bathroom.
The vast majority of chargers are capable of trickle charging but I already addressed that in my last post.
Hey,
Just thinking, anyone please correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know both the tablet and the dock have a Lithium-ion battery
From my knowledge, to keep lithium ion batteries in the best state you have to keep them between 20% and 80%, and not under/over charge them. The dock kinda seems to contradict this, because its constantly overcharging the tablet. This is extremely bad for the battery and greatly reduces the life span and capacity. Think of it as a laptop that you have in the socket 24/7, if you do this for half a year, the battery wont last for more then 30 mins. This, in a way, is resulting in the same problem.
Maybe this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find it, but isn't this a major design flaw? The dock should have some on/off charge switch.
It's not that simple. The Transformer, like every cell phone, laptop, and tablet using LiIon cells uses a charge controller chip that monitors charging current, pack voltage, pack temperature, discharge rate, and charge history to optimally control the power being fed to the battery from the charging input. The charge controller has a programmed hysteresis that keeps the battery from constantly charging (trickle charge) once it reaches its max capacity. Without a charge controller, the pack would eventually overheat and catch fire.
It is true that fully charged LiIon batteries will degrade in capacity over months to years. It's more damaging to the battery though to run it through a complete cycle (completely discharge). The best thing you can do for your battery without shelving the TF is to charge it every night to keep from unnecessarily running the battery down the next day.
In short, the Transformer can look after itself.
Also, this.
Thanks for your reply.
I might have used the wrong wording, I understand they have charge controllers to prevent the batteries from overcharging and exploding or catching fire. What I ment by overcharging was, charging it while the battery is already full, and undercharging - not charging it enough by letting it go into a deep discharge too often.
As stated in your link, "partial-discharge cycles can greatly increase cycle life, and charging to less than 100% capacity can increase battery life even further"
The dock keeps pushing it to 100%, and keeps it at 100% - reducing its battery life. Also, because you can not disable the dock charge, assuming you are constantly want to use the keyboard which I do, it will go into a deep discharge, also reducing the battery life of the dock. As often said, the best state for LiIon batteries is between 40% and 80%, this is hard to archive for both the dock and tablet due to it constant charging the tablet to full.
In order to preserve the best battery life, you must un-dock the tablet around 90% - and charge the dock whenever it reaches below 40% or so. Meeting both these requirements, while wanting to use the dock constantly seems like a burden. Not doing this, will rapidly decrease the capacity from my understanding.
Please correct me if I'm wrong though.
I don't see why people worry so much about this. It takes a few years for there to be any noticeable loss in battery life on lithium ion batteries, and even longer for it to become a significant burden.
It took me five years of daily usage of my old Toshiba laptop to wear down the battery to about half its original capacity, and it's still usable with only 2.5 hours of battery life. If we assume similar rules would apply to the Transformer, after 4-5 years you could still achieve a maximum of 8 hours on a single charge. If anything, by that time you'd be more concerned about how sluggish the device feels when compared to the newest tech, especially when browsing the web.
hi just have a question, howcome my newly bought xp 2000 energizer could not fully charge my sgs2? seems that it can only charge my phone 80%.
These were the following conditions when I used XP 2000:
1. xp 2000 was at full charge
2. my phone was turned off
3. my phone was not drained, still had around 10% charge.
I noticed like around 80% of charging, a temperature icon showed blinking as if the battery was heating up(sorry i don't have a screenshot).When I tried to unplug xp 2000 from the phone, the charger no longer have lights on, as if it got drained w/o fully charging my phone..
This is my 2nd of unit of xp2000. The store where i bought it replaced the first one thinking that it might be defective but same goes for the new one..
the temperature icon I mentioned only shows up whenever I use xp 2000.
Well the Charger can store some amount less than 2000mAh of Energy. The SGS2 battery is rated at 1650mAh. So in theory you have 350mAh of additional power in the pack than you should need however the battery is still draining while it is being charged (the SGS2 can draw up to 1A current according to specs and even in the deep sleep state I wouldn't be surprised if it draws 50-100mA since the hardware doesn't support true power gating. I mention earlier that while the charger is rated at 2000mAh it can probably on store up to 90% of this value aka 1800mA.
In summary:
The capacity of the power pack is closer to 1800mAh that 2000mAh.
The phone draws significant power even in deep sleep.
There is additional power lost by transmission and charger control circuitry in both the power pack and the charge controller in the phone.
There are additional reasons but those are the main ones.
That is why you cannot fully charge it with a power pack.
Please press thanks if you find this information useful.
Poulsen8r said:
Well the Charger can store some amount less than 2000mAh of Energy. The SGS2 battery is rated at 1650mAh. So in theory you have 350mAh of additional power in the pack than you should need however the battery is still draining while it is being charged (the SGS2 can draw up to 1A current according to specs and even in the deep sleep state I wouldn't be surprised if it draws 50-100mA since the hardware doesn't support true power gating. I mention earlier that while the charger is rated at 2000mAh it can probably on store up to 90% of this value aka 1800mA.
In summary:
The capacity of the power pack is closer to 1800mAh that 2000mAh.
The phone draws significant power even in deep sleep.
There is additional power lost by transmission and charger control circuitry in both the power pack and the charge controller in the phone.
There are additional reasons but those are the main ones.
That is why you cannot fully charge it with a power pack.
Please press thanks if you find this information useful.
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ok thank you! one rep from energizer had somewhat a similar explanation.Well, I guess I'd have to accept it as is... If only I knew, I could've bought one that has a higher mAh, like xp 4001... so sad.... anyway appreciate it!
On theory, a 2000mAh is capable of charging a 1650mAh battery as long as power is not lost through other means.
Most of these battery packs do not have a Zener Diode, you might want to modify it to add it in. This will allow your 2000mAh pack to charge your 1650mAh battery for 1 time only.
LiFE1688 said:
On theory, a 2000mAh is capable of charging a 1650mAh battery as long as power is not lost through other means.
Most of these battery packs do not have a Zener Diode, you might want to modify it to add it in. This will allow your 2000mAh pack to charge your 1650mAh battery for 1 time only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I modify it? sorry..
I use an xp2000 with my S2 - but I think of it as a battery extender, rather than as a primary means of recharging it. I use it when I'm working & the battery's getting a little low - it can keep ahead of the phone and gives me another 3-4 hours in total. The great advantage (over a spare battery) is that I don't have to power down, so if I'm downloading, for example, and I don't think the battery will make it to the end of the download, then I just plug in the xp2000 & the problem is solved.
I have lots of different ways of charging - mains & car chargers, USB cables, spare batteries - and find the xp2000 is a useful addition that sometimes saves the day. It's just the right size & weight to be able to carry around without having to think about whether you really need it - so it's always there when you do.
If you're using any state-of-the art smartphone intensively, it helps to have a variety of recharge options, and to take advantage of any opportunities you may have to top up during the day, thus keeping ahead of the phone's discharge curve.
hi guys, just wanted to share a very handy device i have come across that i really like. I have an extra battery and cradle, however i dont trust the charging capabilities of the cradle once it reaches full charge. I know the device itself will slow down and trickle charge once it reaches full capacity, but in the cradle im afraid of overcharging the battery. anyhow, i began looking for a timing device to prevent this. I came across this item
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Conser...=1421085461&sr=1-1&keywords=belkin+timer+plug
it has a half hour setting, a 3 hour setting, or a 6 hour setting. i began to find myself using this, not only for the cradle, but when i go to bed at night. i connect it to my phone. 3 hour charge, then it shuts off. im surprised these arent more prevalent. in fact, belkin was the only one i could find, (short of those xmas light dial timers lol). let me know what you think
I've been using the cradle and extra battery for a while now. No issues. I swap it out daily(well until I got my PMA sticker)
Even before then, I noticed no issue with poor battery performance or life.
Here's some helpful info from Battery University website:
Simple Guidelines for Charging Lithium-based Batteries
A portable device should be turned off while charging. This allows the battery to reach the threshold voltage unhindered and reflects the correct saturation current responsible to terminate the charge. A parasitic load confuses the charger.
Charge at a moderate temperature. Do not charge below freezing.
Lithium-ion does not need to be fully charged; a partial charge is better.
Chargers use different methods for “ready” indication. The light signal may not always indicate a full charge.
Discontinue using charger and/or battery if the battery gets excessively warm.
Before prolonged storage, apply some charge to bring the pack to about half charge.
Over-discharged batteries can be “boosted” to life again. Discard pack if the voltage does not rise to a normal level within a minute while on boost.
Go here for more detailed info: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries
To power up, you consume Red Bull. But your phone just needs its adaptive fast charger. Rate this thread to express how quickly the Sony Xperia X Compact can charge. A higher rating indicates that it charges extremely fast.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Sometimes it is superfast and sometimes its normal!!
I have a charger with QC 3.0 and it charges with normal speed :/
It's reasonably quick with a quick charge charger. About an hour and a half for a full charge. But can get nearly half in half an hour.
I use a Choetech 55W QC 3.0 USB-C charging station along with the same brand cables, and Anker cables. There are a lot of bad cables out there so you have to watch what you buy. I made sure these were certified because I didn't want to fry this device, or other devices hooked up to the XC (there's that one Google developer guy who tests them).
It can charge in under two hours and the phone's battery gives off quite a lot of heat as a result when it's drawing a proper high load - which can't possibly be good for it in the long-term. Is the battery still going to be good after a whole year of use? Same high heat output with a Samsung charger+cable (same brand respectively), so it's neither the charger or cable causing it, just a very warm battery.
Would not recommend sleeping with your device if it's hooked up to a QC outlet - needs to vent that heat -- if you roll over onto it, bad things might happen.
1% at 77~78% is 2:19.9s
Keep in mind, that by design, a battery will not maintain a constant high current -- rather -- drops off slowly as it nears capacity (safe charging), so using %/min. is not an accurate gauge in charge time. So this %/min. will be lower when the battery is at 1~30% than +30~100%. Charge circuits never go by percentage either, but by voltage. An accurate reading would be on a DC volt meter bench.
Shenanigans and errata: My phone stays at 100% for a while after a full charge compared to when it goes down from 99%, so this is not an accurate method to test "full" and "empty" states.