Related
I bought a couple of these several months ago from DealExtreme.com to use for other USB powered devices.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-re...emergency-power-with-cell-phones-holder-44749
For kicks and giggles, I was curious how much current the things really put out. I connected to my CM7 NC with the NC USB cable and did a dmesg | grep CHARGER
To my surprise, even though DealExtreme claims that these output 1A, the NC said it was receiving 2A! (see attached photo of screen).
When I used a standard Micro-USB cable, the current dropped down to 500mA.
I haven't yet done any sort of extensive testing to see what kind of life I get out of these. If the other specs are correct (a little dubious now), then having 2 of these, fully charged, would be like having an extra internal battery. Not bad for less than $13 ea.
Anyone know how accurate (or inaccurate) the output from the dmesg command is? Is the Nook misrepresenting what it says it's getting from the charger?
I suspect that what you're seeing on the screenshot is not the charging current but that it recognizes the plug type (B&N 2amp) or standard USB (500ma) that is actually plugged in. Nevertheless it still could be a handy gizmo to have around.
___________________
- Derek
derekr said:
I suspect that what you're seeing on the screenshot is not the charging current but that it recognizes the plug type (B&N 2amp) or standard USB (500ma) that is actually plugged in. Nevertheless it still could be a handy gizmo to have around.
___________________
- Derek
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When I used a different model of External USB battery with the same B&N NC cable, it registered as 500mA, exactly as that particular model is rated. Though your thought is justifiably skeptical (and I'm an unrepentant skeptic myself), further evidence suggests there's more going on than just detecting the additonal pins in the B&N NC cable.
Jgrimoldy said:
When I used a different model of External USB battery with the same B&N NC cable, it registered as 500mA, exactly as that particular model is rated. Though your thought is justifiably skeptical (and I'm an unrepentant skeptic myself), further evidence suggests there's more going on than just detecting the additonal pins in the B&N NC cable.
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Click to collapse
I believe the standard microUSB cord has a resistor, or circuitry to limit the amperage to .5. The Nook Color has a charging cable with a higher amperage at 1.9, with a special connection so you cannot put it into another device and fry it. Most modern device have a way of limiting the input internally, but the the Nook's cable is unique on the device end to be safe.
If you would like to test this use a standard microUSB and plug it into the Nooks OME wall transformer and measure the amperage. in my tests it always comes out at .5 amps even though the output of the NC's transformer is 1.9 amps.
I use my muti-tester to avoid erroneous software data.
Certaily would like to test this portable charger you mention in your post, for $13 sounds good to me. This would be handy while I am away from wifi and I tether my Android phone to my Nook, the phone could be plugged into this charger, tethering can really burn battery down fast.
Thanks for the tip!
12paq said:
Certaily like to test this portable charger in you mention in your post, for $13 sounds good to me.
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I'm going to order that aswell. Has anyone seen other nice accessoires for the Nook color on Dealextreme? Search only gave me a black pouch
tomic22 said:
I'm going to order that aswell. Has anyone seen other nice accessoires for the Nook color on Dealextreme? Search only gave me a black pouch
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Click to collapse
so funny, me too.
Also "CrazyinDigital" from Amazon Canada, even shipped to USA I got a nice Pleather case and a bunch of cables and the silicon cases are decent too. The bulid qualty of the cords is sketchy and the screen protectors don't fit, but I got all the above for $5.19 shipped to the US. I'd pay at least that for the USB cord. (Funny thing the cords say "for Kindle"... gotta laugh.
Back on topic, I might buy this back up charger, sounds good for my battery sucking Android Phone too..
12paq said:
I believe the standard microUSB cord has a resistor, or circuitry to limit the amperage to .5. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Given that the USB battery charging specs give up to 1.8A, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense....
In Battery Charging Specification,[40] new powering modes are added to the USB specification. A host or hub Charging Downstream Port can supply a maximum of 1.5 A when communicating at low-bandwidth or full-bandwidth, a maximum of 900 mA when communicating at high-bandwidth, and as much current as the connector will safely handle when no communication is taking place; USB 2.0 standard-A connectors are rated at 1500 mA by default. A Dedicated Charging Port can supply a maximum of 1.8 A of current at 5.25 V. A portable device can draw up to 1.8 A from a Dedicated Charging Port. The Dedicated Charging Port shorts the D+ and D- pins with a resistance of at most 200 Ω. The short disables data transfer, but allows devices to detect the Dedicated Charging Port and allows very simple, high current chargers to be manufactured. The increased current (faster, 9 W charging) will occur once both the host/hub and devices support the new charging specification.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus
Divine_Madcat said:
Given that the USB battery charging specs give up to 1.8A, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus
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Yeah I might have .5 volts mixed up with amps.. I posted that late last night, dozing off.. lol. sorry for the any inaccuracies.
I did these tests a while back and should have recorded the data and not left them too memory.. and age.. lol.
I initiated theses tests becouse I found it took much longer to charge the Nook with a generic cord even if I plugged it in the Nooks wall transformer that has a higher output. it could just be my cords too.
My apologies if my careless quoting of data led anyone astray. Funny, I am usually a stickler about accurate data. ..
Lesson: Never quote data from memory late and after a glass of wine..
Thanks Madcat
12paq said:
I believe the standard microUSB cord has a resistor, or circuitry to limit the amperage to .5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.... wat
12paq said:
If you would like to test this use a standard microUSB and plug it into the Nooks OME wall transformer and measure the amperage. in my tests it always comes out at .5 amps even though the output of the NC's transformer is 1.9 amps.
I use my muti-tester to avoid erroneous software data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should have plugged into your fingers. Stop making up nonsense.
Standard microUSB is, well, a standard. And that standard says 500mAh max current. The Nook Color cable is non standard and has 4 extra pins. These extra pins, as well as shorted data pins, tells the Nook Color it can draw 1.9Amps.
Background: (feel free to skip this)
In my search to get a good car charger for my Nexus 10 (that would also be good on my Galaxy Nexus), I checked out a bunch of sites and manufacturers and reviews for the perfect charger. I also wanted it to be dual port for two phones at the same time in case my girlfriend is in the car.
So many 2A chargers are not actually 2A, they may be 1A to each port max or they may only work as 2A on an iPad. Android devices look for shorted out data connections in order to pull more than USB power (500ma). So a charger has to both offer 2A or more and have the data pins shorted in order for us to get maximum current to our Nexus 10's. The Apple/iPad chargers work differently. They either have smart chips or specific resistances between the data pins in order to specify current draw.
-----
What you came here for:
After the long search, the BEST while still very affordable car adapter, is the *drumroll*:
Bracketron Universal Dual USB Car Adapter
2 ports like I wanted. 2A like I wanted.
Contrary to the "Universal" listing, the adapter was likely made for the iPad. So charging out of the box is USB (500ma). But it's easily fixed in under 3 minutes!
---
Instructions:
1. Pop off the round silver plate on the front (with your finger/nail).
2. Unscrew the silver part in the back. Don't lose the spring hidden inside.
3. Slowly pry open the black plastic. It's fairly rigid and you'll hear some clicks. If you don't open it like a crazy monkey, you won't damage or break any plastic.
4. You'll see by each USB port 4 wires going to the port from the circuit board. The 2 middle pins are the data lines, the 2 outer ones are the power lines.
5***. You want to short the data (two middle) pins. All that means is you want them touching electrically. Takes about 10 seconds to do with a solder iron (once it's hot ). Just flow some solder between the two pins, no wire needed. Do the same for the other USB port on the other side.
6. Put the plastic and screwed pieces back together. Plug it in and you should see AC charging! :victory:
***If you're poor at soldering, don't worry - you're doing this on pins in the air, not directly on the board, so it's an extremely easy soldering job. If you've never soldered in your life, you can possibly use some wire instead of solder to connect the two and find a way for it to hold in place. But seriously it's an easy solder job and you should probably learn how to solder anyway.
---
Reading the instructions I wrote takes longer than making the modification.
Why this adapter if you have to solder? It's the only one I can find with dual ports that can actually give 2A to an ANDROID device. Why this of all the other adapters you can attempt to solder? It comes apart extremely easily so you don't break any plastic like many of the other ones. And the adapter is really small so you don't have a huge piece of plastic hanging out of your power port.
Fair note: it looks like it may give 2A max, so charging both my 1A phone and my 2A tablet will actually be slower. But it's perfect for charging the tablet at full speed when by itself or two phones at full speed.
Also, credit to Amazon reviewer 'K. Crawford' for suggesting this adapter as a good one to mod.
If anyone needs help during the process, I'm more than happy to help!
Very nice info, thanks.
Niiice! I heard though even if you hook up the tablet to a 2A charger, the tab will still only take a reduced amount, is that true?
From my measurements, the tablet will draw around 750 ma, so soldering it will help, just not for the full 2A.
rp181 said:
From my measurements, the tablet will draw around 750 ma, so soldering it will help, just not for the full 2A.
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You measured 750 ma with the bracketron I linked post-mod?? It should be much higher.. What did you use to measure?
nice instructions, royal.
did I do it right?! check the details beneath one of the photos. you will see some solder popped and landed on the circuit board on the top right. it is touching one of those little enclosed boxes on its own and nothing else. you think this is gonna pose a problem?! if so, any fix? I tried to pull it away, but im not a mastersolderer.
bummer about the picture rule. I think I got some good shots that could help some people. I guess I'll be back to post the pics.
This charger is dearer but supplies dual 2.1A with the correct cables/
http://www.expansys-usa.com/expansys-expansys-dual-car-charger-adapter-5v-4-2a-219640/
Gaugerer said:
This charger is dearer but supplies dual 2.1A with the correct cables/
http://www.expansys-usa.com/expansys-expansys-dual-car-charger-adapter-5v-4-2a-219640/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't state if it's "shared" or not. Meaning is that 2.1A total for both or 2.1A each. Lot of them are shared even at 3.1A.
wptski said:
It doesn't state if it's "shared" or not. Meaning is that 2.1A total for both or 2.1A each. Lot of them are shared even at 3.1A.
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Click to collapse
It says 5v, 4.2A so that is 2.1A each.
Gaugerer said:
It says 5v, 4.2A so that is 2.1A each.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah! My bad, I see that at the top now!
slippy steve said:
nice instructions, royal.
bummer about the picture rule. I think I got some good shots that could help some people. I guess I'll be back to post the pics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you able to post pictures yet? I'm happy to take a look and help out. If it won't let you attach pictures, you can try linking to an album on imgur, for example (if it allows links).
Gaugerer said:
This charger is dearer but supplies dual 2.1A with the correct cables/
http://www.expansys-usa.com/expansys-expansys-dual-car-charger-adapter-5v-4-2a-219640/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the iPad designation, it's a sure thing that this will need modification. If I'm understanding you correctly, I think you're trying to suggest modified (data-shorted) cables rather than modified adapter. I prefer having a modified adapter so I can use and replace cables at a whim. But if you purchased that one already, you can see if it comes apart and can be modified just as easily.
Royal2000H said:
Are you able to post pictures yet? I'm happy to take a look and help out. If it won't let you attach pictures, you can try linking to an album on imgur, for example (if it allows links).
With the iPad designation, it's a sure thing that this will need modification. If I'm understanding you correctly, I think you're trying to suggest modified (data-shorted) cables rather than modified adapter. I prefer having a modified adapter so I can use and replace cables at a whim. But if you purchased that one already, you can see if it comes apart and can be modified just as easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I purchased a Kensington car charger packaged for an iPad and all that meant is that it came a iPad type cord but still a standard USB port which worked on my Android device.
Some people have said that the cable used also has a lot to do with what the tablet pulls. Some saying a Motorola brand USB cable they had gave much more current. If there is any truth to this then in conjunction with doing this mod to the charger it might be a good idea to buy a cable with 22AWG power conductors:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189234
wptski said:
I purchased a Kensington car charger packaged for an iPad and all that meant is that it came a iPad type cord but still a standard USB port which worked on my Android device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The question isn't whether the port is USB. It's always going to be USB supplying 5V. The question is how much current the device can pull from the charger. A normal USB port (like a computer) can only supply 500mA by spec. The N10 needs 2A. The ones designated for ipad will usually charge your N10 but at a max of 500mA (even if they're rated higher - because the data pins aren't shorted).
Royal2000H said:
The question isn't whether the port is USB. It's always going to be USB supplying 5V. The question is how much current the device can pull from the charger. A normal USB port (like a computer) can only supply 500mA by spec. The N10 needs 2A. The ones designated for ipad will usually charge your N10 but at a max of 500mA (even if they're rated higher - because the data pins aren't shorted).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the data pins aren't shorted, it won't draw more than 500ma, if that's so, how can it be rated at 2.A? I haven't tried my PS with the Nexus 10 yet but did with my other device, had no problem but it has a much smaller battery and I don't remember the details.
I'll try to check it out on the Nexus 10 and post the results.
EDIT
I thried my Kensington or this one: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-PowerB...158903&sr=1-7&keywords=kensington+car+charger.
I first tried it using a POGO cord and it wouldn't charge. It did using a micro-USB cord over 500ma also.
wptski said:
If the data pins aren't shorted, it won't draw more than 500ma, if that's so, how can it be rated at 2.A? I haven't tried my PS with the Nexus 10 yet but did with my other device, had no problem but it has a much smaller battery and I don't remember the details.
I'll try to check it out on the Nexus 10 and post the results.
EDIT
I thried my Kensington or this one: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-PowerB...158903&sr=1-7&keywords=kensington+car+charger.
I first tried it using a POGO cord and it wouldn't charge. It did using a micro-USB cord over 500ma also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I explained it all in the Original Post, but I'll try to clarify. If a charger is rated at 2A but doesn't have data pins shorted, the Nexus 10 will only pull 500mA. The manufacturer isn't necessarily lying about the 2A, it likely is capable of giving 2A. However, the Nexus 10 checks for shorted pins before pulling at 2A. This is because USB spec is rated for 500mA and if the Nexus 10 tried to pull 2A from a computer, it would overload the circuits of a computer's USB port and potentially damage the USB hub or computer. So as a somewhat universal decision (though really it's not standardized), most manufacturers did something like this: if data pins are not shorted (as in a computer) - take upto 500mA. If data pins are shorted (as in the charger provided with the device) - take upto what's necessary. This is actually a somewhat problematic solution because a 2A-requiring Nexus 10 plugged into, say, a Galaxy Nexus charger (shorted data but only 1A) could potentially cause damage from overloading.
Therefore, Apple didn't go along with the whole shorting the data pins solution. They came up with their own solution, which I actually don't know enough about to speak of in accuracy. But their solution allows the device to basically "sense" the capabilities of a charger, so it knows whether it can charge 1A or 2A or 3A, etc. This is I imagine is either done with resistors specifying discrete values or with some sort of "smart chips".
So, as you see, the Apple ones don't have shorted data pins. Therefore a manufacturer of a car charger has to decide: Support Apple devices or support other devices? And some manufacturers do such a bad job, they provide the high current (like 2A) but then don't do Apple's "solution" or the data shorting, thereby rendering their high current useless.
Royal2000H said:
I explained it all in the Original Post, but I'll try to clarify. If a charger is rated at 2A but doesn't have data pins shorted, the Nexus 10 will only pull 500mA. The manufacturer isn't necessarily lying about the 2A, it likely is capable of giving 2A. However, the Nexus 10 checks for shorted pins before pulling at 2A. This is because USB spec is rated for 500mA and if the Nexus 10 tried to pull 2A from a computer, it would overload the circuits of a computer's USB port and potentially damage the USB hub or computer. So as a somewhat universal decision (though really it's not standardized), most manufacturers did something like this: if data pins are not shorted (as in a computer) - take upto 500mA. If data pins are shorted (as in the charger provided with the device) - take upto what's necessary. This is actually a somewhat problematic solution because a 2A-requiring Nexus 10 plugged into, say, a Galaxy Nexus charger (shorted data but only 1A) could potentially cause damage from overloading.
Therefore, Apple didn't go along with the whole shorting the data pins solution. They came up with their own solution, which I actually don't know enough about to speak of in accuracy. But their solution allows the device to basically "sense" the capabilities of a charger, so it knows whether it can charge 1A or 2A or 3A, etc. This is I imagine is either done with resistors specifying discrete values or with some sort of "smart chips".
So, as you see, the Apple ones don't have shorted data pins. Therefore a manufacturer of a car charger has to decide: Support Apple devices or support other devices? And some manufacturers do such a bad job, they provide the high current (like 2A) but then don't do Apple's "solution" or the data shorting, thereby rendering their high current useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were to use a PS limited to 1A, it "should" have a saftey to limit that. I used my above mentioned 2.1A PS with a 110VAC>12VDC adapter which was has a 1A max. and it did limit the output. Not saying that all PS would do that without damage though.
While poking around in files, I did find one that lists the power source by name but I forget as to what it showed for the OEM PS. I wonder what it'll show for a car PS?
Sv: Best 2A car charger: Bracketron
I doubt there are phone chargers without current limitations as safety feature. If designed well the charger should limit the current at its max current. Otherwise a lot of chargers would burn.
But I am not sure this is the reality
Skickat från min HTC Desire via Tapatalk 2
Royal2000H said:
...Apple didn't go along with the whole shorting the data pins solution. They came up with their own solution, which I actually don't know enough about to speak of in accuracy. But their solution allows the device to basically "sense" the capabilities of a charger, so it knows whether it can charge 1A or 2A or 3A, etc. This is I imagine is either done with resistors specifying discrete values or with some sort of "smart chips".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe Apple use a pair of different value resistors to create a voltage divider, passing a different voltage to D+ and D-. The presence of this differential voltage on the data pins is what triggers the high power charge capabilities.
Lapdock+Wii == Gametrix
So I have a spare Nintendo Wii and a lapdock (hopefully pick some more up if there are still any at Radioshack) and I am going to disassemble the Wii, reconfigure it to fit on the back "panel" of the Lapdock, and get the needed cords to create a Gametrix[/]
My initial goal is to connect a Nintendo Wii to my Atrix Lapdock by... (with modifications)
1) a. Having the Lapdock’s Male Mini-HDMI plugged into a Female Mini-HDMI TO M / F Fullsized-HDMI converter. Thus allowing a direct HDMI connection from there.
This takes care of ½ of connections for both the Lapdock and the Wii.
2) a. Ideally I am looking to hook the Wii’s power supply directly to the Lapdock’s Male Micro-USB port, via a Female Micro-USB TO M / F Fullsized-USB. From there I’d need a USB to Female Wall Outlet (3 prong?) this would entail finding(unlikely...) / building one.
This takes care of power needs, (if it works) leaving only the unlikely usability of the Lapdocks built in keyboard and mouse / USB ports.
2) b. if number 2 section a (above) doesn’t work because of lack of volts traveling through the USB to the Wii, then I’d be left with connecting an external battery to the Wii and just taking advantage of the screen.
Hopefully if I have to result to section b then I’d at least be able to use the keyboard and mouse?
I will update with a Diagram of my plan “a” and “b” tomorrow after school.
Here are average power draw for the Wii. @17 Watts http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2007/02/next-gen_console_power_lg.jpg
And here for Gamecube. @23 Watts http://www.tpcdb.com/product.php?id=1615
Lapdock voltage output. ??? I think I'd have to replace the battery because it's only supposed to charge a phone/run an OS...
Lapdock insternal battery mAh ???
Please guys I know it's a lot but any input is great input
sounds fun. good luck dude.
Use a wii its better and supports a HDMI converter.
The gamecube already has a battery pack accessory and a screen accessory so its easy been done
Sent from Moto Atrix 4g on Neutrino 2.91
I have decided to go with the Wii, I am trying to find info on how many amps the Wii draws and if the Lapdock is capable of powering it...
I think I would try seeing how they both look on the screen before diving in much further, but it does sound like it could be a fun project.
Other thoughts:
how useful the project will be specifically to you? For many of us, due to the limited availability of the lapdocks, there's a limited number of people that will be able to try this themselves.
do you plan on strictly playing games, or are you going a bit further by using Linux on the device? I imagine there is a way you could use the keyboard as some type of input device, although you may have to create some translator device from a programmable Microcontroller.
is the screen big enough for enjoying using the device or is it more of a challenge than it's worth. The screen may be plenty big enough for a handheld device, but for something like using a Wii controller where you are at a distance from the screen, is it big enough?
Budget This is something we all overlook far to often. Something starts off small and simple, but before you know it, you end up spending way more than you had anticipated.
I have 2 Wii's and a Lapdock, so budget is covered.
I'm not going to use the motion bar, just gamecube games.
My main concern is if the Lapdock can power it.
jeffreygtab said:
I have 2 Wii's and a Lapdock, so budget is covered.
I'm not going to use the motion bar, just gamecube games.
My main concern is if the Lapdock can power it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Power will probably be an issue through USB as USB does have a specification for max current of 500–900 mA (general); 5 A (charging devices). After that the port should shutdown to prevent burning out the controller.
Edit: I was looking at your figures above, did some digging, and I think you have a couple hurdles.
To start with, for power consumption, you want to look more at peak then you do at min and give yourself a bit of cushion, mainly because running at max power all the time will tax components. Second, and this is a big one, the Wii power pack apparently is 12V 3.7A (44.4W). USB is only 5 volts, and at 900mA you're peaking at 4.5W. However, if you could somehow manage to trick it into charge mode, you might be able to squeeze 25W. That's if it works like a standard USB port. If you can do that, you can step up the voltage with a charge pump, but I'm not quite sure how close to max that will put you due to efficiency losses. You may be able to go the other way and use the Wii to power the lapdock, or you may have to power them independently.
All that said, I think it's still important to just try to see what it looks like on the screen before digging in too far.
I plan on charging it through the Micro USB which you said supplies up to 23W+ Which is apparently plenty for the Wii. I'm going to order the necessary cords to attempt this, this weekend. So next week I'll know how much, if any, I have to modify to power it.....
I'll continue to research, and thanks for your help!
EDIT: screen size isn't an issue, as I'm have it right in from of me like a laptop, Playing Super Smash Bros Melee and the like.
BIG Message to everyone who's reading this. THIS IS MY FIRST HARDWARE MOD (as if that wasn't obvious?)
Anyways I'm gonna pick up a soldering iron as well, because I'm not finding a way to charge the Wii (assuming the Lapdock is capable...) There are no real ways to convert the micro usb to the 3 prong standard outlet that the Wii uses... So I may need to make my own? Will this work? http://www.sybausa.com/productInfo.php?iid=1274 Although I can't find where to buy it.
jeffreygtab said:
BIG Message to everyone who's reading this. THIS IS MY FIRST HARDWARE MOD (as if that wasn't obvious?)
Anyways I'm gonna pick up a soldering iron as well, because I'm not finding a way to charge the Wii (assuming the Lapdock is capable...) There are no real ways to convert the micro usb to the 3 prong standard outlet that the Wii uses... So I may need to make my own? Will this work? http://www.sybausa.com/productInfo.php?iid=1274 Although I can't find where to buy it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you want to convert 5V DC to 120V AC and then downconvert to 12V? Better to just go from 5V to 12V, but the reality is that it's much easier to go down than up. What does the lapdock itself have for a power supply?
Edit: Looks like the Wii has some type of USB keyboard support. Not sure if you want to try getting that to work, but it might come in handy.
I know but isn't the Wii's power cord a standard 120v 3 prong wall charger? I'd have to convert the 3 prong format to a Micro USB.
The lapdocks power supply is the battery if that's what you were asking...
Thanks for helping on my first project btw.
Check out about halfway down the page on this link if you want to see what the Wii looks like on the lapdock screen:
http://www.robpol86.com/index.php/Atrix_Lapdock_Other_Uses
jeffreygtab said:
I know but isn't the Wii's power cord a standard 120v 3 prong wall charger? I'd have to convert the 3 prong format to a Micro USB.
The lapdocks power supply is the battery if that's what you were asking...
Thanks for helping on my first project btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad to share my limited knowledge. Anyway, Really, I'm unsure if you can pull 25W out of the USB or not, but even if you could, you'd lose a good chunk of that in going from 5V to 125V AC, because at this point, a charge pump is no longer an option but instead you would need a power inverter, and since most of the commercially available ones are designed to go from 12V DC to 120V AC, you would likely end up building one yourself. The charge pump (buck–boost converter) is much easier to build, but I'm not sure about how much power you can get out of it.
Here's one I built from modifying a schematic I found online somewhere:
I hate to be the party pooper here, but I think no USB port will ever be able to deliver that much power. We're talking about several ampers here. Neither the USB port nor a great majority of USB cords are built to withstand that. Most USB hardware is designed to carry at most 1A. And then, even if you manage to get sufficient power flowing and power the contraption up, I wouldn't expect too much autonomy out of it since it is after all battery-powered. I would expect a lot of heat from the batteries too.
ravilov said:
I hate yo be the party pooper here, but I think no USB port will ever be able to deliver that much power. We're talking about several ampers here. Neither the USB port nor a great majority of USB cords are built to withstand that. Most USB hardware is designed to carry at most 1A. And then, even if you manage to get sufficient power flowing and power the contraption up, I wouldn't expect too much autonomy out of it since it is after all battery-powered. I would expect a lot of heat from the batteries too.
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Click to collapse
Battery Charging Specification 1.2:[14] Released in December 2010.
Several changes and increasing limits including allowing 1.5A on charging ports for unconfigured devices, allowing High Speed communication while having a current up to 1.5A and allowing a maximum current of 5A.
But as I said, I don't know if you can get that much power out of this particular device. 20W @12V is 1.6A, but in order to power that from 5V, you would need at least 4 Amps, which puts it close to max, but not over it. The actual port connector is rated much higher than that.
Edit: I do have to agree on one point though, running on battery power will be pretty limiting, especially when you consider what the batteries were intended for in the first place.
So you're saying that there's basically no way to power the Wii with the Lapdock's setup? Ughhh I assumed this would be a major issue but decided I'd leave the verdict to those more knowledgeable than myself... So you're sure there's no way? Well anyways I hope at the very least to connect an external Battery (recommendations?) and hopefully get the Wii to recognize the trackpad and keyboard esp. for linux use... I'll keep researching and keep you guys posted.
edit:
ravilov said:
I hate yo be the party pooper here, but I think no USB port will ever be able to deliver that much power. We're talking about several ampers here. Neither the USB port nor a great majority of USB cords are built to withstand that. Most USB hardware is designed to carry at most 1A. And then, even if you manage to get sufficient power flowing and power the contraption up, I wouldn't expect too much autonomy out of it since it is after all battery-powered. I would expect a lot of heat from the batteries too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lehjr said:
Battery Charging Specification 1.2:[14] Released in December 2010.
Several changes and increasing limits including allowing 1.5A on charging ports for unconfigured devices, allowing High Speed communication while having a current up to 1.5A and allowing a maximum current of 5A.
But as I said, I don't know if you can get that much power out of this particular device. 20W @12V is 1.6A, but in order to power that from 5V, you would need at least 4 Amps, which puts it close to max, but not over it. The actual port connector is rated much higher than that.
Edit: I do have to agree on one point though, running on battery power will be pretty limiting, especially when you consider what the batteries were intended for in the first place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't read your reply Lehjr before posting mine, sorry about that. Anyways I'm still confused about whether or not the Lapdock is capable of powering the Wii? Anyways here is where I'm getting my very limited information on basic electronics. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question501.htm I will keep studying though don't worry:laugh:
I'm going to post this on BenHeck Forums too for additional input. Again thank you guys.
lehjr said:
Battery Charging Specification 1.2:[14] Released in December 2010.
Several changes and increasing limits including allowing 1.5A on charging ports for unconfigured devices, allowing High Speed communication while having a current up to 1.5A and allowing a maximum current of 5A.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, interesting. I don't know, I'd say even if the USB hardware might be able to withhold such high currents, it's only for a short while, not for continuous use. I'm talking about all the USB hardware now, not just the plugs and cords.
Anyway, while 5A might indeed be the theoretical maximum, I have yet to see an USB device that actually delivers anywhere close to that. Even most commercial "high-speed" chargers deliver only up to about 2A.
ravilov said:
Hm, interesting. I don't know, I'd say even if the USB hardware might be able to withhold such high currents, it's only for a short while, not for continuous use. I'm talking about all the USB hardware now, not just the plugs and cords.
Anyway, while 5A might indeed be the theoretical maximum, I have yet to see an USB device that actually delivers anywhere close to that. Even most commercial "high-speed" chargers deliver only up to about 2A.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, running that close to maximum is likely going to be short lived, and that's if it can be coaxed to go there in the first place. I'm not sure what the portability thing is about anyway. The Wii may be small, but it's heavy.
---------- Post added at 09:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 PM ----------
jeffreygtab said:
So you're saying that there's basically no way to power the Wii with the Lapdock's setup? Ughhh I assumed this would be a major issue but decided I'd leave the verdict to those more knowledgeable than myself... So you're sure there's no way? Well anyways I hope at the very least to connect an external Battery (recommendations?) and hopefully get the Wii to recognize the trackpad and keyboard esp. for linux use... I'll keep researching and keep you guys posted.
edit:
Didn't read your reply Lehjr before posting mine, sorry about that. Anyways I'm still confused about whether or not the Lapdock is capable of powering the Wii? Anyways here is where I'm getting my very limited information on basic electronics. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question501.htm I will keep studying though don't worry:laugh:
I'm going to post this on BenHeck Forums too for additional input. Again thank you guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly capable, very slim chance, but doing so would be running very close to max the entire time the Wii is powered. You would also have to build a device to convert 5V to 12V, again, not impossible, but you do lose some power do to conversion inefficiencies. Is there any particular reason you want the device to be portable? IMHO, in order to run the Wii for any length of time, you would need a decent set of batteries. A few amps plugged in is one thing, on battery power that's something else. I could easily see you using something like a couple Power Wheels 6V batteries and a 12V charger or some similar setup, maybe some lithium cells if you're a big spender. Anything more than that and you're wheeling this thing around on a cart with a deep cycle marine/RV battery.
Haha a definitive answer would be welcomed as to whether it's theoretically capable or not, but if you can't provide that, I completely understand! Anyways It just needs to be temporarily portable, like 1 hour battery life is plenty. Thanks... Btw I can't actually thank you guys anymore as I'm out of thanks.
I lost my charger so just i wanted to ask: I have like tons of chargers in my house but i lost the most important one (my htc one's charger). So in case of not damaging my phone's battery which charger values should i use?
I got 3 clear options here:
1)ZTE Charger: Input:100-240 V 50/60 HZ 200 mA Output: 5.0v 700 mA
2)General Mobile Greenmate: Input: 100-240V 50/60 HZ 300 mA Output:5.0 V 2000 mA
3)Nokia Charger: Inout: 100-240V 50/60HZ 160mA Output: 5.0V 1200mA
Waiting for your answers guys...
Btw: If my english is bad but you can understand me, just ignore it...
furkey said:
I lost my charger so just i wanted to ask: I have like tons of chargers in my house but i lost the most important one (my htc one's charger). So in case of not damaging my phone's battery which charger values should i use?
I got 3 clear options here:
1)ZTE Charger: Input:100-240 V 50/60 HZ 200 mA Output: 5.0v 700 mA
2)General Mobile Greenmate: Input: 100-240V 50/60 HZ 300 mA Output:5.0 V 2000 mA
3)Nokia Charger: Inout: 100-240V 50/60HZ 160mA Output: 5.0V 1200mA
Waiting for your answers guys...
Btw: If my english is bad but you can understand me, just ignore it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as long as its output voltage is 5V it's OK.
As for the current the official one is 500mA but you can use one with a higher value or lower.
The phone only uses what it needs so there's no real problem. Only if you go lower then 500mA the phone will charge slower.
:what: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293205
I'm pretty sure the official one is 1A ,they'll all be fine, but I don't think any of them will be able to charge at more than 0.5A.
Here you go mate
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2
Lorinsion said:
Well as long as its output voltage is 5V it's OK.
As for the current the official one is 500mA but you can use one with a higher value or lower.
The phone only uses what it needs so there's no real problem. Only if you go lower then 500mA the phone will charge slower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for replying on an old post guys but because this has been indexed and is high in the search engines, I feel it necessary to reply here.
Voltage is #1 but you'll be hard pressed to find a usb type adapter that isn't 5V out
Amperage, however, is another story. Best rule of thumb: The higher, the safer.
HTC one uses a 1A (1000mA) adapter, as do most phones nowadays. As others have mentioned, using a higher amperage is fine, as the adapter won't have to work as hard and causes zero harm to the phone. You can use a 1250mA, a 2A, a 5A, a 3000000A, it doesn't matter. The charger within the phone will only utilize the amount of amperage coming from the adapter that it needs.
Going lower, however, will often cause problems. I worked the T-Mobile PDA tech call center when the first android device the G1 came out. It used a 1A adapter which wasn't very common, but used a mini USB port which was very common. A famous problem I dealt with was the digitizer going schizo; registering finger presses all over the place. I figured out the common denominator was that it was plugged into a lower amperage adapter (usually for an older phone) when this happened. Sharing this with the team, we decided to ask the details of the adapter they were using whenever this problem was encountered. Sure enough, with 99% accuracy, the adapter was for another phone which was of a lower amperage. That month I did about a dozen followups myself with customers with this issue after sending them a replacement 1A charger, and the issue was resolved.
As more 1A mini-usb style phones came out, we found the trend. Whacky digitizers and drastically low battery life (full life, not charge-length) when used with lower amp adapters.
Going further, also at T-Mobile, we came out with the @home service; a VOIP service through T-Mobile (which was pretty ****ing cool but it never really took off) which used a modified Linksys router: the WRTU54G-TM. The teams involved with tech support for this system were definitely stressed on its release because it required the tech to have not just knowledge on the unit, the service, and the system... but also every single scenario of computer and network configuration out there. I was fine but my team was reprimanded incorrectly... ahh but I digress... Getting to the point: customers would get this new Linksys router and notice that the power adapter port (we called them power puckers on my team) was the exactly same style and size as their last router which was also usually a linksys. So, instead of using the adapter that came with the WRTU54-TM, they just plugged it right into the old adapter.
And then problems.
This took weeks to figure out because the issues were strange, inconsistent, and abundant. Once Clem and I figured out the trend, we blasted emails throughout the callcenter since this, for some reason, didn't reach the bureaucracy threshold of importance: No two adapters are the same (kind of). Just because the plug looks the same doesn't mean it'll work right. The voltage will probably be the same. Your positive and negative DC connections are probably safely correct based on design. BUT THE AMPERAGE
All these old routers used adapters that were a lower amperage than what the WRTU54G-TM needed. The easiest way for us to find out if there was an inappropriate adapter being used was to have the customer unplug the router, plug it back in, and then have them alert us as soon as the power light stopped blinking. The WRTU54G-TM has a very long boot-up time, but it's pretty consistent at about 60 seconds +-5sec. Anything above 70 seconds is when we'd check the adapter amperage, and 100% of the time, it was an old adapter for another product that had a lower amperage than required. We'd get them to dig up their original box, pull the real adapter out, and problem solved. Every. God. Damned. Time.
So, lesson is: NO NO NO NO LOWER AMPERAGE IS NOT OKAY. "Charging slower" is NOT the only side effect of a lower amperage adapter. However, higher amperage is totally kosher. As high as your heart desires.
Hope this helps!
Putrid186 said:
Sorry for replying on an old post guys but because this has been indexed and is high in the search engines, I feel it necessary to reply here.
Voltage is #1 but you'll be hard pressed to find a usb type adapter that isn't 5V out
Amperage, however, is another story. Best rule of thumb: The higher, the safer.
HTC one uses a 1A (1000mA) adapter, as do most phones nowadays. As others have mentioned, using a higher amperage is fine, as the adapter won't have to work as hard and causes zero harm to the phone. You can use a 1250mA, a 2A, a 5A, a 3000000A, it doesn't matter. The charger within the phone will only utilize the amount of amperage coming from the adapter that it needs.
Going lower, however, will often cause problems. I worked the T-Mobile PDA tech call center when the first android device the G1 came out. It used a 1A adapter which wasn't very common, but used a mini USB port which was very common. A famous problem I dealt with was the digitizer going schizo; registering finger presses all over the place. I figured out the common denominator was that it was plugged into a lower amperage adapter (usually for an older phone) when this happened. Sharing this with the team, we decided to ask the details of the adapter they were using whenever this problem was encountered. Sure enough, with 99% accuracy, the adapter was for another phone which was of a lower amperage. That month I did about a dozen followups myself with customers with this issue after sending them a replacement 1A charger, and the issue was resolved.
As more 1A mini-usb style phones came out, we found the trend. Whacky digitizers and drastically low battery life (full life, not charge-length) when used with lower amp adapters.
Going further, also at T-Mobile, we came out with the @home service; a VOIP service through T-Mobile (which was pretty ****ing cool but it never really took off) which used a modified Linksys router: the WRTU54G-TM. The teams involved with tech support for this system were definitely stressed on its release because it required the tech to have not just knowledge on the unit, the service, and the system... but also every single scenario of computer and network configuration out there. I was fine but my team was reprimanded incorrectly... ahh but I digress... Getting to the point: customers would get this new Linksys router and notice that the power adapter port (we called them power puckers on my team) was the exactly same style and size as their last router which was also usually a linksys. So, instead of using the adapter that came with the WRTU54-TM, they just plugged it right into the old adapter.
And then problems.
This took weeks to figure out because the issues were strange, inconsistent, and abundant. Once Clem and I figured out the trend, we blasted emails throughout the callcenter since this, for some reason, didn't reach the bureaucracy threshold of importance: No two adapters are the same (kind of). Just because the plug looks the same doesn't mean it'll work right. The voltage will probably be the same. Your positive and negative DC connections are probably safely correct based on design. BUT THE AMPERAGE
All these old routers used adapters that were a lower amperage than what the WRTU54G-TM needed. The easiest way for us to find out if there was an inappropriate adapter being used was to have the customer unplug the router, plug it back in, and then have them alert us as soon as the power light stopped blinking. The WRTU54G-TM has a very long boot-up time, but it's pretty consistent at about 60 seconds +-5sec. Anything above 70 seconds is when we'd check the adapter amperage, and 100% of the time, it was an old adapter for another product that had a lower amperage than required. We'd get them to dig up their original box, pull the real adapter out, and problem solved. Every. God. Damned. Time.
So, lesson is: NO NO NO NO LOWER AMPERAGE IS NOT OKAY. "Charging slower" is NOT the only side effect of a lower amperage adapter. However, higher amperage is totally kosher. As high as your heart desires.
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, 500mA should also be fine. The phone is designed to work with MHL 1 and that is the amperage the MHL connection provides.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
Hi,
Does anyone know why it is such a god damn crapshoot for charging speeds on the galaxy note 2 (or any samsung device for that matter).'
You buy a charger rated for 2amps and you never know what it will give you.
You buy a USB micro cable and get anywhere between 0.4amps and 1.6amps.
What is the criteria that the phone is using to determine how many amps to pull from the charger? How does it even know what gauge of wire it is? Is there some sort of resistance check?
I have a Galaxy Note 10.1 and that is even more particular than the GN2. With most aftermarket chargers, it absolutely refuses to charge. I've had so much trouble finding a charger for it I've just stopped using the tablet since I only have one working charger for it.
It really sucks spending anywhere between $2-$30 dollars on a charger and not knowing if it will work. My success rate has been less than 10%.
I try to do forum and google searches, but all I seem to find are comments like "I bought this charger. Seems to work." With no detailed information on what performance they are getting out of it.
This is really turning me off samsung products. I don't have this problem with my HTC or LG android devices.
I don't know why you have problems, I have 2 samsung devices (phones) and I chare them with their original chargers, charger from Nexus 7 and my old charger from Desire HD and all work just fine... ofcourse, the original one is the fastest, since it is 2A, HTC one is 750mA and Ativ S one is 500mA, N7 one is 1A....
dalanik said:
I don't know why you have problems,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You kind of answer this for yourself, as follows:
dalanik said:
I have 2 samsung devices (phones) and I chare them with their original chargers, charger from Nexus 7 and my old charger from Desire HD and all work just fine... ofcourse, the original one is the fastest, since it is 2A, HTC one is 750mA and Ativ S one is 500mA, N7 one is 1A....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your stock charger is 2A. (about 1.5-2 hours to charge)
Your HTC charger is 750mA (about 4-5 hours to charge)
Your ATV charger is 500mA (no better than a computer port. 6-8 hours to charge)
This was my point. This IS my problem. Obviously the stock charger works at 2A, but with any other charger it is anyones guess as to what speeds you're going to get out of it. Even when they are specified to work at 2A, you are likely not going to get 2A out of it. The phone is so bloody fickle.
If there was some benchmark or specific set of criteria I could use when I purchase a new charger to know for certain if it will charge at 2A, then that would mitigate some of the problem at least. But right now, there is none as far as I can tell. When I purchase a charger, I literally have no idea if it will run at 2A with this phone.
I'm glad that you're not bothered by the slow charging speeds and are happy with <1A. I'm sure this works well for most people. It doesn't for me. I push my phone to the max (as I have every right to) and need a charger that can keep up.
Well, charging slowly is different to what you say i.e. "refusing to charge at all" etc. And of course I don't use Ativ's charger to charge N2 often, it would take ages But I use HTC's charger that is 750mA and it charges within 2 hours which is OK.
Anyways, the only solution for you is to buy BRANDED charger from a company you can trust not some cheap chinese, t should work just fine whether it gives 2A or 1.9A is really no big difference.
dalanik said:
Well, charging slowly is different to what you say i.e. "refusing to charge at all" etc. And of course I don't use Ativ's charger to charge N2 often, it would take ages But I use HTC's charger that is 750mA and it charges within 2 hours which is OK.
Anyways, the only solution for you is to buy BRANDED charger from a company you can trust not some cheap chinese, t should work just fine whether it gives 2A or 1.9A is really no big difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, there are chargers that refuse to work. Especially with the Galaxy Note 10.1.
Cheap ebay chargers are a crapshoot, that much goes without saying. But there are many brand-name chargers that don't work at full speed, despite being rated for 2A.
Its not so much a charger thing as a samsung thing. While I'm not able to find specific criteria as to how/why the phone decides to charge at the speed it does (which is really the only question I had with this thread), I can tell you that there are many brand name products (monoprice, anker, ngear, etc) that are rated for 2A, but will not run at 2A with the samsung. They will usually run at 2A with other products though.
The more research I do, the more I highly suspect that this is a case of Samsung propriety. It looks like that they are deliberately throttling aftermarket chargers to force you to buy their overpriced samsung chargers. As I understand it, it has something to do with creating a voltage divider between two of the contacts, but every diagram I find shows a different wiring scheme. This would indicate that no one really knows for sure.
The one and ONLY question I have with this thread is to find out what criteria the N7100 uses to determine how much amperage to draw. I remain confident that no one will answer this question because it seems no one knows.
For the Note 2: there is a way to get a simple measurement of how much current is being pulled. Refer to this thread for the apk and more info.
alpha-niner64 said:
For the Note 2: there is a way to get a simple measurement of how much current is being pulled. Refer to this thread for the apk and more info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for posting this. I suppose I should have mentioned that I have this app already and it is incredibly useful. I also have this, which with only a few bizarre exceptions, reports the same as the app.
The more people who are aware of this app, the better. People who think that their aftermarket charger "works fine for me" are probably unaware of how much those chargers are under-performing.
I don't have the education to explain your situation your situation well. But it boils down the electrical engineering the the physics of electricity.
There are quite a few variables that all effect the charging of devices. First thing is what does the device require for charge input, which is both amps and voltage. For whatever reason, quite a few tablets require 15 volts versus 5, which is what most mobile phones need. I have this same issue with my ASUS Transformer Infinity pad. It requires 2.0amps with 15 volts. I have a Galaxy Note II with needs 2.0amps with 5 volts. Unfortunately, when I use my phone charger with the tablet, it puts out enough to trigger a charger is plugged in (turns on tablet if it is off), but not enough to trigger there is actual charging. It does charge it, but it's a trickle charge; basically if it using while plugged in, it only slows the battery depletion rate.
As for the charge output, now you're getting into build quality, resistance of the components of the charger itself and the USB cable being used.
And then depending the device, the pins used on the USB cable can have an effect too. This mostly occurs with tablets or proprietary cables because the pins may tell the hardware what kind of charger is being used, which may have built in limits for charging.
Hopefully that helps some.
lovekeiiy said:
I don't have the education to explain your situation your situation well. But it boils down the electrical engineering the the physics of electricity.
There are quite a few variables that all effect the charging of devices. First thing is what does the device require for charge input, which is both amps and voltage. For whatever reason, quite a few tablets require 15 volts versus 5, which is what most mobile phones need. I have this same issue with my ASUS Transformer Infinity pad. It requires 2.0amps with 15 volts. I have a Galaxy Note II with needs 2.0amps with 5 volts. Unfortunately, when I use my phone charger with the tablet, it puts out enough to trigger a charger is plugged in (turns on tablet if it is off), but not enough to trigger there is actual charging. It does charge it, but it's a trickle charge; basically if it using while plugged in, it only slows the battery depletion rate.
As for the charge output, now you're getting into build quality, resistance of the components of the charger itself and the USB cable being used.
And then depending the device, the pins used on the USB cable can have an effect too. This mostly occurs with tablets or proprietary cables because the pins may tell the hardware what kind of charger is being used, which may have built in limits for charging.
Hopefully that helps some.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That last part is correct. I actually know enough about electrical circuits to be pretty sure it is the phone deciding how much power to pull.
Ohms law states that the amperage of a circuit is the voltage of the circuit devided by the resistance (in ohms).
USB circuits are almost universally 5 volts. I remember reading somewhere that a phone has a potentiometer that protects it from circuits of incorrect voltage, up to a certain amount. This is probably why you can get away with sticking a 15V charger onto your phone and not blowing it up. You cannot depend on this however. Generally, you do not want to stick a charger into your device that is a different voltage rating than what the charger is rated for.
The charger decides the voltage, using an internal device that changes AC voltage (120VAC if youre american) to 5VDC (USB) or whatever your device needs. This device is called a rectifier.
As stated above, the charger decides the voltage. The battery determines the resistance*, therefore the amperage is the natural result of deviding the voltage by the resistance.
*Resistance is added to the circuit by the wire and the charger itself, but is usually inconsequential.
When a charger says that it is rated for a certain amperage, that means that it is the maximum amount of current that thr internal components can handle safely, without running the risk of earth-shattering kabooms (fire). If the circuit you have connected to your charger contains too little resistance, you will increase the amperage (ohms law, as stated above), and you may end up with a piece of charcoal where your charger used to be.
Thr fact that the samaung phones can change the amperage of a charging circuit so fickly must mean the phone is capable of changing its resistance. So the question becomes, what criteria is it using to determine when to change the resistancr and to what?
-PW
This may be the longest thing ive ever typed on my phone.
I'm not disagreeing since, as you said, the mobile device manufactures have build in some safe guards so we don't fry them from incorrect chargers or over charging.
But there are charges that are 15v. I've have one that came with my ASUS Transformer Infinity Pad. I think many Samsung tablets are in the same boat. I don't recall using that charger on any of my smartphones; if I have, it's only been once or twice, but good possibility I may never have. But as stated earlier, I have used my phone chargers on the tablet, but only does a trickle charge. That tablet has some wide input plug at the end of the USB cord. I'm thinking one of the pins must not get enough power to trigger the full charge. Yet, if I use my Anker external battery, set it to 15v, and a few adapters, it triggers the normal charge cycle.
Don't forget,phones such as Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3, use 11pin microUSB ports versus the standard 5. I have no idea what all pins do or trigger, My assumption, part of your answer why the charge output varies lies with how they're use the other pins. I know quite a few tablets have more than 5 pins since the USB port is some wide thing; the ASUS does because it carries data and power for the separate keyboard that can be attached to be a suedo-laptop that has USB ports, battery and full 104 key keyboard; I don't recall what other ports the attachment may have.
I still hold that part of charge difference is also the USB cord itself since difference materials have difference resistance. It may not be as significant as the charger itself, but I've seen significant differences in charging times or depletion rates (around 10% battery per hour) using MHL adapters purely on the USB cables.
Yes, typing out long replies on the phone's virtual keyboard blows monkey chunks. Thus, I use a blue tooth keyboard instead for those situations. I also have a blue tooth mouse, LOL.