Database Develop

Knock-off Chargers

I am hesitant to buy something like this since I have read that the USB Micro on the NC is non-standard.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Barnes-and-...?pt=US_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item19c71f2149

You're smart to worry about these. This one is a simple microUSB cable, not the Nook Color compatible cable which has a longer tip. It will still allow you to transfer data and trickle charge but because of the shorter tip it will not allow a quick charge.
The part that is also important is the plug/brick you plug this cable into. You have to make sure it outputs 1.9 amps so that it is capable of quick charging your Nook Color if you have the correct cable to use. Most usb plug/bricks (like the ones for your phones) will only output about a quarter or maybe half of that. Some Apple iPad/iPhone usb plug/bricks will put out more though.

sjmoreno is right, be wary on these. It shows it is shipping from the inside the United States, but that doesn't mean much as they buy these in bulk from China at a lower price and raise it a bit here. I have ordered a few of these micro USB cables from china eBay listings with varying luck. Some will actually fit, and others won't - some charge REALLY slow and I actually had one that melted on me because it was pulling too much current.

Hey,
If you are still under warrantly, you can call B&N or chat with them on the website and get a new cable, adaptor or a power kit with little or no trouble. Just tell them your current one is not working. You can also go to a Barnes and Noble store and speak to one of the nook guys and you can get a free one there too.

sjmoreno said:
You're smart to worry about these. This one is a simple microUSB cable, not the Nook Color compatible cable which has a longer tip. It will still allow you to transfer data and trickle charge but because of the shorter tip it will not allow a quick charge.
The part that is also important is the plug/brick you plug this cable into. You have to make sure it outputs 1.9 amps so that it is capable of quick charging your Nook Color if you have the correct cable to use. Most usb plug/bricks (like the ones for your phones) will only output about a quarter or maybe half of that. Some Apple iPad/iPhone usb plug/bricks will put out more though.
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Chargers (wall or vehicle) made for Apple products will only charge at the slower rate. The NC looks at the resistance on the USB data lines to see if it should charge at the fast rate. The resistance set on chargers for Apple products is different than for the NC. The only chargers I've come across for the NC that charge at the higher rate are those made by B&N. Other chargers can be modified to work, but that's a different topic.

wrong...
mrmark93 said:
Chargers (wall or vehicle) made for Apple products will only charge at the slower rate. The NC looks at the resistance on the USB data lines to see if it should charge at the fast rate. The resistance set on chargers for Apple products is different than for the NC. The only chargers I've come across for the NC that charge at the higher rate are those made by B&N. Other chargers can be modified to work, but that's a different topic.
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Wow, you actually sound like you know what you're talking about. (I kid... I kid...)
Here's a photo of my Apple USB plug which I've highlighted puts out 2.1A. I could use this plug with the official B&N Nook Color cable and it will get the quick charge since the extra length of the tip on the B&N NC cable will allow it to reach the 12 pins that are further inside the Nook's outlet. Although I wouldn't do it since it could (maybe, might, don't want to chance it) send too much current to the battery and possibly damage it or over-heat it.
I also have a Motorola usb plug for my Droid X and Atrix phones but that only puts out 850 mA (.85 Amps) which could trickle charge regardless of the cable I use.
Hope this explained it well enough.

sjmoreno said:
Wow, you actually sound like you know what you're talking about. (I kid... I kid...)
Here's a photo of my Apple USB plug which I've highlighted puts out 2.1A. I could use this plug with the official B&N Nook Color cable and it will get the quick charge since the extra length of the tip on the B&N NC cable will allow it to reach the 12 pins that are further inside the Nook's outlet. Although I wouldn't do it since it could (maybe, might, don't want to chance it) send too much current to the battery and possibly damage it or over-heat it.
I also have a Motorola usb plug for my Droid X and Atrix phones but that only puts out 850 mA (.85 Amps) which could trickle charge regardless of the cable I use.
Hope this explained it well enough.
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right back at ya!
Your Apple unit is rated at 2.1A, but will only 'put out' whatever the NC draws from it, up to a theoretical 2.1A (I never measured over ~1850mA during any of my testing). Have you measured the charge rate on your NC? How? Did you load the battery monitor widget, does it report 'AC Charge' with the Apple charger? Are you using the Nook Tweeks app and forcing the fast charge mode? Just curious.
You made some other comments that are misleading, so I'll say my 'opinion' on those:
You could hook your NC to a 5V, 10,000+Amp power supply and not hurt it. The NC regulates the rate of charge with an on-board charge controller, and even if it didn't, it still wouldn't harm the battery. USB is 5V by specification. Apply 5V to a battery currently holding a charge of less than 5V and it will be charged to 5V. When you first start charging, it will charge at the highest rate available (by supply restraint, charge controller, wire size, connector conductivity) and as the battery becomes more & more charged, the charge rate (current flow) will drop, and when fully charged, the current drops to zero (0). The chargers are rated at what they can safely supply, 1A, 500mA, 2.1A, 850mA, etc without damaging the charger itself-some chargers are smart and limit the current, others will supply what they can and suffer damage if more current is drawn than the charger is rated for (ex: Harbor Freight unit with shorted data pins put out 1.1A (rated 0.5A) and started melting parts before I shut it off). I tested an 'Apple compatible' charger rated at 2.1A and it would only charge at around 600mA unless I shorted the data pins, then it put out whatever the NC would draw, up to a measured max of ~1850mA.

Oh, Snap!
mrmark93 said:
right back at ya!
Your Apple unit is rated at 2.1A, but will only 'put out' whatever the NC draws from it, up to a theoretical 2.1A (I never measured over ~1850mA during any of my testing). Have you measured the charge rate on your NC? How? Did you load the battery monitor widget, does it report 'AC Charge' with the Apple charger? Are you using the Nook Tweeks app and forcing the fast charge mode? Just curious.
You made some other comments that are misleading, so I'll say my 'opinion' on those:
You could hook your NC to a 5V, 10,000+Amp power supply and not hurt it. The NC regulates the rate of charge with an on-board charge controller, and even if it didn't, it still wouldn't harm the battery. USB is 5V by specification. Apply 5V to a battery currently holding a charge of less than 5V and it will be charged to 5V. When you first start charging, it will charge at the highest rate available (by supply restraint, charge controller, wire size, connector conductivity) and as the battery becomes more & more charged, the charge rate (current flow) will drop, and when fully charged, the current drops to zero (0). The chargers are rated at what they can safely supply, 1A, 500mA, 2.1A, 850mA, etc without damaging the charger itself-some chargers are smart and limit the current, others will supply what they can and suffer damage if more current is drawn than the charger is rated for (ex: Harbor Freight unit with shorted data pins put out 1.1A (rated 0.5A) and started melting parts before I shut it off). I tested an 'Apple compatible' charger rated at 2.1A and it would only charge at around 600mA unless I shorted the data pins, then it put out whatever the NC would draw, up to a measured max of ~1850mA.
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Click to collapse
You sound more invested in this. I'll go sulk in a corner now...

sjmoreno said:
You sound more invested in this. I'll go sulk in a corner now...
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Just trying to be helpful
Mess of technical crap from the 'car charger' thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16505252&postcount=47
I spent half a day measuring crap to satisfy my curiosity. the reuslt: B&N should have standardized with normal (i-device) charging standards

[Q] 'Official' or best charger for USA?

Hello, how are you folks doing.
I was hoping to purchase a charger that would work in the US, as I ordered my note from clove.co.uk and it shipped with a UK charger (no surprise there).
Perferably, this would be the fast (AC) charger.
I was considering getting a Japanese model, as the plugs and voltage are similar, until I decided that the differences were just enough that it would be a dumb idea (charger would be over-volted and current would flow at a different frequency).
I've seen some non-OEM solutions, but was wondering if there was an OEM one, or if you guys had some experience with aftermarket chargers (as they do technically void the warranty- I selected Clove because they promised they would take care of the warranty if need be, but don't want to add other variables to the mix).
Thanks in advance.

Just get an iphone or ipod touch charger if you don't already have one. They are related 5V and 1A, and just like your stock charger. It is much smaller in size, and only $5 or less on Ebay.

The official genuine Samsung Adapter in India is compatible with all the voltages worldwide. All you need is the Pin conversion plug which costs one or two dollars. After that, you're ready to go. The original genuine Samsung Adapter costs somewhere in the range of 4-5 dollars. Its a genuine official samsung adapter, what more do you want. cheers

See, I've been using a generic 5V charger for the US, but it outputs at 500mA, not 1A. The phone would charge twice as fast with a 1A charger, lol

Awesome, you just made me realize there was a difference between the two chargers I am using. One says .7A and the other says 850ma. So the 850ma should charge faster correct?

USB Charge Boosters

At CES 2013, a little USB device made a few headlines for being able to allow boosted amperage from a PC USB port in order to charge smart phones and many tablets at speeds close to or even faster than their OEM AC charge adapters. It's called ChargeDr, and here are a few info links:
Three things I saw at CES that I'd actually buy:
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-34450_1-57563158/three-things-i-saw-at-ces-that-id-actually-buy/​
ChargeDr lets you charge your tablet from a laptop USB port:
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-34439_1-57...ou-charge-your-tablet-from-a-laptop-usb-port/​
Digital Innovations ChargeDr USB Charge Booster:
http://www.digitalinnovations.com/chargedr-usb-charge-booster.html​
Basically, ChargeDr takes the 5V output of a USB 2.0 (0.5A) or USB 3.0 (0.9A) port and 'requests' a 5V output of up to 2.1A. The power coming from the ChargeDr is then equivalent to an OEM AC charge adapter. Pretty nice for something that will sell for about $30 when it finally ships soon.
There are a few products (Chinese and South Korean) that are already on the market today that either join in on this technology or confuses consumers into thinking their product is the same.
Here's some of what I've seen:
Pisen USB Power Adapter Increases Amperage Converter:
http://www.ylmart.com/pisen-usb-power-aadptor-increases-amperage-converter.html
eBay
Costs between $4 U.S.D. to $5 U.S.D.​
Descriptions for this item usually says something general such as 'increases the amperage to 2000 mAh.' Sounds good, right? Why pay $30 when you can get a device that seems similar for only $5 and usually with free shipping. Wrong. I made a just-to-see purchase of this Pisen device and was totally disappointed. When connected to a PC, it cuts off the USB data pins so that your device does think it's attached to an AC charger. With a Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note II as a test device, however, it took more than 8 hours to go from 18% power to 100% which is about normal when charging the phone through a PC USB port without the Pisen. Weak!
Fastar REUM Adptor:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/quick-charg...ader_Chargers_Sync_Cables&hash=item1e77e2afa9
Costs between $17 U.S.D to $22 U.S.D.​
I am intrigued by another device called the REUM Adptor. It's a South Korean product, and it sounds like it does almost exactly the same as what the ChargeDr claims to do. The REUM is sold on eBay for about $22 U.S.D., but you can also get it through Amazon for $17. This one looks like the real deal, so it'll be my next just-to-see purchase. I have PCs around me all the time, and it's more convenient to charge my smart phone through them than with an AC charger. The Galaxy Note 2's OEM AC charger can fast charge the phone from almost no power to 100% in a little over 3 hours. I'm all for getting similar results through a PC USB port!
So if you're interested in such things, my advice is to stay away from those $5 adapters that only cut off the USB data pins. Wait for the ChargeDr or try the less-expensive REUM.
I hope some of you find this post helpful. Have fun!

I'm intrigued! Please write a review once you get REUM part; I'm especially curious how hot does it get. I mean it's basic EE to use transistor to increase the current (collector current is a multiple of the base current coming from usb port, with an appropriate circuit around it). But implementing it efficiently in such a small package without overheating it could be a challenge.

reliable aftermarket wall charger recommendation?

i need a couple more usb wall chargers that is as good as the stock one. i don't want to just buy any off of ebay since a lot of the cheaper one takes longer to charge and some are just outright unreliable. any good recommendation for under $10 shipped? i don't need the usb cable, just the wall charger.

I will have review of this new Anker 40W 8A 5port charger sometime next week, once I get it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GTGETFG/
You can get other single or dual wall chargers (Anker is high only recommendation list) for $10, but trust me, sooner or later you will need more outlets for your other phones and tablets and accessories. For $25 you get 5 ports and 8A of current to even charge 2.4A iPad w/Retina.

vectron said:
I will have review of this new Anker 40W 8A 5port charger sometime next week, once I get it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GTGETFG/
You can get other single or dual wall chargers (Anker is high only recommendation list) for $10, but trust me, sooner or later you will need more outlets for your other phones and tablets and accessories. For $25 you get 5 ports and 8A of current to even charge 2.4A iPad w/Retina.
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thanks, single or dual port is better for me since i need one in every room. is there a link to the single/dual 2.4A anker version for around $10? i only see the 1A on amazon.

Can I use my S6's Fast Charger with my N6?

Also can I use the S6 cable with the dash charge brick? Thanks in advance!

I'm careless with the chargers I use - slow charging with my N6, fast charging with my N5/N10 - and never have any problems. It looks as if each device draws the charge it needs. Perhaps an electrical engineer could enlighten us both on the risks, if any?

I'm no electrical engineer, but @dahawthorne is correct. The phones only draw the amperage they actually need. It is possible to mix and match phones and chargers so long as the charger meets the amperage requirements. For example, I keep my N6 charger near my bed. If for some reason I need to charge up the N6 at my desk, I use my Galaxy S4 charger, which outputs 2 amps and is thus sufficient for the N6.
Where you would run into a problem though is if the charger you used didn't output sufficient amperage for the phone that was connected to it. For example, if instead of using my S4 charger I plugged in my Dell Streak charger which only outputs 1 amp. In that case, the charger would begin to heat up as it tried to compensate for the increased demand from the phone. After an unknown period of time in this state, the charger will either burn out, or cause a fire.

"the charger will either burn out, or cause a fire"
Now you're worrying me...

You should be. There is a reason why manufacturers don't recommend doing what we're discussing.

dahawthorne said:
"the charger will either burn out, or cause a fire"
Now you're worrying me...
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In EU chargers must have an overheat protection.
There have been publications that cheap chargers from China does not have such protection.
Mostly it concerns the 'smaller' type chargers.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Where you would run into a problem though is if the charger you used didn't output sufficient amperage for the phone that was connected to it. For example, if instead of using my S4 charger I plugged in my Dell Streak charger which only outputs 1 amp. In that case, the charger would begin to heat up as it tried to compensate for the increased demand from the phone. After an unknown period of time in this state, the charger will either burn out, or cause a fire.
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I don't think that's the case. If the charger is rated to supply 1A, it will supply 1A or less. I've used a 1A charger with my LG G2 and it never burned out or something. Unless that "uknown period of time" is a reaaally long time lol
Back to his question, my LG G2 charger supposedly supports Quick Charge 2.0 but my Nexus 6 only charges a 1.5A with it,same with my car charger with supplies up to 2.4A on each port. Then with the Motorola turbo charger, it goes up to like 2.3A. :'(
About the cable, of the cable worked at high amperage with the S6 charger, then it should as well with Nexus 6's charger

As I understand it with the n6, if you use a regular charger, the phone will only charge at the standard USB current, 500ma I believe. If using the turbo charger, or another Qualcomm 2.0 certified charger. Then you get the high wattage charging.
When I plug the phone into the laptop, it says charging very slowly. Leads me to believe there is some communication between the battery and charger...

I keep forgetting that smartphones are smarter than the other hand-held electronics I've dealt with since I was a kid. With normal electronics, they don't have a processor that can dynamically adjust to the amperage levels coming in from the charger. So, you connect an AC adapter to a device whose amperage requirements are greater than the maximum amperage of the adapter and, at best you end up with an overheated adapter and a device which may not function correctly. At worst, you end up with a house fire as the charger melts down.
However, while we all mix our devices and adapters, keep in mind that there are reasons why you shouldn't be doing this, according to the manufacturers. Damage to the device is one of those reasons, and damage to your home is another. If you're going to do it, you need to be careful, and you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls.
If you want to learn more, this article may be of help. If you don't want to read it, he summarizes his points at the end of the article, those points being as follows.
Make sure that the voltage matches as closely as possible.
Make sure that the new supply is rated to provide the same amperage or more.
Make sure that the connectors match, both in physical form and in polarity.
The last one doesn't apply as much to smartphones.