Database Develop

Car Charger

anyone found an alternative car charger, I dont mean using the wall charger with an inverter
but a charger that plugs into the lighter plug?

Contra1971 said:
anyone found an alternative car charger, I dont mean using the wall charger with an inverter
but a charger that plugs into the lighter plug?
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Click to collapse
I used this on my Palm Pre. It charges my Epic 4g, and I tried it out on the Nook Color this AM.
It worked just fine.
http://cgi.ebay.com/OEM-SPRINT-CAR-...Accessories&hash=item45f6ea76fc#ht_1484wt_905

There's qutie a number of cigarette lighter adapters available that offer a standard USB port. You'd supply your own cable. Here's an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Car-Cigare...053289?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item2a0eed35e9
No, AFAIK, none of these will charge as fast as the standard NC charger. For that, you'd need to go thru the hassle of getting an inverter.

Monoprice has cigarette lighter to female usb chargers for $1.16 that you can use your usb cable with.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA Premium App

well I bought 1 from Wally World and it has a dual USB output abd says it is .5v and 1.5amp but when I plug in my NC it doesnt say charging
does the sprint charger?

Jgrimoldy said:
No, AFAIK, none of these will charge as fast as the standard NC charger. For that, you'd need to go thru the hassle of getting an inverter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is that any more of a hassle than getting a car charger?

Contra1971 said:
well I bought 1 from Wally World and it has a dual USB output abd says it is .5v and 1.5amp but when I plug in my NC it doesnt say charging
does the sprint charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the Sprint charger says 'charging' As the others stated, it's not fast, but it works just fine...

it isnt more of a hassle, I have 4 inverters, but they all have fans and make noise I wanted to use a NO noise charger thats all

d.v said:
Why is that any more of a hassle than getting a car charger?
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Click to collapse
Larger, heavier, more cords, much more expensive (when compared to a $1 cig-to-usb)...

Just has to be able to push out the current needed. Otherwise it may not charge, or it will charge very slowly.

The Scosche reVIVE II Dual USB Car Charger for iPad has 2.1 and 1.0 amp usb outlets, I use this for plugging in my evo and nc. It definitely charges them both even while having all the wireless radios going and tethering with gps and both screens full bright.

Contra1971 said:
it isnt more of a hassle, I have 4 inverters, but they all have fans and make noise I wanted to use a NO noise charger thats all
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Click to collapse
Same issue here, I have a road-trip coming up this summer and I'd love to load up my NC with music and dash-mount it but it'll be a 14-20 hour drive (depending on the number of whiz breaks the wife and kids need) and I don't think I could push the battery quite that long and the inverter when wired to the radio creates quite a buzzing.

jsw31 said:
The Scosche reVIVE II Dual USB Car Charger for iPad has 2.1 and 1.0 amp usb outlets, I use this for plugging in my evo and nc. It definitely charges them both even while having all the wireless radios going and tethering with gps and both screens full bright.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using the Nooks specific cable on the 2.1A connection? I too am going on a trip soon, and would love a car charger that can actually CHARGE the nook while using it..

www.amazon.com/Scosche-reVIVE-Dual-Charger-iPad/dp/B003N7NO4Q
Is this the one you have? It looks nice and the price looks okay. Nice find. I also saw a wall plug dual usb version by same company on the same page, do you have any info on that one too? It would be nice to stream line travel chargers to a minimum, thanks.

It definitely charges both. Like I said in my previous post, I usually have both my Evo runniong and the Nook full bright display on for 50 minute commute, using TetherGPS, wifi hotspot, torque and bluetooth, google navigation pulling satellite imagery, and playing mp3s. Granted, it is slower to charge than without all that stuff running but my previous car charger would lose charge with my evo running just gps and no wifi hotspot previously.
I am using stock blackberry usb cables that I ordered from Amazon as well for $1.25 for a pair (google 'B001UC9NOQ', can't post links yet.) These are nice, thick cables that handle the charger great. I leave them plugged in inside the truck at all times. I have not used that Scosche wall charger, I use the stock chargers for travel that remain in my backpack, and I have other usb cables I use to charge at home. I would imagine it works just as well though.

jsw31 said:
It definitely charges both. Like I said in my previous post, I usually have both my Evo runniong and the Nook full bright display on for 50 minute commute, using TetherGPS, wifi hotspot, torque and bluetooth, google navigation pulling satellite imagery, and playing mp3s.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-reVIVE-Dual-Charger-iPad/dp/B003N7NO4Q
Luckily I'm used to carrying extra USB cables around but the noise my inverter generated while charging was super annoying, went ahead and ordered this to try it out. Hoping it works for what I need, thanks for the tip

projektdotnet said:
http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-reVIVE-Dual-Charger-iPad/dp/B003N7NO4Q
Luckily I'm used to carrying extra USB cables around but the noise my inverter generated while charging was super annoying, went ahead and ordered this to try it out. Hoping it works for what I need, thanks for the tip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know if it works for you. An Amazon reviewer just reported that the Scosche reVIVE II didn't work on their Nook Color:
The nook color needs 1.9 amps, this can't do it. Scosche claims 2.1 amps but it isn't even close. It BARELY charges the nook if the machine is sleeping, when on, the battery charge goes down even while supposedly "charging." Playing video, it's even worse. On top of that if I try to charge a regular phone it puts out too much amperage on the 1 amp side and overheats the phone. Save your money, look elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
However, the reviewer may not know what they're talking about. A charger cannot put out "too much amperage." Too much voltage perhaps, but not too much amperage (current). A device draws only the current it needs.

An iPad needs an amperage around 2 A also. I got the Belkin Charge 2.1 made for the ipod/ipad and it DOES charge the nook color. It has a 12V plug with one USB outlet at 2.1A. I used the cable from the nook color obviously...

See, part of my worry is not the current output, but if the nook can actually communicate with these chargers and get a full 1.9A draw, instead of the detault 500mA over non B&N chargers...

cybrdmn said:
An iPad needs an amperage around 2 A also. I got the Belkin Charge 2.1 made for the ipod/ipad and it DOES charge the nook color. It has a 12V plug with one USB outlet at 2.1A. I used the cable from the nook color obviously...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the same Belkin iPad charger from Best Buy. Rated at 2.1A. I used it with the B & N USB cable that came with my Nook Color. I used the 'Battery Monitor' software mentioned earlier here or on another post to compare charge current readings against the stock B&N wall charger/cable. The Belkin was charging right at 500 mA (NC was using ~450 mA, software showing +36 mA current). So somewhere the B & N cable & charger must have a unique way of determining that it is a B&N charger / cable and to allow the full 2.1A charge. I used the Belkin 12V charger on my TomTom and it allowed just over 1A charge, so I know the Belkin iPad charger is fine.
Yes, it does charge the Nook Color, if you are at 800 Mhz and minimum brightness running non-intensive applications--and it barely charges at that ~50 mA. It does turn the charge indicator on the B&N cable orange, and the status indicates battery charge on the screen.

2A (2000mAh) External Rechargable battery for NC $12.90

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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

[Q] External Battery

Found this external battery with good pricing. Anyone tried this? Does it work with NC?
monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10833&cs_id=1083311&p_id=7664&seq=1&format=4#feedback

It certainly should work.
The connections are a little confusing. The male micro-USB coming off the top suggests that you need to connect it to your nook, which would make the whole thing a little unweildy. Also, how is it charged? From a PC? From a AC/USB adapter?
I bought a couple of these:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-re...emergency-power-with-cell-phones-holder-44749
They're only 2000 mAh, but you can connect them to the nook with the proprietary nook USB cable. Even though they're rated at 1A, my nook recognizes as 2A...
Bonus: built in fold up wall charger.
Not-so-bonus: DealExtreme ships from Hong Kong. Delivery time is measured using the geologic time scale.

ks88 said:
Found this external battery with good pricing. Anyone tried this? Does it work with NC?
monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10833&cs_id=1083311&p_id=7664&seq=1&format=4#feedback
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually have one. It works with my EVO, but not the Nook Color. You can look at the reviews for the item and see others have similiar issues with other micro USB devices. I think I'm going to order a M/F micro usb extension cable from ebay....hopefully it helps this work with my NC.
Micro USB M/F Extension

Johnny,
Are you sure its not charging? The output of the device is 800mA, and the output of the stock charger is 2000mA. So although it may be charging slowly, the nook would not report it as charging. Would you be able to plug it in and leave it for a while and see if the battery% increases?

I'm positive it's not charging. The micro USB seems to be slightly different than "standard" and thus, doesn't fit all the way into the port on the NC. I can try one more time when I get home today, but I don't think it'll go.
I wish this wasn't the case and I've tried it a handful of times when I first bought it. I've only been using it on my phone lately...

Ah ok - if you get the cable and it works let us know It is a good price even with the cable (about $20 total with battery shipping and free shipping for cable), and if that works it would be pretty sweet!

dennisi01 said:
Ah ok - if you get the cable and it works let us know It is a good price even with the cable (about $20 total with battery shipping and free shipping for cable), and if that works it would be pretty sweet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll keep you posted. I had been debating whether or not to buy the cable, but for $5 and I can extend the use of my charger, I finally figured it'd be worth it....that and the fact that I want to help people out here so no one buys the charger itself thinking it'll work.
I ordered that cable yesterday, so when I get it (from China) I'll let you know whether it works or not.

johnny15 said:
I'll keep you posted. I had been debating whether or not to buy the cable, but for $5 and I can extend the use of my charger, I finally figured it'd be worth it....that and the fact that I want to help people out here so no one buys the charger itself thinking it'll work.
I ordered that cable yesterday, so when I get it (from China) I'll let you know whether it works or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm interested to know too. Thanks alot bro!

Ok. I got that battery from Monoprice, and it charges my nook without any hassle.
Just need to be a little bit precise on plugging it into the micro USB female on the nook.

jemping said:
Ok. I got that battery from Monoprice, and it charges my nook without any hassle.
Just need to be a little bit precise on plugging it into the micro USB female on the nook.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, mine does not....wonder what the difference is???

Jgrimoldy said:
It certainly should work.
The connections are a little confusing. The male micro-USB coming off the top suggests that you need to connect it to your nook, which would make the whole thing a little unweildy. Also, how is it charged? From a PC? From a AC/USB adapter?
I bought a couple of these:
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/usb-re...emergency-power-with-cell-phones-holder-44749
They're only 2000 mAh, but you can connect them to the nook with the proprietary nook USB cable. Even though they're rated at 1A, my nook recognizes as 2A...
Bonus: built in fold up wall charger.
Not-so-bonus: DealExtreme ships from Hong Kong. Delivery time is measured using the geologic time scale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm interested in a similar charger, but with 2400mah.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/2400ma...a-cable-for-htc-desire-g5-samsung-i9000-57905
Does it work with your android phone? A lot of after market chargers makes the touch screen unusable while charging. Does it work both while plugged into the wall and using the internal battery?

Interesting topic.
Let me see if I got this straight.
This device has double function?
-If Nc needs charging, U just plug this device and U can have extra power on the move?
-Also, it gets connected to normal wall plug and through this U charge your NOOK?It can work as alternative nook charger (but for sure in slower rate)??

I bought an Energizer XP2000 for about $35 at an OfficeMax (they're widely available). 2000 mAh capacity, weighs about 2oz, comes with its own cord with six different ends for different devices. I plugged it into my fully-charged Nook at 10,000 ft out of Seattle, watched non-stop video at 70% brightness in Airplane Mode for nearly five hours to Baltimore and still had 58% battery left on my Nook (the Energizer was discharged). Other chargers in the line go up to an insane XP1800 that'll power a LAPTOP for six hours!
The sweet spot for me is probably the XP8000. It's max output is 3500mA vs. 500mA for the XP2000, it's the size of two iPod Classics stacked on one another but weighs a little less and it should keep me going for a looong trip. It's $100 so its not an impulse buy (at least for me) but seems like an essential tool for the long distance traveler.
http://www.energizerpowerpacks.com/us/products/xp2000/

rcboosted said:
I'm interested in a similar charger, but with 2400mah.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/2400ma...a-cable-for-htc-desire-g5-samsung-i9000-57905
Does it work with your android phone? A lot of after market chargers makes the touch screen unusable while charging. Does it work both while plugged into the wall and using the internal battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this with my nook. I can't answer any questions related to workability with Android phones. That's not this forum.
While using this device to charge my nook, my nook is completely usable. It will charge my nook when the device is plugged into the wall. It will also charge my nook when it's not plugged into the wall (it is a battery, after all). In either situation, my nook is completely usable when connected to this.
I use this battery with my proprietary nook charging cable.

Jgrimoldy said:
I use this with my nook. I can't answer any questions related to workability with Android phones. That's not this forum.
While using this device to charge my nook, my nook is completely usable. It will charge my nook when the device is plugged into the wall. It will also charge my nook when it's not plugged into the wall (it is a battery, after all). In either situation, my nook is completely usable when connected to this.
I use this battery with my proprietary nook charging cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this report. My nook goes crazy when I use the same aftermarket charger that makes my phone unusable while charging. It acts as if someone is hitting the screen randomly very quickly. If you're not having issue with the nook on this charger, I'm confident it won't have issues with my phone either. I will order 1 and find out for sure.

lesdense said:
I bought an Energizer XP2000 for about $35 at an OfficeMax (they're widely available). 2000 mAh capacity, weighs about 2oz, comes with its own cord with six different ends for different devices. I plugged it into my fully-charged Nook at 10,000 ft out of Seattle ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonderful report. I'm in the market for an external battery. A couple of questions if I may.
So one of the 6 tips works with an NC? I thought the NC's cord and tip were special to enable the quick charging. Do the Energizer products support this technology?

At dealextreme there is also 3000 battery. Why not using that?
The bigger the better right?
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

d.v said:
Wonderful report. I'm in the market for an external battery. A couple of questions if I may.
So one of the 6 tips works with an NC? I thought the NC's cord and tip were special to enable the quick charging. Do the Energizer products support this technology?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The micro USB tip that comes with the Energizer works fine with the Nook. I don't know about "fast charge" vs. "slow charge" and all that but it definitely works. One SUBSTANTIAL advantage of the XP2000 over the larger capacity models (of the Energizer line) is that you can use any USB-to-mini USB cable, including the one that comes with it, and plug it into either a USB power plug adapter or a USB port on a computer to charge it. The XP4000, XP8000 and XP18000 all require their own power adapter. It's included in the purchase of course but I don't like carrying around another cord. Not a deal-breaker, just a factor.

johnny15 said:
I'll keep you posted. I had been debating whether or not to buy the cable, but for $5 and I can extend the use of my charger, I finally figured it'd be worth it....that and the fact that I want to help people out here so no one buys the charger itself thinking it'll work.
I ordered that cable yesterday, so when I get it (from China) I'll let you know whether it works or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I said I'd update once I recieved my extension cable, so here it is...
I finally received my extension cable and it allows me to use my Monoprice charger with my Nook, so that's great. In the end, it wasn't needed. I ended up RMA'ing my charger back to Monoprice because the thing had a dull buzz when not being used and a high pitch noise when either charging a device or being charged. I'm happy to report that the new charger works with or without the extension cable on my Nook Color and on my EVO 4G. In the end though, I like the extension cable because it gives me more flexibility when using the charger.
Here are the links again...
Monoprice Charger
Extension Cable

lesdense said:
The micro USB tip that comes with the Energizer works fine with the Nook. I don't know about "fast charge" vs. "slow charge" and all that but it definitely works. One SUBSTANTIAL advantage of the XP2000 over the larger capacity models (of the Energizer line) is that you can use any USB-to-mini USB cable, including the one that comes with it, and plug it into either a USB power plug adapter or a USB port on a computer to charge it. The XP4000, XP8000 and XP18000 all require their own power adapter. It's included in the purchase of course but I don't like carrying around another cord. Not a deal-breaker, just a factor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it. The slow vs fast charge would be a good thing to know. Can you time a charge with the Energizer unit and one with the stock NC charger? If it can fast charge, the Energizer would make a great addition to the NC.
Thanks either way. The info has been helpful.

High speed charging

I went from an OG droid to the revolution. The car charger i used to use for the moto droid was charging that phone very fast, just like the ac charger. Now with the revo, it's pretty damn slow. I tried shorting the data pins with some solder and the revo actually dropped about 200mv worth of charging current. Strange. I thought shorting the data lines together put the phone into fast charge but when i "cat /proc/kmsg" it says "charging at 0mv" even though it is actually charging at about 400mv as verified by a ammeter. My home charger gets "charging at 1800mv". Some strange stuff. I'm gonna try the ipod method of 2.8/2.0 unless someone else can chime in here. Thanx

I'd be interested in this also. I'm using New Trent USB battery pack and I want it to be acknowledged by the Power Manager as a fast charge source -- not the "computer connected USB" source it shows as now.

I use a store bought adapter, with the verizon/LG cord I got with the phone, and if I use Google Maps and Navigator, I lose power while I am plugged in. Glad to see I am not the only one with the "issue"
I figure its just the way the phone charges, not anything to do with any bugs or what not, so I never really worried about it. I just make sure I am fully charged before I need to use the power sucking apps.

markapowell said:
I use a store bought adapter, with the verizon/LG cord I got with the phone, and if I use Google Maps and Navigator, I lose power while I am plugged in. Glad to see I am not the only one with the "issue"
I figure its just the way the phone charges, not anything to do with any bugs or what not, so I never really worried about it. I just make sure I am fully charged before I need to use the power sucking apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On USB "computer powered" I've found maps and weather apps suck battery much faster than it can recharge. I noticed that the car adapter is detected as "AC Powered" -- even though it's starting off as 12VDC. I was hoping to use the external USB battery pack to keep the internal battery full while using the maps and weather in our boat --- but after 5 hours with screen on and battery pack attached at "USB Computer" recharge rates, the internal battery was flat-out DEAD, and the external pack was only down about 35%.

We just need to figure out what the data lines want to see for a "dedicated charger" type-2 charge connection which will yield the full 1800mv like the ac charger does. I'm working on this...hope i don't fry my phone's usb controller
My problem is, i don't have a charger that shows up as such. My friend's last night did, i may try to get that from him and sniff the connection for resistance values etc.

Hey...I'll leave that level of wizardry to you! Good to know there is a possible answer.
Sent from my Revolting VS910 4G using XDA Premium App

I too would be very interested....thanks for the post

High Speed Charging
Dear All:
I do alternate energy research and we deal with Li battery packs all the time and have seen fires from improper charging. It is okay to advise rom and other software mods but when dealing with electricity it is possibly life threatening. We do not want to read in the next days post about a member dying in his sleep due to a fire. Please use utmost care when you post soldering and wireshorting hacks. We do not know the technical level of the person on the other end.
Second-most, the quality of third party chargers is very shoddy and they do not follow IEC or UL codes which adds another danger factor.
For example I bought a Chinese made Lamptron inverter for my cathode lights and the input wiring was wrong could have fried my gaming rig if I didn't check.

I understand your convern but 1800mA is the charge rate of the wall (ac) charger. That's what we're trying to achieve with a car charger. If you buy crap you're asking for problems. Most car chargers can output 2 full amps @5v but are setup to only charge at 500mA. USB charging of smart devices utilizes the data+ and data- lines as charge mode indicators. Small changes in resistance (therefore voltage) changes how the phone will pull amperage. I think everyone knows the danger of overheating lithium-ion batteries. We're not trying to do anything more than what the wall chargers already do. Check out xda a bit more and you'll see lots of posts about this very subject for different phones. Like this one. Or check out Ladyada's ipod charging research for some other good info. FYI, a good source of CCFL inverter parts is in old broken lcd tvs. Cheap, easy and reliable.
Now that that's out of the way, i set up a breadboard today so i can check some things out but had no time to test so hopefully tomorrow i can give some insight as to what the revo wants data line wise so it goes into "type 2" 1800mA charge mode. Will post with what i find and maybe some pics.

Alright. I just dug in for an hour and found out some things. My wall charger supplies 3.68vdc on both the data+ and data- lines. While using this charger the phone (using /pro/kmsg) goes into "type=2" charging mode with 1800mA. So. I hooked up my car charger. I noticed 2.1vdc on only one data line. So i made a quick resistive divider up to bring both data lines up to 3.68. BAM...didn't work. I also tried shorting the two data lines together while at 3.68v....nope. Then i threw a potentiometer in between the two data lines and tried a few values up to 200ohms....nope. I then pulled all connections to the car chargers data lines and supplied a fresh 3.68v to the output cable...nope. Last thing i did was just use my power supply to supply the 5v and gnd without the car charger in the loop....still couldn't get a type 2 charge. I'm losing my mind here. I think i missed something stupid or am over thinking this. I might start from scratch later but first, i need a few cigarettes. I'm hoping someone can chime in with a simple fix and call me stupid

I found another charger i had bought from radio shack a while ago. It's a PointMobl charger. Plugged it in and got an 1800mA type=2 charge. Sweet. Now i'm gonna dig into it and see why it works....plus i'm ditching the damn spiral cord cuz they piss me off.

I'm using the wall charger from a Moto Razr, and it puts the Revo into fast charge. I found the pinouts here: http://pinouts.ru/all/razrv3_charger_pinout.shtml
Any new insight from that?
[I'm Revolting -- are you? Beamed directly into your brain by Revolt 1.3]

Danzdroid said:
I'm using the wall charger from a Moto Razr, and it puts the Revo into fast charge. I found the pinouts here: http://pinouts.ru/all/razrv3_charger_pinout.shtml
Any new insight from that?
[I'm Revolting -- are you? Beamed directly into your brain by Revolt 1.3]
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Some phones are like that. Common usb is 4 wire, micro usb adds another pin. That pin needs to get a 200ohm resistor jumped to the shorted d+/- lines. The thing is, the wall charger only has 4 pins like every other usb. Unless the cable itself has the extra pin connected to the data lines through a resistor, it still doesn't explain the difference. I haven't taken this other charger apart yet, actually, i don't think i can without destroying it as it looks to be sonic-welded at the seams. What happened to the old screw-ended cig lighter adapters??

deftonesmw said:
Some phones are like that. Common usb is 4 wire, micro usb adds another pin. That pin needs to get a 200ohm resistor jumped to the shorted d+/- lines. The thing is, the wall charger only has 4 pins like every other usb. Unless the cable itself has the extra pin connected to the data lines through a resistor, it still doesn't explain the difference. I haven't taken this other charger apart yet, actually, i don't think i can without destroying it as it looks to be sonic-welded at the seams. What happened to the old screw-ended cig lighter adapters??
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Probably one too many people opening them and electrocuting themselves. Or glue is cheaper than metal screws.
Sent from the awesomsness, that is my phone. Rev, Revolt 1.0, swype, go launcher.

deftonesmw,
I wanted to say I'm looking forward to your findings. In the meantime, I ended up buying a car charger that claims high ma charging. It sounds like Danzdroid has issues with his battery pack charger which could possibly benefit from your research too.

Wall charger: 100 to 120 AC converted to low voltage dc
Car: 12v DC no conversion, probably resistance regulated.
Stating the obvious the wall charger is a complete different beast from the low voltage computer/car charger. With out a 12v dc to ac converter I don't think you will ever get a car to charge like a wall charger.
Your radio shack device probably uses some type of capacitor device to ramp up the juice then runs it through some sort of regulator which simulates the AC style charge.
Or at least if I was designing one that is how I would do it.

Haxcid said:
Wall charger: 100 to 120 AC converted to low voltage dc
Car: 12v DC no conversion, probably resistance regulated.
Stating the obvious the wall charger is a complete different beast from the low voltage computer/car charger. With out a 12v dc to ac converter I don't think you will ever get a car to charge like a wall charger.
Your radio shack device probably uses some type of capacitor device to ramp up the juice then runs it through some sort of regulator which simulates the AC style charge.
Or at least if I was designing one that is how I would do it.
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My car charges like a wall charger. It's not about inverting alternating to direct. It's about getting the phone to pull the amperage. Regardless of what the max current is, the phone has modes of charging. It will pull what it's directed to pull depending on the charge mode it's put into by either d- and d+ voltages and/or resistance across certain conductors. Most car chargers can produce a full 2 amps, that's not saying they are actually doing that though. It all depends on what the phone is taking, not what the charger is giving. You're looking at this the wrong way. 90% of chargers are capable of the output (dc car chargers), it's the phone that desides what to pull according to the chargers instruction (data lines and/or 5th micro pin). The charger's maximum output is equal to the fuseable value it contains. So. Yes, my car charger charges the same as my wall charger. By the way, capacitors by themselves store energy, they don't "ramp" anything. The only caps in my car charger are for smoothing as far as i can see. It's all about resistance, not capacitance. A wall charger is just a car charger with an inverter before it in the sequence. In fact, you could open a wall charger up and split the two circuits, apply 12v to the dc half's input traces and get the same effect....without the ac components even in the same room.

20 buck solution.
Buy inverter.
plug in AV charger.
Enjoy AC charging in your car.
I'm working on a real solution to this but for now an inverter is a good workaround
"Home-Less and happy"

K0G said:
20 buck solution.
Buy inverter.
plug in AV charger.
Enjoy AC charging in your car.
I'm working on a real solution to this but for now an inverter is a good workaround
"Home-Less and happy"
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lol...i was doing the same thing for a while

deftonesmw said:
I found another charger i had bought from radio shack a while ago. It's a PointMobl charger. Plugged it in and got an 1800mA type=2 charge. Sweet. Now i'm gonna dig into it and see why it works....plus i'm ditching the damn spiral cord cuz they piss me off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to Radio Shack today and got one of these. It shows up just like the ac charger does. I will be able to use it in my car dock for navigation and not have to worry about the running the battery down. At least that is what I am hoping for.

A Google Engineer is reviewing USB Type C Cables for adherence to the USB Spec

Google Plus Link:
https://plus.google.com/+BensonLeung/posts/LH4PPgVrKVN
Amazon link to reviews
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member...isplay=public&page=1&sort_by=MostRecentReview
This could be a great reference tool to make sure you get a properly working, up to spec cable.
I got a value priced USB-C <-> USB A cable, but fortunately I'm just using it for quick data syncs to a laptop. I think I'll hold off on getting another one that I'd use with a charger until more of his reviews come out.

Good info in there, spotted this doing the rounds earlier.
Also worth noting that he is essentially saying that USB A to C cables should never charge at 3A, but only from 0.5A to 2.4A via "Default USB Power".
So, people looking for A->C cables specifically for 3A could be risking the health of their charger&/device.

Its not the device thats in any danger just to clear this up, its only the charger and a ton of other fail safes would have to fail as well. The likely hood of anything happening is practically nill! You can also pretty much thank OnePlus for this as all the cables that aren't in compliance basically copied the OnePlus 2's USB-C cable as it was the first one out and unfortunately the OP cable doesn't meet the standard lol I have been using the Orzly multipack with my OnePlus 2 for months and since last week on my Nexus 6P no issues. Personally i think its all been blown out of the water!

PhoenixTank said:
Also worth noting that he is essentially saying that USB A to C cables should never charge at 3A, but only from 0.5A to 2.4A via "Default USB Power".
So, people looking for A->C cables specifically for 3A could be risking the health of their charger&/device.
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That was the biggest takeaway for me as well. I didn't know 3A wasn't possible with Type A to C. Good to know.

This one was given to me to test and review. It has a stated max of 2.1A which falls under the correct spec as described for type-C to type-A.
http://www.amazon.com/TechMatte%C2%AE-Charging-Google-OnePlus-Zenpad/dp/B01706YAXY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
I was able to get it to report up to a max of 2.2A with a 2.4A charger in the Ampere app which goes over its rated max spec. Not sure if that is perfectly accurate though.

I have the one plus cable. Is my device at risk? I couldn't care less about the crappy old 1.5v Samsung wall adapter it is attached to.
Is the only thing at risk is my old, useless wall adapter? If that's the case I will probably keep using the one plus cable.
Sent from my Nexus 5X

_jordan_ said:
I have the one plus cable. Is my device at risk? I couldn't care less about the crappy old 1.5v Samsung wall adapter it is attached to.
Is the only thing at risk is my old, useless wall adapter? If that's the case I will probably keep using the one plus cable.
Sent from my Nexus 5X
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It sounds as if the charger, hub, USB ports, etc are what's at risk. Not the phone. Apparently the phone tries to pull 3 amps and if the device on the other end isn't rated to do so, then it can get damaged.

Hmm. I thought the usb type A connection couldn't do 3 amps. Even if the charger were rated for three amps, would the cable be able to transmit that much?
Also, can anyone else confirm if the phone is at risk, or just the cable and wall adapter/pc port?
Sent from my Nexus 5X

From an electrical standpoint the phone is not at risk. Everything else in the chain is potentially at risk of failure or even fire.

Darkknight512 said:
From an electrical standpoint the phone is not at risk. Everything else in the chain is potentially at risk of failure or even fire.
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Yep - I'm scared of these cables flaunting faulty USB standards. Nothing worse than burning your place down!

minnemike said:
This one was given to me to test and review. It has a stated max of 2.1A which falls under the correct spec as described for type-C to type-A.
http://www.amazon.com/TechMatte%C2%AE-Charging-Google-OnePlus-Zenpad/dp/B01706YAXY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8
I was able to get it to report up to a max of 2.2A with a 2.4A charger in the Ampere app which goes over its rated max spec. Not sure if that is perfectly accurate though.
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Considering the techmatte usb converter failed the test, I'd expect the cables do as well.

dg4prez said:
Considering the techmatte usb converter failed the test, I'd expect the cables do as well.
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IF you look at the specs, they state the cable max is 2.1A not 3A... so for whatever reason, my advanced smart charger had some sort of pullup and wasnt tricked with its connection into a 3A draw. Would be nice if it were tested though. From all my tests, I could never get it to go as high as 2.4A with a 2.4A chrager... Ampere only reported 2.2A which is within range of its stated max of 2.1a give or take for Ampere reporting error.
All that said, Benson stated that this is only likely an issue for anyone using these cables to charge from an older source, like a PC or old charger and that newer chargers all likely have brownout safety that simply shuts the charger down until it cools off, in which case you should see Ampere report the charger starting and stopping continually during the charge cycle.

Does this mean I should stop using my techmatte adapters?
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Ugh, got the OnePlus cable and power adapter (wall charger). Any recommendations for a proper power adapter or would it not matter?

DustinDep said:
Its not the device thats in any danger just to clear this up, its only the charger and a ton of other fail safes would have to fail as well. The likely hood of anything happening is practically nill! You can also pretty much thank OnePlus for this as all the cables that aren't in compliance basically copied the OnePlus 2's USB-C cable as it was the first one out and unfortunately the OP cable doesn't meet the standard lol I have been using the Orzly multipack with my OnePlus 2 for months and since last week on my Nexus 6P no issues. Personally i think its all been blown out of the water!
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Click to collapse
There's nothing being blown out of the water here. Non SPEC cables should not be used in non quick charge USB hubs. And the likelihood of something happening is way above nil. There are already people reporting that their charging hubs are failing from using out of spec cables to charge their devices.
If you have an out of spec cable, its safe to use in a quick charge hub. It's not wise to use it in an old galaxy S3 charger..

danthepan124 said:
Does this mean I should stop using my techmatte adapters?
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
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Depends on the charger and what sort of performance you are experiencing, but for sure DO NOT use with a standard USB port on a PC or any older chargers.
IF I were you, I would get the Ampere app running and see if the charging cycle drops off and then restarts frequently and then also check to see how hot the charger is getting. IF you have a smart(er) charger, it will likely sense the amp overage and shut itself down until cooling off.

misscz said:
Ugh, got the OnePlus cable and power adapter (wall charger). Any recommendations for a proper power adapter or would it not matter?
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Your fine with that combo OnePlus designed them to go together!

I have the spigen C to A cables. They're hit or miss when plugged into my 2.1 A car charger, Sometimes it works sometimes nothing.

minnemike said:
Depends on the charger and what sort of performance you are experiencing, but for sure DO NOT use with a standard USB port on a PC or any older chargers.
IF I were you, I would get the Ampere app running and see if the charging cycle drops off and then restarts frequently and then also check to see how hot the charger is getting. IF you have a smart(er) charger, it will likely sense the amp overage and shut itself down until cooling off.
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I would assume no matter what adapter you use and as long as you don't care charge time, as long as phone is showing "charging slowly", we should be safe from issues right?
Since the current would be so low and should stay within most chargers' range.
It's only when phone shows "charging rapidly", we should be concerned if phone is drawing more current than adapter was designed to do.

ubcjack said:
I would assume no matter what adapter you use and as long as you don't care charge time, as long as phone is showing "charging slowly", we should be safe from issues right?
Since the current would be so low and should stay within most chargers' range.
It's only when phone shows "charging rapidly", we should be concerned if phone is drawing more current than adapter was designed to do.
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I can't confirm if the messaging reliably tells you what is happening with your charger. IF your charger is in process of melting and catching fire, I suppose it could report as "charging slowly" at the same time for a while. I guess it is also possible that messaging means it has negotiated a default basic low amp USB handshake. An app like Ampere might be abkle to show you if it is steady and low vs overheating and shutting down, cooling and then trying to start again.