Database Develop

Do you use your nook color charger on your phone?

I'm just curious. I'm not sure it's safe, since one has a 10W output, and one has a 5W. If you do, have you had any problems? Notice it charging faster than usual?

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Yeah, that's what my phone charger outputs. The iPad/iPhone chargers have the same output as the Nook/Android phone, and they claim to be safe to use with either one. Not sure if that applies to android phones though, or if there needs to be some safety circuit in either the phone or the charger. Would love to only have to deal with one charger...

It's 5 volts at UPTO 2 Amps. If your device can only draw 5W thats all it will do then overcharge protecton etc cuts in.
I've used the Nook charger on
Nook Color
Nexus One
Blackberry
Plantronics SteroeBluetooth headset
No problems.

As long as the voltage is correct you are good to go. The phone draws amps from it, it won't draw more amperage than it needs.

I noticed that my nook USB cord doesn't fit my Motorola Droid 1, however, my Motorola Droid 1 Phone charger fits my nook :\
Anyone else confirm this?
Also, when plugging in the nook I get no indication that it is actually charging, is this suppose to happen?
EDIT: It appears that it doesn't charge when I plug it into my computer, if it is, it is super slow and doesn't display that it is charging. However, when I plug it into the wall with an A/C USB adapter it shows the charging icon.

from what I got, The nook charger has 6 more pins making it faster, but not compatible with other devices, but the nook itself can get a normal charger and it will be fine just slower.

fingerman12 said:
from what I got, The nook charger has 6 more pins making it faster, but not compatible with other devices, but the nook itself can get a normal charger and it will be fine just slower.
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Click to collapse
Except the 6 pins (or w/e num) are added on top of the existing ones, so unlike say a headphone jack with an extra layer for using a microphone, its not backwards compatible (atleast not without an adapter) for normal ones (like my headphones example), rather troublesome imo.
But the power converter works fine for phones.
Sent from my MB300 using Tapatalk

knatcal said:
As long as the voltage is correct you are good to go. The phone draws amps from it, it won't draw more amperage than it needs.
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Click to collapse
Thanks makes sense.
Just tried it and it works fine on my phone too. Has to use a generic micro usb cable though. The nook one did not work.

I wonder if the reason the nook color cable doesn't work with other devices is due to the charging light built into the cable. I'll try charging it from a non-nook cable to see. If it charges fine either way, I'll be able to cut it down to 1 charger 1 cable. Would be far more convenient.
Has anyone else noticed a slower charge on non-nook cables? If it really does have more pins, that would be a dissapointment. The cable is so short, I'd probably have replaced it anyway.

the nook color charger connector is shaped slightly different -- its longer --, so it wont fit properly into other devices that use standard microusb.

Is there supposed to be some kind of notification when the unit is off, that it is charging properly. I bought my nook color used and it didn't come with its official charger. I have a bunch of standard (low amperage) USB chargers and 1 iPad type (2amp) charger. I tried the iPad one and the unit gave a "Not charging" message in the settings screen.
How long does it take to charge when using a 3rd party charger?

JDMpire said:
Is there supposed to be some kind of notification when the unit is off, that it is charging properly. I bought my nook color used and it didn't come with its official charger. I have a bunch of standard (low amperage) USB chargers and 1 iPad type (2amp) charger. I tried the iPad one and the unit gave a "Not charging" message in the settings screen.
How long does it take to charge when using a 3rd party charger?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not resurrect dead threads, they will turn into zombies and eat your brains.
How long does a non-BN charger AND Cable take? Four times longer. It's .5A vs 1.9A. You can get by with a 2A charger, but you must have the B&N cable to charge at the 1.9A rate.

USB charging in car?

Iam using the Dell Streak 7 as a sat nav system in the car. Ive tried to charge it up on the usb car adapter but it seems to loose its charge over time, making the D7 unusable for the purpose of a sat nav. Am i doing something wrong or is there a special usb car adapter for the job?
Thanks, David.

Does it say it's charging when plugged in?
Depending on how powerful your charger is it's likely that it's draining faster then the charger can provide. At best on my s5 it's just barely faster then the charger and the s7 needs more power then that.

Thanks for peply, yes it states it is plugged in. I came to the same conclusion. Wonder if there are any other chargers that have more juice.

diddy64 said:
Thanks for peply, yes it states it is plugged in. I came to the same conclusion. Wonder if there are any other chargers that have more juice.
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There are several that will do the job. Just look for specs that include putting out 5.5 volts and 2 amps. Several of the chargers that are made for the iPad2 will work. And you may want to install a lighter adapter that you can wire directly to the battery that will allow up to 2 or 3 amps from each port

Most standard USB ports do not put out enough power to charge the DS7. The best bet is to use a inverter that plugs into your cigarette lighter and then plug the charger into that, not just the USB cable.
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Inverter-Charger-Portable-SmartPhones/dp/B00144KS6W

I use this setup:
Bestek Adapter
Trans4m lighter adapter
The Bestek I have wired to the battery so I have no fuse problems with lighter, and with that I can charge either my iPad2 or my Streak7, IF I need to charge both, then I plug the Transform adapter into the Bestek and can then charge BOTH devices, the Ipad2 AND the Streak7 and a couple of other things if need be

Thank you guys, this gives me alot of hope. Once again you all get my thanks.
Cheers,
David.

Yea, like they previously stated not all chargers are created equal.
Unless it states it's a tablet/ipad charger you cant assume it's doing 2+ amps. Most phone/lower end ones can only do 500mA/1A.
Realistically you'd prob need at least 2 amps to get a net gain while using gps/anything demanding. But I dont know if it would even try and draw above that if given the chance. [email protected] is what the bundled wall charger does and can accept up to 5.5v (as it's still within the +/-10% tolerence of the usb spec, but just barely)

My fully charged stock S7 WiFi running 514 draws only 45-70mA. Maybe starting fully charged would help?

wptski said:
My fully charged stock S7 WiFi running 514 draws only 45-70mA. Maybe starting fully charged would help?
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I don't know anything about how it works, but I imagine tablets are wired to know when they are receiving the correct amount of input. For instance, if you connect your Streak 7 to a powered USB hub that only puts out 5 volts, it won't charge nor will it charge when connect via usb to the PC, it has to be receiving 5.5 volts and 2 amps before it will let itself receive charge. I have an iPad that is the same way and have noticed all the tablets I have had my hands on are the same, Galaxy Tabs, Transformers, Xoom... all those have to receive higher numbers to charge. So you have to have a cigarrette lighter adapter that puts that out, if it's for a cell phone it won't do anything for it

cdzo72 said:
I don't know anything about how it works, but I imagine tablets are wired to know when they are receiving the correct amount of input. For instance, if you connect your Streak 7 to a powered USB hub that only puts out 5 volts, it won't charge nor will it charge when connect via usb to the PC, it has to be receiving 5.5 volts and 2 amps before it will let itself receive charge. I have an iPad that is the same way and have noticed all the tablets I have had my hands on are the same, Galaxy Tabs, Transformers, Xoom... all those have to receive higher numbers to charge. So you have to have a cigarrette lighter adapter that puts that out, if it's for a cell phone it won't do anything for it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The voltage is constant but current isn't. It won't know how much current is available unless it asks for it. It's like a 2A fuse, you can draw up to 2A, no more.
Even with a fully charged battery it'll show charging at 98% for a short time and that's when I saw the higher 70mA but I'm not sure if it's in the CC or CV part of a Li-Ion charge cycle but I'd guess CV because it's less than 100mA.

My bad thinking measuring AC input current instead of DC current since this thread is about USB power.
Used a cheap ReTrak USB extension cord that loses connections to seperate the wire to measure DC current. My fully charged S7 showing 100% charge still draws 150mA after hours of being plugged in. Since Li-Ion cells normally don't use a constant trickle charge, I "assume" something draws on the battery all the time along with the indicator light and buttons.
Booting up it draws a little over 1A, fully charged while booted up, it draws around 600mA. While charging and powered up, it draws 914mA. Charging while off, it draws 1160mA. Far from 2A.

wptski said:
My bad thinking measuring AC input current instead of DC current since this thread is about USB power.
Used a cheap ReTrak USB extension cord that loses connections to seperate the wire to measure DC current. My fully charged S7 showing 100% charge still draws 150mA after hours of being plugged in. Since Li-Ion cells normally don't use a constant trickle charge, I "assume" something draws on the battery all the time along with the indicator light and buttons.
Booting up it draws a little over 1A, fully charged while booted up, it draws around 600mA. While charging and powered up, it draws 914mA. Charging while off, it draws 1160mA. Far from 2A.
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I understand that, but you are missing the point, if the internal wiring of these tablets don't receive the 2A they want they WILL NOT even begin to charge. I tried literally dozens of chargers when I first got my S7, spent a couple hundred bucks actually, and none of the chargers not meant for larger devices won't work, and what those chargers all had in common, 2A output

The S7 can and will draw off low capacity ports, it just wont admit to charging unless it's at least 1A as it's just that.
I've had my S7 charge off a 500mA port on my pc at the rate of like 1%/hour while sleeping. As it's barely gaining even while idleing it's not really charging in the literal sense, but it's definitely charging in the technical sense.
Are your data lines shorted together? I believe most high draw devices wont attempt to pull 2A unless it detects that it's on a high draw charger (which I think do this to indicate it as such)

cdzo72 said:
I understand that, but you are missing the point, if the internal wiring of these tablets don't receive the 2A they want they WILL NOT even begin to charge. I tried literally dozens of chargers when I first got my S7, spent a couple hundred bucks actually, and none of the chargers not meant for larger devices won't work, and what those chargers all had in common, 2A output
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Click to collapse
I don't know why your various chargers didn't work but it doesn't seem to be because of current. It didn't charge at 2A or even close to that.
If what your saying correct, why was I able to charge at less than 2A then? Could this be a ROM issue? I only had Froyo for a few hours but I've read that it didn't support USB charging which came with HC but it only charges with the S7 OFF.
It's possible that the demand went higher and I just didn't see on my current clamp meter. I'll have to try a current clamp and a scope to see if I missed a peak level.
Also what we are refering to as the charger might not be a charger but only a power supply and the actual charging circuit is in the S7.
I did notice one odd thing though. The green LED lights up at around 90% battery level and it's still charging. I downloaded a battery app which read the same level.

wptski said:
I don't know why your various chargers didn't work but it doesn't seem to be because of current. It didn't charge at 2A or even close to that.
If what your saying correct, why was I able to charge at less than 2A then? Could this be a ROM issue? I only had Froyo for a few hours but I've read that it didn't support USB charging which came with HC but it only charges with the S7 OFF.
It's possible that the demand went higher and I just didn't see on my current clamp meter. I'll have to try a current clamp and a scope to see if I missed a peak level.
Also what we are refering to as the charger might not be a charger but only a power supply and the actual charging circuit is in the S7.
I did notice one odd thing though. The green LED lights up at around 90% battery level and it's still charging. I downloaded a battery app which read the same level.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You were able to charge because your charger was CAPABLE of outputting 2A at least... try charging with one that CAN'T put that out and you should find that the Streak will not charge, on ANY ROM has been my experience, custom or stock

cdzo72 said:
You were able to charge because your charger was CAPABLE of outputting 2A at least... try charging with one that CAN'T put that out and you should find that the Streak will not charge, on ANY ROM has been my experience, custom or stock
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Capable is the magic word here. The wall wart isn't putting out 2A from what I've seen, unless it does for a split second at the start which I'm going to look into.
Most wall warts at whatever their rating is put out a higher voltage with no load and slightly higher than its marked voltage under a load. If it required [email protected] max., you used a [email protected], S7 needs more current, the voltage would decrease. What's been stated here might be that the voltage was being pulled down and that's why the S7 wouldn't charge, not "really" the 2A issue.
I have a battery pack/cell load testing device used on RC stuff that connects via USB port for its graphic software. There were issues with certain Dell laptops that had a low voltage at their USB ports.

Maybe starting fully charged would help?
I have the OEM T-Mobile car charger and I've found that if I have a full charge before plugging the Streak into the charger it maintains a full charge for as long as I'm driving/using it. Otherwise, with a less than full charge I've watched it slowly discharge even though it's plugged in and is charging.
FYI: I also have a top of the line car charger for an iPad2 that charges the iPad no matter what charge level I plug it in. This iPad charger has a USB port which I have plugged the Streak USB cord into and it also doesn't keep up with the Streak's discharge if the Streak isn't a full charge to begin with. Kind of strange because I would think the iPad would draw more than a Streak. (the iPad isn't plugged in at the same time the Streak is charging)

DCoop said:
Maybe starting fully charged would help?
I have the OEM T-Mobile car charger and I've found that if I have a full charge before plugging the Streak into the charger it maintains a full charge for as long as I'm driving/using it. Otherwise, with a less than full charge I've watched it slowly discharge even though it's plugged in and is charging.
FYI: I also have a top of the line car charger for an iPad2 that charges the iPad no matter what charge level I plug it in. This iPad charger has a USB port which I have plugged the Streak USB cord into and it also doesn't keep up with the Streak's discharge if the Streak isn't a full charge to begin with. Kind of strange because I would think the iPad would draw more than a Streak. (the iPad isn't plugged in at the same time the Streak is charging)
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The S7 must run some check before it tries to charge . Whatever it is the OEM supplied power supply passes the test.
What's the specs on your two power supplies?

Just remember if you dont have the same 2A for charging in the car. You cannot charge the streak while its TURNED ON. Same with USB charging, just turn the streak OFF, then charge. It will work. =)
Otherwise, Id get a DC to AC converter for the car, plug in your normal adapter.

Make non-motorola charger work?

So this is my first motorola and I had heard of the issues they have with non motorola chargers. Now I am experiencing it first hand. With the same ac charger I have charged many phones with and is capable of 1 amp output (D4 charger is only rated at 850 mA) my D4 struggles. With the device off it charged painfully slowly. While on it cannot even charge. It discharges while plugged in despite the charging indicator and reporting "charging (AC)" in status.
How does it know it is not a moto charger? Is it just about the resistance between the data pins? For most other phones shorting the data pins on the charger indicates to the phone that it is a high current charger and not a computer USB port. Is there a similar trick for motorola phones? I would rather not have to purchase an overpriced moto oem car charger. I have a perfectly fine 1.2 amp car charger soldered directly into my car's 12v system behind the dash. Can I make it work?
Thanks!

On a regular basis I successfully charge my D4 using both a charger from a Samsung Reality feature phone and from a B&N Nook Simple Touch, in addition to the one that came with it. I've also used a variety of car chargers.
Sent from my DROID4 using XDA

Actually, so far I have only one charger that had any trouble charging the phone (it was a $3 charger with 2 USB ports), but the $3 charger with ONE USB port works fine, as does the Nook Color charger, Blackberry charger, and Samsung charger I have tried it with, as well as both my old car charger and Lenovo's always-on charging port on their laptops.

JKingDev said:
So this is my first motorola and I had heard of the issues they have with non motorola chargers. Now I am experiencing it first hand. With the same ac charger I have charged many phones with and is capable of 1 amp output (D4 charger is only rated at 850 mA) my D4 struggles. With the device off it charged painfully slowly. While on it cannot even charge. It discharges while plugged in despite the charging indicator and reporting "charging (AC)" in status.
How does it know it is not a moto charger? Is it just about the resistance between the data pins? For most other phones shorting the data pins on the charger indicates to the phone that it is a high current charger and not a computer USB port. Is there a similar trick for motorola phones? I would rather not have to purchase an overpriced moto oem car charger. I have a perfectly fine 1.2 amp car charger soldered directly into my car's 12v system behind the dash. Can I make it work?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure how it knows one way or the other. I've successfully used a few LG chargers to charge my D4. The only really hickup I've ran into is the usb cables from those lg chargers won't sync data to the phones when plugged into a computer, they'll still charge off the usb port but won't read as a usb connection to the computer.

Heh, captcha is trynply.
Every charger I've used, including an old charger for an EN-V, kindle, supplied, and various other phone chargers works just fine with this phone. Probably have a bad charger, guy.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I was wrong. My modded car charger works just fine. I guess its just time to retire the old charger that I have been using. I think it might be my old nexus one charger.

A more important question would be does the thing charge over computer-bound USB ports?
When you're without a charger, but there's a USB cable that fits your phone, sometimes a regular USB data port is the only that is around... even though it might take a really long time.
Try a computer bound USB port, then try your actual charger, again. Or do the hard reset (vol down plus power, hold until it actually does it), which is just like pulling the battery.
See how that goes.
Chris

RueTheDayTrebek said:
A more important question would be does the thing charge over computer-bound USB ports?
When you're without a charger, but there's a USB cable that fits your phone, sometimes a regular USB data port is the only that is around... even though it might take a really long time.
Try a computer bound USB port, then try your actual charger, again. Or do the hard reset (vol down plus power, hold until it actually does it), which is just like pulling the battery.
See how that goes.
Chris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does in fact charge via USB port. In fact, it has a 'charge only' mode. Depending on how much juice your port puts out, and what you are doing with the phone, it will charge slowly/not at all, though.

from my experiences, the droid 4 will not accept lg microusb cables, the charging bricks work tho. i use a blackberry microusb on mine along with a Logitech and the stock moto ones. 1.2 amps is a bit high but not crazy sounding. personally, I charge at 1 amp.

Charging Safety Issues

Is it safe to charge the Nook Color from a PC USB port? I tried using a iphone charger and I think it melted XD
So....I'd rather not melt my USB ports. :/ Or Blow up the nook!
Anyone have information for this?

I charged mine on an ungrounded extension card cinnected to a possibly unregulated outlet, and it broke the charger plug permanently. Burning smell and high heat and all that stuff.
Probably not my best idea. But I am not gonna say I think it happens to anything but the nook charger. That setup hasn't damaged anything else before or since.

Locklear308 said:
Is it safe to charge the Nook Color from a PC USB port? I tried using a iphone charger and I think it melted XD
So....I'd rather not melt my USB ports. :/ Or Blow up the nook!
Anyone have information for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When connected to a PC USB port the Nook will only detect that it is data USB connection and not a pure charger and will only try to draw 500mA which is the standard USB current limit. Under these conditions the Nook will only charge very slowly particularly if it is active with the screen lit.
When connected to a real charger like the Nook charger that has the data lines shorted to indicate it is a pure high power charger then the Nook will attempt to draw up to 2000mA. Any charger worth its salt will supply whatever it can and protect itself against overheating. Cheap and nasty chargers could potentially have overheating problems.
I have successfully used other chargers in place of the standard one. E.g a HP Touchpad charger and a car 2A USB charger.

Avoid this compatibility problem by using a standard micro USB cable when charging with a charger other than the standard NC charger. I charge my NC all the time with one of my numerous HTC plug-in chargers and a standard micro USB cable.

mr72 said:
Avoid this compatibility problem by using a standard micro USB cable when charging with a charger other than the standard NC charger. I charge my NC all the time with one of my numerous HTC plug-in chargers and a standard micro USB cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So using a regular micro usb cable will allow safe charging?

Locklear308 said:
So using a regular micro usb cable will allow safe charging?
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Click to collapse
Here is how I think it works.
Nook will only request up to 500mA charge rate if it detects that the cable is plugged into a regular USB port like on a PC with data connections. This is irrespective of whether you use the B&N cable or an alternative microUSB cable. There is almost 0 risk in this arrangement.
If the Nook is connected via a standard microUSB cable to a charger that signals it is a high power charger by having shorted data lines then it can get up to around 1000mA of charge from it.
If the Nook is connected via the B&N cable to a charger that signals it is a high power charger by having shorted data lines then it can get up to around 2000mA of charge from it. This is just because the B&N cable has extra voltage supply pins at the microUSB end and tries to spread the load to avoid stressing the individual pins with two much current. Without these extra pins it will not request the extra current through them.
In both the second and third case it is possible that a poorly designed charger could signal the ability to supply the higher current and then suffer because it did not have the overload / over-heating mechanisms to deal with it. One could argue that evolution should kick in at this point and destine this type of charger to the well-deserved scrap heap

bobtidey said:
Here is how I think it works.
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Click to collapse
Well, that's sort of close.
But the NC doesn't "sense" anything about the charger. The stock NC charging cable with the light-up horseshoe has the pins shorted and is also a slightly different connector type such that it cannot be plugged into a normal micro-USB on a device besides a NC. So if you plug THIS CABLE into the NC, then it will draw 2A from whatever is plugged into the other end of the cable. If the thing on the other end of the cable is the NC charger, you are in good shape, since it can safely deliver 2A of current. If you plug the other end of the NC stock cable into an iPhone wall charger or a computer USB port, some other generic wall charger, then it will likely draw more current than the charger or port can safely deliver and may damage the charger or cause a fire.
If you use a standard micro-USB cable, regardless of what charger you use (including the stock B&N charger), it will only draw about 500mA of current and charge the NC more slowly, but it will work safely with pretty much any generic USB port either on a computer or a run of the mill USB wall charger such as those that come with nearly every Android phone on the market, or a charge dock, USB cigarette lighter adapter for your car, etc.
So the key is: use the B&N stock NC CABLE ONLY with the stock B&N wall charger. Use a generic micro-USB cable with any charger including the B&N wall charger. It's all about the cable.

mr72 said:
Well, that's sort of close.
But the NC doesn't "sense" anything about the charger. The stock NC charging cable with the light-up horseshoe has the pins shorted and is also a slightly different connector type such that it cannot be plugged into a normal micro-USB on a device besides a NC. So if you plug THIS CABLE into the NC, then it will draw 2A from whatever is plugged into the other end of the cable. If the thing on the other end of the cable is the NC charger, you are in good shape, since it can safely deliver 2A of current. If you plug the other end of the NC stock cable into an iPhone wall charger or a computer USB port, some other generic wall charger, then it will likely draw more current than the charger or port can safely deliver and may damage the charger or cause a fire.
If you use a standard micro-USB cable, regardless of what charger you use (including the stock B&N charger), it will only draw about 500mA of current and charge the NC more slowly, but it will work safely with pretty much any generic USB port either on a computer or a run of the mill USB wall charger such as those that come with nearly every Android phone on the market, or a charge dock, USB cigarette lighter adapter for your car, etc.
So the key is: use the B&N stock NC CABLE ONLY with the stock B&N wall charger. Use a generic micro-USB cable with any charger including the B&N wall charger. It's all about the cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry. That's not true.
The B&N cable behaves like a standard USB data cable. It does not have the data pins shorted. You can use it to plug the Nook into a PC and transfer files. This would not be possible if the pins were shorted in the cable anywhere. The only difference between the B&N cable and a standard one is that is has extra power pins on the microUSB end in a deeper connector that are just used for spreading the charging current.
The B&N charger like other high power USB chargers does have the data lines shorted in it and that is what the Nook sees and causes it to switch into high current charging mode.
You can see all this in operation with a Battery monitor App like "Battery Monitor". When the Nook is connected to a data port via the B&N or other cable then the charging mode is USB and will draw up to 500mA. When it is connected via a standard cable to a charger like the B&N then it will say AC charging mode but will only draw around 1000mA (not limited to 500mA). When it is connected to the charger via the B&N cable it will also say AC charging mode but will now draw up to 2000mA as the extra pins are available.
Note that these currents are the maximum drawn in these modes. The actual value drawn depends on the state of the battery. Also they are what the Nook attempts to draw from the charger. It can't force the charger to supply 2A and any decent charger (which is most in my experience) will only supply what they can safely or will shut down if they experience overheating.
I safely use the B&N cable with a variety of chargers. I also use it to connect to PCs for data transfer and background charging (at 500mA). I also use other USB cables with both the B&N charger and with other chargers. You only get full 2A charging by using the B&N cable with a charger with data lines shorted that can supply 2A OK.

bobtidey said:
Sorry. That's not true.
The B&N cable behaves like a standard USB data cable. It does not have the data pins shorted. You can use it to plug the Nook into a PC and transfer files. This would not be possible if the pins were shorted in the cable anywhere. The only difference between the B&N cable and a standard one is that is has extra power pins on the microUSB end in a deeper connector that are just used for spreading the charging current.
The B&N charger like other high power USB chargers does have the data lines shorted in it and that is what the Nook sees and causes it to switch into high current charging mode.
You can see all this in operation with a Battery monitor App like "Battery Monitor". When the Nook is connected to a data port via the B&N or other cable then the charging mode is USB and will draw up to 500mA. When it is connected via a standard cable to a charger like the B&N then it will say AC charging mode but will only draw around 1000mA (not limited to 500mA). When it is connected to the charger via the B&N cable it will also say AC charging mode but will now draw up to 2000mA as the extra pins are available.
Note that these currents are the maximum drawn in these modes. The actual value drawn depends on the state of the battery. Also they are what the Nook attempts to draw from the charger. It can't force the charger to supply 2A and any decent charger (which is most in my experience) will only supply what they can safely or will shut down if they experience overheating.
I safely use the B&N cable with a variety of chargers. I also use it to connect to PCs for data transfer and background charging (at 500mA). I also use other USB cables with both the B&N charger and with other chargers. You only get full 2A charging by using the B&N cable with a charger with data lines shorted that can supply 2A OK.
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Well I can say that using an ipod/iphone charger is a BAD idea haha. I shall stick to the normal charger :]

Locklear308 said:
Well I can say that using an ipod/iphone charger is a BAD idea haha. I shall stick to the normal charger :]
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I agree it is good to stick to the B&N charger with B&N cable for best fast charging. The only reason not to is to reduce the number of chargers one is carrying or to provide alternatives like charging in a car.
I was pointing out that the issue is primarily around the chargers not around the cable. Your original question was about charging from a PC USB port and that is safe no matter what cable you use.
The case where the cable might make a difference is where a non B&N charger has the data lines shorted and will allow AC charging mode but is OK with < 1000mA (non B&N cable) but could blow up if it tries to deliver 2000mA (B&N cable). So, it is less risky if you use a non B&N cable when using a non B&N charger. Still a poor charger design if that is the case.

NC charger

I was wondering where to get a charger for my NC, whether it be car or home, that will not be 30 like in the stores.

smayer85 said:
I was wondering where to get a charger for my NC, whether it be car or home, that will not be 30 like in the stores.
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Just search for ADP-H01 on the web. I have seen them as low as $16.

Good suggestion leapinlar, looks like I'm gonna acquire a spare soon.

The NC is a mature product, and anything worth talking about has been talked out. Search these NC forums (or just Google in general) for "nook color charger".
Here's one that's interesting: The OS makes a difference. Those using CM7 can charge using any 2.0 or 2.1A charger, with any cable (presumably of sufficient gauge to carry 2A). Those using stock ROM must use OEM charger & cable.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1002332
I'm not sure about stock, since I converted my NCs OOB. But my experience (using CM7) is same as the OP in above-linked thread. I can charge with any 2A charger and standard cable.

e.mote said:
The NC is a mature product, and anything worth talking about has been talked out. Search these NC forums (or just Google in general) for "nook color charger".
Here's one that's interesting: The OS makes a difference. Those using CM7 can charge using any 2.0 or 2.1A charger, with any cable (presumably of sufficient gauge to carry 2A). Those using stock ROM must use OEM charger & cable.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1002332
I'm not sure about stock, since I converted my NCs OOB. But my experience (using CM7) is same as the OP in above-linked thread. I can charge with any 2A charger and standard cable.
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Yes, you can charge, but not at the full rate. The charging block must have the two center pins shorted (d+/d-). Some charging blocks have that and some do not. If they are shorted, the nook might allow the block to deliver the full 2+ A rated on the block. But the cable must be able to deliver that much current. Only the stock cable can do that. It has extra pins (a total of 12) in the nook end of the connector to deliver that much. Regular microUSB cables do not have those pins. That is why nook cables have an end that look longer than standard cables. So the charging circuits in the nook sense the shorted data pins and the extra pins in the cable, then it turns on full charging. It does this for all roms. If it does not detect those two conditions, it assumes you are connected to a USB port and limits charging current to 500MA regardless of block capacity.

leapinlar said:
Yes, you can charge, but not at the full rate. The charging block must have the two center pins shorted (d+/d-). Some charging blocks have that and some do not. If they are shorted, the nook might allow the block to deliver the full 2+ A rated on the block. But the cable must be able to deliver that much current. Only the stock cable can do that. It has extra pins (a total of 12) in the nook end of the connector to deliver that much. Regular microUSB cables do not have those pins. That is why nook cables have an end that look longer than standard cables. So the charging circuits in the nook sense the shorted data pins and the extra pins in the cable, then it turns on full charging. It does this for all roms. If it does not detect those two conditions, it assumes you are connected to a USB port and limits charging current to 500MA regardless of block capacity.
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I have found that as long as I have my charger cable, I can use any "block" to charge. I generally will use my IPAD block and that charges it just as quickly. So instead of having to spend 30 bucks for a new nook block, I can just use my cable and a different block. its very convenient.

IPAD bricks provide 2.0A and the B&N ones are rated at 1.9A. It boils down to the (semi-)proprietary cable.

ufkal said:
I have found that as long as I have my charger cable, I can use any "block" to charge. I generally will use my IPAD block and that charges it just as quickly. So instead of having to spend 30 bucks for a new nook block, I can just use my cable and a different block. its very convenient.
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iPad chargers also have the data pins shorted.

leapinlar said:
Yes, you can charge, but not at the full rate. The charging block must have the two center pins shorted (d+/d-). Some charging blocks have that and some do not. If they are shorted, the nook might allow the block to deliver the full 2+ A rated on the block. But the cable must be able to deliver that much current. Only the stock cable can do that. It has extra pins (a total of 12) in the nook end of the connector to deliver that much. Regular microUSB cables do not have those pins. That is why nook cables have an end that look longer than standard cables. So the charging circuits in the nook sense the shorted data pins and the extra pins in the cable, then it turns on full charging. It does this for all roms. If it does not detect those two conditions, it assumes you are connected to a USB port and limits charging current to 500MA regardless of block capacity.
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In my experience there are actually 3 possible max charging rates into the Nook Color
1) USB mode where a charger / cable doesn't have shorted data lines (including PC) - Max 500 ma
2) AC mode (half) where a charger does have shorted data lines but a standard USB cable is used - Max 1000ma
3) AC mode full where a charger has shorted data lines and a Nook proprietary cable is used with the extra power pins - Max 1900ma

>In my experience there are actually 3 possible max charging rates into the Nook Color
How did you measure the differing DC current? Clamp meter? In-line resistor?

Battery Widget in the Play Store will tell you near real time.
Rodney

rhester72 said:
Battery Widget in the Play Store will tell you near real time.
Rodney
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That's what I have used and it seems to tally well with rate of charge of the battery. It indicates AC or USB charging (shorted / non-shorted data lines) and showed 1000mA in AC mode with standard USB cable as opposed to 1900 with Nook cable.

>Battery Widget in the Play Store will tell you near real time.
Can you provide the developer name? There are many battery widgets, and those I've tried don't indicate charging level. TIA.

e.mote said:
>Battery Widget in the Play Store will tell you near real time.
Can you provide the developer name? There are many battery widgets, and those I've tried don't indicate charging level. TIA.
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I use Battery Monitor Widget Pro by 3C. It has a history screen that shows charging current vs time. I think they have a free version.

Thanks for the tip. Battery Monitor Widget is a better monitor than those I've tried, although it overloads on detail. However I think the +/- mA reading is a net reading (charge - discharge rate) rather than the charge current by itself. Since the unit needs to be on for the widget to run, it's probably not possible for it to get just the charge reading.

+1 for the battery information widget. I actually like all of the information.
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