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I am really frustrated with charging my phone.
From the wall, using the stock 700mA Samsung charger, I get 5% every 10 min.
From a USB cigarette lighter charger modified to source 750mA, I get 3% every 10 min.
From a USB cigarette lighter charger that can source 3A, I get hardly anything.
I assume from these findings that one or more of the following is true:
1. The phone knows when it is plugged into a stock charger.
2. The phone has a current limiter that prevents overcharging.
Does anyone have a charger, other than stock, that they recommend?
I'm half tempted to hook my stock charger up to a cigarette lighter inverter and power it that way.
(I'm also half-tempted to grab a current probe tomorrow and measure what the device is pulling.)
i havent really used my oem samsung wall charger much, but i know when i try to charge from my computers usb it takes 4EVER, thats why i jumped on this ebay deal
IBNobody said:
(I'm also half-tempted to grab a current probe tomorrow and measure what the device is pulling.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd probe the chargers and see how accurate their ratings are as well....
does anyone know if using a 1mA charger would be okay? i have one left over from my evo.
The phone won't draw more than 500mA from a charger unless the USB data pins are connected.
Be careful, though... 99.9% of the chargers from China that claim to be 700mA (the nominal value of Samsung's) or 1A will overheat and die (or worse) if you try to actually draw that much current for any sustained length of time. I'd almost go so far as to say that it's SO EASY for a manufacturer to support high-power mode, I'd be automatically suspicious of any allegedly high power charger that doesn't ship with the pins shorted together.
Manufacturers know that most consumers don't know the difference (hell, most users HERE don't know the difference, and XDA is the upper crust elite of the Android phone universe), so they omit the shorting bridge and ship a charger with quoted power capacity that it MIGHT be able to sustain for a couple of minutes if you operated it in a walk-in freezer, knowing that most phones will never draw more than 500mA and it'll work fine for them. It lets them sell the charger for 99 cents AND pretend to be better than the others on the rack because it has a bigger "max power" value.
It's "RMS-vs-Peak" all over again.
Yeah I'm one of those that don't know much about the charging. I did figure there was a different charge rate when plugged into the wall and when plugged into usb or a usb converter like powerjolt.
I also found that one of the usb to micro's that I bought for using with my car powerjolt coverter won't let me connect via debugging/adb shell. was a little surprised at this... is it just a bad cord?
bitbang3r said:
The phone won't draw more than 500mA from a charger unless the USB data pins are connected.
Be careful, though... 99.9% of the chargers from China that claim to be 700mA (the nominal value of Samsung's) or 1A will overheat and die (or worse) if you try to actually draw that much current for any sustained length of time. I'd almost go so far as to say that it's SO EASY for a manufacturer to support high-power mode, I'd be automatically suspicious of any allegedly high power charger that doesn't ship with the pins shorted together.
Manufacturers know that most consumers don't know the difference (hell, most users HERE don't know the difference, and XDA is the upper crust elite of the Android phone universe), so they omit the shorting bridge and ship a charger with quoted power capacity that it MIGHT be able to sustain for a couple of minutes if you operated it in a walk-in freezer, knowing that most phones will never draw more than 500mA and it'll work fine for them. It lets them sell the charger for 99 cents AND pretend to be better than the others on the rack because it has a bigger "max power" value.
It's "RMS-vs-Peak" all over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
D+ to D- must be shorted to get the high power mode? Maybe that was why my 3A supply was not handling it.
The Epic pulls 380mA when charging from a USB port from a Dell T3400 workstation. The result was steady at 40% and 80%.
I'll try out my other charging methods later and find out everything.
Stay tuned!
EDIT 1:
380mA is the magic number. It draws 380mA from all USB sources, including my two car chargers.
It draws 600mA from the wall adapter.
The wall adapter does indeed have D+ and D- shorted. My other chargers did not.
Here is the pinout for a USB port: http://pinouts.ru/Slots/USB_pinout.shtml
Here is the "beefy" USB charger I've been using:
http://www.wagan.com/index.php?page...ategory_id=22&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=98
This charger is rather nice because the step-down supply (AX3002) has a large heatsink soldered to the ground tab.
It currently pulls up/down the D+/- lines via resistors. Each port is pulled down separately.
What I plan on doing next is to remove the pull resistors from one of the ports and short D+/- together.
Well, this explains a lot. This was really getting frustrating. I bought a "high-curent" charger for my car and the phone blows through the battery when I'm driving around with Maps running.
Im always on the road and for me an inverter in cigarette lighter with stock wall charger works best.the slowest charge is using stock usb cable since theres a slot for it on the inverter.2nd was radio shack car lighter in inverter.the inverter was from radio shack as well
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
IBNobody said:
Here is the pinout for a USB port: http://pinouts.ru/Slots/USB_pinout.shtml.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is the official spec but there are actually not just four but six connectors on usb micro, which is how samsung can create a whole mess of pinut jumps for various amperage draws as well as data, entrainment dock and car dock.
Trying to find gadgets of the type "external portable power".
That is power sources that is light enough to carry in a backpack or pocket, and have a battery (or in my dreams a fuel cell...) that can be plugged into SGS mini usb port for "emergency" power.
Also of interest is solar powered solutions, maybe to charge said portable power device while relaxing at the beach.
I believe this is what you are looking for:
spider-foot. com/1900mah-extended-backup-battery-power-charger-for-cell-phones-with-micro-usb-charging-port-1900mic-p-759.html
Ive seen a solar + wind up one as well, but not sure how good that would work.
There are few micro usb backup battery packs. Some are sealed rechargeable batteries (like the one in above post) while others allows you to use standard AA size ones (these are good in an emergency).
But IMO better to have a spare battery. That way you don’t have to wait for the phone to charge, you get instant power. Since SGS s batteries are very small you can even carry one in your pocket.
Personally I'd prefer something that used AA/AAA batteries. That way I can carry LSD batteries, and I can use a proper conditioner/analyser/charger on them to keep them in decent condition. It also means the phone doesn't need to get turned off at any point - I find mine isn't great after a restart for quite a while. Finally very high quality batteries are not that expensive for AA/AAA and you know what you're getting, aftermarket mobile batteries can be a little bit risky and performance can vary.
I use a solution from Philips, it is called Power2Go. I use the SCE4430. Works great, only thing is that it does not support micro usb out of the box. But a standard micro usb cable does the trick. Used this also on a Nintendo DS.
http://www.philips.co.uk/c/universa...UNIVERSAL_POWER_SOLUTIONS_SU_GB_CONSUMER=true
[Q] Solar Charger
Hey guys,
First post here and it may end up costing me a bit soo..
Would it be possible to harvest one of these solar phone chargers you see on ebay and build it into the backplate of the phone?
I know it may not be powerful enough to charge your phone, but maybe we can extend the life when we just need those few extra hours.
So, really, does anyone know what we would need? I have little to know electronics experience so not sure what i'm looking for but i'm more than willing to actually do it if someone is able to explain what/how its done.
No, it's enough for you to charge a phone, even other more powerful device. But first of all you need a good solar cell.
i got one from DX it works fantastic!
4200mAh Portable Dual-Panel Solar Power Battery Pack for Cell Phones and USB Gadgets
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.40210
just leave it by any window, or light source and it turns it back into energy, then just plug your phone into the pack for recharge
you can easily recharge twice with a full charge
red light = charging
no light = off
green light = in use
comes with all the plugs for our phones
and a build in LED flashlight
it can also be charged via USB if you are in a hurry, and can't take advantage of the free light source recharge
i use it mostly for long outdooring like camping / picnics, and you know that even 3x1500 mAh will not last you for a day/week
you can get a full charge in just 1 day (from sun rise to sun down) even on a cloudy rainy sky
But what about physically attaching a panel to the back so I don't have to carry extra stuff? Is it possible? How would I wire it up?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
that works, but you wont be able to use the phone for like a whole day meanwhile waiting for it to charge, and be drained almost instantly
Have a look here>>>http://tinyurl.com/y2nrvsv
I have ordered one of these will do a small review when it arrives>>>http://tinyurl.com/2fun3k6
I have this traditional solution for emergency charging: http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/
They have Solar Charger, too.
that solar one from portable uk is okay, i only like the "bag" idea of it, but it's shy in power & recharge rate when competing againts the 4200 mAh beast from DX
mini/micro portable power pack
check this out
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320572770657&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
I have one, it has to be charge via usb, but I do that while I am on my laptop, and the bonus is that it will charge anything that connects via a mini/micro connection,
Applecrusher said:
But what about physically attaching a panel to the back so I don't have to carry extra stuff? Is it possible? How would I wire it up?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And leave the phone under the sun ?? A very bad idea, the heat will surely damage your phone.
PhoenixFx said:
And leave the phone under the sun ?? A very bad idea, the heat will surely damage your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed
I don't think a little solar panel on the back of the phone will be capable of putting out that much power
I don't know about you but my phone spends most of its time inside my pocket so it is rarely out in the sun for the solar panel to work
Just carry a spare battery or get yourself the Samsung extended battery
mobilefun
.co.uk/genuine-samsung-galaxy-s-extended-battery-case-p25834.htm
It will extend your battery life without having to leave the phone lying in the sun
Solar charger for SGS and other mobiles.
Few days ago I was searching for the Solar charger for my SGS in India.In local stores I brought 2 solar chargers but these are the china made chargers with very low quality internal battery.
Then one of my friend suggest me the Amzer 3500 mAh Battery Backup Solar Charger and Solio Emergency Mono Solar Hybrid Charger.
I ordered the Amzer 3500 mAh Battery Backup Solar Charger and believe me, the charger is one of the essential accessory for every mobile phone.
Also this Charger is available in India, USA and UK regions.
For India, take a look at this, http://www.fommy.co.in/Amzer-3500-mAh-Battery-Backup-Solar-Charger-P83981.htm
For USA and UK, visit http://www.fommy.com/
the one i mentioned back in post #8 is way better and cheaper
and free shipping with tracking number
trusted site
actually i hv read all the backup power all u guys suggest but i found that these all are just rebranding some chinese low quality products and it cant survive for long and there r some potential hazard that may end up damaging our sgs...i hv tried solar charger and some portable backup power before, the solar charger dun hv a high efficiency to exchange solar energy to electrical energy...it takes me too long time to charge it and it can only recharge the battery once. for the backup power, the mAh thing is not accurate, u need to try it yourself n c how many cycles u can charge the stock battery in order to estimate the true backup power battery capacity
I love my PORTAPOW
Received it yesterday.
5000 mAH USB rechargeable battery in a piano black case.
Fantastic.
This means I can go out on an all-day hike with GPS on.(Yep, I'm that sad)
The phone battery would last 2- 2 1/2 hours max with GPS (and MyTracks or similar on) while hiking.
Really good build quality.
Really good price.
(PS I am in no way connected with the company etc...)
HTML:
http://www.portablepowersupplies.co.uk/portapowPremium.htm
EDIT: SCROLL DOWN TO POST #12 WHERE I SHOW YOU HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN FULL-1900 mAh CHARGER!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=43663686&postcount=12
-=========================================
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.
hello did you buy it?
CZ Eddie said:
Has anyone used this particular item before? Or can recommend a similar hard-wire unit that operates at 2A to 3A?
http://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Connectors-Adapter-Recorder/dp/B00D6B6CJI
I'm thinking about getting one for my SUV and Motorcyle to charge the S4 at normal 1900 rates like the OEM wall-charger. Get that FAST charge.
Yes, I know about cig lighter chargers. No, that is not what this thread is for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
I ran it off the clock circuit (my clock is dead anyways) but any switched 12v source will do. It charges my car integrated Nexus7 without any issues, and at the faster rate.
I have another powering a servo and an aux USB port, but unfortunately I ran so much wire to get it into the center console by the handbrake it charges at USB rates.
paolopaulpaul said:
hello did you buy it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet.
Caferacer said:
I have this hardwired into my WRX:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDL-WaterPr...35?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item1c34627e83
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en
Just bought this one for $9 shipped.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-waterpr...34?pt=US_Power_Inverters_&hash=item3a7a051922
It's a waterproof box so it'll be better on my Motorcycle. I'll let you guys know how it works out by next week sometime.
There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
CZ Eddie said:
Not yet.
Wow, that's a great price! Does it charge at ~1900 rates? Here is an app that will tell you the charging rate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccc71.bmw&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
MonkeyTime said:
There was a thread somewhere that explained why some chargers won't do the 1900mah charge. He figured out where and what size resistors to put across the wires to enable it. I think it was in a car dock thread, I'll try and find it.
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Caferacer said:
shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
MichaelBR said:
There are some reasons why it won't work, and some ways to solve it. First, let's understand how it works:
The USB cable has four pins. The inner two pins are where the data goes through. THe outer, power.
When the USB cable is plugged in to a computer, the data pins are connected normally and the phone knows it can only draw certain amount of power
When the cable is plugged in to a charger, the two middle pins are shorted, and the phone knows that it's NOT going to be sendind/receiving data, so it can draw as much power as it can. That's why it charges faster with the charger than when plugged in to a computer
Most chargers short the two pins. Some cables have a switch to do that.
There are different cable cauges as well, with different power capacities.
Some USB chargers, notably car chargers and some low-end (i.e. not good brand) chargers that don't draw from the car/don't give the phone as much current as it needs.
So, if any of below, the phone won't charge, or won't charge fast enough. Or, worse: it may appear as charging, but actually losing battery charge!
Cable too long or incorrect gauge
Middle pins not shorted for some reason
Charger doesn't deliver enough current
And the solutions are:
Don't use cable extensions, cables that are too long. Stick with the cable that came with the phone or with the charger
Get a good car charger, that delivers the right amount of current
I imagine you just got the cable from your original wall charger and plugged it in to the car charger. If you did that, then chances are the cable is OK, and the charger is the culprit. If this is the case, then get a better charger. Check how much current that charger can deliver. Check how much current your device actually needs.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CZ Eddie said:
Yours is the second post I've seen where someone has shorted the data pins on a charging-only setup. Is there a reason for doing that?
Ehh, n/m. I remembered the "Google before you ask" mantra...
This explains it nicely:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/194362-wont-charge-over-usb-car.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.
Caferacer said:
That app won't show the mA on my N7 but does show it charging near the same % as a fast charger.
It's the shorting/grounding of the data pins that activates 'fast charge' mode on some phones. Nexus 7's and my E4GT (Sprint S2) when I used it didn't require the pins to be shorted to charge faster. Mostly it was the charger (duh) and the quality/length of the cable that affected the charge speed. As well, most of the heavy 1A plus chargers short the data pins in the charger itself so you can use any cable. I believe the S4 doesn't require it as well, but don't have any data to confirm it.
The way I wired mine was to sacrifice a USB female port from a USB extender, and attached the power leads and shorted the data leads. Figured it couldn't hurt. The converter doesn't care if it's putting out 500mA or 3A. It's not intelligent like some chargers in what current it doles out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Caferacer said:
To be clear, there is no indication it is *required* for the S4. Mine quick charges just fine without shorted data leads. However I did this because my friends have a variety of phones and it only took a few minutes to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree with what you posted in general terms, below is the link to the thread I was talking about. He did some testing and found the pins aren't just shorted, but shorted w/ 82K resistors to get the maximum charging current.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2274321
Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it? Also If it does not damage would it be able to run the camera as a "blackbox" and not die? I currently have a 2a charger and when i use the black box software it dies after about an hour or so.
SUCCESS!
I got the little black box in from eBay.
Gave it a quick/test wire setup. This is NOT indicative of the end result which will be soldered & have shrink tubing, etc.
Okay, first I grabbed my stock S3 data/charge cable.
Snipped off the standard USB end.
Cut off the ends of the pin 2 & 3 wires since they were not being used anymore (data pins).
Then attached the red (power) from the S3 cable to the yellow (power) lead from the little black box. And did the same for the black (negative) leads.
Then hard wired the red & black from the little black box to my motorcycle battery terminals.
On the first test, I only got 460mAh.
Then I decided to short the 2 & 3 pin wires (green & white) on the S3 cable together (attach them to each other). This gave me 1120mAh!
Next I took the tin-foil and wire braid from the S3 cable and tied them together with the negative lead on the S3 cable. This gave me 1220mAh!
Still not satisfied, I then cut down the 5' S3 cable and made it a 1.5' cable.
AND THIS RESULTED IN A FULL 1920mAh!!!! Right on.
That is exactly the same mAh as the stock S4 wall charger & cable combo give me. Very stoked about this. So now I'll do a nice clean install on the bike and then duplicate it for my car dock sometime soon. FULL CHARGE AHEAD!
Crxdc said:
Will it damage the phone to have a 3A charger plugged into it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it will be fine. The phone only draws 1900mAh. If the phone were drawing 3000mAh then there might be a problem.
All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!
CZ Eddie said:
All done and installed now. And working great!
Negative battery connection (I forgot to shrink tube it but will do that later).
Braided negative wire (~16 to 18awg?) running under gas tank to front of bike.
I wish I would have waited till I got black zip ties in. I hate white zip ties.
The braided wire at the right side of pic that goes up above the gas tank is the pos/neg wire lead that plus right into the phone.
2A inline fuse connecting via blade connector (sorry MC) to a previously used power-on-ignition wire.
This goes to (+) on the little black box.
Note the shrink tube over the braid over the crimp connector (wire goes to top-right of screen).
Phone sitting next to the phone dock I made out of a holster that came with my phone case.
You can see the braided/shrink tubed MicroUSB connector already plugged into the phone.
It's not showing a charge though, because the ignition key is not turned on.
Phone is inserted into stable dock (it will never fall out unless I crash hard).
Ignition is turned on and battery is charging!
And proof that it's charging at the full 1900mAh. Success!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome.
Hard wire phone charger and Bluetooth Receiver to car battery plan...
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks good to me. :good:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-USB-Ca...064?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51af639938
ebrowni said:
Hello,
I'm planning to install the following in my car along with new stereo head unit:
1) CraigsDocks Samsung Galaxy S4 docking charger, with USB power out
2) Rocketfish Bluetooth Music Receiver (with aptX), with DC 5V power out (connected to 3' 5V to USB power cable)
Plan to use this to convert (found on EBAY - I can't post links here in XDA yet/new user): Dual USB Cable Connectors Power Adapters 8-22V 12 V to 5V/3A DC Volt Converters... to connect directly to my car battery to power both the Samsung charger and the Rocketfish.
I'm new at this and I'm wondering if you all think this will work, or if I'm missing any steps, or if there are other better suggestions?
Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).
Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead. I personally wouldn't wire anything directly to the battery, especially since you didn't mention an inline fuse. Find a switched 12v lead inside the car. Not only does this protect your phone, charger, and car, but it also means you don't have to run anything through the firewall, which is a pain.
You can either tie into the cig lighter wiring, or find something else (I used my clock circuit since it runs to a 10A fuse and is switched).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
MonkeyTime said:
Your clock circuit is switched?
I agree with the firewall being a pita, but I'm not a huge fan of tapping on to other circuits either. With nothing charging, what would be drawing any current? If there's anything, it would have to be minimal. It also allows you to charge a phone/device with the car not running, sometimes very handy (and a modification I've made before for just that reason). An inline fuse is also a must, good point!
Sent from my de-Verizonized Galaxy S4, CleanRom style! (using Tapatalk beta 4)
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Yes, my clock circuit has a switched lead to wake up the clock as well as a hard wired lead to retain the time. Both run to the same 10A fuse.
There is a small transformer in the converter and the receiver bluetooth will stay on. They have a small energy draw which is not negligible over a long period of time. At the very least I would include a dash mounted switch to completely shut the charger and receiver off. For instance I have a bluetooth OBD adapter (Not too much unlike your bluetooth receiver) that drained a 2 year old car battery over a week I left the car sitting while I was on vacation. For day to day driving it's not a problem but my OBD adapter isn't hardwired and I can just remove it when I know the car will be sitting.
Thanks
Caferacer said:
Just realize that if you wire it to your batter there will be a small draw from the converter and chargers even when not in use. If you let your car sit for a week or long weekend you might come out to find the battery dead.
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Oooh, good point! Makes sense to me. I have never done a mod to my car's audio system so I'll be paying a professional installer. I'm so glad to have this information before I shop around at the good places here and get some offers!
Thank you!
This is my first experience with wireless charging so I'm probably missing the obvious here so please, anybody, point that out.
I'm newly using a wireless charger with my N5 & performance just doesn't make any sense to me. It's the Korean/Chinese knock-off of the N4 Orb which others on XDA have used successfully. On basic charging it does work but I can't make any sense of these numbers:
Charging I get roughly 10% per hour -- not great, but okay for bedside/overnight.
Charging with daydream on (Dashclock) on I get a loss of roughly 10% per hour! Yes, the phone keeps indicating it is charging in spite of this heavy drain.
But sometimes daydream just turns off & it returns to charging -- this seems to happen if I start off with the phone (mostly) charged. For the most part though, if I leave the phone on the charger overnight with daydream enabled I'll wake to a nearly empty battery.
As I said, these numbers make no sense to me at all. Part of the problem may be the power source for the orb - it's only 1A but even if it's underpowered I can't see the drop from +10% to -10% /hour.
Second part of my query -- does anyone know if it would be effective (and safe!) to feed 1.2A to the orb & maybe get faster charge. Or maybe that would be enough to keep up with the Daydream drain?
FWIW the the USB charger (1.2A) is very fast, I get better than 1% per minute -- unaffected by Daydream.
im using this and mine gets full charge within 1 and half hours
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
10% per hour? Something's wrong. A wireless charger shouldn't take much longer than wired.
It's possible your adapter is a dud. Try using the 1.2a adapter, it'll be fine. If it still isn't faster, you might have a bad charger.
Also, if it came with a USB cable, don't use it. The wires are too small to carry a reasonable amount of current.
NotFromMountainView said:
This is my first experience with wireless charging so I'm probably missing the obvious here so please, anybody, point that out.
I'm newly using a wireless charger with my N5 & performance just doesn't make any sense to me. It's the Korean/Chinese knock-off of the N4 Orb which others on XDA have used successfully. On basic charging it does work but I can't make any sense of these numbers:
Charging I get roughly 10% per hour -- not great, but okay for bedside/overnight.
Charging with daydream on (Dashclock) on I get a loss of roughly 10% per hour! Yes, the phone keeps indicating it is charging in spite of this heavy drain.
But sometimes daydream just turns off & it returns to charging -- this seems to happen if I start off with the phone (mostly) charged. For the most part though, if I leave the phone on the charger overnight with daydream enabled I'll wake to a nearly empty battery.
As I said, these numbers make no sense to me at all. Part of the problem may be the power source for the orb - it's only 1A but even if it's underpowered I can't see the drop from +10% to -10% /hour.
Second part of my query -- does anyone know if it would be effective (and safe!) to feed 1.2A to the orb & maybe get faster charge. Or maybe that would be enough to keep up with the Daydream drain?
FWIW the the USB charger (1.2A) is very fast, I get better than 1% per minute -- unaffected by Daydream.
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Click to collapse
So I'm using DashClock also and when it doesn't crash, my phone will charge just fine. Seems like about 3 hours total with daydream on, and about 2 hours with it off just regular charging. Here's my charger: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DOW1RD0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Seems like you have a defective charger but it is a really weird situation.
Thanks guys, the jump to 1.2A made a world of difference! It still seems strange, but I guess there's a minimum threshold for the phone to properly charge. (I am really guessing!) Plugging the OEM charger into my qi orb I finally get a positive charge with daydream -- not fast, but good enough to wake with a charged phone! Without daydream I just got about 36% in the past hour.
A quick scan of eBay and the only 1.2A USB supplies I can find are refurbished LG & cost as much as the full qi orb! (from US with crazy shipping costs on these - I'm in Canada) But there are lots of 1.5A blocks, cheap (and free shipping from China). So... do you think it would be safe to try the 1.5A? According to Play the Google qi comes with a 1.8A supply but I have no idea how much the pad modulates the power or if that is all in the phone itself. It would be nice to have fast wireless charging, but with the dramatic jump with just the .2A increase I may be looking at something too powerful.
My concerns are (in order) 1. Don't want to fry the phone!
2. Don't want to burn down my apartment!
3. Would rather not trash the orb. The orb was inexpensive so I'm willing to gamble on point # 3.
Advice / assurances / suggestions? Please.
Mr. Sprinkles said:
Also, if it came with a USB cable, don't use it. The wires are too small to carry a reasonable amount of current.
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I assume you mean USB out from PC since OEM charger is USB and orb power supply is USB as well. Point taken on PC charging though.
NotFromMountainView said:
Thanks guys, the jump to 1.2A made a world of difference! It still seems strange, but I guess there's a minimum threshold for the phone to properly charge. (I am really guessing!) Plugging the OEM charger into my qi orb I finally get a positive charge with daydream -- not fast, but good enough to wake with a charged phone! Without daydream I just got about 36% in the past hour.
A quick scan of eBay and the only 1.2A USB supplies I can find are refurbished LG & cost as much as the full qi orb! (from US with crazy shipping costs on these - I'm in Canada) But there are lots of 1.5A blocks, cheap (and free shipping from China). So... do you think it would be safe to try the 1.5A? According to Play the Google qi comes with a 1.8A supply but I have no idea how much the pad modulates the power or if that is all in the phone itself. It would be nice to have fast wireless charging, but with the dramatic jump with just the .2A increase I may be looking at something too powerful.
My concerns are (in order) 1. Don't want to fry the phone!
2. Don't want to burn down my apartment!
3. Would rather not trash the orb. The orb was inexpensive so I'm willing to gamble on point # 3.
Advice / assurances / suggestions? Please.
I assume you mean USB out from PC since OEM charger is USB and orb power supply is USB as well. Point taken on PC charging though.
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Click to collapse
The official orb charger comes with a 1.8a brick. You should be fine.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4
NotFromMountainView said:
Thanks guys, the jump to 1.2A made a world of difference! [...] you mean USB out from PC since OEM charger is USB and orb power supply is USB as well. Point taken on PC charging though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I mean if your orb uses a USB cable and came with one, don't use the cable it came with. They're often very cheap and add a lot of resistance which will increase charge time.
It wasn't the step up to 1.2A that made a world of difference, it's using a quality adapter that made the difference. Your 1A adapter must have been faulty or grossly overrated. Sounds like it was putting out less than 500mA.
As for a higher amperage power supply somehow damaging things? Not possible. The circuitry in the wireless charger is only going to use what it needs, you could hook it up to a 50A power supply and it'll still draw around 1A. The N5 is also input current limited to 1.2A, so using a crazy high amperage adapter won't have much benefit anyway.
Still, not a bad idea to get a 1.5A - 2A adapter to compensate for whatever current the wireless charger itself uses. This is probably why the official one includes a 1.8A adapter.
Mr. Sprinkles said:
10% per hour? Something's wrong. A wireless charger shouldn't take much longer than wired.
It's possible your adapter is a dud. Try using the 1.2a adapter, it'll be fine. If it still isn't faster, you might have a bad charger.
Also, if it came with a USB cable, don't use it. The wires are too small to carry a reasonable amount of current.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mr. Sprinkles said:
I mean if your orb uses a USB cable and came with one, don't use the cable it came with. They're often very cheap and add a lot of resistance which will increase charge time.
It wasn't the step up to 1.2A that made a world of difference, it's using a quality adapter that made the difference. Your 1A adapter must have been faulty or grossly overrated. Sounds like it was putting out less than 500mA.
As for a higher amperage power supply somehow damaging things? Not possible. The circuitry in the wireless charger is only going to use what it needs, you could hook it up to a 50A power supply and it'll still draw around 1A. The N5 is also input current limited to 1.2A, so using a crazy high amperage adapter won't have much benefit anyway.
Still, not a bad idea to get a 1.5A - 2A adapter to compensate for whatever current the wireless charger itself uses. This is probably why the official one includes a 1.8A adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
El Daddy & Mr. Sprinkles thanks, that's just the type of reassurance I needed!
just use the 2,1A amazon kindle charger with your orb... its cheap, safe and wont fry your phone
Gesendet von meinem Nexus 5 mit Tapatalk
Mr. Sprinkles said:
I mean if your orb uses a USB cable and came with one, don't use the cable it came with. They're often very cheap and add a lot of resistance which will increase charge time.
It wasn't the step up to 1.2A that made a world of difference, it's using a quality adapter that made the difference. Your 1A adapter must have been faulty or grossly overrated. Sounds like it was putting out less than 500mA.
As for a higher amperage power supply somehow damaging things? Not possible. The circuitry in the wireless charger is only going to use what it needs, you could hook it up to a 50A power supply and it'll still draw around 1A. The N5 is also input current limited to 1.2A, so using a crazy high amperage adapter won't have much benefit anyway.
Still, not a bad idea to get a 1.5A - 2A adapter to compensate for whatever current the wireless charger itself uses. This is probably why the official one includes a 1.8A adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So from what I heard wireless charging, like a pogo plug can charge at a higher rate than the micro USB port in some devices (I've heard pogo plug can go up to 2.5A where the micro USB in that device is limited to 1.8A). So I'm wondering as these qi chargers get better, will this also be true. Mine is a 1A but seems like it charges around .8A so it's maxed out. I guess this also raises the question as to how fast is good for a battery also.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
i am using a usb 3.0 extension cable, which is 15ft long. i notice charging is a bit slow when using the extension cable. i really want a long cable, the outlet layout in my room is weird. any cable that is 15 or even 10 feet long that doesn't interfere with charging time? or is this just a case of power attenuation?
I doubt you gonna find a cable like that... Also the power loss is normal for such a long cable. I still remember from my electronics class when the teacher told us, that the longer the cable is, the more power it looses
I think you can make 50m without big loss of power.
The Android Attorney said:
i am using a usb 3.0 extension cable, which is 15ft long. i notice charging is a bit slow when using the extension cable. i really want a long cable, the outlet layout in my room is weird. any cable that is 15 or even 10 feet long that doesn't interfere with charging time? or is this just a case of power attenuation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried measuring the charging current? You could try Ampere (http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-ampere-charging-meter-t3012890) to see if there is a real difference when comparing short/long cables. Then also, you might want to check if the charger - assuming you are using a charger and not simply charging from your pc - gives you the maximum output (galaxy s5 charges with 1.8A max, so a 2A-Charger would fit your needs best).
Kind regards,
Kenny
15ft cable isn't going to drop any noticeable amount
http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html
*Detection* said:
15ft cable isn't going to drop any noticeable amount
http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html
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Click to collapse
Taking run-of-the-mill usb cables (inc usb 3) as using an average of 24 gauge wires for the power lines, that calculator shows that 5v DC has a 15% drop over 15 feet, giving an output of 4.23v at 1 amp, and a drop of almost 31% at 2 amps giving an out put of just 3.46v.
The OP would need to get a good quality cable using 20 gauge wires for the power lines to reduce the voltage drop at 1 amp by just 6% or at 2 amp by 12%.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/JuicEBitz®-Charger-Android-Tablets-BlackBerry-Black/dp/B010XWJBXQ
A cheap and nasty cable over 15 feet will absolutely hammer the output.
A better option would be to use a 15ft mains extension lead to move the outlet source closer and keep the usb lead on the charger to 5 or 6ft.
My bad, I missed the 'USB' part, was thinking OP was talking about purely a DC power adapter cable
I run CCTV cameras @ 20ft with 12v DC
They make these things called extension cords! we use AC for the simple reason that it travels over long distances well. Google Bell vs Westinghouse !
Stachura5 said:
I doubt you gonna find a cable like that... Also the power loss is normal for such a long cable. I still remember from my electronics class when the teacher told us, that the longer the cable is, the more power it looses
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sullytrny said:
They make these things called extension cords! we use AC for the simple reason that it travels over long distances well. Google Bell vs Westinghouse !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two posts back already suggested using a mains extension instead of a 15ft usb lead
hundred_miles_high said:
Two posts back already suggested using a mains extension instead of a 15ft usb lead
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Click to collapse
anyone who needs to ask will not know what "mains" means, see it all the time in 3d printing with the HBP's
You need a custom Kernel and a Rom Customizer app like Boeffla Config where you can set the Charging Current to a fixed value not depending on cable length
The best USB cables I've ever used come from a company called MediaBridge. You can get them on amazon for pretty cheap, and they are extremely high quality cables. I use a 10ft, and my phone charges just as fast as it does on a 4-ft cable.
Anker cables are great... faster then the oem cables.. substantially!
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
Sean89us said:
The best USB cables I've ever used come from a company called MediaBridge......my phone charges just as fast as it does on a 4-ft cable.
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Click to collapse
This cable it is specified as Faster Charging (Up To 2.4A).
But it product design this does not give me much of confidence, yesterday ordered one REMAX 2.4A(Max) this seems to have what needed for a six feet 2.4A cable.
The downside with REMAX this is flexibility, lots of copper inside makes it hard to twist it, or hide it when this crossing your office furniture.
Regarding REMAX cables, I need some help here from someone with Chinese education.
I need to find their exact cable specifications.
In the picture below they do mention some details, but I can not understand if they use metric or AWG.
Use a stronger Block
Large power block this is not needed.
People with technical background in electronics, them will possibly find as interesting my new article.
http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=1153.0
I use these with 2A charger and get average of 1200mA charge. The guage of the wire is smaller (ie thicker) and it works!
So in summary 10 foot cable charging at over 1A.
http://www.amazon.com/iXCC-Element-Series-2-Piece-MicroUSB/dp/B00VU7PGPQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
pigphish said:
I use these with 2A charger and get average of 1200mA charge. The guage of the wire is smaller (ie thicker) and it works!
So in summary 10 foot cable charging at over 1A.
http://www.amazon.com/iXCC-Element-Series-2-Piece-MicroUSB/dp/B00VU7PGPQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
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19AWG for this cable, this is a marketing myth.
Kiriakos-GR said:
19AWG for this cable, this is a marketing myth.
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You can't argue with the fact that it works. I have 4 of these and they all perform well. If you want to pay for it I would be happy to crack one open and test the gauge on it.