Does anyone know where I could get some microUSB charging cables with the D+ and D- data lines shorted already? (i.e. charging cable only, not for data).
Rather not take apart (Read: Destroy) my microUSB cables I use for data. I have USB wall-warts and USB cigarette lighter adapters which supports drawing 1A from the ports.
Thanks!
Cheers,
Kermee
If your like me and still have plenty of mini usb devices around, you would be best off getting a mini to micro converter off ebay, these already have the pins shorted so my wife and kids can still charge up their stuff and its quite easy to pop on/off the adapter depending on what you want to charge.
There's an easy method to "short" the data pins.
You just need a short USB "leading" (6-12' or 15-30cm extension) cable, a piece of double-sided tape and aluminum foil.
stick the tape to the foil, then cut to the size that can cover both center pins on the jack side of USB leading cable, and plug the microUSB cable, that's it.
You can do the same trick for PSPGo stock USB cable too!
I'm interested in this too. Anyone know of any sites? or at least a microusb to microusb WITH shorted pins adapter?
PhantomRampage said:
I'm interested in this too. Anyone know of any sites? or at least a microusb to microusb WITH shorted pins adapter?
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You have to custom make it.
Do you know of any tutorials on how to do this?
Sorry for the bump but i really want to try this out, can anyone give me more specific instructions? I dont know too much about cable wiring
Buy a USB extender cable, cut the cable in half, connect the red from the plug side to red from the socket side, connect black from the plug side to black from the socket side, leave the white and green from the plug side unconnected (tape over the ends), and twist together the white and green from the socket side. Solder, then electrical tape or heat shrink all the connections. Now plug the cable into any USB charger that provides 700-1000mA, plug your micro-usb cable into the socket end, and plug it into your phone.
Thanks man, i appreciate the help.
Got it working :]
I've decided to make my own cables. Then using red heat-shrink tubing where I made the cut & modification so it would denote it's for "USB charging" only with the data-lines cut ("floating) towards the host and bridged/shorted on the device side.
I was going to make several of these so if there's enough interest, I'm willing to make several extra of these to sell for a nominal price if anyone is interested.
Cheers,
Kermee
I have one of these, for charging only, which I have plugged into my work computer.
Picked it up at some store near where I live, in Hong Kong.
Had no idea it was just for charging (actually, didn't even know you could buy such cables).
I'm probably going to get rid of it though, as I would like the ability to transfer data as well.
You do know that your phone will charge twice as fast with that cable right?
PhantomRampage said:
You do know that your phone will charge twice as fast with that cable right?
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Yep, the charge on the cable at work is really slow! But I'm not too bothered as it just sits there during the day.
Be aware of that, the phone may get hot when charging because more current is allowed to speed up charing.
mingkee said:
Be aware of that, the phone may get hot when charging because more current is allowed to speed up charing.
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Yes, it does get a bit hot.
In any case, like I said, I'll probably buy a proper sync cable instead in the next few days.
pokey9000 said:
Buy a USB extender cable, cut the cable in half, connect the red from the plug side to red from the socket side, connect black from the plug side to black from the socket side, leave the white and green from the plug side unconnected (tape over the ends), and twist together the white and green from the socket side. Solder, then electrical tape or heat shrink all the connections. Now plug the cable into any USB charger that provides 700-1000mA, plug your micro-usb cable into the socket end, and plug it into your phone.
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Just wanted to say thanks for posting up this info (for some reason thank button isn't showing for this thread). Ordered some USB extension cables today, can't wait to try this out. I've long been plagued with not getting enough juice my USB car charger, now I know why.
Edit: BTW, what's the reason for using the USB extender cable for this, couldn't you just cut an existing USB cable in half and short the D+/D- wires? I'm guessing you cut the extender cable so that you can disconnect the intact USB cable and then it would still transmit data if you desired?
cryptiq said:
Edit: BTW, what's the reason for using the USB extender cable for this, couldn't you just cut an existing USB cable in half and short the D+/D- wires? I'm guessing you cut the extender cable so that you can disconnect the intact USB cable and then it would still transmit data if you desired?
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You could do that too if you like. I have a big pile of 4" extenders from USB flash drives and wifi dongles and didn't really consider cutting up a microusb cable.
pokey9000 said:
You could do that too if you like. I have a big pile of 4" extenders from USB flash drives and wifi dongles and didn't really consider cutting up a microusb cable.
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Just to confirm that I'm understanding the shorting of the D+ / D- wires together, the short needs to be on the side of the cable which is connected to the phone, yes?
The D+ / D- wires which are on the side of the cable plugged into the car charger just need to be covered w/ electrical tape and not touching each other when connected back together, yes?
I drew out a sketch based on your outline of what's connected back to what, and that's what I came up with. The shorting of the D+ / D- wires going to the phone must be how the phone realizes that there's not a data connection to be made, so instead will just look for max power? If the D+ / D- lines weren't shorted when connected to the phone (but instead just not connected based on the cable), would the phone just assume USB and charge slower at that point?
Thanks for your help and clarification! I think I'm understanding what you're outlining.
jones4725 said:
Just to confirm that I'm understanding the shorting of the D+ / D- wires together, the short needs to be on the side of the cable which is connected to the phone, yes?
The D+ / D- wires which are on the side of the cable plugged into the car charger just need to be covered w/ electrical tape and not touching each other when connected back together, yes?
I drew out a sketch based on your outline of what's connected back to what, and that's what I came up with. The shorting of the D+ / D- wires going to the phone must be how the phone realizes that there's not a data connection to be made, so instead will just look for max power? If the D+ / D- lines weren't shorted when connected to the phone (but instead just not connected based on the cable), would the phone just assume USB and charge slower at that point?
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Yes, leave the charger side (USB plug) unconnected and preferrably insulated, and the phone side (USB socket) shorted. Before a USB link is established, both a USB host and USB device will set and check for different voltages on the D+ and D- pins to determine what's at the other end. This is just an extension of that and is safe for the device.
pokey9000 said:
Yes, leave the charger side (USB plug) unconnected and preferrably insulated, and the phone side (USB socket) shorted. Before a USB link is established, both a USB host and USB device will set and check for different voltages on the D+ and D- pins to determine what's at the other end. This is just an extension of that and is safe for the device.
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Thanks very much for confirming! I'm going to short two micro USB cables I've got for car use only.
(Yes I mention android development but this is regarding a 'general' topic)
As an android app developer, it's pretty much mandatory that I have my devices plugged into the computer for ADB. However, with wifi / bluetooth / GPS / screen brightness turned on or cranked up, I also need to have the device plugged into something that provides more than the measly 500mA that the computer's USB port can provide. From what I've been able to gather, the USB standard requires that USB hubs and ports cannot supply more than 500mA to a connected device. However, I suspect that there are manufacturers out there that are aware of the need for simultaneous charging + connectivity and have made special cables specifically for this (What I'm thinking of is a Y usb cable where one end plugs into the device, one plugs into the computer and only uses the data wires, and the other plugs into the charger which feeds and charges the device.) Do any of you know if something like this exists and where I can find one? I've definitely tried to Google for it but the phrases I'm using are long and not producing the right results. I obviously don't know the correct term(s) to search for.
If I knew a bit more about circuitry in general and the USB standard specifically, I could probably solder together a cable like this with a couple diodes to prevent the charger from zapping the motherboard's USB, or perhaps, as mentioned, not connect the power wires at all. I do have 6-8 spare cables laying around but I'd rather not start chopping and black-taping unless I get some confirmation Plus I only have one female end to mangle, so... yeah ;p
My idea for the splice & solder (in case no commercially available alternative exists):
Code:
computer - 2 data -----\
|----------------- device
charger - 2 power -----/
Most chargers and phones have some kind of regulator circuit built-in anyway, at least that's the impression I'm under. Generally if you crack open a charger there are only two cables black and red (+/-) which makes things considerably easier but that's assuming you have a charger that's just for charging and not one that requires you already have a usb cable to plug into it (like some that come with phones now). Standard wiring color schemes applied to all the cables I've cut open and spliced so as long as you go black/black red/red from the charger and leave the other wires untouched you should be ok. You'll know if something's wrong quickly because your phone will get quite a bit hotter than normal and do so faster, and you shouldn't need to add any components as they're already in the charger circuit (diodes to prevent current flow-back, resistors and the transformer to convert to dc, capacitors to smooth the current, etc). Just use common sense when working with this, don't solder until you test, don't splice wires together that don't seem right, use a multimeter to make sure you're getting the proper wires, don't work on anything while it's live unless you're properly insulated and even then not if you can help it, all that jazz.
Yeah, my biggest concern would be that I was told that some USB devices negotiate current requirements with the motherboard, which I'd assume goes over the two data wires, but I remember landline phones have 2 wires but both power and data flow over it, so I wasn't completely confident that the two power wires weren't passing data as well. If I run the 2 data to the computer and the 2 power to the charger, and it turns out that the negotiation requires all 4 wires be connected from the device to the computer, then I've just ruined two good cables.
I just am not so super confident in my logic and theorizing that I'd want to risk frying circuitry If I can nab a commercially available accessory that does this for $30 it's a lot less than having to buy another $700 device and a new $200 motherboard (at the least)
I don't think you really have to worry, but I wouldn't replace the charger wires, I'd connect the wires from the charger to the power lines inside the usb cable that way even when the charger isn't plugged in the phone is still getting some power and it'd basically be hooking them up in parallel when the usb and charger are plugged in. You could always go buy a $20/$30 cheapo phone that connects through microusb-to-usb and test the cable on that through a USB hub. that way if something goes wrong you're only losing a cheapo phone and a usb hub, but honestly things shouldn't fry as long as you get the wiring right and don't try to do something like black to red because then you're feeding power from the charger back into the usb socket which is where things get ugly.
I think i've found something on the interwebs, that will actually save you the wire-splicing and soldering
It is actually just what you described, it uses 2 USB ports in order to provide 1000mA to a device.
dealextreme.com/p/cable-style-dual-power-1000ma-usb-2-0-4-port-hub-13526
Sorry for the inconvience with the url, atm i'm not yet allowed to post links directly... :/
Xadro said:
I think i've found something on the interwebs, that will actually save you the wire-splicing and soldering
It is actually just what you described, it uses 2 USB ports in order to provide 1000mA to a device.
dealextreme.com/p/cable-style-dual-power-1000ma-usb-2-0-4-port-hub-13526
Sorry for the inconvience with the url, atm i'm not yet allowed to post links directly... :/
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I know that some of the smaller usb external drives have a cable that has 2 "type-a" connectorsto allow data connection/enough power for the drive. I have not seen these in micro-usb form, only mini-usb. SO, I do not see why it would not work.
papabear said:
I know that some of the smaller usb external drives have a cable that has 2 "type-a" connectorsto allow data connection/enough power for the drive. I have not seen these in micro-usb form, only mini-usb. SO, I do not see why it would not work.
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Agreed, USB offers about 2.5v of charge aswell as data connectivity of course, I don't understand why it wouldn't work... I can tell you from experence through that it does take about 40% longer, and will suck the life out of a laptop if you are using it on battery mode.
The reason I was thinking about cutting the power wires from the computer entirely is I don't know what dumping 1-2 amps into the computer's USB port is going to do ;p
Edit: Looks like newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707145&cm_re=2a_output_usb-_-17-707-145-_-Product should do what I'm interested in, if the details are legitimate. Who knew finding a hub with full details would be so hard? ><
LycaonX said:
The reason I was thinking about cutting the power wires from the computer entirely is I don't know what dumping 1-2 amps into the computer's USB port is going to do ;p
Edit: Looks like newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707145&cm_re=2a_output_usb-_-17-707-145-_-Product should do what I'm interested in, if the details are legitimate. Who knew finding a hub with full details would be so hard? ><
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just as papabear already said, there are also external hdd, that use this kind of wire.. so it should be no problem. If the ports arent't capable of delivering that power (but as far as i know they are designed for 500mA each), simply you will not get the the full 1 A.
And i must agree, hardware vendors rarely add detailed power info -.-
Hi,
My TF101 won't charge anymore. The original charger stopped working a while back, which is when I first switched to a 12v 1.5a charger with USB tip from Radioshack. ---Insert long story about using the charger last night to charge a drill battery and possibly shorting some wires in bad ways---. I just bought a brand new adapter from Radioshack. Plugged in my tablet, the battery charging icon pops up for a second then goes away and there are no other signs of charging. Same thing happens when I plug it into one of my computer's 12v rails (similar to this). I think it might be trickle charging, but I haven't yet left it alone for more than an hour or so. Same thing happened when I plugged it into a 19v laptop adapter (swapped out the barrel tip with my USB tip). The USB tip is a single unchanged variable in all of these tests, but when I was at Radioshack I quickly tested the new adapter with a new tip, and it did not work, so I don't think the USB tip is the problem, but maybe. A multimeter shows correct voltage from both adapters and computer. I can't seem to get any reading from the female USB tip plug, but I also don't know where the put the meter leads, when I put them both inside the plug I got some sparks so I stopped.
Could there be something wrong with the tablet itself?
Thanks,
Marc
Edit: Or how can I test the 30-pin connector that goes into the tablet with a multimeter?
I've got a plan to install the sony DK48 magnetic dock into my car.
I intend to fix the dock to the top of the dashboard using velcro (so that it can be removed if necessary). I'll bend some thin black acetal plastic rods and glue these onto the dock to stabilise the phone in the dock. I'm going to solder the charging cable onto the cigarette lighter socket, run the cable behind all the fascia panels, the radio and up to the top of the dash.
Anyone got any advice on soldering a usb charging cable onto the cigarette socket. At the moment I'm planning to use the electrics out of a dismantled USB-cigarette socket, but wonder whether it might be better/neater to solder the cable straight to the socket with correct resistors in place, but I'm not sure exactly what I would need.
Anyone got any other advice?
Hoping to get this done sometime next week and will post photos if it all works.
Whoa whoa wait a minute... Sorry if I am reading what you are saying incorrectly but are you saying you want to consider just solder the usb cable directly on to the cigarette lighter and use some resistors to split the voltage so that you will get 5V at the charger??? If that is the case do not do that! A cigarette lighter is 12V so if you can get the resisters to be 7V that means the charger is 5V right? No! It's not that straight forward. Thing is that yes a cigarette lighter is 12V... but it's not a constant 12V. The voltage is just happens to be whatever it is at the time. It ranges from like 10V-15V depending on if your car battery is low or the car is running. When charging the car battery the voltage has to be higher than 12V. I know in my car it's about 14V when running. So when your car is running the cigarette lighter would be 14 and you would be shoving too much voltage into the Z3. Defiantly don't want to fry that expensive Z3!
So yes you defiantly want to keep the circuitry for the car charger. What the circuit does makes it so that it outputs a clean constant 5V with up to 2.1A of current (depending on the model). It cleans up any spikes that may come from the alternator and has safeties on top of that to make sure neither too much voltage or current will end up in your usb port.
Back to your original question. If you can get to the wires right behind the cigarette lighter (behind/under the dash) you could splice into the wires there. There is usually a lot of space you can shove stuff in there. Get something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-Female-...ocket-Plug-Connector-Plug-Cable-/271275968209
And just splice it into the wires. Just two wires, cut, strip, solder, tape and done. No disassembling of charger is needed. Plug in your charge to the socket and run it up your dash. Just keep all of that hidden behind all of the panels and no one can tell you even tapped into the cigarette lighter.
Side note: Please please please do not buy a dirt cheap car charger. Like some random $1 eBay charger from China. There is a reason why it's $1. Short answer: the electricity coming out is probably questionable. Also there probably no safety standards. This rule usually applies more to the AC wall adapters (those $1 AC adapters you should avoid like the plague!) but I prefer to live by the same rule. If the electricity coming out of it is dirty then you will be slowly killing your battery quicker than normal. You will start wondering why your battery life is so poor probably like after a year...
Good point about the variable voltage coming out of the car socket. I'll do it the safe way then and use the hardware from a usb/car adapter. The rest *should* be easy.
Just in case anyone is interested I installed the Sony Magnetic Charging dock onto the dashboard of my car. The magnets hold the phone very well, its stable, and hasn't fallen out in 6 months use. I wired a usb cable from the 12 V socket via a 12V - USB adapter as suggested above.
I'm very pleased with the end result and have a neat method of using my phone as a satnav without all the mess of sticking a holder on the window and cables running everywhere. Its also much quicker to place the phone into or out of the magnetic dock than it is to clamp it in a normal holder.