KenKK

I just received this yesterday. I bought it from one of the sponsers
byGPSnow.
731 i-Blue Edition 2 (i-Blue 737)(32 channel, WAAS, Auto On/Off) + Powered GPS Ready Cradle Mount

The order went fine. In fact I paid extra to have it shipped
next day and it had to travel from the West Coast to the East Coast.
I got it next day as promised.

My only concern is the charger. I thought the spec stated it would run
both the Dell Axim X51V and GPS receiver along with charge them both
at the same time.

My observation: It starts off doing this then after about 10 minutes the
orange charging light on the Dell Axim goes out. I know the unit is not fully
charged since the battery was drained very low for this test.
I also noticed if I look at the settings on the Axim the charging indicated
scrolling bar has stopped.

The interesting thing is the Axim and the GPS will continue to run fine.
If I shut the craddle charger off I get the low battery warning then it finally
shuts down. (This was my starting indicator prior to placing the Dell in cradle).
That proves no charging took place.

I tested this on my bench with a 13.8V 30amp supply which has
both voltage and current meters. It has a cig lighter socket making this easy.
I noted the current drawn drops in half when it stops charging. This is the case
after about 10 minutes or so.

Anyone else have this same issue. I need to go back and read the spec.
Maybe I got it wrong.
What I did notice is a label on the side of the cradle states 5v at 2 amps.
That sounds good however the spec for the Dell Charger is 5.4v at 2.4amps.
I never have a charging issue with the Dell stock charger regardless if the unit
is on with video (wrose case for charging) or powered off charging.

Ken

KenKK

I did a little more experimenting.

What I found is it will not charge the unit and operate both
the Axim and GPS at the same time. It will run them both
but not charge. If I shut the Axim off after a few minutes
the orange light comes back on indicating it is charging.
If I turn the Axim on it will continue to charge for a few minutes
then stop charging with the orange light shutting off.
It will keep the unit running regardless of battery state.

When the battery is fully charged I want to see if the charger keeps
the green light on.

KenKK

JakeRich

It probably will. This lengthly thread discusses the power demands of the Axim series. 5v 2A is sufficient to run, but probably not to charge from a fully dead battery at the same time, particularly if you have the screen bright, CPU at full speed and WiFi on. But with the battery mostly full (which is what LI Ion batteries like!) then that 5v 2A should be able to keep it that way and run the Ax/GPS at the same time.

akao

Hi,

My theory is that the battery gets to hot. Nearly all new devices are designed to prevent the battery from overheating. One way to test this idea is to simply heat up an empty battery (exposure to sun), and see if the Axim will charge it.

Even without this test, KenKK's experience that turning the Axim for a few *minutes* helps indicates that it is not the energy draw of the powered Axim, but something that takes a while to change, like heat dissipation.


Cheers.

JakeRich

Originally Posted by akao

Hi, My theory is that the battery gets to hot. Nearly all new devices are designed to prevent the battery from overheating. One way to test this idea is to simply heat up an empty battery (exposure to sun), and see if the Axim will charge it. Even without this test, KenKK's experience that turning the Axim for a few *minutes* helps indicates that it is not the energy draw of the powered Axim, but something that takes a while to change, like heat dissipation. Cheers.

If it's heat, it could also be the charger overheating as it carries the high current the Ax will draw with a totally dead battery. I think that's more likely than the battery itself being the heat source. If it were the battery, the LED would stay lit because it still saw power from the charger.

KenKK

I have noticed with a dead battery in the Dell stock charger, powered up,
and running video, it charges and works fine.

The stock charger is rated at 5.4 volts at 2.4 amps. The cradle charger
is rated at 5v at 2.0 amps. My current mesurements using a bench
supply and current meter indicate with a dead battery with Axim powered and
playing video, of about 1.3 amps continuous. I wonder if the cradle charger
can't handle this continous where the stock charger can.

You make an interesting point of the battery getting hot. Some batteries
have a componet in series with the batteries when warm it add series resistance
reducing current flow. Yet the Dell charger has no problems.

KenKK

Originally Posted by akao

Hi, My theory is that the battery gets to hot. Nearly all new devices are designed to prevent the battery from overheating. One way to test this idea is to simply heat up an empty battery (exposure to sun), and see if the Axim will charge it. Even without this test, KenKK's experience that turning the Axim for a few *minutes* helps indicates that it is not the energy draw of the powered Axim, but something that takes a while to change, like heat dissipation. Cheers.

KenKK

It was determined by the company it would not continuously charge and power the unit.
I decided to keep it since they said it was offered as a gift at the $5.00 dollar price over the cost of the GPS
and that would be what the refund would be. Nothing was offered towards the shipping
as originally promised. I was little disappointed with that.

The bottom line is if your ppc has a fully charged battery it will keep it charged while using it.
It does for some period of time charge and power the unit. Then it stops charging the ppc but
continues to power it. When you factor the $5.00 refund it just made sense to keep it.
Interesting how it sells for $35.

KenKK


The company I bought it from asked me to do a couple test.
They wanted to know if above 25% battery state would the cradle
charge. In my case it only charged and powered the Axim, w/ GPS
for less than 20 minutes. Then the orange light on the Axim shut off.
Checking the state of the battery indicated it was only slight higher
than what I started with.

The company told me they will replace it and help concerning the
over night shipping I paid.
That sounds fair enough to me.
I might also add it was not difficult dealing with them at all considering
it is strickly email only for communications.
I did feel a little uncomfortable with email only, however they did repsond.
The GPS receiver is awesome. I am surprised at how many satellites it
can receive in my house never mind from the dashboard of the car!

KenKK

Originally Posted by KenKK

I have noticed with a dead battery in the Dell stock charger, powered up, and running video, it charges and works fine. The stock charger is rated at 5.4 volts at 2.4 amps. The cradle charger is rated at 5v at 2.0 amps. My current mesurements using a bench supply and current meter indicate with a dead battery with Axim powered and playing video, of about 1.3 amps continuous. I wonder if the cradle charger can't handle this continous where the stock charger can. You make an interesting point of the battery getting hot. Some batteries have a componet in series with the batteries when warm it add series resistance reducing current flow. Yet the Dell charger has no problems. KenKK