Car charging cable for x50v - Page 2

msliberty · 10-11-09, 04:17 PM

I remember the same problem a long time ago and don't recall which chargers worked. My solution was to purchase a few extra batteries, keep them charged and change them. Of course, it is annoying to have to open the back of your Axim and change a battery, but I always knew it was there for me. Additionally, when I have my computer on, I keep my Axim at its side charging from the PC.

I find the short battery life of my laptops far worse, as new batteries cost almost $100. Good luck!
msliberty:love:

acejavelin · 10-13-09, 07:25 AM

Yeah, hate those laptop batteries. Work bought us all 12V to A/C converters that are hard wired into the company vehicle so we can use or charge on the go, but doesn't help at home.

Here is the response I got from Pocket Solutions:

"If the unit is less than 50% charged, it cannot be powered on while charging. Hope this helps."

And the answer was No, it really doesn't help.

Weird thing is, I took the unit out to the car after work, with a fully charged, standard battery installed and connected it to the car charger and it appeared to work as it should, the unit powered up, showed it was on external power and was charging the battery, played with it for about 10 minutes and all seemed well.

Think I need to do a little more experimenting and see what is going on there.

kcallahan · 10-13-09, 09:06 AM

At least the standard battery works O.K., like mine. I'll have to try my 2200 mAh battery in it and see if I get the same results. Right now I only use the extended battery if I'm not going to be on the charger for awhile.

G35 · 10-20-09, 04:59 PM

FYI, you can buy a car charger for a Sony PSP (Playstation Portable) to charge your Axim. The connector for the PSP is the cylindrical type and then you have to connect the Dell flat adapter to it but it works.

I lost my home charger and instead of buying a home charger, I am going to get an AC adapter that I can simply plug the 12V car plug into.

acejavelin · 10-20-09, 09:56 PM

PSP power supply sounds like a decent option, seen them locally for around $15-$20. I also see on eBay an extra "travel adapter" for the Axim can be had pretty cheap.

After this last weekend, 1300 miles in two days and several stops to "readjust" the power cord, I don't think I will try another Pocket Solutions charger, here was my experience:

- Will always charge standard battery when Axim is turned off, irregardless of tilt/pressure on connector

- Will always DISCHARGE the mega capacity (3600mAh) battery, even when turned off

- Will not power unit and charge simultaneously with standard battery until 90% charge, and even then it requires a fair amount of tension/pressure pulling back on the connector to power the unit but not to charge the battery

I had to fasten back the cable pretty cable pretty good to keep enough tension on the plug to maintain the connection to power the unit (not charge, kind of odd) with road vibration, and now the unit has to be "nudged" and wiggled to make the connection in the factory cradle but still works fine with the OEM travel adapter...

I could go on and on about a few other issues I had, but it pretty much doesn't matter anymore, I was so frustrated when I got back home that when I saw someone selling an vehicle GPS on Craigslist pretty cheap today, I picked it up and think I got a great deal. Not as nice as the iGuidance software I have in my Axim, but definately does the job for my needs.

Not to say anything bad about the Axim, for its main use for me (a real-time paperless geocaching GPS) it works great.

Now if I could just waterproof it with my CF GPS card installed, life would be perfect!!! Guess the gallon zipper baggies will have to do for now...

kcallahan · 10-21-09, 06:31 AM

The issue you're having requiring pressure on the cable is the connector on your AX. I'm wondering if that's creating the problem charging the extended battery.

acejavelin · 10-21-09, 05:57 PM

Possibly... I would still like a decent car charger or in this case maybe its a decent Axim, for when I am out all day geocaching, although maybe for now just getting another mega capacity battery and keeping it on hand will do the trick since they are alot cheaper than another Axim, but I think I will keep my eye out for another X50v or X51v, see them on CL around here every once in a while pretty cheap.

kcallahan · 10-21-09, 08:46 PM

That's why I now have two. You should be able to find one in the Classified forums here.

AlainB · 11-02-09, 09:25 AM

Here is my solution to this problem:

h t t p://w w w.electro-tech-online.com/general-electronics-chat/99495-pocket-pc-car-charger.html

Sorry! I am a newbie here. I can't post any link or image. Please remove the spaces between h t t p and w w w and have a look there.

Basicaly what I did was to get rid of the wire of the usb charger that I got from ebay (comming from Hong Kong) and changed it for an heavier gage. Heavier gage make a big difference. The x51v connector from this charger if of a good quality, with screws, and can be disassembled. The other side of the wire is connected to a 7805 voltage regutator.

Edit: I just tested an ordinary 1 amp. 5 volts car charger and it is charging fine as long as only the Axim connector part from the Hong Kong charger is used. If just plug it at the other end of the usb cable it is not working. So I have no doubt that usb wire gage is a big part of our problem.

I will order a few more "chargers" from Hong Kong just for the Axim connectors. They are extremely cheap, I ordered one and paid 4,26$ CAD for it (free shipping) delivered to my door about 10 days later. By the way, if they are not good for charging they are very good for data transfer. I can see on Ebay that there is differents chargers available. But do they work???

Alain

chopstks · 11-13-09, 12:24 PM

I don't know if this the best solution or has already been mentioned before. I also use my AXIM X50V with my Garmin GPS reciever. What I did was to buy one of those power inverter approx CAD$25(car charger plug on one end and allowing you to plug wall charger on the other end) from Canadian Tire Auto Dept. Not only could you charge pda and laptops, basically you could charge anything that has a home wall charger and within power stated on it.