siorange

Hi, i was just wondering if any of you guys have a USB car charger and what your thoughts are on it. Will I be able to charge and use my x50 at the same time say for GPS? I've read somewhere that some of the car chargers only allow you to charge but if you use your pda the charge stops. any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

milp

I have ALWAYS said it and I'll say it again:
To HELL with car chagers !!

Why dont you all folks get a decent Car Battery inverter. Get a cheaper 200W one if U cant affort 500 or 700W one.

The inverter fits in your cigarette lighter hole and it has got 2, 3 or 4 regular wall outlets. Get one which has got atleast 2 outlets.
Now that you have 2 regular wall outlet capability in your car you can use a barage of electronic devices right in the car. It is a one time investment and can take care of your Laptop, PDA, cell phone charger, small TV, GPS, and a LOT more electronic devices that unnecessary charge you $$ for buying different car chargers !

Note: The cigarette outlet in the car allows a max of 120W. A higher wattage device plugged in the inverter will cause the fuse in the inverter to be blown (better than the fuse in the car to be blown). So be careful and dont think that just because you got a 700W inverter, U can attach a 1000W vacuum cleaner or hair-dresser ! Well, at least NOT THROUGH your cigarette output.

If you want to take advantage of the full 700W converting power, then you will have to connect the inverter to the car battery directly, and with the car engine running.

This is helpful when you are camping and you want to run a rice-cooker or a vacuum or maybe even a mini fridge.

An inverter, IMO is the most cost effective investment all us gadgeteers can make.

Amen.

siorange

Thanks for the input, i think its a bit too bulky for my taste. Can anyone else that have used a USB car charge chime in?

JakeRich

Read the sticky thread at the top of this forum about power requirements. The X50 draws a LOT of power in charging mode. More than most cigarette lighter adapters can handle. Read the thread, decide how you want to use the adapter and then you can make an informed purchase.

__________________
Want to know about GPS? See GPS 101. Want to know more? See GPS 201.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)

siorange

Will do, thanks.

siorange

This is the one that i'm talking about...planning on using the cradle in the car..

http://images.auctionworks.com/fullV...SBCCAD1_es.jpg

JakeRich

With no specs, it's impossible to see if it has sufficient power. I'd say BUYER BEWARE applies here.

__________________
Want to know about GPS? See GPS 101. Want to know more? See GPS 201.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)

siorange

Hey Jake,

I wrote semsons and this is what they replied with....

"Dell PDA uses a lot of power. If you use USB cigarette adapter, the charging will be very slow.

The regular AC charger is 5.4V @ 2A. The USB can output 5V @ 850mA. Thus, the charging time is more than double compared to factory AC charger."

So my question is, theoretically it will still charge right, just at a slower rate?

JakeRich

It all depends on how they have wired the connector and which battery you have installed. In the sticky thread Kenban said,

Quote:

The axim was off so all current mesurements are done over time and not the % charge of the battery. Tests were done on the 2200mAh battery and I will redo them for the 1100mAh battery soon. Samples were taken every second for 10,000 samples (about 2 hours 45 minutes) by which time the battery was fully charged. For the first 6,000 samples the current was pretty constant at 925mA then has a pretty steep drop until it reaches 100mA at around the 9,600 second. At that point the current dropped from 100mA to 6mA which showed the battery was fully charged.

and

Quote:

I did a second test this time with a 1100mAh battery. I think this might help explain why some people seem to have more problems then others. The 1100mAh battery has a much lower charging current then the 2200mAh battery. The charging started at 630mA and remained flat for most of the charging. I was watching the data from time to time and was able to notice when the current started to go down and turned on the axim to check the battery %. I found that it happened around 67% so I expect if you really want to use one of these cables and use a computer USB port you should have no problems at all if you leave the axim off, have a 1100mAh battery in it and the battery is at 70% or more.

Note that these power requirements are with the Axim OFF. With it on there is an additional draw of as much as 450 mA. So 850 mA is ok to charge and operate with a standard battery, if the battery isn't too much discharged, and should charge even a dead battery with it off. Just be careful when you first try to use the cable with a mostly-discharged battery. If the charge is at the full draw and if the axim draws enough to cause it to go over 850mA the battery will actually discharge faster!

On the extended battery 850mA MAY work if the battery is not discharged, but the risks are much higher. If the battery is fully discharged, the 850mA probably won't work at all.

__________________
Want to know about GPS? See GPS 101. Want to know more? See GPS 201.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)