I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried out the deluxe sync/charge kit that "Peakcloudy" sells on eBay.
I purchased one of these recently, and I have been afraid to try out the AC to USB adapter. This plug goes into a 120V AC socket and has a USB jack on it, which can connect to the sync cable to charge/operate the Axim. Peakcloudy told me (prior to the purchase) that the AC adapter put out 5.4 - 5.6 Volts, but when I got it, I noticed that the adapter was marked:
"Output 12Vdc, 400 mA, 3.6 W max".
Needless to say, I have been afraid to risk putting 12 V where the Axim wants to see 5 V. If you purchased one of these units from Peakcloudy, could you please check to see if yours also says 12V? If so, did you try connecting it to the Axim, and were you successful?
holy cow, mine says the same darn thing. I also got the same kit from this ebay seller. I've only wanted and tried the usb charge/sync cable. Haven't tried the battery pack, cigarette adaptor or a/c adaptor. I found this seller from a thread here on aximsite. Everyone including myself is very happy with the purchase . I'll give the a/c thingie a go tomorrow as I keep the cable part at work. Hope all goes well. I'll report back here.
b) the AC wall plug -> USB
This is the worst piece of the kit. Its uses an ac08 transformer (I cannot find a spec sheet for this part) to produce 12V, with an alleged (if you believe the sticker) sustained current of 300ma (3.6W / 12V = 300 mA). It then converts the 12V to 5.6V (the USB connector is 5.6V not 12V, I have measured it). Now in converting the 12V to 5.6V, they are probably going to lose at least 15% of the power, meaning this thing is putting out ~540mA AT BEST (this is calculated, not measured)... which is a shame since this power source should have been the best current source...so your USB charging is better. The conversion chip inside mine has the top etched off so you can't see the part #.. only interesting feature is the lack of pin # 6.
c) the car cigarette plug adaptor. This one is actually decent. They use an MC34063A part, which according to the spec sheet can supply 1.5A, which is good. I measured the output to be 5.38V. So this seems like a good part to me.
d)the battery extender. a good idea, but the x50v needs a lot of juice, and once the AAs in the battery pack drop off, you can end up in a reverse situation where the Axim battery is trying to charge the AAs (since most ppl intend to use rechargeable NiMHs. This reversal can drain your Axim battery ASAP. Not sure if there is an easy fix (ie. adding a diode) for this to prevent the reversal.
I usually get out my meter and check just to make sure. It could be he modified them for this use. Whether or not thats a good idea is up to you. I prefer to mod things myself :up_to_som
You can also check his feedback to see if anyones complained or asked about it.
b) the AC wall plug -> USB
This is the worst piece of the kit. Its uses an ac08 transformer (I cannot find a spec sheet for this part) to prodcue 12V, with an alleged (if you believe the sticker) sustained current of 300ma (3.6W / 12V = 300 mA). It then converts the 12V to 5.6V (the USB connector is 5.6V not 12V, I have measured it). Now in converting the 12V to 5.6V, they are probably going to lose at least 15% of the power, meaning this thing is putting out ~540mA AT BEST (this is calculated, not measured)... which is a shame since this power source should have been the best current source...so your USB charging is better. The conversion chip inside mine has the top etched off so you can't see the part #.. only interesting feature is the lack of pin # 6.
c) the car cigarette plug adaptor. This one is actually decent. They use an MC34063A part, which according to the spec sheet can supply 1.5A, which is good. I measured the output to be 5.38V. So this seems like a good part to me.
d)the battery extender. a good idea, but the x50v needs a lot of juice, and once the AAs in the battery pack drop off, you can end up in a reverse situation where the Axim battery is trying to charge the AAs (since most ppl intend to use rechargeable NiMHs. This reversal can drain your Axim battery ASAP. Not sure if there is an easy fix (ie. adding a diode) for this to prevent the reversal.
Mike
My experience matches what Mike has found. The wall charger works well only if the battery is already fully charged, and the battery extender works great up until a certain point at which you'd better disconnect or else you'd have nothing left!
I didn't take the extender apart but I don't believe the battery extender is an issue with reverse drain. I measured the AA battery terminals of the extender (PDA Power on/off & extender power on) and I don't see any voltage present with any combination of the terminals. I'll be giving it a real world test on a 9 hour flight next month.
Regarding the AC adapter, maybe if I get some time I'll post the voltage/current load curve.
My experience matches what Mike has found. The wall charger works well only if the battery is already fully charged, and the battery extender works great up until a certain point at which you'd better disconnect or else you'd have nothing left!
uh oh. I bought the eBay Peakcloudy kit yesterday before reading this thread. I figured with a 99.9% positive feedback rating on 17,000+ auctions, this guy wasn't selling crap.
So you mean that if my Axim battery is low, the kit's A/C charger simply won't charge it?! Is this true even if the Axim is turned off during charging?
Can the A/C charger be used to charge batteries in the extender or just the Axim's internal battery?
I didn't take the extender apart but I don't believe the battery extender is an issue with reverse drain. I measured the AA battery terminals of the extender (PDA Power on/off & extender power on) and I don't see any voltage present with any combination of the terminals.
You lost me there.. ;) no voltage would indeed solve the drain problem.. also would make charging rather slow :)
As for the reversing problem, I've seen it happen, it will drain the Axim battery lickety split.
The 2 questions I'd have are
a) what would happen with non-rechargeable batts (or is it simply when Vaxim > Vbatts that the problem begins)
b) can one insert a diode in series (ie. a schottky with 0.3V drop) so that current would only flow one direction... not that we really have 0.3V to spare when using NiMH batts)
Ok, here is what I have found.. the peakcloudy kit has 4 parts
.. the car cigarette plug adaptor. This one is actually decent. They use an MC34063A part, which according to the spec sheet can supply 1.5A, which is good. I measured the output to be 5.38V. So this seems like a good part to me....
Mike
I guess this is the only one that works out of the whole kit. Could you show me where can I find this?.. I went on ebay, most seller don't advertise the specs..
Thx!
Actually, it would be best if I can find a standard car charger with a regular round plug giving 5.4v at 1000mA (I am using the Dell extended battery) and use the provided Dell dongle to connect to the X50v!
I don't trust power provided by USB, since the X50v is using another pin for the 5.4v instead of the USB power standard 5v.As explained in various posts.
I've been doing a little testing today. I'll update this further over time. Hope this is useful!
First I ran my X50v down to 12% remaining battery. When you take it down that far you get a lot of "low battery" messages showing on the screen.
Extender Test
Test) @ 12% battery I connected the battery extender using AA alkaline batteries. Turned off the X50 and let it charge for 30 minutes. Result) Disconnected extender, turned X50 on. I didn't see any charging of battery.
Test) Connected extender, turned off X50 and let charge for another 30 minutes. Result) Disconnected extender, turned X50 on. Again I didn't see any charging of the battery.
Test) Connected extender, turned off X50 and tried to charge with the main battery @ 35%, 46%, 57% and 63%. Result) No noticeable charging of main battery!
Charging from Extender (my) conclusions: Doesn't charge main battery with alkalines. The power light turns on, but I didn't see any charging. Maybe it will extend the run time. Replaced all 4 AA alkaline Batteries
Test) Runtime duration without extender. Measured with uptime software program. Software Running: beta player, mort player with repeating song, bluetooth and WIFI on. Result) 25 minutes to battery at 80%
Test) Runtime duration with extender (4xAA alkaline Batt). Measured with uptime software program. Software Running: beta player, mort player with repeating song, bluetooth and WIFI on. Result) 25 minutes to battery at 81% (Tested Twice)
UpdateReplaced batteries with 4 AA NiMH 2200mAH purchased from Walmart[/B]
Test) Runtime duration with extender (4xAA NiMH). Measured with uptime software program. Software Running: beta player, mort player with repeating song, bluetooth and WIFI on. Result)
25 minutes battery at 100%
30 minutes battery at 100%
35 minutes battery at 100%
40 minutes battery at 96%
45 minutes battery at 91%
50 minutes battery at 87%
55 minutes battery at 80%
At this point I turned off the Axim let it charge from the extender. Currently at 95%.
My conclusion of Battery Extender = Don't use alkalines! I've seen many other posts which confirm the same. Higher current NiMH batteries seem to work well.
AC Adapter Test
Test) Discharged X50v to 9% battery (afraid to go further). Connected AC adapter, turned off x50 and let charge for 30 minutes. Result) Battery charging and now at 35%. I continued charging with no problems.
Charging from AC Adapter (my) conclusions: Charges the main battery with no problems. Seems to work great! I didn't try to charge with the X50v power on all of the time, but I believe it can.
Last edited by PalmtoPPC; 02-15-05 at 07:03 PM.
Reason: Testing Updates
Are you getting an orange light on the unit during this time that no charging seems to be happening?
I'd be curious what happens when you cradle the device (without the Dell AC plug)... I've been wondering if the USB 5V (by itself) is enough to charge it when it gets so low.
I'm not sure alkalines will cause the reversal situation, it may take rechargeables.
Q) Are you getting an orange light on the unit during this time that no charging seems to be happening?
A) Yes
Q) I'd be curious what happens when you cradle the device (without the Dell AC plug)... I've been wondering if the USB 5V (by itself) is enough to charge it when it gets so low.
A) I used the sync/charge cable provided with this kit (no AC plug). It definitely charges with the USB from my laptop with no problems.
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