Plug adapters for Hero charger

[drhe]

Is it posible to get alternative plug adapters for the Hero charger? Mine came with a UK plug (handy, since I live there) but it would be useful to be able to get US and European plugs for travelling, especially since I can use it as a generic USB charger for other devices.

I've been scouring Google-land, but no luck. Has anyone seen these for sale anywhere?

 

[ianr]

Personally I dumped the Hero charger and charger cable back into the box and put it in the loft, and just use a laptop and a very thin USB cable for charging when at my desk, and at home I have a much more compact USB power unit. You can get much better USB chargers than the Hero one, so I'd suggest you have a crack at that. I've even got a USB hub that's built into a 3-pin plug ;-)

You could have a look around for some funky iPod chargers, the iPod (certainly my 5G video) came with a charger with a USB connector in it like the Hero's.

 

[jimeller]

Why not just buy a European plug adapter? Very inexpensive.

 

[cdmackay]

Is it posible to get alternative plug adapters for the Hero charger? Mine came with a UK plug (handy, since I live there) but it would be useful to be able to get US and European plugs for travelling, especially since I can use it as a generic USB charger for other devices.

HTC sell them only as a pack:

HTC: Accessory store: Pocket PC Power Adaptors + Batteries: HTC Hero International Travel Charger TC P300 (2008 High Value ID Retail Box, incl. Acces. Bag): Description

although this much cheaper one should do fine, too:

HTC: Accessory store: Pocket PC Power Adaptors + Batteries: HTC Hero International Travel Charger TC P200: Description

but any USB charger will do, of course. And the HTC ones have a disadvantage in that they won't fit into other USB devices.

EDIT: the cheaper P200 one above is standard USB; it's only the fancy P300 that has the silly HTC connector that precludes plugging it into a non-HTC USB port. Why a cable included with a power charger has the audio-extended plug on it remains a mystery.

 

[cdmackay]

You can get much better USB chargers than the Hero one

intersting; how so? I'm no fan-boy, but what's wrong with the HTC chargers? They [claim to] give out a full 1A at 5V, unlike some cheapo USB chargers I've seen.

 

[prepbgg]

The Hero's USB socket seems to be a different shape from standard ... the bottom right corner is bevelled. Is it OK to use a standard-shaped plug in this socket (for data transfer as well as charging)?

 

[justjimjpc]

The Hero's USB socket seems to be a different shape from standard ... the bottom right corner is bevelled. Is it OK to use a standard-shaped plug in this socket?

For DATA and earphone the connector will match exactly the connector on the phone ,,,

But for charging alone ... the charging connector will generally be beveled on both bottom corners ... so it can fit different types of mini-usbs..

There are adapters available for power, audio, data .. I use ones from HTC ...

 

[Wahwah]

The Hero's USB socket seems to be a different shape from standard ... the bottom right corner is bevelled. Is it OK to use a standard-shaped plug in this socket (for data transfer as well as charging)?

It won't fit, will it?

 

[cdmackay]

The Hero's USB socket seems to be a different shape from standard ... the bottom right corner is bevelled. Is it OK to use a standard-shaped plug in this socket (for data transfer as well as charging)?

Yes, it's completely fine to use a standard mini-USB plug in the Hero's socket, for both power/charging and for data transfer. I do both all the time.

The non-standard HTC cable I believe can add an extra audio connection, but that's purely optional.

[I believe it's now an EU requirement that all new phone support mini-USB]

 

[cdmackay]

It won't fit, will it?

Yes, it fits fine

 

[prepbgg]

OK. I've gone ahead and used the cable supplied with my Canon Ixus camera. It seems to work fine for both data and charging (and seems to fit OK despite the bevel).

Incidentally, aren't these microUSB, not miniUSB?

 

[cdmackay]

Incidentally, aren't these microUSB, not miniUSB?

mmm, not sure. I think there are multiple sizes of mini-USB, and I know there is a *smaller* still size, which I'd assumed was micro.

 

[cdmackay]

Universal Serial Bus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I believe that the ones that fit in the Hero are Mini-B.

 

[cdmackay]

Note that the text in that last link suggests that it's Micro that is being used in new phones....

Still, my Nokia E71 had a *much* smaller connector than the Hero, and I had assumed that this was micro-USB.

i still think the Hero uses Mini-B

 

[prepbgg]

Yes, you're right. The specification on the HTC website says "11 pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one".

 

[wuthton]

Yes, you're right. The specification on the HTC website says "11 pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one".

Yes, the hero uses an 11 pin mini USB. The most common type is an 8 pin, which is used on many phones and cameras.

 

[cdmackay]

The most common type is an 8 pin, which is used on many phones and cameras.

you mean 5-pin, surely?