Accessories I recommend this car charger

[blafarm]

Just to chime in ...

With the Scosche listed by OP (which I regret buying two of) -- I just took an 8 hour drive with everything turned on (BT, WiFi, GPS, Navigation App with Google Earth Layer on, Screen Brightness on high and Music playing the whole time -- and I watched my battery drop from 100% to 30%.

Going the with Griffin 2.1 -- which unfortunately does not come in a 2-port version -- but which seems to be significantly smaller than the equivalent higher-powered Scosche model.

 

[kennychaffin]

I'm not sure you understand the reason for my thread. Most cell phone car chargers are 500-600mA. The great thing about this charger is that it has TWO 1000mA ports. It will charge your battery even if you are using GPS, pandora, etc. With a 500-600mA charger, the battery will drain faster than it's charging.

The home adapter that came with my Droid X is rated at 850 ma so I'd suspect that anything over that would be optimal.

1 A for example.

 

[Daddy Freddy]

How do I tell if phone is charging in AC or USB?

 

[kennychaffin]

The battery icon on the phone should be indicating it...li'l lightning bold and changing colors..

 

[cygnusloop]

How do I tell if phone is charging in AC or USB?

Settings>About Phone>Status>Battery status

 

[Daddy Freddy]

thanks..powerjolt ipad car charger + mono 28/24 g wire = ac

 

[kwest12]

ugh..... Stupid double posts

 

[kwest12]

I went ahead and grabbed the powerjolt 2 and 3 of those 10 foot monoprice cables w/ ferrite (about ten our eleven bucks shipped!)

Now I need another usb wall charger: after a good but of looking for a solid 2 amp charger I think I've found a suitable one. Basically I just searched around for cheap ipad chargers during my search, and here's what I found.
Amazon:Customer reviews:Crazyondigital High Capacity Dual USB 2.1A Home Travel Wall Charger for Apple iPad 3G / WiFi model 16GB, 32GB, 64GB with USB Data Cable. Free Crazyondigital Wirstband included.

It's obviously I cheap charger with less than perfect build quality, but based on the reviews it seems to serve its purpose pretty well (I recommend reading all 6 of them). Any thoughts guys?

 

[twister6]

Sounds good from description and reviews! and a decent value for 2A dual usb charger under $10. Let us know how it works when you get it!

 

[ksdaoski]

lhttp://www.myincipio.com/product/MFI_CHARGER_IP-641/Mini-Auto-Car-Charger-with-Charge-Sync-Cable-Mini-USB-Cable.htm

Bought this at kohls in store around 18 after discounts. Rated at 1000 out.

Mini Auto Car Charger with Charge Sync Cable & Mini USB Cable

 

[Lightninrod]

I'm going assume this is not putting out enough power to keep it charged in this scenario. I ordered the Motorola P513 Vehicle Power Adapter MicroUSB Rapid Rate Charger from amazon. Hopefully this has enough amperage to keep up?

Far as I can tell, it does. I got mine last week(even cheaper now) and used it with the X using Nav, Blutooth, and 100% screen brightness and it increased the X's battery voltage from 80% to 100% in a little over an hour of driving. So glad its cord is longer than the stock VZW charger/cord.

 

[Napalm]

Got home from work today and found my Scosche USBC3 I ordered last week on my doorstep. Did some testing and here's what I found. My DX shows AC charging when plugged into either port. My girlfriend's Dinc stats USB charging. Tested the charger itself using my multimeter and verified that the data connections are not shorted. I tested this at the USB ports and opened the unit (comes apart rather easily) and tested the pins on the board as well. So the question is, why does the DX indicate AC charging, while the Dinc does not? It seems it can be a bit more complicated. The USB spec also refers to what they call "charging downstream port." Basically, when there is no data transmission, and it detects a voltage within a certain range (the values are a bit confusing as there is overlap; it would probably make more sense if I understood more of what happens with the USB connections), it goes into a charging mode where up to 1.5 A of current can be provided. In short, my previous assertion that a short has to exists between the data terminals goes out the window as there appears to be more than one way to get more than 500 mA out of a USB connection.

And without device specific testing (both phone and charger), there is no way to know for sure how much charge the phone is actually accepting. If the "AC charging" and "USB charging" status labels on the phones are an indication of if the phone is accepting more than 500 mA or not, then it would appear the DX is more flexible than the Dinc in this regard. However, if the status labels vary by phone, then its all a toss up and goes back to trial and error. This is frustrating.

I should also note that the original charger I tested from Scosche is the USB12VM and the HC12V. I retested the USB12VM without the modification and I'm happy to report the DX shows AC charging as the status. I didn't test the HC12V though, but I would hope its consistent with their other products.

Not sure if its possible, but it would be awesome if someone came up with an app that could detect the charging current. I'd guess it would be limited by hardware design and differences in design from one device to the next. The other option might be to build a testing rig out of a spare USB cable which I can place a multimeter in-line on the V+ wire. Maybe if I get bored one day....

Maybe moto ditched the shorted out cord method for charge status on the DX. I assumed they did, but I only have 1 cord to mess with. I have always suspected that the phone itself monitors the charge rate and battery temperature and controls the charging for safety reasons.

Meanwhile I suspect the HTC products look for that shorted data port, as I mentioned my GF's Hero won't use the scoche as a AC charging device, and since they have that special connector, I can't use a different cord to make sure. Likewise their cords are data and charging cords, so the short is obviously not on the cord end. I will test her wall charger later on.

 

[wubak]

thanks..powerjolt ipad car charger + mono 28/24 g wire = ac

I purchased these, and my charging status is displaying USB. I thought I wouldn't need to short this cable to get the full charge. Other users on this forum have reported getting AC charging status with this combination. Any advice?

Here are the exact items I got:

For only $0.97 each when QTY 50+ purchased - USB 2.0 A Male to Micro 5pin Male 28/24AWG Cable w/ Ferrite Core - (Gold Plated) - 3ft | USB 2.0 Cables - Micro-B Type

Amazon.com: Griffin Technology PowerJolt 2.1 amp Power Charger for iPad, iPhone and iPod (Black): Electronics

 

[twister6]

This combo guaranteed to give you AC charging Here is an idea for troubleshooting. Unplug monoprice cable, and plug into Griffin car charger the original short moto usb cable that came with a phone. Than do another test. Use monoprice cable and moto AC wall charger that came with a phone. You know that moto's short cable and AC wall charger guaranteed to give you AC charging, that is a fact. This way you can find out if the problem is cause by monoprice cable or Griffin charger. Either of these could be faulty. Good luck!

 

[wubak]

My phone didn't come with a USB-accepting wall charger.

I do have one that came with an ipod that is supposed to output 5V 1A. I plugged this monoprice usb cable into this wall charger, and still got USB charging, not AC.

Is it possible this 3 foot cable is acting differently from the way a 6 foot one would behave? Do I need to modify this cable to get AC charging?

 

[Daddy Freddy]

that is the same set up I have. The fella listed a few post up how to check to see if AC or not? Not sure why yours is not showing AC? I never thought a thread could last this long...but...after 2 or so weeks of using the powerj 2.1 and mono cables....they no longer charge my phone while navigation is on. The unit now only keeps charge...this sucks...maybe just maybe my 3 bank.. 10amp x 3 boat charger will give enough to charge my phone while apps are running? Oh...I was running tunein radio listening to noles play Sat night..plugged in home charger...did not charge either..actually lost about 10% over 3 or so hours...I would love to find a charger that will actually charge the phone while running apps.

 

[wubak]

Wow, insane.

Can anyone else verify that this monoprice cable will allow AC charging status?

Has anyone found a source to buy a USB - USB micro "charge only" cable?

Thanks!

 

[hyperlite]

Interesting discussion. I may have the opportunity to test current draw in the next few days, if no one gets around to it. I ordered male A to male A and Male A to Micro b ferrite cables from monoprice before finding this thread, hoping to make a USB Y cable that would allow power input from two USB ports as well as a data connection. I am not an engineer by discipline, but very auto-didactic and a born tinker-er. The only topological issue i'm struggling with in the Y cable is how the USB specification handles the short that will occur between the two USB ports. Cables like this exist, so it must have a way of cutting current if resistance is 0 or below a threshold. However, reading this thread has presented me with another issue: If a data connection is present, the phone may very well limit itself to USB (500ma) charging, which makes the Y cable useless. This experiment may be able to answer several of our questions: How much juice will the X draw given a relatively infinite supply? How is the delineation between USB and AC charging made? (is it micro or macro-electronic) Will you blow your USB controller if you short the USB ports?

Any musings on this would be welcome

 

[twister6]

@hyperlite, not really sure you need such y-cable connection. If you read through all these posts you can get confused into thinking you need a separate cable for data and for AC charging. I tried following the logic you described above, and it seems you want to have one end of y-splitter for power charging and another one for data transfer? Using it for two separate phones will not work, so it has to be either/or. You don't need that. That monoprice cable with 28/24AWG spec has power wires thicker while data wires thinner. It will be internally shorted because when I plug it into my laptop I believe it shows up with AC charge as well, and still allows me to transfer files to/from DX. Since you are planning to splice the cables, might be a good opportunity to measure a current in series with a cable. But don't drive yourself crazy with over-engineering it

Regarding other complains about monoprice cable, if you tried my suggestion above for troubleshooting you will be able to figure out if its a faulty cable. If your phone didn't come with moto AC wall charger w/usb port (strange?), than I would just contact monoprice and exchange it for another cable. I don't discount a fact these cable mass produced at high rate and such a dirt low price where nobody checks them out before shipping. There could be defective cables.

 

[Daddy Freddy]

Twister..I know beating a dead horse, well maybe beating an already burried horse..but have you found a charger that will charge the phone while running apps such as navigation/tunein radio? For some reason, when compl virgin, the PJ 2.1 ipad charger just barely charged while running apps...now will only hold a charge? any thoughts? Tried any other chargers. I figured that 2.1 would put superpowers to the phone and easily handle job?

 

[twister6]

PowerJault2.1 is the only one I'm using in the car with 10ft monoprice 28/24AWG cable. My daily commute is over 1 hour each way and there is no issues. I know you are looking into hardware solution for this battery discharge problem, but have you looked into possibility of a bad apps that is draining battery in the background while satellite is on and you are using NAV? When I first got my DX, I went download crazy. I had a lot of issues related to some innocent solitaire and other apps which you wouldn't even think can cause a problem. Everything from crashes, to excessive battery drain, to a problem where my NAV was staying only for 5 minutes and than forced closed. I had to go back and clean up a lot of the apps, and than download a few at a time and than see how my DX behaves for a day or two before installing new one. Also, I would highly recommend getting Lookout app, its like an antivirus scanner for all the downloads.

I can't tell you for sure, but once you hit a brick wall without any explanation about your hardware setup that others using without a problem, you have to look into software/apps. I can tell you for sure, a lot of the "innocent" apps do some funny things with hardware controls. Try this. AppBrain app keeps list of everything you have installed with your phone, it's a good alternative to Google's Market. Download it if you don't have it. Sync it up with your phone so it has a list of all apps you have in there; and go back down the memory lane and delete whatever you have downloaded around/after time period when you start seeing this charge up problem. Could be a wild goose chase, but its either hardware troubleshooting per my early post or this software "cleansing" Good luck!!!

 

[hyperlite]

@hyperlite, not really sure you need such y-cable connection. If you read through all these posts you can get confused into thinking you need a separate cable for data and for AC charging. I tried following the logic you described above, and it seems you want to have one end of y-splitter for power charging and another one for data transfer? Using it for two separate phones will not work, so it has to be either/or. You don't need that. That monoprice cable with 28/24AWG spec has power wires thicker while data wires thinner. It will be internally shorted because when I plug it into my laptop I believe it shows up with AC charge as well, and still allows me to transfer files to/from DX. Since you are planning to splice the cables, might be a good opportunity to measure a current in series with a cable. But don't drive yourself crazy with over-engineering it

Regarding other complains about monoprice cable, if you tried my suggestion above for troubleshooting you will be able to figure out if its a faulty cable. If your phone didn't come with moto AC wall charger w/usb port (strange?), than I would just contact monoprice and exchange it for another cable. I don't discount a fact these cable mass produced at high rate and such a dirt low price where nobody checks them out before shipping. There could be defective cables.

AH! Gotcha. i was overthinking it.

 

[hyperlite]

in case anyone is curious, i received my monoprice cables today. Highest quality USB cables i've ever handled, seriously.

 

[twister6]

in case anyone is curious, i received my monoprice cables today. Highest quality USB cables i've ever handled, seriously.

Heavy duty stuff Makes me wonder how they can charge so little for such high quality product. Even their shipping is reasonable.

 

[twister6]

A little OT, but for all of you EE geeks you should check out ElectroDroid free app. Everything from usb cable pinout to various equations