I plugged a USB wall charger (for my Blackberry) into my 505 Reader to recharge it from 2 bars. The screen indicated presence of a USB connection (USB plug icon in middle and on top right, 'USB connected' at the bottom). But, this drained my battery to 1 bar, and then 'low battery' status in about an hour. I thought the 505 could be *charged* via USB, not drained!

Any explanation for this? It's a standard USB wall charger, and it charges my phone just fine. :(

I have the same problem with a Lenmar Power pack, it is supposed to charge any usb device but it justs discharges the reader.

Most usb chargers don't work with the 505. It is designed only to pull a charge on the USB cable if it's attached to the computer, and even then not all computer USB ports work. The going theory is that the device requires slightly higher voltage through USB than standard wall chargers provide.
To be sure that your 505 is charging, look at the LED on the top of the device, it will glow red when the device is charging, and flash amber when the memory is being accessed.
If you want to use a wall wart USB charger with your 505, buy a PSP usb charging cable, like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HCVL36

It has an AC adapter plug on one end, and a standard USB/A plug on the other. I'm charging my 505 using a Belkin iPod wall wart usb charger and the cable linked above right now.

Natch says that any PSP charger will charge the PRS-505. Those of us that are new to this are confused!

Any PSP charger *will* charge any Reader under any conditions (including fully-drained battery.) A PSP charger is *not* a USB charger, and has no USB connector. Does that help?

I was hoping to charge my Reader using my available BB charger at my desk in the office. Clearly, that won't work. I don't know why Sony made the Reader so finicky wrt USB charging. I don't think it is a voltage issue either, as any USB power line will be 5V, and a straight wall-wort charger should have enough current.

The best item to have is the PSP charging cable (mentioned above) that has a regular USB connector on one end, and both mini-USB and PSP connectors on the other. That will work with any USB power source.

Thanks Doc. that clears it up for me. I am going to try that.

I'm gonna get me one of those newfangled USB-based PSP chargers too. Seems to be the best solution. Relying on the USB connector to charge a Reader is simply not smart. For example, I think the old 500 model won't charge from a computer's USB connection unless the Sony Connect/Library sw is installed. So charging from a friend's computer is out. I don't know why they 'sort of' made USB charging an option, even though it doesn't work using many usb-based charging set-ups. OTOH, the new model doesn't even include a PSP-type charger 9and nowhere does Sony mention that you can use one--instead, they want you to buy their pricier and bulkier "official" Reader charger.)

Doc, I saw the same behavior with both my wife's and my 505. The weird part is how SOMETIMES the same charger worked! PSP charger is the answer.

By the way, if you have a USB port you REALLY want to use I believe the PSP charger I got (Pelican's?) uses a short full-size-USB-to-PSP (female circular) adapter cable from its own power block. I haven't tried it but I think I could hook it up to any powered USB port and provide correct-polarity 5 V to the Sony reader (at whatever amperage that particular port provides).

I got the Pelican charger last night and it works great plus I now have a car charger. Thanks for all your help. The trick seemed to be going USB port to DC port.

Yeah, the USB connector seems to be a charging option that's too "smart" for it's own good. The PSP round jack will charge anytime, no matter where the 5V power is coming from. I'll check the Pelican version. (I picked up a multigame charger from Radio Shack for $20 that charges PSP, Nintendo GBA, GBA micro, and DS. But it would be nice to have a PSP charger that connects to any USB port.)

While your at it look into the Lenmar Power Pack. It's small and once it's fully charged it will recharge the Reader at least two or three times from 2 bars. it also charges faster then the USB port.

The expensive Sony AC charger is rated at 5.2 volts and 2000 mA. That's 2 amps.
Most USB chargers that I have seen are rated at 500mA or 1/2 amp.
Can a USB charger rated at 5 volts and 500mA be used with the Reader?

Sad to hear that the USB charging that I thought was so simple and easy really isn't. Can anyone verify the restrictions on computer-Reader charging, like needing the SONY software or registration?

Has anyone had luck with a Motorola charger? Those are mini USB as well, but possibly the amperage is too low.

No, I tried two Motorola mini-USB chargers and it was hit-and-miss, mostly miss. I don't think it is an amperage thing because my regular PC USB hub (which always works) is very low power. There is some sort of intelligence (and a charging switch) on the USB port that does not exist on the other 5 V in.

All of the PSP game chargers I saw were rated at 1.5 or 2 amps, so similar to the Sony charger.

Why do you need to purchase a USB charger when you an get a cheap PSP AC adapter? Also you can get a PSP charger for your car as well. I have an iGO with the PSP tip for our readers. Plus it is FASTER to charge via the AC and you can use the reader at the same time as it is charging via the AC.

Why do you need to purchase a USB charger when you an get a cheap PSP AC adapter? Also you can get a PSP charger for your car as well. I have an iGO with the PSP tip for our readers. Plus it is FASTER to charge via the AC and you can use the reader at the same time as it is charging via the AC.

USB chargers are much more convenient for travel, since you can bring USB cables for your devices and one charging brick, rather than charging bricks for every device. Cables that go USB-to-AC are ideal, IMO, when it comes to portability.

USB chargers are much more convenient for travel, since you can bring USB cables for your devices and one charging brick, rather than charging bricks for every device. Cables that go USB-to-AC are ideal, IMO, when it comes to portability.

Ah. Looks like a slight miscommunication on what is meant by "usb charger." A USB wall wort with multiple cables is convenient, as many devices charge from a USB connection these days. However, with respect to the Reader, note that a PSP tip (even if it's on a usb cable or universal charger like the igo) is far preferable to plugging a mini-USB connector into the Reader to charge it.

DrMoze, have you tried charging your reader via an A/C adapter yet?

DrMoze, have you tried charging your reader via an A/C adapter yet?

That's how I usually charge my Readers. I have both a 500 (Russified for the gf) and a 505 (for me!). USB cable charging is sporadic. (Sometimes it does nothing, or drains, depending on which unit, if I plug into a USB wall wort or into a computer, if the SOny sw is installed, etc.) So, I use either the original 500 PSP-tip charger or a small PSP charger that I bought for recharging.