Travelling with a Vox

[pokee]

Originally Posted by TonyToews

However the screen that comes up when you plug in the Vox to a computer USB port states "NOTE: USB ports on your computer cannot properly charge your Kobo eReader." So that's not the same as what you quoted.

That said I find this surprising. I would've thought the Vox would at least accept a lower charge. I can see myself forgetting my Vox charger at home when I travel. I doubt very much you could buy the appropriate charger while on the road. At least for under $40 or $50 which I would find highly irritating.


Agreed. Another foot or two would've been nice.

My hubby's iPad charger is about the same length. Strange... ...laptop chargers are soooo long...and these are more like laptops than phones, imo. We've both had some funny moments while we're trying to use our devices while awkwardly sitting in a funny position near the outlet where it's plugged in!

[filmo]

I wonder if the minty boost charger would work for charging Vox. This link shows how apple device knows it can charge at higher rate.

http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/icharge.html

[SensualPoet]

You might also consider this one:

http://ca.shopblackberry.com/Product.../ACC-39344-301

It's the "Premium International Charger" for the Blackberry Playbook -- enough amps for the Vox and handy to charge a smartphone in twice normal time. It comes with a variety of snap-on plugs. It can be purchased from Blackberry or other dealers.

[PeterT]

I think what we need is a hacker with some experience in electronices. I think what Kobo have done is similar to Garmin on their GPS's; they place a load across some of the pins on the USB cable. See http://pinouts.ru/GPS/garmin_nuvi_power_pinout.shtml

[jefftheworld]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I think what we need is a hacker with some experience in electronices. I think what Kobo have done is similar to Garmin on their GPS's; they place a load across some of the pins on the USB cable. See http://pinouts.ru/GPS/garmin_nuvi_power_pinout.shtml

Oh, I can assure you I've been looking into this, too. I've got a spare official Kobo charger that a friend forgot to return with his defective unit and I'll be tearing into it as soon as I finish up some of my software related projects.

I have a digital lifestyle backpack that can inductively charge my electronics and I hope to design a case for my Vox that includes inductive (wireless) charging. To this end I'll be studying the official charger, so I'll post anything I learn here.

[TonyToews]

I might've found a AA USB battery charger device. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/270810499131 Just for grins, and if no one else feels like it, I'll buy the device. I won't need it much, as I mostly travel by vehicle and with my laptop, but I don't mind having an extra device around to charge things on an emergency basis if my laptop isn't available or convenient. And I *always* have AA batteries around.

I used the search terms "2A usb charger -car" without the quotes on ebay.d

PeterT/Jeff - I'm a bit confused though. A few postings back in this thread Jeff stated that "I've used several and they've done the job." So we don't really need to pull the charger apart. Assuming that Jeff meant that he used several with the Vox.

[jefftheworld]

They'll charge the battery, but the charging notice won't appear. It seems the official charger does something with the data pins, not just the 5v+/- pins. In my experience a lot of usb-based chargers are going this route (Apple, for example, with their iPhone and iPad chargers).

[TonyToews]

Jeff, thanks for the clarification. Does that include the orange/green charge indicator light? Will the Vox/other USB device continue to pull amps from the charger even when the device is fully charged?

[TonyToews]

Originally Posted by TonyToews

I might've found a AA USB battery charger device. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/270810499131 Just for grins, and if no one else feels like it, I'll buy the device.

I bought it and will report back in two or three weeks how well it works. I'll start a new appropriately labelled thread.

[TonyToews]

Originally Posted by TonyToews

I might've found a AA USB battery charger device. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/270810499131

Sigh. I did not realize that 18650 was a battery style like AA, AAA, C or D. I unscrewed the cover, dropped in a AA battery and it rattled around. I'm thinking WTHeck?

No big deal but the extra wait is irritating. I now have the 18650 batteries on order from a Canadian vendor so I should have them in a week or so.

What that eBay listing also did not make clear, at least to me, is that it also charges the internal 18650 batteries from a standard USB port. I had assumed you'd have to charge the AA batteries from an external battery charger. And you can charge those batteries at the 2 amp rate using your Kobo charger.

I wonder what the capacity of the Vox internal battery is? The four batteries I purchased were 3.7 V at 2400 mah. The tech specs just state 7 hours battery life.

[jefftheworld]

Internal battery is a 3.7V 4000mAh Li-ion pack providing 14.8 Watt-hours. It is produced by Darfon (Model: D1-11-04) and I've seen a couple white sheets around with more specs but my google-fu is failing me right now.

[Kappafun]

I can't find a 5v2a charger. There is one on ThinkGeek (http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tra...b/?srp=23#tabs) that claims to be a 2a device, but I haven't tried it yet.

Is there any way to change the output of a laptop / PC USB port to 2a? That might solve the problem.

Originally Posted by TonyToews

However the screen that comes up when you plug in the Vox to a computer USB port states "NOTE: USB ports on your computer cannot properly charge your Kobo eReader." So that's not the same as what you quoted.

That said I find this surprising. I would've thought the Vox would at least accept a lower charge. I can see myself forgetting my Vox charger at home when I travel. I doubt very much you could buy the appropriate charger while on the road. At least for under $40 or $50 which I would find highly irritating.


Agreed. Another foot or two would've been nice.

[PeterT]

The whole problem is not so much the 2A charger; rather, it's the USB cable being used.

I have not got the skills, but am convinced that all the cable is doing is presenting a resistive load across some of the USB pins that is detected by the Vox, and that this then informs the Vox that this is the correct charger.

For an example of another device and it's cabling requirements, take a look at the cable for a GARMIN Nuvi GPS

For 2A chargers take a look at The Source. For instance I see this LENMAR ACUSB31 that is 3.1A USB charger.

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by Kappafun

I can't find a 5v2a charger. There is one on ThinkGeek (http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tra...b/?srp=23#tabs) that claims to be a 2a device, but I haven't tried it yet.

Is there any way to change the output of a laptop / PC USB port to 2a? That might solve the problem.

I bought an iHome iPad USB charger last week. it's 2 pieces, the charger that you plug the usb cable (which I can't use with the Vox) into is 2.1 A and used with my Blackberry USB cable works fine. The only issue is that the battery indicator doesn't update to the correct level but after I plug in the original charger and then turn the Vox off and on again it adjusts. I'm using the new one as much as possible because the original has a pretty flimsy wire and I am concerned that it may break fairly quickly with constant use. My BB cable is quite long, it's about 45 inches... plus the prongs on the charger fold up for travel!

Amazon sells a version with both the wall and car charger for $39.99...
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

[oldyellr]

Originally Posted by PeterT

For 2A chargers take a look at The Source. For instance I see this LENMAR ACUSB31 that is 3.1A USB charger.

Not that it's 3.1 amps total for the 2 USB ports, so you'd need a double ended cable, because one port would just provide 1.55 amps.

Incidentally, today I emailed help@kobobooks.com asking how I might purchase an extra Vox charger because other chargers don't work properly. When I get a reply, I'll post here. Perhaps if more customers asked the same question, Kobo will hurry up and make them available. My charger is plugged in in my bedroom and that's where I have to return the Vox to recharge it, or else keep lugging the charger around. I'm sure a lot of folks would be interested in an extra one.