Another way to charge the PE??

[arcticmaniac]

I know that you can't USB charge with the miniUSB cable. But I was wondering if anyone know what is the type of tip on the AC charger or if its possible to get a spare one. I would actually prefer a USB to like a 3.5mm barrel tip 5V like this from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A3V6BK4D0HKA8F

yes I understand the AC adapter is 12V and 1A but i'm wondering if i can still use a 5 v output from a 1amp usb like the ones for ipads.

[emusan]

5volts will not charge it, I don't know if it would do anything really bad, but it probably wouldn't be great. There are ways to step up the 5V supplied by USB(using an inductor and some smaller components), but you would have to be sure that you knew what you were doing lol...

[Filark]

There have been several discussions of alternate chargers, here and on the old enTourage forum archived above. You might try a search of the forum. Normally I would link a thread for you, but you might discover more interesting tidbits if you do it yourself.

Welcome to MobileRead, arcticmaniac! I was intrigued by that cable you linked -- would be cool if it worked!

[ivanjt]

Originally Posted by emusan

5volts will not charge it, I don't know if it would do anything really bad, but it probably wouldn't be great. There are ways to step up the 5V supplied by USB(using an inductor and some smaller components), but you would have to be sure that you knew what you were doing lol...

How true, the worst it would do is burn out the USB port on the computer and/or destroy the charging circuit on the PE.

The simple way, for someone handy with a soldering iron is to get an ADP1111AR12 DC to DC converter chip, 2 capacitors, a diode and an inductor. Put them together with a USB plug, a lead and a 3.5 mm OD x 1.2 mm ID plug.

Or in turn they could go out and buy a USB to 12 v charger with changeable tips.

[arcticmaniac]

I appreciate everyone's input. I will try searching the archives. yes, back in the day, i could have probably built one (EE major) but now getting old and lack of time...wanted a easy way out. dont like carrying chargers around, just usb cables with separate standard USB AC charger so i can charge phones, nintendo ds, ipad, iphone, and PEs.

[Last_of_the_PEs]

If you could have built a converter to take 5 volts at .5 amps to 12 volts at 1 amp, I'd be VERY impressed.
My best source for extra adapters as been to find the tip on a cord from the adapter bin at a local thrift shop, and "marry" it to a 12 volt DC 1amp adapter from my stash. A little solder and shrink tubing and you've got an adapter with a longer cord.

[arcticmaniac]

Originally Posted by Last_of_the_PEs

If you could have built a converter to take 5 volts at .5 amps to 12 volts at 1 amp, I'd be VERY impressed.
My best source for extra adapters as been to find the tip on a cord from the adapter bin at a local thrift shop, and "marry" it to a 12 volt DC 1amp adapter from my stash. A little solder and shrink tubing and you've got an adapter with a longer cord.

thanks for the vote of confidence last_of_the_PEs. ivanjt just got me all the parts I needed, lol. back in the old atari 800 days, i used to program and build my own set of controllers (granted only a punch of switches, cables, etc. I dont know if radioshack sells it anymore, (I think that's where i got it from), but i've etched circuit boards before. now im just too old for all that.
i want to like the PE but what kills me is all the proprietary chargers (12 volts on top of that) rather than standard usb charging. i was going to get the streak for about 280 but once i saw the docking port, i said forget about it....i did find some universal ones online at walmart and amzn so i might give those a try. they at least go up to 12v.

[emusan]

Originally Posted by arcticmaniac

thanks for the vote of confidence last_of_the_PEs. ivanjt just got me all the parts I needed, lol. back in the old atari 800 days, i used to program and build my own set of controllers (granted only a punch of switches, cables, etc. I dont know if radioshack sells it anymore, (I think that's where i got it from), but i've etched circuit boards before. now im just too old for all that.
i want to like the PE but what kills me is all the proprietary chargers (12 volts on top of that) rather than standard usb charging. i was going to get the streak for about 280 but once i saw the docking port, i said forget about it....i did find some universal ones online at walmart and amzn so i might give those a try. they at least go up to 12v.

He does have a point though, if you wanted to charge this off a pc(which will put out max .5A), you wont get 12V at any reasonable amount of Amperage, its just not physically possible lol. I thought you may be referring to a wall->USB adapter which can put out more, but now if I think of it it does sound kinda dumb given that you already have a wall adapter lol. You can do it, it just wont charge fast(or even at all).

[arcticmaniac]

Originally Posted by emusan

He does have a point though, if you wanted to charge this off a pc(which will put out max .5A), you wont get 12V at any reasonable amount of Amperage, its just not physically possible lol. I thought you may be referring to a wall->USB adapter which can put out more, but now if I think of it it does sound kinda dumb given that you already have a wall adapter lol. You can do it, it just wont charge fast(or even at all).

there are usb wall charger that outputs 2A but at 5V that can charge ipads and stuff, all you need is a usb cable. i wanted to just carry one wall charger and just a bunch of cables for all my gadgets like phone, ipad, edge, ds, psp, etc. i actually have usb charging cables for the ds.

[emusan]

Originally Posted by arcticmaniac

there are usb wall charger that outputs 2A but at 5V that can charge ipads and stuff, all you need is a usb cable. i wanted to just carry one wall charger and just a bunch of cables for all my gadgets like phone, ipad, edge, ds, psp, etc. i actually have usb charging cables for the ds.

5V at 2A will do it(as long as you step it up of course), but it still wont be as fast as the normal charger...

[ivanjt]

Originally Posted by emusan

He does have a point though, if you wanted to charge this off a pc(which will put out max .5A), you wont get 12V at any reasonable amount of Amperage, its just not physically possible lol. I thought you may be referring to a wall->USB adapter which can put out more, but now if I think of it it does sound kinda dumb given that you already have a wall adapter lol. You can do it, it just wont charge fast(or even at all).

There are some very compact units that take mains power and have both USB and 12v output - at least over here in Europe, problem is I don't think they will run off US 115 v AC.

[syclone]

If you go to dealextreme.com, you will find many, many 12 volt chargers. If there aren't any with the tip you need, you can get the correct one at Radio Shack (or check dealextreme again). It's a simple case of cut, splice, and tape, or better yet get some shrink tubing. The prices on the site are so low, it doesn't pay to think about undertaking a voltage doubler circuit design.

By the way, if you were to try hooking a 5 volt source to the edge, you could end up discharging the edge and frying the charger.

[emusan]

Originally Posted by syclone

If you go to dealextreme.com, you will find many, many 12 volt chargers. If there aren't any with the tip you need, you can get the correct one at Radio Shack (or check dealextreme again). It's a simple case of cut, splice, and tape, or better yet get some shrink tubing. The prices on the site are so low, it doesn't pay to think about undertaking a voltage doubler circuit design.

By the way, if you were to try hooking a 5 volt source to the edge, you could end up discharging the edge and frying the charger.

He wants a USB end so he can use it in a wall-> usb adapter... Most if not all of those are wall warts and all the useful electronics are in that...

[arcticmaniac]

Originally Posted by syclone

If you go to dealextreme.com, you will find many, many 12 volt chargers. If there aren't any with the tip you need, you can get the correct one at Radio Shack (or check dealextreme again). It's a simple case of cut, splice, and tape, or better yet get some shrink tubing. The prices on the site are so low, it doesn't pay to think about undertaking a voltage doubler circuit design.

By the way, if you were to try hooking a 5 volt source to the edge, you could end up discharging the edge and frying the charger.

thanks for the info. why would it discharge the edge, isn't there a diode or type of restrictor within the ac charger that would limit flow one way and not the other??

[arcticmaniac]

Originally Posted by ivanjt

There are some very compact units that take mains power and have both USB and 12v output - at least over here in Europe, problem is I don't think they will run off US 115 v AC.

what's the shipping charge, lol. yeah, its getting alittle more complicated. however, i think the archos 70 uses the same ac charger so i might look into that.