Chargers for 350/650

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by elizilla

... The screen goes to a spot where I cannot continue to read - it says USB is connected, and gives a message that says "Charging stopped". The fine print at the bottom says "The reader is unable to charge as no power supply is being detected. Please check that the charger is plugged in and switched on or that the USB cable is correctly connected." ...

I kept getting the same message, when I tried connecting the USB cable, that came with the e-reader, to my PC. However, I discovered that if I waited long enough, sometimes the message would change to "charging", enabling me to transfer files using Cut & Paste, or Calibre, but it was a bit intermittent. Then I remembered that the USB ports on my PC's motherboard are based on the original USB 1.x standard (rather than USB 2.0). As soon as I plugged the cable into an adapter card, that complies with the later standard, the "charging" message came up and has done so consistently ever since.

[Dixiemsala]

Seabookguy, nothing like a smarta**--one on every forum.

For the rest of you, thanks for your answer.

And, for Seabookguy, I wanted to know if the Kindle charger would hurt the Sony--not just if it would fit. Kinder posters have answered for me. And, yes, I did see that post. I forgive you.

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by Dixiemsala

Seabookguy, nothing like a smarta**--one on every forum.

Or in the case of this thread, more than one.

[elizilla]

I ordered this cheap aftermarket Kindle charger from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004165BIU

It arrived today and the wall charger works to charge my PRS650.

FWIW, it also works to charge my Sansa MP3 player, but my Motorola cell phone says it's an "Unauthorized charger".

[angus26]

Originally Posted by Quilathus

You can buy a cheap USB male-to-female adapter cable (easily found on eBay for a dollar or less). Carefully stripping the insulation, identify the wires connecting +D and -D lines, short them out and use your preferred insulator to cover your hack job... and now you've made yourself a charger cable than can be used for any standards compliant device that complains about detection or charges very slowly on your charger.

Thank you, i did it and it works perfectly with my two old chargers (for Palm zire and Apple ipod) normaly rejected by 650.
As my chargers didn't have cable, just female connection, i didn't need to found a male-to-female cable, just take a normal one and short D+ and D-.

About Blackberry charger, be carefull, 9500 and some others are OK but 9000 doesn't work for me.

[caeebe]

My husband's blackberry curve 8530 charger seems to be working (the red light is on and I can turn on the reader to use it). Are there any other indications that it is charging besides the red light when connected to a wall charger?

[elcreative]

No... that's it, all correct with red light and ability to read. Bear in mind that charge light goes out at 80% charge... full charge needs up to four hours more...

Originally Posted by caeebe

My husband's blackberry curve 8530 charger seems to be working (the red light is on and I can turn on the reader to use it). Are there any other indications that it is charging besides the red light when connected to a wall charger?

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by elcreative

No... that's it, all correct with red light and ability to read. Bear in mind that charge light goes out at 80% charge... full charge needs up to four hours more...

It takes four hours to charge the final 20% of the battery?

[Quilathus]

Originally Posted by angus26

Thank you, i did it and it works perfectly with my two old chargers (for Palm zire and Apple ipod) normaly rejected by 650.
As my chargers didn't have cable, just female connection, i didn't need to found a male-to-female cable, just take a normal one and short D+ and D-.

Glad to know it worked out for you too!

About getting that last 20%, according to:

http://batteryuniversity.com/print-partone-12.htm

Perhaps undercharging may be best for the battery's life.

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by caeebe

... Are there any other indications that it is charging besides the red light when connected to a wall charger?

When my 650 is being charged, using the AC adapter, the battery symbol in the status bar changes. A left-pointing arrow appears at the right-hand end of the battery. The arrow disappears when the battery is fully charged. See p13 of the User Guide.

[Jabby]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

But it is also true that no one on this post has commented on what happens if the charger is rated *too high.* For example, elcreative, you say that 500-2000mA should work fine. What if the charger is rated 3000mA? Does such a charger exist? Would it fry the device, or would the device "take what it needs?

Over voltage is the one to look out for. USB ports are rated at 5v and are capable of supplying 500ma of current. When nothing is plugged, in the voltage will be present but no current will be flowing. At any given voltage the current will be determined by the load (resistance). So, if you plug your Sony (an almost fixed resistance) into a charger rated at 5v/3000ma the Sony will use as much current as it needs and no more.

Think of your water system. You have a pipe coming into your house carrying water (current) at a given pressure (voltage). Open a tap (variable resistance) and water flows. Open it more and more water will flow - but no more than you want. As long as your pressure is contained by your system you are OK.

So, if you have a charger that has a plug that fits and is rated at 5v and can supply at LEAST 500ma you are good to go.

Regards - John

[doreenjoy]

All of this discussion of voltage etc wore me down. I figured I'd save myself $30 worth of migraine medication and invest it in the Sony branded charger.