A 'possible' AC charger?

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

What really amazes me is that there is SOOOOO much going on inside a little block of plastic with some bits of wire, and yet it cost's less than $10! Thanks again for pointing me in another good direction!

No problem, but note that my guess is that the problem is that the Sony's expecting there to be some 'intelligence' in the "little block of plastic", but the adapters just power the power lines without doing anything with the data lines. As a result, I suspect that the Sony treats the USB as in standby mode & declines to draw power.

[hardass]

never mind, I use pda hp3715 charger instead. it's ok

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

No problem, but note that my guess is that the problem is that the Sony's expecting there to be some 'intelligence' in the "little block of plastic", but the adapters just power the power lines without doing anything with the data lines. As a result, I suspect that the Sony treats the USB as in standby mode & declines to draw power.

Gee, this is actually beginning to make sense to me. Next thing you know, I'll be sporting a pocket protector with nine pens!

... so if I can stumble upon a 'smart' USB AC block, there exists the possibility that I can charge my 505 from that, and save the weight. But it would be a hit or miss, trial & error search to find that one-in-a-? block with the proper configuration. Heck, I like those odds!

I'm going to hit that Play Station store again tomorrow and pick up just a couple more of the various brands of Play Station chargers to try out, and if none work, well then Harry gets his 1000 batting average, you get high marks for giving me detailed knowledge of how USB's work, where absolutely none existed before, and I get a box of chargers to donate where ever they can be best used.

But... if just one of them lil' suckers works.....
(Ain't life fun?!?)

Stitchawl

[gwynevans]

While the chase might be fun, if you just get a charger that has one of the round connectors, rather than a min-usb, it'll not only work, but will let you recharge while being able to continue to use the reader! :-)

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

While the chase might be fun, if you just get a charger that has one of the round connectors, rather than a min-usb, it'll not only work, but will let you recharge while being able to continue to use the reader! :-)

Heck, I bought one of those the very first day when the PSP chargers were recommended to me! It's just that it's heavier than the simple USB blocks and connectors. I knew that I needed more than just my computer to charge my reader, and do so quickly. The rest of this is just experimentation!

(I may be curious, but I'm not dumb! )


Stitchawl

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

... so if I can stumble upon a 'smart' USB AC block, there exists the possibility that I can charge my 505 from that, and save the weight. But it would be a hit or miss, trial & error search to find that one-in-a-? block with the proper configuration. Heck, I like those odds!

Someone here, on an different thread I think pointed to a A/C charger that had both a USB connector AND a barrel type connector on it. So, you could use the same charger with a phone and your sony. I think it was Elsi... but not 100% sure.

BOb

[dordale]

This is the charger a friend of mine bought for her 700. It works great for her and is fairly compact. It has both a usb connector and the barrel type connector like the one BOb is talking about. It's also retractable, so is fairly handy for traveling with.

http://shop3.frys.com/product/523317...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

dordale

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Someone here, on an different thread I think pointed to a A/C charger that had both a USB connector AND a barrel type connector on it. So, you could use the same charger with a phone and your sony. I think it was Elsi... but not 100% sure.

BOb

I mentioned one of those, but again, the weight went against it for what I'm trying to find so I didn't buy it to try out. Wouldn't work for my phone's charge port anyway. I'm looking for the very lightest set-up I can find. Today will be my last attempt at getting it though. There comes a time when even my curiosity must get put behind reasonable expenditure of time and money. My wife reminds me when I'm reaching that point...
There were 2-3 other brands of USB chargers for the PSP that I didn't buy the first time I visited that shop that I want to try, but if none of those work, I'll just have to put up with the larger charger.

Stitchawl

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I mentioned one of those, but again, the weight went against it for what I'm trying to find so I didn't buy it to try out.

Are you trying to reduce weight for traveling? If so, do you take a laptop with you on your travels?

BOb

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Are you trying to reduce weight for traveling? If so, do you take a laptop with you on your travels?

BOb

Only if I'm flying into major airports. When I need to use the little 8 or 12 seater island hoppers, I usually use a computer I find locally. All over SE Asia and the western Pacific islands you can find Internet shops on every other block, even in very small villages. (Local folks are too poor to own their own, but the kids need their games... Many of the shops are almost strictly game rooms!) Many, many more internet shops than I find in First World countries. I can get my work done there but wouldn't want to leave my reader there to charge. That's the only time I really need to shave off ounces in my kit. When traveling into airports in Hong Kong, Singapore, or Bali I can bring a real suitcase or two instead of only a single daypack.

Stitchawl

[Stitchawl]

Just got back from the PlayStation Store...

Harry, you're on top of the batting averages with a full 1000. Despite trying many different brands of chargers, and even though some would cause the little red light to come on, none would charge my 505 through the USB port. I'm going to have to settle for the AC to round plug port for charging. Bummer, dood.

Gwynevans, I'm ready to go to work for Sony or Panasonic now that I have my advanced understanding of USB circuitry, courtesy of your great URL links! Of course first I have to figure out where the light goes when you turn off the switch.

Pilotbob, you too gave the correct answers from the very beginning. You just didn't realize that to me, the hunt is more important than the kill.

So after trying 6 different USB (only) charger blocks, all made for PSP, and two chargers made for Sony MP3 players, I say that although there may be one out there that will work, I didn't find it in my search. I did find a 'fairly' lightweight AC-to-round plug charger, and I did find a really neat rechargeable lithium battery charger for charging PSP's or MP3 players without connecting them to AC mains. THAT was interesting! Might come in handy... some day.

Thanks for the help, all!

Stitchawl

[Curly]

Thanks for all your legwork stitchawl. I've been following the 'hunt' over the past couple of weeks in your posts! It has been helpful to have a variety of different chargers tested and reported on.

[HarryT]

Interesting results. Thanks for sharing them with us! At least we now know who to ask if we need a charger .

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Interesting results. Thanks for sharing them with us! At least we now know who to ask if we need a charger .

I do know where there are several just sitting around awaiting fulfillment of their life's purpose.

I wouldn't call what I did particularly thorough. I didn't visit 20 different stores testing hundreds of brands. I only went to one store, a specialty PlayStation shop (three floors of just PlayStation things) but I did buy one of each of the different USB block chargers (as well as the one that was already known to work just to cover my butt.) To those I added the few MP3 chargers I already had in the house. Good thing I covered my butt. I am pretty psyched about this interesting little lithium battery pack charger though. I don't have any idea what I'm going to use it for, but it seemed like a good idea at the time so I bought it. Apparently, should I ever need to charge something (other than a Sony 505) and don't have access to a computer or AC power, this thing will power up a device. At least, I 'think' that's what it does. My ability reading the Japanese on the package is almost as good as my skills in Alchemy but I do like the pretty little lights that glow when I plug the thing in. That should count for something.

Stitchawl