What is the best solution for quick charging the Galaxy Nexus in an automobile?
I have started to use 12-220 volt converter so I can use wall chargers.
I have bought a few of the low profile car usb chargers but they were never recognized as an AC charge. Come to find out, it was the USB cable. I bought a usb charging cable from Amazon last week and it goes in the USB charger and the phone does not think it is a USB charge. I have not timed it but it is recognized the same as the wall charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY
ellisz said:
I have bought a few of the low profile car usb chargers but they were never recognized as an AC charge. Come to find out, it was the USB cable. I bought a usb charging cable from Amazon last week and it goes in the USB charger and the phone does not think it is a USB charge. I have not timed it but it is recognized the same as the wall charger.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY
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+1 .. this solution has been working great for me, as well.
I've been getting 2.1A car chargers (look for ones for the iPad), most of the ones I had prior to this were 700mA or so and they can't keep up with my 1A phones. Be careful of dual port chargers advertising 2A, they may only be 1A each and may be "optimistic" about that rating. And don't worry about getting one rated for too much current, the Galaxy Nexus won't pull more than an amp no matter what the charger rating.
Some really good solutions here and thank you all for the help.
I'd really hate to use an inventer in my car just to maintain a clean install, so that really isnt an option for me.
Was really hoping to be able to use a off the shelf car charger with the correct pins to trick the GNexus into thinking that it was charging from a USB port, but the above solution should work well with using a socket USB charger.
I've never run into a car adapter that looks like a USB port, including the VZW charger with a spare port or the cheap 2.1A chargers I got from Amazon. My guess is that a charger not built correctly and leaving the data pins open only supports ~500mA anyway. Even if that's not the case I have a moral objection toward buying a cable to fix a design flaw in another cheap product - but that's just me
Grant H said:
Some really good solutions here and thank you all for the help.
I'd really hate to use an inventer in my car just to maintain a clean install, so that really isnt an option for me.
Was really hoping to be able to use a off the shelf car charger with the correct pins to trick the GNexus into thinking that it was charging from a USB port, but the above solution should work well with using a socket USB charger.
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I've got a charger similar to http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/USB-Car-...ccessories&hash=item4ab18358f4#ht_1638wt_1392
All I had to do was undo the screws at the top, put a bit of solder between the middle usb pins, and my phone recognises it as a AC source rather than USB.
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
Grant H said:
What is the best solution for quick charging the Galaxy Nexus in an automobile?
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Make sure the charger has the IC (rapid) chip. I use this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehicle-Adapter-micro-USB-Charger/dp/B000S5Q9CA
I've heard that Motorola one mentioned a lot as a good one.
The nice thing about having the low-profile usb plug is (a) it is low profile, (b) I can use it to charge other devices. The charge-only cable is only about $4, so I had no issues buying it to work with this to charge as an AC charge over a USB charge.
Grant H said:
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
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Click to collapse
I have this one and it charges just like it does from the home outlet and its says "AC" charging. I bought another 8 for family and friends and they all love it.
I think I've figured out the disconnect, I've run into chargers that appear as a USB host which limits the charging to 500mA on previous phones I've had.
You guys are concerned about USB vs. AC charging mode. Of the chargers I've got, this one lists as AC while the rest as USB. However, the fact that the other chargers all work just fine keeping up with GPS+streaming music indicates that the USB vs. AC really has no bearing on the charge current delivered. I'd stay away from charge-only cables just because they'll get mixed in with your standard USB cables and you'll knock yourself out wondering why they don't work. On the other hand, if you really want AC in your battery info order the one I linked.
I keep it in my car... i think I've heard on other threads that USB charging doesn't keep up with GPS (for Directions). Any verify?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
TheKaz said:
I keep it in my car... i think I've heard on other threads that USB charging doesn't keep up with GPS (for Directions). Any verify?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
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What's much more important is the rating on the power source. The GN can pull up to 1000mA, if your charger is only rated for 800mA (like many car chargers) it doesn't matter if it's in AC mode.
jdbower said:
What's much more important is the rating on the power source. The GN can pull up to 1000mA, if your charger is only rated for 800mA (like many car chargers) it doesn't matter if it's in AC mode.
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makes sense.. the one I use has dual usb (1.0 and 2.1)
You went and gave me a project for the weekend, and once again science prevails over anecdotal evidence. I took each of my 5 chargers and hooked them up to a 12V power supply that measures current. I then recorded whether the charger reported AC or USB, for the ones with USB I modified a right-angle adapter to short out the data pins, and I measured the current. The contenders:
Verizon Wireless Dual Charger
XTG Dual Port Charger
Griffen Powerjolt Dual USB Charger
Griffen Portjolt Micro
CostMad Dual USB Charger
The VZW model was USB out the external port as I had tested before, however AC out the built-in cable which I hadn't bothered to test. It pulled 0.25A @12V via the USB port and 0.59A via the cable. Hmmm... A hole develops in my previous observation. While I had used this on a long car trip with no issues, it was via the built-in cable.
The XTG was new, I hadn't used it before as it's in the car I rarely drive. It reported USB and 0.22A. With the adapter to make it report AC it pulled 0.48A.
The pattern was set. I had expected the Griffen adapters to be built more appropriately but the dual charger reported 0.22A without the adapter and 0.42A with. I had used this without losing charge in the past so this was surprising to me, but it's possible I just wasn't drawing as much current because the screen was dimmer or something.
The compact Griffen adapter (which is great for a laptop bag, BTW) pulled 0.21A and 0.47A respectively.
The cheap CostMad adapter was the only one that performed well out of the box, both reporting AC and pulled 0.57A.
In theory, a perfect adapter should pull 0.42A. Anything more is waste, anything less means it's not keeping up. I have doubts about the Griffen 2x allowing for a full amp, but the VZW and CostMad chargers are pretty lossy. What's even worse is that I'm pretty sure the VZW charger is rated for 800mA (but I can't find an actual spec on it) which would mean that it pulled the most power for the least current. Not that this really matters unless you've got an electric car.
Sorry for misleading you earlier, I should have checked the other port of the known-good VZW charger and probably doublechecked the numbers on my other "known good" charger. Still hating cables that work for charging but not for data, I ended up modifying each of the chargers to short the middle pins (except for the VZW one). If I didn't have the soldering iron for this, I probably would have gone for some of these instead.
Grant H said:
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CyberPunk7t9 said:
Make sure the charger has the IC (rapid) chip. I use this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehicle-Adapter-micro-USB-Charger/dp/B000S5Q9CA
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I'm using the same one and it works perfect. Charges even when GPS navigation is running.
Make sure you select Amazon as the seller though. I heard there are a lot of fake ones.
Grant H said:
There has got to be a standard car charger on the market with the middle usb pins already soldiered!
I found this on Amazon which advertises itself as a rapid charging device.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 to those recommending this one. I have this exact model and it does indeed charge at the "AC" rate, about twice as fast as the "USB" rate.
TheKaz said:
I keep it in my car... i think I've heard on other threads that USB charging doesn't keep up with GPS (for Directions). Any verify?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
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The Motorola one will charge even when using GPS. I have a friend I bought one for that uses his GPS all day and loves the Motorola charger.
Related
So I bought a car usb charger that claimed it was rated at 1 amp. Using both my blackberry and HTC oem usb cables it will only show up as a USB charger (500ma).
This is not exactly enough to charge the phone while using 3g, gps, full screen brightness, etc. I'm looking for a good confirmed 1 amp hardwire (not using a usb cable) car charger and home charger. I used my sisters Samsung charger (rated at 700ma) and it charged it quicker than with the OEM htc charger.
And I would like to try and get ones that are confirmed to show up as fully charging the phone. I would appreciate some insight
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
And now that I think about it,
I would like to be able to use my Amazon prime for a change, so amazon links would be nice
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I went through a few different car chargers, so I can help you out here. I bought the Belkin car charger recommended here in another thread, low profile and rated at 1A, but my phone only recognized it as USB and charging was fairly slow, extended road trips using video recording and navigation while plugged in would drain my battery over time.
I used my friend's palm pre home charger and it worked very well, so I went on to Amazon and bought the "palm vehicle charger". The one I got in the mail (from Park Deals) was DOA, wouldn't turn on at all (I emailed Park Deals and they sent me a new replacement free of charge, didn't even have me ship back the defective one). I called the local radio shacks and found one in stock at $9.99 (radio shack isn't carrying palm anymore, so the accessories are on closeout but hard to find in stock). Works like a charm, the phone recognizes as AC charging, the phone still charges while running navi or recording video.
My friend got a cheapo car kit on ebay, came with rubberized case, mount that fits the evo with the same case on, and a cheap unlabeled car charger with a bungie type cord. I tried this on my phone, my evo recognizes it as AC also, so I assume it would charge well if it's rated at 1A. I've seen several other cheapo car chargers rated at 1A as well.
Another thread here on XDA says that if you modify your charger/cable by altering the middle data pins you can get the phone to believe the usb port is plugged into the wall and draw full current from the charger. I tried covering the two middle pins with a piece of paper and plugging it in, but this didn't work for me. The other methods involved shorting the two data pins together, I didn't really want to waste a cable or mess up a charger and potentially my phone so I just bought a different charger. Another thread mentioned buying a specific rocketfish usb cable had a similar effect.
nhutpham said:
I went through a few different car chargers, so I can help you out here. I bought the Belkin car charger recommended here in another thread, low profile and rated at 1A, but my phone only recognized it as USB and charging was fairly slow, extended road trips using video recording and navigation while plugged in would drain my battery over time.
I used my friend's palm pre home charger and it worked very well, so I went on to Amazon and bought the "palm vehicle charger". The one I got in the mail (from Park Deals) was DOA, wouldn't turn on at all (I emailed Park Deals and they sent me a new replacement free of charge, didn't even have me ship back the defective one). I called the local radio shacks and found one in stock at $9.99 (radio shack isn't carrying palm anymore, so the accessories are on closeout but hard to find in stock). Works like a charm, the phone recognizes as AC charging, the phone still charges while running navi or recording video.
My friend got a cheapo car kit on ebay, came with rubberized case, mount that fits the evo with the same case on, and a cheap unlabeled car charger with a bungie type cord. I tried this on my phone, my evo recognizes it as AC also, so I assume it would charge well if it's rated at 1A. I've seen several other cheapo car chargers rated at 1A as well.
Another thread here on XDA says that if you modify your charger/cable by altering the middle data pins you can get the phone to believe the usb port is plugged into the wall and draw full current from the charger. I tried covering the two middle pins with a piece of paper and plugging it in, but this didn't work for me. The other methods involved shorting the two data pins together, I didn't really want to waste a cable or mess up a charger and potentially my phone so I just bought a different charger. Another thread mentioned buying a specific rocketfish usb cable had a similar effect.
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Click to collapse
That was me on both accounts. Love my rocket fish cable. Bought the 12v/usb converter for the car and whether or not i use the pc or car to charge, it shows as ac charger on the phone. I use this cable on all my pc's as well as the usb outlet in my vehicle.
This is the charger that I bought from amazon. It shows up as charging from AC (instead of USB) charging. It's available for Amazon Prime for under $6:
The Motorola P513 micro-usb charger.
Ok so I ended up with the Moto 513 charger as well (950ma rated)
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi..._1_5?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1280759739&sr=8-5
But I cant find any AC chargers under prime that are 1000ma
investinwaffles said:
Ok so I ended up with the Moto 513 charger as well (950ma rated)
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehi..._1_5?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1280759739&sr=8-5
But I cant find any AC chargers under prime that are 1000ma
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Click to collapse
this one works great. I have it.
Ok, so I found an OEM Nokia for the N97 that is rated at 1200ma. Is this safe to buy for my phone?
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Origina..._1_2?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1280760676&sr=8-2
Auction with more specifics of the charger:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NOKIA-US-AC-10U...ccessories&hash=item414e190fa7#ht_2800wt_1026
There's a nokia micro usb charger for $6.99 available for Amaazon Prime. The model number is AC 6U. ASIN: B0030T0ULW
I'm charging with the scosche reviveII at 2.1 amps without any problems.
linhpham2 said:
There's a nokia micro usb charger for $6.99 available for Amaazon Prime. The model number is AC 6U. ASIN: B0030T0ULW
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From this ebay listing it looks like the AC-6U is only a ~600ma charger:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NOKIA-CELL-PHON..._Accessories&hash=item5639f88b1c#ht_500wt_721
I think ill spend the extra few bucks on the 1200ma charger, I don't think ill have any problems (and i have the best buy warranty also so I'm not too worried).
linhpham2 said:
I'm charging with the scosche reviveII at 2.1 amps without any problems.
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How fast does it charge?
One the 2.1 amp port, the Evo only charges at 1 amp. The Evo doesn't charge any faster with this charger than any other 1 amp charger.
linhpham2 said:
One the 2.1 amp port, the Evo only charges at 1 amp. The Evo doesn't charge any faster with this charger than any other 1 amp charger.
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Gotcha, thanks for the info.
I just ordered a Rocketfish cable. We'll see how that works.
Would be nice if they made a Y-cable to get 1amp from 2 USB ports in a PC. I mean, I know they MAKE cables like this but I read somewhere that HTC phones were designed to still only charge at 500mAh even with one of those.
Dunno.
It depends on what you're using as a charging source. When usb charging on my home pc or car, it's AC charging at 1 amp.. But if I'm charging with my Energizer external battery, it's only USB charging at 0.5 amp. This is using the same usb cable.
iGo
Would anyone happen to know what an iGo tip (A97) delivers? I am trying to rig up a custom solution that is hard-wired, but uses iGo tips so I don't have to use the cigarette lighter plug and I have the flexibility at the corner of my windshield to swap tips for different devices.
Right now, I have a 4-port USB hub installed under the dash that is 12v powered. I then use a proprietary iGo cable that uses a standard PC style USB connector on one end and then terminates into an iGo tip connector at the other end. That USB cable runs up to the corner of the windshield so I can swap tips at will.
If I use the iGo A97 tip on their cigarette lighter adapter, it seems to charge, but I am not sure at what rate. If I try to use the A97 tip on the USB hub, it charges for about 2 seconds, and then the light goes out. The Evo does not seem to like the custom arrangement, yet all my other micro usb devices do not seem to have any issues and charge just fine...
Thanks,
-Rob
I can attest to the Moto 513 working fine - it has served me very well on my Evo and the Treo Pro before it.
Unfortunately it is a big ass charger though - wish there was a good micro option.
How do u determine how much power its actually charging at or if its not using the full 1amp rating?
_______________________________
Sent from my EVO 4G
robroy90 said:
Would anyone happen to know what an iGo tip (A97) delivers? I am trying to rig up a custom solution that is hard-wired, but uses iGo tips so I don't have to use the cigarette lighter plug and I have the flexibility at the corner of my windshield to swap tips for different devices.
Right now, I have a 4-port USB hub installed under the dash that is 12v powered. I then use a proprietary iGo cable that uses a standard PC style USB connector on one end and then terminates into an iGo tip connector at the other end. That USB cable runs up to the corner of the windshield so I can swap tips at will.
If I use the iGo A97 tip on their cigarette lighter adapter, it seems to charge, but I am not sure at what rate. If I try to use the A97 tip on the USB hub, it charges for about 2 seconds, and then the light goes out. The Evo does not seem to like the custom arrangement, yet all my other micro usb devices do not seem to have any issues and charge just fine...
Thanks,
-Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should pull 1A off the Igo
how do i determine if its recognizing a charger as ac versus usb? could this be rom specific? it seems to charge much faster with cyanogen than it did with damagecontrol
I have been on the hunt for a charger for my car and home that shows up as an AC charger so that I can get a faster charge. After a bit of tinkering I have found that all you need to do to get ANY charger to show up as a AC charger is to have 5V on the standard USB + & - leads and simply connect the two data wires together. This will tell the phone that this is an AC adaptor.
I actually bought a cheapo 1A USB car charger from DealExtreme and it was supposed to show up as an AC adaptor but it didn't. So I carefully opened it up and de-soldered the resistors that were connected to the data pins on the PCB and verified that there were no more connections going to the two data pins on the USB connector (the two middle pins) and then put a small dab of solder across them. I plugged my MonoPrice USB cable into it and went to my car. Lo and behold it shows up as an AC adaptor AND actually charges at the full 1 AMP capacity!
Just wanted to share this with you guys. If people want to send me their chargers I would be happy to mod them for you (just pay shipping). I was also thinking about picking up a bunch of the USB 1A car chargers from DealExtreme, modding them, and then re-selling them. Would anyone be interested?
houseofbugs said:
I have been on the hunt for a charger for my car and home that shows up as an AC charger so that I can get a faster charge. After a bit of tinkering I have found that all you need to do to get ANY charger to show up as a AC charger is to have 5V on the standard USB + & - leads and simply connect the two data wires together. This will tell the phone that this is an AC adaptor.
I actually bought a cheapo 1A USB car charger from DealExtreme and it was supposed to show up as an AC adaptor but it didn't. So I carefully opened it up and de-soldered the resistors that were connected to the data pins on the PCB and verified that there were no more connections going to the two data pins on the USB connector (the two middle pins) and then put a small dab of solder across them. I plugged my MonoPrice USB cable into it and went to my car. Lo and behold it shows up as an AC adaptor AND actually charges at the full 1 AMP capacity!
Just wanted to share this with you guys. If people want to send me their chargers I would be happy to mod them for you (just pay shipping). I was also thinking about picking up a bunch of the USB 1A car chargers from DealExtreme, modding them, and then re-selling them. Would anyone be interested?
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the post! I just wanted to add to it a link which includes some more information about performing this "mod." I haven't done mine yet, but I intend to soon.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=767961
Sb22 said:
Thanks for the post! I just wanted to add to it a link which includes some more information about performing this "mod." I haven't done mine yet, but I intend to soon.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=767961
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that link! I didn't know if anyone else tried this yet. But I can verify that it works perfectly! The best part is that my car charger looks stock as I used 2-part epoxy to glue it back together.
i have said it before and i will say it agai , fast full 1amp charges a bad for your battery and do not allow proper charges this you get **** for battery life.
nice mods but not good for battery life
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
v_lestat said:
i have said it before and i will say it again , fast full 1amp charges are bad for your battery and do not allow proper charges. you get **** for battery life.
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i heard you say that before, and i thought you were full of crap. after trying it for several charge cycles, it is plain as day. your battery charge WILL last longer from a slow usb half amp charge. seriously.
sometimes, however, it isn't worth waiting for. in a "non-primary" charging location such as a car, I can see the benefit in catching a quicker "top-off" charge.
I know your post is old, but THANK YOU MAN !!, i was having trouble obtaining only 100mAh from a AA-battery portable charger, modded a cable and now it's working so fine !!
Hmm, I could probably modify one of my short USB extension cables and cut off the data pins and keep that cable somewhere for cases where i'd prefer the turbo charge... Just snap on this usb extension cable (or maybe even an adapter) and boom you're getting the 1A charge
PS: my old WinXP box actually complains and shuts off the usb port if it sucks more than usual 500 mA, you would need to solder two usb connectors in parallel to fix that
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
so, my question is, why is it called "rapid" if it doesn't charge any faster?
and i suppose secondly, is there an actual microUSB charger that will charge the Thunderbolt faster?
they make one for the iphone that will fully charge it in 30 minutes so i know they are out there.
voxigenboy said:
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you should try this one.
Install the battery monitor widget. Monitor the battery for about 20 minutes while charging. Tell us what the charge current is.
Does the Motorola charger include a cable? If not, you may just have a weak cable. I have seen cheap cables with wire so thin that the charging current is no better then charging off a weak USB port.
My experience has been that the phone typically recognizes car charges as USB charging and uses a different charging profile. My solution to that is use a wall charger through an inverter or a kernel that doesn't use radically different charging profiles for A/C and USB.
loonatik78 said:
My experience has been that the phone typically recognizes car charges as USB charging and uses a different charging profile. My solution to that is use a wall charger through an inverter or a kernel that doesn't use radically different charging profiles for A/C and USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need for that.
Cut a small piece of aluminum foil. Carefully place it where it shorts the two center conductors in the charger. Plug the USB cable into the charger. Make sure the foil stays in place over the two center conductors.
It is now a high rate charger. (assuming it can put out 1 amp.)
The limiting factor is typically the usb cable itself. Most usb cables can't support the 1amp that is provided to it. Since you used the original usb cable that came with the thunderbolt (that's been "shorted" as mentioned above" ) it will be just as fast as the moto car charger. the 1amp charging rate that the moto charger charges at (i have one) and that the original one charges at are already "rapid". if you plugged a normal usb cable from somewhere else into the other usb car charger, it'd be much much slower
squeakyl said:
The limiting factor is typically the usb cable itself. Most usb cables can't support the 1amp that is provided to it. Since you used the original usb cable that came with the thunderbolt (that's been "shorted" as mentioned above" ) it will be just as fast as the moto car charger. the 1amp charging rate that the moto charger charges at (i have one) and that the original one charges at are already "rapid". if you plugged a normal usb cable from somewhere else into the other usb car charger, it'd be much much slower
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock charger is what shorts the connections. The cable is NOT shorted on the two inner pins because they are the data connections used for connecting your phone to a computer.
doodlebro said:
The stock charger is what shorts the connections. The cable is NOT shorted on the two inner pins because they are the data connections used for connecting your phone to a computer.
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Click to collapse
To meet the USB charging spec (which the TB uses), the two inner (data) contacts should be shorted with no more that 200 ohms.
But, the cable can also be an issue for rapid charging. The voltage drop for a 1A/5V source, across only .5 M of 28 gauge copper is ~220 mV. If you use a longer cable, there's more voltage drop. The TB likely current limits itself when the voltage drops below a certain threshold. Best to buy 24 gauge USB cables, if you can, especially if getting longer ones (monoprice has them).
voxigenboy said:
i bought that Motorola Rapid Car charger recent and have been using it about a week now. i've noticed that it doesn't seem to charge my Thunderbolt any faster then it did when i was using the Thunderbolt's USB cable with this USB car charger adapter.
so, my question is, why is it called "rapid" if it doesn't charge any faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think its a matter of rated output current. BUT on the other side, the phone must be capable of drawing/using that much current. If the adapter is rated for more current than the phone can charge, the "extra" current wont be supplied.
Initially, Moto's standard car chargers output 5V and up to 550ma max (just like a standard PC USB port) so they didn't charge phones all that fast. Moto then came out with chargers that had higher current output, so they were capable of charging the phones "faster" than the original car chargers (but on par with the home/travel/AC chargers) and called them "rapid car chargers"..
Today, the current output on the Moto SPN5400A car charger is 0-950mA, and I've seen it sometimes referred to as "Rapid Car charger."
But as far as I know, Moto no longer makes/sells the lower current car chargers, and their web site only shows one MicroUSB and one MiniUSB car charger for sale, both of which appear to be of the 0-950mA output variety.
voxigenboy said:
and i suppose secondly, is there an actual microUSB charger that will charge the Thunderbolt faster?
they make one for the iphone that will fully charge it in 30 minutes so i know they are out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because someone makes such a charger for the iPhone, doesn't mean one must exist for the TB, or other phones, does it? I know the iPad uses a 2A charger. What happens if you connect an iPhone to that? will it charge faster? I guess that depends on if the iPhone is capable of drawing more than 1A to charge it.
I've not seen a "home" or AC charger that can charge the TB any faster than the Stock 1A charger. Does such a thing exist?
A proper car charger with 950mA to 1A output should charge the TB at almost exactly the same rate as the stock 1A wall/AC charger.
And btw, the Moto SPN5400A car charger DOES charge my TB in about the same amount of time that it takes me to charge my TB at home with the stock HTC charger. So while its not "rapid" compared to the stock home/travel/AC charger, its "rapid" compared to PC USB Port charging, or a plain lower current car charger.
KidJoe said:
I've not seen a "home" or AC charger that can charge the TB any faster than the Stock 1A charger. Does such a thing exist?
A proper car charger with 950mA to 1A output should charge the TB at almost exactly the same rate as the stock 1A wall/AC charger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made a charger for my motorcycle. I use it as a GPS, screen on MAX, phone active with marginal signal. And I wanted to actually charge the battery at the same time. I did a lot of experimenting with the Thunderbolt. It would not exceed a pull of about 850ma from the supply, even at 5.5 volts. IMHO, you are wasting time looking for any charger over 1 amp.
Also, even with about 850ma in, not much over 500ma is getting to the battery. So a totally dead battery is still going to take between 2 and 3 hours to charge, no matter what charger you have. And twice that long if the charger looks like a PC USB port.
worwig said:
I made a charger for my motorcycle. I use it as a GPS, screen on MAX, phone active with marginal signal. And I wanted to actually charge the battery at the same time. I did a lot of experimenting with the Thunderbolt. It would not exceed a pull of about 850ma from the supply, even at 5.5 volts. IMHO, you are wasting time looking for any charger over 1 amp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was asking because of the OP's statement about knowing "they must exist" because they are out there for the iPhone.
I'm perfectly happy with my Moto car charger, and how fast it charges my phones.
Hello. I'm trying to pick a car charger that would work with the galaxy nexus. from what I've read so far the samsung CAD300UBEB/STD model seems to do the trick but a few review says that the battery discharges faster than the charger can charge it back under heavy usage. can anybody confirm or deny this?
and also, I would like to know if that same charger would work for a galaxy S2. I'm looking for a charger than can be used with both models because I have both phones. the listing of models in amazon website doesn't list the nexus or the S2. so I want to make sure before buying it. thanks!
I'm also interested. I was just looking at this discussion on Reddit taht goes a little more in depth
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/nwerk/why_is_my_galaxy_nexus_losing_power_while_plugged/
KidCuda said:
I'm also interested. I was just looking at this discussion on Reddit taht goes a little more in depth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The motorola charger listed there seems work well for the nexus and also for the S2 according to amazon reviews.
I went with one of these and a USB cable, and it seems to work just fine. Also gives me a spare USB port for additional charging.
mb_3000 said:
The motorola charger listed there seems work well for the nexus and also for the S2 according to amazon reviews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Motorola one already (the one with the blue LED) when I had my Droid 3, now it can't keep up with the Nexus' power drain. Just using it moderately on 3G only in the car today had it drain 3% over 40 minutes.
TheKaz said:
I went with one of these and a USB cable, and it seems to work just fine. Also gives me a spare USB port for additional charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not according to this guy
I have a galaxy nexus cell phone which requires probably around 1.5 Amps when using GPS. The phone does not come with the car charger. It only comes with a 2A wall charger. My temporary solution has been to use a car power inverter that has house-type outlets on it (which I already had) so that I can use the wall charger in the car. This has been working fine, but for obvious reasons, is not my desired long-term solution.
Enter this piece of crap. Now, the phone and only requires a little over 1 A with GPS. With the real two amp wall charger, I am able to both run GPS and charge the battery pretty darn fast. But, with this charger, not only can I not use GPS without draining the battery, but even when not using anything special, the battery charging times are horrendous.
Stay far, far away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mb_3000 said:
not according to this guy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow... granted, I am not using a GPS, but I never really checked the charge times. I don't rely on it for a fast full-charge.. usually just plug it in on the trip home and charge as much as it can until I plug it in at home.
Thanks for the heads up.. I am gonna have to keep an eye on it now.
TheKaz said:
Wow... granted, I am not using a GPS, but I never really checked the charge times. I don't rely on it for a fast full-charge.. usually just plug it in on the trip home and charge as much as it can until I plug it in at home.
Thanks for the heads up.. I am gonna have to keep an eye on it now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've researched this pretty thoroughly, and the key question is whether or not your GN shows "AC" when you check the Battery status, or if it shows "USB."
With most car chargers, it is seen as "USB" as if it's plugged into a computer, and will draw minimal current, generally not enough to keep up. I had 2 different chargers in my cars, none of which showed as "AC". I bought and then returned the Griffin PowerJolt Dual USB Micro Charger - it also showed as only "USB."
Finally, in one of the other Android forums I've been monitoring on this issue, somebody came across this one:
HTC T-Mobile myTouch 3G Car Charger
$3.12, free shipping. Mine came yesterday, plugged it in, and finally my GN showed charging as "AC".
Hope this helps!
When your smartphone shows your charger as ''USB'' this means that the USB data lines in the charger are not short-circuited. Then smartphone reduces its charging current to avoind any problems with USB laptop power sources
I made some experiments to check this point : see http://78michel.unblog.fr/?p=184.
I also opened a car charger and short-circuited the data lines on USB the plug . That way I have solved my previuos charging problem in my car during long trip.
DLCPhoto said:
I've researched this pretty thoroughly, and the key question is whether or not your GN shows "AC" when you check the Battery status, or if it shows "USB."
With most car chargers, it is seen as "USB" as if it's plugged into a computer, and will draw minimal current, generally not enough to keep up. I had 2 different chargers in my cars, none of which showed as "AC". I bought and then returned the Griffin PowerJolt Dual USB Micro Charger - it also showed as only "USB."
Finally, in one of the other Android forums I've been monitoring on this issue, somebody came across this one:
HTC T-Mobile myTouch 3G Car Charger
$3.12, free shipping. Mine came yesterday, plugged it in, and finally my GN showed charging as "AC".
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It helped indeed, thanks for the link!
this is what i bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
i've used it now 4 times, twice on a trip from south florida to orlando.
It charges the phone just as fast, if not faster than my home charger. On the way back, my phone was at 35%, within 2 hours it was back up to 100%. No GPS and a couple phone calls.
on the way up, GPS on and it never dropped below 97%.
so i can tell you without any doubt what-so-ever that this charger works perfectly with the galaxy nexus and will charge it with Navigation and phone calls running.
TheKaz said:
I went with one of these and a USB cable, and it seems to work just fine. Also gives me a spare USB port for additional charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought a charger very similar to this one and it works great in my car. I make sure any charger I get is rated 5V DC at 1000mAh at least.
I have 2 USB 2.5A dongle chargers, one by Belkin and the other by Kingston. Both register as charging via "USB mode" and do not provide sufficient power while the phone is in use(loses charge usually). I also have that Motorola Rapid charger but the way the cable is designed it tugs on the USB port and comes loose often. I ended up just using the normal USB cable that comes with the phone and a 140W power inverter. Granted, it's not the most compact of devices, but it works well. I got it from Walmart for $20. Here's a link to it:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-XI14-Power-Inverter/15140199?findingMethod=rr
(and yes, using a power inverter will have the phone registering as "charging AC" and give a full proper charge.)
I'm using a Scoshe (sp?) dual USB port charger I picked up from Staples. It has a 1amp port and a 2.1amp port and I just use the micro usb cable the GNex came with
neok44 said:
this is what i bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
i've used it now 4 times, twice on a trip from south florida to orlando.
It charges the phone just as fast, if not faster than my home charger. On the way back, my phone was at 35%, within 2 hours it was back up to 100%. No GPS and a couple phone calls.
on the way up, GPS on and it never dropped below 97%.
so i can tell you without any doubt what-so-ever that this charger works perfectly with the galaxy nexus and will charge it with Navigation and phone calls running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! that's what I wanted to hear. I'm getting this one. it works for both Nexus and GSII
trueislander said:
I'm using a Scoshe (sp?) dual USB port charger I picked up from Staples. It has a 1amp port and a 2.1amp port and I just use the micro usb cable the GNex came with
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it charge as USB or AC with the scosche? I'm looking for a dual USB car charger that will work properly with the GN.
jhuynh said:
Does it charge as USB or AC with the scosche? I'm looking for a dual USB car charger that will work properly with the GN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was another thread, I think in the General that discussed all of this, what people came up with was the best combination if you want a dual port usb charger is to make sure you have a "charging only" USB cable. This cable will not make your phone think it is connected to a computer. You can tweek a data/charging cable to work but some people messed that up so it is probably worth just spending the $4 on a cable that works.
Here is my combination that works great. With this set up I can have on my navigation going with the screen on the whole time and stream Pandora over Bluetooth into my car and the battery still charges really quickly.
Dual USB Port with a 1 amp port and a 2.1 amp port (2.1 amp port is for tablets or power hungry devices - like the phone while navigating). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056VNVV8/ref=oh_o01_s00_i01_details
Charging Only USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
This combo has me as "Charging AC" whenever I am in the car and I still have a port open to charge another one of the 27 or so different electronic devices that seem to clutter my life!
Some details on the changes I made on my car chargers
Text is in french but photographs speak by themselves http://78michel.unblog.fr/?p=212
jhuynh said:
Does it charge as USB or AC with the scosche? I'm looking for a dual USB car charger that will work properly with the GN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just like bmolly said, it works as AC is you use a "charge only" cable
bmolloy said:
There was another thread, I think in the General that discussed all of this, what people came up with was the best combination if you want a dual port usb charger is to make sure you have a "charging only" USB cable. This cable will not make your phone think it is connected to a computer. You can tweek a data/charging cable to work but some people messed that up so it is probably worth just spending the $4 on a cable that works.
Here is my combination that works great. With this set up I can have on my navigation going with the screen on the whole time and stream Pandora over Bluetooth into my car and the battery still charges really quickly.
Dual USB Port with a 1 amp port and a 2.1 amp port (2.1 amp port is for tablets or power hungry devices - like the phone while navigating). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0056VNVV8/ref=oh_o01_s00_i01_details
Charging Only USB cable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VYBCAY/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
This combo has me as "Charging AC" whenever I am in the car and I still have a port open to charge another one of the 27 or so different electronic devices that seem to clutter my life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. It's been driving me mad how car chargers and cables are so inconsistent. Pun intended.
Seriously, why can they come up with a standard and call it a day?
I have a had a few GPS/Pandora runs. Even while it says AC charging and my charger is rated for 1A, it drains the battery by 300-400ma.
Anyone know of a good source to get an OEM cord that will properly charge in the car? Tried monoprice and a couple others and they appear to be charging but don't actually charge.
sent from my hammerhead
Anyone?
sent from my hammerhead
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=51825009
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
If you are trying to charge from a USB port built in to your car, you are only going to get a 500mA current which isn't enough to charge your phone if you're using navigation or anything.
For a charger that will work well in the car, look at the Anker PowerIQ charger.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
Both ports will charge Android devices or iPhones at the full rate.
raptir said:
If you are trying to charge from a USB port built in to your car, you are only going to get a 500mA current which isn't enough to charge your phone if you're using navigation or anything.
For a charger that will work well in the car, look at the Anker PowerIQ charger.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
Both ports will charge Android devices or iPhones at the full rate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if u turn off ur screen & only listen to the directions, it will charge, but if u want to see where ur going, the battery will remain flat. power in = power out.
raptir said:
If you are trying to charge from a USB port built in to your car, you are only going to get a 500mA current which isn't enough to charge your phone if you're using navigation or anything.
For a charger that will work well in the car, look at the Anker PowerIQ charger.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
Both ports will charge Android devices or iPhones at the full rate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whaaaaaat?? Cars can put out more than 500ma
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Ben36 said:
Whaaaaaat?? Cars can put out more than 500ma
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the port is a charging-only port, sure. But most are charging + data ports.
I have a car charger but for some reason the cables I've gotten don't charge properly, even though it looks like it is.
sent from my hammerhead
Ben36 said:
Whaaaaaat?? Cars can put out more than 500ma
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It varies dramatically from car to car, even from year to year. Generally, if it doesn't look like it's charging much, if at all, it's because it's not putting out enough amps, period.
ldubs said:
I have a car charger but for some reason the cables I've gotten don't charge properly, even though it looks like it is.
sent from my hammerhead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How have you determined that it is the cable and not the charger? It is much more likely that a charger would be defective than a cable.
raptir said:
How have you determined that it is the cable and not the charger? It is much more likely that a charger would be defective than a cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because I had an OEM cable working fine in the charger, but the tiny clips at the end got bent down and now it doesn't stay seated properly in the charging port, so I tried a couple of places (Amazon, Monoprice) to get a replacement OEM charging cable - I have a dual port charger and have tried both ports with the replacement cables. They appear to charge (battery icon spins, using Mahdi Rom) my phone but when I get home the battery level is lower than when I plugged it into the car. Hence my quest to find an OEM charging cable, with the proper tiny clips so it stays properly seated, that I can use in the car. Monoprice cable fits nicely in the charging port, but doesn't seem to charge the phone. Not sure if there are data-only cables made but these were advertised as charging/sync cables...
Well, Monoprice has a lifetime guarantee so if you received defective cables they will replace them. I use both the Monoprice Premium cable and the standard cable and have no issue with any charger.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=9762&seq=1&format=2
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=4868&seq=1&format=2
The only issue I run into is that one of my chargers is an iPhone charger and thus shows as "Charging (USB)" when you go to the Battery menu. That means they will only charge at 500mA which is not enough power to keep the phone running as a GPS. This Anker PowerIQ charger plus either of the Monoprice cables charges my phone without any issue (displays "Charging (AC)") while using the phone as a GPS.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
Edit: Also, when you say "OEM cable" do you mean the one that came with your Nexus 5 or the cable that came with your charger (since both are provided by the manufacturer of the equipment)? If it's the one that came with your Nexus 5 it is probably just that you received a defective cable since the Nexus 5 cable is a standard sync + charge cable. If it came with your charger it may be that your charger uses the iPhone spec and needs a charge only cable to properly charge an Android phone.
raptir said:
Well, Monoprice has a lifetime guarantee so if you received defective cables they will replace them. I use both the Monoprice Premium cable and the standard cable and have no issue with any charger.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=9762&seq=1&format=2
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030307&p_id=4868&seq=1&format=2
The only issue I run into is that one of my chargers is an iPhone charger and thus shows as "Charging (USB)" when you go to the Battery menu. That means they will only charge at 500mA which is not enough power to keep the phone running as a GPS. This Anker PowerIQ charger plus either of the Monoprice cables charges my phone without any issue (displays "Charging (AC)") while using the phone as a GPS.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
Edit: Also, when you say "OEM cable" do you mean the one that came with your Nexus 5 or the cable that came with your charger (since both are provided by the manufacturer of the equipment)? If it's the one that came with your Nexus 5 it is probably just that you received a defective cable since the Nexus 5 cable is a standard sync + charge cable. If it came with your charger it may be that your charger uses the iPhone spec and needs a charge only cable to properly charge an Android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant the cable that came with my Nexus (or maybe it came with my wireless charger). Car charger didn't come with a cable, I got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006SU0SX0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Like I said, it was working fine with the original cable until the tiny pins got bent and it no longer stays seated in the charging port properly. I have the 3 foot version of that monoprice cable.
ldubs said:
I meant the cable that came with my Nexus (or maybe it came with my wireless charger). Car charger didn't come with a cable, I got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006SU0SX0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Like I said, it was working fine with the original cable until the tiny pins got bent and it no longer stays seated in the charging port properly. I have the 3 foot version of that monoprice cable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then the only thing I can think of is that you received a defective cable. I use this charger with the monoprice cable and have no issue:
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
raptir said:
Then the only thing I can think of is that you received a defective cable. I use this charger with the monoprice cable and have no issue:
http://www.amazon.com/Anker®-Dual-P...&qid=1397483180&sr=8-6&keywords=anker+poweriq
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I chatted with monoprice and after I sent them a link to the car charger I'm using, they found it has both a 2.4 amp and a 1 amp slot. Said to try the 2.4 amp slot and see if that helps. I'll report back...
ldubs said:
I chatted with monoprice and after I sent them a link to the car charger I'm using, they found it has both a 2.4 amp and a 1 amp slot. Said to try the 2.4 amp slot and see if that helps. I'll report back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 2.4A slot is designed using the Apple spec and won't charge the Nexus 5 properly. Once you plug it in check under the Battery menu. If you see "Charging (USB)" then it is capping at 500mA.
raptir said:
The 2.4A slot is designed using the Apple spec and won't charge the Nexus 5 properly. Once you plug it in check under the Battery menu. If you see "Charging (USB)" then it is capping at 500mA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm that could be a problem. will check later and see what's what.
raptir said:
The 2.4A slot is designed using the Apple spec and won't charge the Nexus 5 properly. Once you plug it in check under the Battery menu. If you see "Charging (USB)" then it is capping at 500mA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it does charge the phone quite nicely with the monoprice cable. Maybe problem solved. It shows charging ac. I'll let it run for a few days and see how it is.
sent from my hammerhead
This is the best car charger period.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Vehicle-Adapter-micro-USB-Charger/dp/B000S5Q9CA