charging cords (home/car)

[ellisz]

Are you re-using other micro usb charging cables? I have the car charger I used on my Strom and Droid but the connector is a little thick after the micro usb plug. It seems to work but feels like it is not inserted all the way.

Also, I noticed the droid plug is a slightly different output voltage and amperage.

Are you re-using yours? I like to have a charger where ever I go

 

[Cory Streater]

I'm not an electronics expert, but I do know that at a very minimum you want the amperage to at least the same as the stock charger.

 

[ellisz]

Good thing is the blackberry cable is the same. I hate the motorola and samsung cables. They are too short. I guess I need to hit ebay to see if there are travel chargers available.

Thanks.

 

[Martian]

I'm not an electronics expert, but I do know that at a very minimum you want the amperage to at least the same as the stock charger.

For chargers the voltage needs to be the same as stock (anything USB should be 5 V)

For a charger the amperage is much less important. The device (phone in this case) can only charge so fast therefore a higher amperage rating than stock isn't really going to do anything (unless the stock charger is under powered). Using a charger with a lower amperage rating should only result in the device charging slower.

Example: Many people complain that their phones charge slower when connected to their computer (especially laptops) then to a standalone charger. This is in fact true. PC USB ports are only designed to source 500 mA (half an amp) of current and many laptop USB ports can't even source that much. Many standalone chargers can source 1 A plus.

Hope this helps.

Martian

 

[Sabban]

is it me or does it seem like the fascinate takes a really long time to charge when its low on power(down around 10-15%)? i wanna say i had it on the charge(the one that came with it) and it took awhile to get up near full. i wanna say my prev BB (had a 1300 something mah battery) did take that long to charge in comparison. also there are no active apps running.

 

[Martian]

is it me or does it seem like the fascinate takes a really long time to charge when its low on power(down around 10-15%)? i wanna say i had it on the charge(the one that came with it) and it took awhile to get up near full. i wanna say my prev BB (had a 1300 something mah battery) did take that long to charge in comparison. also there are no active apps running.

It's not you. This is actually inherent in Lithium Ion technology. I'll spare everyone the physics lesson but LiIon batteries charge much slower when nearly drained and when almost full. This is also related to why manufacturer's ship the batteries charged to about 50% as that is where they are most efficient. You will notice it takes a long time to get from 0 to ~20% charge, then it gets to ~80% really fast, but then takes a long time to "top off".

Also, unlike Nickle Cadmium and Nickle Metal Hydride batteries it is NOT beneficial to occasionally run LiIon batteries down to zero (dead) in fact in some rare cases it can be detrimental to the battery.

 

[Cory Streater]

Martian - thanks for your helpful explanation.

I always advise people to buy 1A car chargers, even if the stock charger is lower, because it seems like the lower output chargers cannot keep up when the phone is being used with GPS and a display that's always on.

It also seems like my phone chargers faster when I use my 1A wall charger instead of the stock .7A charger that came with the phone, but from your explanation, this is not possible?

 

[nickf126]

Chargers and USB cables from my original Droid work fin
e.

 

[ellisz]

The droid plug in adaptor says 5.1 volts for output. The samsung and blackberry say 5.0 volts. The biggest thing is the droid and verizon micro usb car charger does not really seem to fit in flush. I was considering trimming the plastic on the plug if it would help.

Not really sure what I will do since I don't know what I will do with my Droid. I always said I would sell my unlocked storm but I never have...

Thanks all

 

[PJnc284]

I did notice that the Verizon MicroUSB charger I bought when I got the Storm and used with the Droid is a little loose on the Fascinate. It will manage to wiggle itself loose and cause the phone to stop charging. The motorola data cable that came with the Droid works fine with no wiggle so who knows. One weird thing I noticed was that the phone would randomly think it's plugged into a computer and show the usb debugging enabled and mount usb notifications with the car charger.

 

[Martian]

Martian - thanks for your helpful explanation.

Glad to help - Thanks for all your help as well!

I always advise people to buy 1A car chargers, even if the stock charger is lower, because it seems like the lower output chargers cannot keep up when the phone is being used with GPS and a display that's always on.

It also seems like my phone chargers faster when I use my 1A wall charger instead of the stock .7A charger that came with the phone, but from your explanation, this is not possible?

That depends - If the battery is able to charge at higher than 0.7 A then yes, the 1.0 A wall charger would charge the battery faster.

 

[Jonegross]

Using igo with new tip, fits great... Had mini usb tip for bb and bt before.

 

[LLcdPH]

I've also noticed that several micro USB plugs are loose in the Fascinate and unless I'm careful, they'll fall out or do not connect. This is the first phone I've had this issue with.

 

[Jellyman]

I bought these samsung travel chargers for around $8 from Amazon. It fits and works great.

 

[namebrandon]

The USB cable from my kindle 3 works fine. I'll stick with the actual AC adapter it shipped with for wall charging, but as far as charging via USB, the cable should be irrelevant. It has no idea what's plugged into either side.

 

[worwig]

Has anyone actually measured the charge current?

The long story:
I used to use a WinMo HTC TouchPro 2. I used it often as a GPS device on the handlebar of my motorcycle. I designed a 1 amp charger and cable that fit onto the mounting bracket. All was well, except for the battery occasionally getting hot in the summer and the charging would stop with a warning. Typically, the phone would 'pull' up to about .7 amps from the 5 volt supply to charge and operate the phone. The HTC cable is designed to limit the USB current to under .5 amps per USB spec, but the non-USB chargers can go closer to 1 amp.
A few weeks ago I got a used Fascinate. The seller gave me an off brand car charger. I also converted my motorcycle charge cable from mini USB to micro. Last weekend I took a trip and used the Fascinate as a GPS and set the screen to max brightness. Without realizing it, after about two hours, the battery was nearly dead. It turns out that the Fascinate pulls about .35 amps, period. It doesn't matter if it is charging, operating under a high load, bright screen, dim screen. It always pulls about .35 amps (tapering off as the battery charges I assume of course). But, the .35 amps is not enough to operate the display at max and run the GPS app.

Does anyone know if there is a cable, like HTC has, that enables a faster charge rate?
What does the car dock gain you?

 

[gunnermike53]

The droid plug in adaptor says 5.1 volts for output. The samsung and blackberry say 5.0 volts. The biggest thing is the droid and verizon micro usb car charger does not really seem to fit in flush. I was considering trimming the plastic on the plug if it would help.

Not really sure what I will do since I don't know what I will do with my Droid. I always said I would sell my unlocked storm but I never have...

Thanks all

from walmart, in the stupid iphone section, i got dual car charger plug, no cable. it will charge my phone while running gps and my wifes bb storm at the same time fairly well. not sure what the amps are but it does a decent job. i got some extra usb cables from amazon for .48c a piece. i bought like 6. i have no idea why i need six cables but they were .48c. how could i not?

 

[joebob2000]

Has anyone actually measured the charge current?

The long story:
I used to use a WinMo HTC TouchPro 2. I used it often as a GPS device on the handlebar of my motorcycle. I designed a 1 amp charger and cable that fit onto the mounting bracket. All was well, except for the battery occasionally getting hot in the summer and the charging would stop with a warning. Typically, the phone would 'pull' up to about .7 amps from the 5 volt supply to charge and operate the phone. The HTC cable is designed to limit the USB current to under .5 amps per USB spec, but the non-USB chargers can go closer to 1 amp.
A few weeks ago I got a used Fascinate. The seller gave me an off brand car charger. I also converted my motorcycle charge cable from mini USB to micro. Last weekend I took a trip and used the Fascinate as a GPS and set the screen to max brightness. Without realizing it, after about two hours, the battery was nearly dead. It turns out that the Fascinate pulls about .35 amps, period. It doesn't matter if it is charging, operating under a high load, bright screen, dim screen. It always pulls about .35 amps (tapering off as the battery charges I assume of course). But, the .35 amps is not enough to operate the display at max and run the GPS app.

Does anyone know if there is a cable, like HTC has, that enables a faster charge rate?
What does the car dock gain you?

Is the voltage steady? Usually when cheap chargers hit their peak the voltage sags pretty bad, and maybe the phone just can't make use of it. I have had good luck with a car charger i got for my bb a long time ago from the crackberry store. I have gone through a lot of super cheap ones in the past (that were probably overloading and dying out) so its important to remember not all chargers are created equal.

Also, to get that "perfect fit", you need to cut an angle into a typical USB-micro cable end since the fascinate screen edge protrudes so far past the jack. I used a kitchen knife to whittle a bit off of all my cables and they click in nicely. Just remember, always cut away from your body!

 

[worwig]

Is the voltage steady? Usually when cheap chargers hit their peak the voltage sags pretty bad, and maybe the phone just can't make use of it. I have had good luck with a car charger i got for my bb a long time ago from the crackberry store. I have gone through a lot of super cheap ones in the past (that were probably overloading and dying out) so its important to remember not all chargers are created equal.

Also, to get that "perfect fit", you need to cut an angle into a typical USB-micro cable end since the fascinate screen edge protrudes so far past the jack. I used a kitchen knife to whittle a bit off of all my cables and they click in nicely. Just remember, always cut away from your body!

Yes the voltage is steady. I designed the 5 volt regulator myself. It is good to 1 amp and the Samsung is only at about 0.350 amp. Checked, checked and double checked.
Yes, my cable plugs have already been trimmed using a Dremel grinder. Silly connector design.

What I want to know is, does Samsung have a magic 'currrent bump' control like like HTC did? There is a spare line in the micro USB plug that I tried pulling high and low, with no luck.

Also, does anyone know if there is an app that can measure the actual current? I haven't found one.

 

[Sta11i0n]

I use both the wall charger and USB cables from my bb storm with my fascinate. The ends were a bit big to reach all the way to the recessed plug on the phone, but shaving down the plastic on the end of the cable with a razor, at an angle, gave me plenty of clearance without doing any damage to the cord. I use the cable that came with my fascinate in my truck for charging on long trips in the USB port of my stereo. Since I'm charging via an actual USB port, instead of a cigarette lighter adapter, I can charge just as fast as being connected to my PC or maintain my battery while using navigation.

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