Charging directly through battery/phone terminals. - Streak 5 General

Im really annoyed that my Streak is the only phone i have that does not have a micro usb charging port. My entire family all have micro usb on their phones and share home/car chargers in a pinch and i have to carry charger/cables everywhere i go.
Ive been searching and found adapters and so forth but it still requires to carry extra crap around. Ive seen a few videos and people have successfully charged their batteries by splicing the + and - from similiar chargers directly to their phones(not streak)battery tabs so im thinking this should work for the streak as well.
So im thinking about soldering the wires directly to the board and running small guage wires inside the streak and have them come out somewhere on the streak to a female usb plug.
Im very electronicly(sp?) inclined so to me it doesnt seem like a big deal and doable.....however i would like to hear opinions and facts about the effects on the phone and battery charging this way.
yes i know that carrying the cable is not a big deal, voids warranty, to much work blah blah blah, but thats not info i seek. TIA
ps sorry if its asked before but i searched and found nothing.

Related

Car Charger (Aftermarket or OEM?)

New pocketPC user. Got the Tilt a couple of days ago. First post, so forgive me. Very PC literate - still learning on the pocketPCs. Testing out ROMs now, thanks to all of you.
When I bought my case (Krusell), I just added on an aftermarket car charger (Fosmon). But I've been reading some of the posts about blown USB ports and a few other issues that seem like they could be power related. As a noob, did a ton of searching on the forum and can't find where anyone has given any opinions about aftermarket chargers. Part of me says stick to HTC or even AT&T brand because they are made for the unit (although an actual HTC is a pain in the ass to find and get shipped to me in Florida for an upcoming trip). Another part says they're all probably made in two factories in China and all I'm doing is paying more than twice as much for the same unit. Just don't want to risk having a problem on my new baby.
Any opinions?
I've been quite happy with my VersaCharger Pro from Boxwave -- works as a wall or car charger, and can put out the 1000 mA the Tilt needs.
Guilf said:
they're all probably made in two factories in China and all I'm doing is paying more than twice as much for the same unit.
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Bingo! I've used Audiovox(HTC), Motorola and Blackberry home chargers, Motorola and no-name car chargers, my work laptop and my home desktop and all have charged my Tilt with no problem at all.
I'm interested in this particular topic too !
It's actually quite hard to get the specs (current in A and voltage in V) for official car chargers ! (and quite hard for many chargers).
The official wall charger gives 1 A and 5 V.
It would seem that you don't find that many mini usb chargers providing 1A.
You can find some on ebay but then most would provide... 5.5 V... could that arm the Kaiser ? I wonder, if anyone's got an idea.
Going for a lower current would mean the charging would be much slower.
Some extra notes about USB car chargers. Usually they will only provide 500mA and you won't have them work well with a regular sync cable (usb <-> mini usb) except if you mod them by welding two pins in the mini usb part (look for more information on the hermes section of this forum).
Today I had someone tell me that the best option for a car is actually an inverter with a home charger plugged into it. They said that Li-Ion and other rechargeables aren't meant to be charged via DC and that's why they sometimes (albeit rarely) brick via car charging. However, an inverter will prevent that. Sounds like BS to me, but I am not knowledgeable at all. Thoughts on this?
Guilf said:
Today I had someone tell me that the best option for a car is actually an inverter with a home charger plugged into it. They said that Li-Ion and other rechargeables aren't meant to be charged via DC and that's why they sometimes (albeit rarely) brick via car charging. However, an inverter will prevent that. Sounds like BS to me, but I am not knowledgeable at all. Thoughts on this?
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I flag BS! The charging circuits for the li-ion batteries are not built into the charger itself. Its built into the device. The purpose of the plug-in chargers is to provide enough current/regulated power to run the device and charger it.

My Kingdom for a working Car Charger

Since AT&T no longer supports the Tilt i can't buy an original car charger from them anymore. The one i have no longer works, and from what i've gathered across the intarwebz is that unless you have a factory original car charger or l33t soldering skills, you don't get to have a car charger anymore. Is this right?
Since i don't own a soldering gun, is there a car charger that will work guaranteed? I checked HTC's site and it looks like they are just selling cheap aftermarket generic car chargers.
ANy help would be appreciated.
Thanx Snow
i just got mine from seidio in a combo bundle, no problems for me
How long have you had yours Gelf? Mine worked great initially, then one day i noticed it wasn't charging at all.
Car Charger
I am using a car charger from a Blackberry. If fact, my wall chrager is also from Blackberry. Had them left over from the old days.
Never have any problems.
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/4072.htm
I have one of these, it's a genuine one and charges as well as a wall charger.
My mini USB connector is knackered after I tried to re-set my phone by jamming the stylus in it, so now I have to wiggle it to get it to charge.
Any mini usb charger will work. depending on the volts it may take longer to charge. I sell them all day at Radio Shack and use it for my tilt. just a generic one will do
Don't go cheap on these -- I had a cheap one that fried a device.
I currently use this Belkin...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FB578I
includes a 1-amp quick-charge port and a standard 500mAh port
Im lucky i have a USB port on my stereo and i just use a standard mini usb cable to charge my phone, otherwise i use any motorola USB charger and i have nvr had a problem with any of those.
There are threads around about car chargers for Kaiser - search is always good. The general opinion seems to be that non HTC chargers can be unreliable. I've tried a few that sometimes charged and sometimes didn't. Often they would charge for a few mnutes then stop. Rarely seem to charge with GPS running, they just don't seem able to supply the power needed. However I bought a 'genuine' HTC charger from ebay and it's been working great for months. They're still available for aound $AUS20. I think it's worth trying to find one that states 1 amp output from memory. In fact, think I'll buy another now just in case they disappear! Can't remember exactly who it came from though.
drmc said:
There are threads around about car chargers for Kaiser - search is always good. The general opinion seems to be that non HTC chargers can be unreliable. I've tried a few that sometimes charged and sometimes didn't. Often they would charge for a few mnutes then stop. Rarely seem to charge with GPS running, they just don't seem able to supply the power needed. However I bought a 'genuine' HTC charger from ebay and it's been working great for months. They're still available for aound $AUS20. I think it's worth trying to find one that states 1 amp output from memory. In fact, think I'll buy another now just in case they disappear! Can't remember exactly who it came from though.
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Yup yup. Go HTC if you want reliability. I had a 'Tesco Value' one that showed it was charging but I could never work out why my battery was dying. I found an app that logs the mA charge or discharge rate and that told it's own story; when the Kaiser is working hard - GPS, bluetooth and a couple of apps running it can be pulling well over 500mA. Spend the money, it's worth it.
I got a phillips car charger from Asda for £5. Has tips for most types of phone including mini-usb. Charges my kaiser fine.
Hi,
I always answer the same when I see this kind of demand: buy the official HTC one, it cost something like 10 euros in the EU (probably 10-15 $), and you'll have no problem (see a previous post here).
I had a cheap one, it was a no-go. ince then it's perfect.
deuzeff said:
Hi,
I always answer the same when I see this kind of demand: buy the official HTC one, it cost something like 10 euros in the EU (probably 10-15 $), and you'll have no problem (see a previous post here).
I had a cheap one, it was a no-go. ince then it's perfect.
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Click to collapse
Agreed. The official charger has worked very well for me. Got mine here. Mailed same day and Priority Mail. Have ordered a number of things from them and highly recommend.
I use a motorola v3x car charger
Thanks for the help with alternate ideas and places to look at for buying an official adapter. I'll look around.
I bought a generic one off of Amazon and that worked for about 3 days and then it stopped charging as well. I hope that i can find a solid alternative.
And for anyone who mentioned that i should use the search or off handedly implied that i did not search. You should really stop with that behaviour. It makes you sound like a pompous clown and doesn't add anything of value to this thread or to this site for that matter. For those that provided valuable input, thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Snowreaper said:
And for anyone who mentioned that i should use the search or off handedly implied that i did not search. You should really stop with that behaviour. It makes you sound like a pompous clown and doesn't add anything of value to this thread or to this site for that matter. For those that provided valuable input, thank you very much for your time and consideration.
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Apologies if my comment sounded rude, it was simply meant to alert you to the fact that there are many threads on this topic that may help and you didn't mention that you have searched already. I know the search function on these large boards is less than efficient and can be frustrating. It's a good idea to mention that you've searched as many people don't bother. For starters, the following threads are related to this issue and have more info than this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=406771
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=274665
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=382081
Personally I only reply to questions if I think I can help and because I've had so much help from others, not because I have nothing better to do.
all i have to say is, i'm SURE theres a charging circuit built in that will not allow it to charge at too high of a rate in mA's, the OEM one is fairly high (like 850 or 1a as some have said) although i've had fine luck using pretty much anything, i use a mini-usb cable attached to a computer to charge most of the time, the USB standard will allow a max of 500mAh, so it takes longer, but whatever, i have also used Mot. V3 chargers for a long time with fine luck, really the only one i have that doesnt work is my bluetooth headset charger, and its mini-usb but its rated for an output of 350mA!
I had similar problems with my Kaiser. For almost a year it would charge with car charger then it stopped. It would charge fine on AC and computer USB but not in the car.
If you look inside the USB port on the phone at the bottom are two little tabs/fingers. They need to be lifted up to make contact with the charger. I took a dental tool and slightly lifted them so they make better contact with charger plug.
Also make sure that the plastic inside the usb on the phone is not curved or bent as some of the pins will then not touch then. I straightend out the plastic tab inside the USB with a small screwdriver and then made sure that the little grounding legs were bent up a bit and bingo it works.
I use a Motorola charger as well in the car and it worked fine for Blackberry and other phones I checked so I knew the issue was in the phone.
Buying a new charger may not solve the problem if its in the phone. Thanks to those who posted their findings as after I searched I was able to peice together a few ideas that worked.
go to ur local office supply and get one of those cigarette usb chargers (mine is for an HP Ipaq I used to have) and use your data cable ... it works fine
zelendel said:
Any mini usb charger will work. depending on the volts it may take longer to charge. I sell them all day at Radio Shack and use it for my tilt. just a generic one will do
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hmm Scary!

[Q] Charger/USB Cable issues

I've already apologized for coming off an iphone, but these little things are mounting and I feel the need to share. The input of this cable is a constant struggle. I find myself trying 3 and 4 times to actually get it in the bottom of the phone, and then.....nothing happens. At least the iphone jack had a press in on the side to get it in and out. So no charge, or it shows it charging and 5 mins. later nothing again. So that's coming from the outlet, but if I plug it in my pc it goes crazy with the sounds and asks what i want to do. So, you think ok some loose pins on either end? NO! I've checked and both ends look secure and neither simulate the problem when shaken or tugged or moved around. I have read all about soldering, but I am not able to do that yet, and with no ability to buy new wires in the US I am living on a dying charge. Are these wires so tempermental for everyone?
Ive had no issues charging but I know how you feel about getting the charger in in the first place, takes a couple of goes thats for sure!
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Yes it could be a bit easier to get it home but no problems once it is connected
getting it in can be fiddly. hold it steady, line it up then shove it in!
yosemite_sam said:
getting it in can be fiddly. hold it steady, line it up then shove it in!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL Are you talking about the cable or something else
Steady!
Sent from my Dell Streak using Tapatalk
Put some hair around it!!
It's official!!!
After the whole day of wiggling and changing connection from usb to wall and even car usb the phone said battery error. Either your charger of battery is malfunctioning. Please check immediately. So the battery registered full, but then said 89% and then only 81%. I'm hoping to get a new charger and battery when the dell USA comes online.
I have 2 cables. 1 works correctly but the other charges when it feels like it. I have a support request in with Dell have yet to hear anything. The sooner cheaper 3rd party cables become available the better as I would keep more spares then.
that sucks. I've been considering the streak, well really wanted it and now that they've finally announced it, not sure i want it anymore cuz of its proprietary port. Why couldn't they have just used micro or mini USB like everybody else?
Everyone's house i go to has a micro/mini usb cable laying around so i never have to take a charger with me anywhere. And since my past 3 phones all used micro or mini usb, i have a bunch of those cables and chargers all over my house. Now with this crap i'm gonna have to buy several cables, 1 for the office, living room, car, etc. that is if i do get the device.

Usb extension cable.

I've been thinking about getting a cable to extend my N7 from the wall. I can't very well use the charging cable that came with the tablet because it's so terribly short, I was wondering, if I got some kind of Usb extension cable, would it affect my device. I can handle it charging a little slower, but I don't wanna ruin the battery or anything else. All help and any flaming is welcome, as this is kinda a nooby question. Thanks, dudes.
monoprice.com
best place to get inexpensive cables
Sorry for the quick reply there. Basically you wanna get one of these. http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10303&cs_id=1030302&p_id=5447&seq=1&format=2
As you can see they have them in various lengths. I have a 10ft one. These work much better then those plug in extensions that just add on to the existing cord. You lose a little voltage that way. With these cords you are getting a good quality cord for cheap with no voltage loss.
Actually, that's a mini connector, we need a micro. Don't think I can post a link yet, but Monoprice has a the same black cable with gold connectors in the micro size, too.

[Q] Better Safe than Sorry

I got a good deal on a refurbished Tegra Note 7 so I quickly snagged it as I wanted a tablet for media consumption, some browsing + gaming! Now I've read all the reviews and came across the infamous ultra flimsy micro-usb port. I'm hoping that the tablet was refurbished because of a faulty port and they put in an awesome one! Anyway, do you guys have any suggestions for me so that I don't break the port like using a particular charger, any specific way to charge it(Wireless Charging without any soldering or other method that requires skills with tools?) or anything, really. Also, in case it does break, I'm guessing inevitably it will, has anyone found a convenient way except sending it to the respective manufacturers?
I just recently got a used one off eBay. The cord that came with it was a very tight fit and I could see how that would eventually break the port. Fortunately my samsung cord slips on the port very easily. And since it's white I marked the top of the cord with black magic marker so I never put it in wrong. So far it's working out great.
There's not much else to do but be extremely careful or go buy a Micro USB Type A cable. The whole problem with the port is that they used the wrong one.
http://www.yogaretnam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/micro_usb_type_a_b.jpg
I never even knew there were two types of Micro USB connectors until I got this thing. I never bothered to get the right cable (and Nvidia didn't bother including the right one... did they even know there were two types?), and thanks to a minor fall while plugged in, I have to plug my cable in slightly crooked to get it to charge right. If I plug it straight in, it will show it's charging but actually drain the battery even if the stupid thing is off!

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