Database Users

Full Charge or trickle?

Is there any way to see if the unit is being fast or slow charged? It seems that the HTC charger uses an extra pin on the charger to enable fast charging and that MAY be why some aftermarket chargers (wall and car) do not seem to keep up with the battery discharge when running even if their plugged into a charger with sufficiant current capability. The HTC Wall caheger is rated as a 1 Amp charger. I have other chargers that use an external USB cable to connect, both rated as 1.5Amp (1500mA) chargers but seem to charge very slow. Soooooo I'm looking for the difference between the HTC charger and the aftemarket ones to see if I can make the ones I have work properly.
Thanks for any help
joe
<edit> in Looking at the Mini USB spec I find 5 pins labeled 1-2-3-x-4 with 1being VCC (5v), 2 & 3 being Data + & - and 4 being Gnd. Does the Advantage use the X pin to enable fast charging? How? Does it provide a second 5v line to cause/enable the Advantage to fastcharge? I think I need to look at the wall charger mini USB pinouts.

After talking to Pocket PC Techs and looking around online, it looks like the x-pin (next to pin 4(gnd)) is shorted to pin 4 to provide the advantage with a sense line to tell it to fast charge. The also shuts off the data lines in the unit AFAICT. Still don't know what the current capability of "Fast Charge" is or how to ask the unit to query the port for status. USB ports are generaly limited to 500ma and the stock charger is 1000ma (1A) so it seems that to ensure the MAX charge, the cable connected needs to have the x pin and pin 4 shorted. This is usefull if you are NOT wanting to do a data transfer (car GPS, stand alone charging, etc).
Here is a link to the connector http://pinouts.ru/PDA/pda_miniusb_pinout.shtml
Anyone can add to this?
Joe

I just received the Lil Sync DUO Mini-5 Adapter from PPC tech and it works perfectly. I'm now getting a fast charge from my PC (no sync) and I'm able to charge my S705 bluetooth headset.

Interesting news on the pinouts. I've never heard of any utility that shows fast vs. slow charge.

I wonder if anyone has a utility that can sense a gnd on the x pin (next to gnd) of the input connector. Does anyone have a schematic of the advantage side of the input power/data connector. It would me that there might be a pullup on that line sothe unit see's it as a high untill pulled low by a ground applied tothe x pin.

here you have "hot to do it"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=396053

ppa25 said:
I just received the Lil Sync DUO Mini-5 Adapter from PPC tech and it works perfectly. I'm now getting a fast charge from my PC (no sync) and I'm able to charge my S705 bluetooth headset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please tell me i need "PPC Techs HTC Advantage Lil Sync Extended Cable + mini 5 DUO" ( http://www.expansys.com.gr/p.aspx?i=145972) or ONLY "PPC Techs HTC Advantage Lil Sync DUO Mini-5 USB Adapter" (http://www.expansys.com.gr/p.aspx?i=145975) ?

Command to show charging current (sub-optimal when data pins not shorted together)

I found a sys file that contains the current in mA provided by the connected charger. I note that it is limited to a bit over 400 mA when the data pins of the usb connector are not connected.
The command:
Code:
cat /sys/devices/platform/i2c-adapter/i2c-0/0-0036/power_supply/battery/charger_current
entered either into the adb shell or a terminal gives the current being used from the charger measured in mA. When not connected to a charger (or the device is fully charged and isn't charging), this reads 0. When connected with an ordinary usb cable to the provided charger it reads about 750, except when the device is closed to charged. I'm not sure if this is a non-standard quantity but I am surprised to have not found this used in any monitoring ap; it seems like it would be a useful quantity to know.
I found an important caveat though. Originally the x10 would not charge when connected to a device that doesn't short the data pins together on the usb cable. (There are 4 pins on the microUSB connectors, 2 for power and 2 for data. When charging from charger or other such device the data pins aren't used to transmit data and should be shorted together as viewed by the X10) This meant that many commercially available car chargers and other such devices wouldn't work with the x10 without using a modified cable that would short such pins together.
The newer drivers (starting from around 2.1 update I think) allows this to work, but limit the charging capability to roughly 400mA when the data pins aren't shorted together. For example, I have an external battery which appears not to short such pins together. When I charge with this battery using a standard usb cable only about 400mA is used. However, if I use the cable provided with the battery, which I believe is modified so as to short those pins together (it clearly doesn't connect the data pins through as it has detachable connectors, and only 2 connections going into the detachable connectors) I find that the phone now uses 1000mA of power from the battery.
The same is true when connecting to a usb port on a computer. It draws about 400mA when connected with a standard cable, and closer to 500mA when connected with a cable that shorts that data pins together rather than connecting them to the data pins going into the computer.
Thus, when using a non-SE charger, car charger or external battery, it is a good idea to check the current being drawn using the above command. If it is less than the maximum expected for that charging device one might consider modifying a usb cable to short the data pins as seen by the x10 together (disconnecting them of course from the data pins facing the charging device).

[SHELL SCRIPT] Battery logging (discharge, capacity, etc)

USB to Barrel Cord / Barrel Specs? iGo Tip?

My goal is to not bring the A500 charger with me at all when I travel.
I just bought a refurbished iGo 90W charger at Fry's. I know if the correct tip was obtained it has plenty of juice to charge the tablet, but I'd rather use a USB solution and not hog a laptop charging port.
To accompany the iGo adapter, I'm thinking of purchasing a AC to multi-port USB adapter from monoprice.com (details below).
So although I'd have some USB to micro USB charging cables for cell phone, hotspot, gps, etc., (they have 1.5ft on monoprice.com), I will very much lighten my electronics charger and related cords load (and finally, charge the A500)
iGo Tip:
I have an ongoing Support Request with iGo regarding a tip for my A500 tablet. - I can update the thread when they respond. My charger uses the 700 series tips, it's the "slim" charger.
USB to Barrel Connector / Barrel Connector Details:
I'm not sure what the size of the barrel on the adapter is for the A500?. presumably this can't be too uncommon. On Amazon.com search for "usb to micro barrel" and tons of cables pop-up.
They have this USB AC adapter on monoprice.com (Product ID 8856 / http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10851&cs_id=1085102&p_id=8856&seq=1&format=2) that supplies a 2A charge to a single USB port designed for an iPad. I gotta think if I get the right USB to Barrel Connector cable it would charge the A500 well. I'm pretty sure a standard PC USB 2.0 spec port doesn't putout enough juice?
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. I tried to comb the forum pretty exhaustively and I try and stay up to date anyway, so I'm not sure this information is really out there anywhere. I did notice the AC adapter thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1856752, good news there!
-kg

Sorry to say: forget about it. USB spec is 5V 0.5A (most hubs allow up to 1A these days); Even if you had a way to step up the amps to the required 18W (that's 3.6A if you do the math), the tab still expects you to use 12V 1.5A... So you'd probably fry your tab. Your only solution thus would be a transformer 5V 3.6A -> 12V 1.5A. Now, I haven't checked this but I don't expect anything like this even exists and even if it does, it's probably so large you might just as well take the charger with you.
BTW: My measurements say the connector has a 3mm outside diameter and .75mm inside diameter. So if you can make your charger output 12V you're golden, as amps will be determined by the tab anyway. 90W means anything significantly above will trigger a fuse and shut the charger down -- or make it go up in smoke (possibly even blow up) if there's no fuse (if it's CE/FCC approved, it has one)...

haag498 said:
Sorry to say: forget about it. USB spec is 5V 0.5A (most hubs allow up to 1A these days); Even if you had a way to step up the amps to the required 18W (that's 3.6A if you do the math), the tab still expects you to use 12V 1.5A... So you'd probably fry your tab. Your only solution thus would be a transformer 5V 3.6A -> 12V 1.5A. Now, I haven't checked this but I don't expect anything like this even exists and even if it does, it's probably so large you might just as well take the charger with you.
BTW: My measurements say the connector has a 3mm outside diameter and .75mm inside diameter. So if you can make your charger output 12V you're golden, as amps will be determined by the tab anyway. 90W means anything significantly above will trigger a fuse and shut the charger down -- or make it go up in smoke (possibly even blow up) if there's no fuse (if it's CE/FCC approved, it has one)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. So it seems the iGo tip is certainly still a possibility, i'm still waiting on them to get back to me.
While I am certainly not an electrician, I did find a thread here: Sorry it is on another forum and I don't have enough posts yet... It is titled Is "there a car charger for the A500" on androidtablets.net
They indicate that a 2000mA car charger from amazon works to charge the tab: Search for B0042X8XOQ on amazon.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if that 2000mA charger charges the tab, wouldn't the proposed USB corded solution (with special 2-2.1A port) also work?
Thanks again!

USB and AC Charging signalling [HOW TO] - INFO

USB D+ / D- Signalling for USB and AC charge modes.​
After some measurements and tests i have the following infos to share with you all.
FOR ANDROID DEVICES:
If you apply 5V to the Vcc+ and ground the other 3 wires (D-, D+ and ground) so all of them have 0V = ground, then device is going to have USB mode supply.
If you apply 5V to the Vcc+, and connect ground and leave the D- and D+ wires on air (without connecting anything - insulate them), then device is going to have USB mode supply.
If you apple 5V to Vcc+ , connect the ground, and any different voltage values on D- and D+, the device is going to have USB mode supply. You can do it with voltage dividers or pass D- and D+ signals through different resistors (over 60K Ohm).
If you apply 5V to vcc+, connect the ground and give same voltage to D- and D+ , the device is going to have AC supply mode. In order to have the same voltage on D- and D+ you have to connect those together (green and white - middle pins on PCB interfaces), BUT YOU HAVE TO LIMIT THE CURRENT through a resistor connected to +Vcc 5V. (over 60K Ohm). So you go from +Vcc 5V, connect a resistor over 60K ohm, and have the other resistor end attached to D- and D+ all connected together.
FOR APPLE DEVICES:
For apple devices you don't have much of a choice. In order to charge any apple device you have to supply with voltage dividers the Data pins D- and D+ with specific voltages, and of course the +5V Vcc and ground. The specific voltages is 2,6V on D- and 2,1V on D+.
You can achieve this with 4 resistors , 2 resistors on 2 voltage dividers between 5V and ground. 56K and 47K is proper values. The larger resistor gets more voltage on it with respect to the ground, so if you connect 5V --> 56K in series with 47K and ground, the middle point of the resistors is going to be the 2,1V with respect to the ground and if you connect 5V--> 47K in series with 56K and ground, the middle point is going to be 2,6V with respect to the ground. So you give 2,6V (2nd case) to D- and 2,1V (first case) to D+.
TESTED ON IPOD 2ND, 5TH, IPHONE 3G / 3GS, IPAD 1st.
Peace.

djbxp said:
USB D+ / D- Signalling for USB and AC charge modes.​
After some measurements and tests i have the following infos to share with you all.
FOR ANDROID DEVICES:
If you apply 5V to the Vcc+ and ground the other 3 wires (D-, D+ and ground) so all of them have 0V = ground, then device is going to have USB mode supply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This configuration is not advised. It is not covered as part of any particular standard. It could possibly damage a device.
If you apply 5V to the Vcc+, and connect ground and leave the D- and D+ wires on air (without connecting anything - insulate them), then device is going to have USB mode supply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No reason to ever configure a device this way - of course a dumb charger that only connects V+ and GND will effectively be this configuration.
If you apple 5V to Vcc+ , connect the ground, and any different voltage values on D- and D+, the device is going to have USB mode supply. You can do it with voltage dividers or pass D- and D+ signals through different resistors (over 60K Ohm).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No reason to do this for any non-Apple device.
If you apply 5V to vcc+, connect the ground and give same voltage to D- and D+ , the device is going to have AC supply mode. In order to have the same voltage on D- and D+ you have to connect those together (green and white - middle pins on PCB interfaces), BUT YOU HAVE TO LIMIT THE CURRENT through a resistor connected to +Vcc 5V. (over 60K Ohm). So you go from +Vcc 5V, connect a resistor over 60K ohm, and have the other resistor end attached to D- and D+ all connected together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is excessive. All you need to do is connect D+ and D- together - no need for resistive voltage dividers.
The ONE exception are Samsung Galaxy Tab devices - these expect D+ and D- to be held to 1.2 volts by the charger. If you use high enough resistor values, you can set up the divider to provide 1.2 volts to a Tab, but easily be overridden by the "short detection" mechanism used by other devices to detect dumb chargers. 33k pullup 10k pulldown is known to work well.
FOR APPLE DEVICES:
For apple devices you don't have much of a choice. In order to charge any apple device you have to supply with voltage dividers the Data pins D- and D+ with specific voltages, and of course the +5V Vcc and ground. The specific voltages is 2,6V on D- and 2,1V on D+.
You can achieve this with 4 resistors , 2 resistors on 2 voltage dividers between 5V and ground. 56K and 47K is proper values. The larger resistor gets more voltage on it with respect to the ground, so if you connect 5V --> 56K in series with 47K and ground, the middle point of the resistors is going to be the 2,1V with respect to the ground and if you connect 5V--> 47K in series with 56K and ground, the middle point is going to be 2,6V with respect to the ground. So you give 2,6V (2nd case) to D- and 2,1V (first case) to D+.
TESTED ON IPOD 2ND, 5TH, IPHONE 3G / 3GS, IPAD 1st.
Peace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Original source: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/icharge.html

Hard wiring for phone with USB-C and smart/fast charging?

Hey folks, so I've done the hard wiring of older phones with MicroUSB and <2000mAh charging before. It was pretty easy by just using a 12V to 5V 3A converter similar to what you see in the attached pic.
Now I want to do something similar for my Google Pixel XL which has a USB-C interface and does smart/fast charging.
Problem is, I'm unfamiliar with this tech and don't want to just wire it up without asking for advice first.
I'm thinking I'll be just fine using the same adapter you see in the pic below.
And I'm thinking I'll be just fine by using the two power wires and two ground wires from the USB-C spliced onto the 12v-to-5v converter.
I do not believe I need to worry about the fifth cable used for signaling between two devices.
So, from the USB-C connector, I would splice its two power wires to the single [out] power wire on the converter. And the two ground wires to the single [out] power wire on the converter.
Then the [in] power and ground on the converter would be spliced into my 12v harness of my car (or Motorcycle).
This should get me full speed charging just like my stock USB-C charger from Google.
Do ya'll agree or am I missing something that may screw things up?
https://hackaday.com/2016/04/22/hackaday-dictionary-usb-type-c/
Four of these connections are designated as VBUS connections, carrying the power for charging and operating connected devices. In addition, two pins are used for grounding, and one pin is used for signalling between the two devices to determine how much power should be sent. Running at the USB standard 5 V, the VBUS cables can supply up to 3 amps, a big increase on the 2 amps available in USB 3 cables, and much more than USB 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 12V to 5V 3A converter I use:
post a picture