VisorCentral.com - Prism Battery Extender

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Accessories (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=3)
-- Prism Battery Extender (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=8976)

Posted by Slacker on 12-14-2000 08:44 PM:

DKessler please help!!!

DKessler

Thanks for the info about the + and - connections but I have a new problem now. I am connecting my GPS to pins 1 and 8 for the signaling and it works GREAT. However, as soon as I connect my new power input to the adapter (with or without power applied) I stop receiving signals from the GPS. Any ideas??

__________________
Visor Enthusiast and Innogear/Geodiscovery basher.

Posted by Usonian on 02-04-2001 05:03 AM:

Success!

I just finished building my Prism battery extender, and my Visor is happily charging from the battery pack!

It's a little rough around the edges... the project enclosure I got doesn't have a battery door built in, and I tried it had been over four years since I stripped a wire or soldered anything, but I think it's a good first effort!

It's more or less the same as the basic extender on Dale Coffing's site, with a few differences; the hotsync connector, of course (Thanks DKessler for the pin info!), a switch I added to allow selection between charging with or without the diode, and the use of an RCA connector between the charging cable and the battery pack (borrowed from the deluxe extender on Dale Coffing's page.) This way I can splice an RCA female connector onto a 5.9v/2000mA AC adapter and have a travel charger too! RCA wasn't my first choice for connectors, but it was the most readily available.

My battery meter was at about 50% when I plugged the extender in, and after about 20-30 minutes the charge light went from blinking to steady on - but the battery meter was still down at about 85% when I unhooked the hotsync connector. I disabled the diode with the switch, soft-reset the Visor per DKessler's observations, and sure enough it began charging again. I am psyched! I'm going to be travelling for a week starting Monday, and this is a fantastic accessory to have.

I took photos throughout the process, and I'll put them online when I get a chance (maybe tomorrow, probably sometime after I get back on the 11th.) I also used my Eyemodule to take timelapse photos of the soldering process to run the battery down (So I could test the battery pack ) I'll put that up as an animated GIF, too.

Thanks again DKessler, for all of the helpful info you make available to everyone in the VC community. (And of course, to Dale Coffing for posting the PPC extender page).

-Andy

__________________
<br>"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union" -Frank Lloyd Wright

Posted by Usonian on 02-04-2001 05:57 PM:

The enclosure is a little bit bulky. I think next time I will use a 3 1/2" floppy case like Richie Cruz did in his PPC extender: http://www.dalecoffing.com/General/...enderDeluxe.htm

Posted by abarrios on 02-04-2001 06:19 PM:

My Solution.

I disconnect the hotsync conn. from my $ 3.00 Radio Shack 4
AA battery pack & connect it to my $ 16.99 12vdc Radio Shack car adapter, lovin life, with almost no power issues in life !

will email pics.

Posted by sanchan on 02-20-2001 09:02 PM:

ANYONE STILL OUT THERE?

I've been following t his thread because I'm in the Naval Reserve and am looking at an active duty period in Australia. For two weeks. Living in a tent. With a Prism. So, that Innogear battery pack looks promising. What I can't figure from the site is this: the site indicates you can "power" the Prism with it. But will it "charge" the Prism as well? Anyone know? And, if it does "charge" the Prism, will the Prism suffer the same problems mentioned earlier -- the steady light at less than full charge dilemma? Hope someone's still reading and responding, and knows this. Thanks!

Posted by Rob on 02-20-2001 09:17 PM:

Re: ANYONE STILL OUT THERE?

quote:
Originally posted by sanchan
I've been following t his thread because I'm in the Naval Reserve and am looking at an active duty period in Australia. For two weeks. Living in a tent. With a Prism. So, that Innogear battery pack looks promising. What I can't figure from the site is this: the site indicates you can "power" the Prism with it. But will it "charge" the Prism as well? Anyone know? And, if it does "charge" the Prism, will the Prism suffer the same problems mentioned earlier -- the steady light at less than full charge dilemma? Hope someone's still reading and responding, and knows this. Thanks!

I don't know about the Innogear battery pack, but I got one from Tech Center Labs (http://members.aol.com/gmayhak/tcl/e-charge.htm), and it does charge the prism. As with the hand-made chargers, there is the problem of steady light at less than full charge, but only when the batteries are not new. With brand new batteries, it charges completely, but with batteries that have been used a few times (even if they're not totally empty), you definitely get this problem.

Posted by sanchan on 02-20-2001 10:06 PM:

Whoh! Rob, you are ON THE CASE! Thanks! Question: (Well, I'm posting this without remembering, so, you actually HAVE this unit, right?) So, hwo does it work: 4 batteries = a single charge then dispose of them? Or, are they good for a few charges? etc. Thanks, by the way, for the VERY quick response!

Posted by dkessler on 02-21-2001 04:56 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by sanchan
Whoh! Rob, you are ON THE CASE! Thanks! Question: (Well, I'm posting this without remembering, so, you actually HAVE this unit, right?) So, hwo does it work: 4 batteries = a single charge then dispose of them? Or, are they good for a few charges? etc. Thanks, by the way, for the VERY quick response!

In my experience 4 AA batteries won't get you much more than a single full charge. To really maximize battery life, you're actually better off to do lots of "topping off". The Prism's battery charging circuit switches between constant voltage (easy on external batteries) to constant current (hard on external batteries) when the internal battery voltage drops below 90%. Lithium Ion batteries don't suffer from the infamous NiCad "memory" effect, so frequent small recharges won't cause any problems.

In any case, no matter who's adapter you use, one set of AA batteries (in my experience) will add 100% - 150% to your normal runtime.

__________________
<ul><li>Dave Kessler<br>President - Kopsis, Inc.</li></ul>

Posted by sanchan on 02-21-2001 09:09 PM:

Dave, thanks so much. It's ironic, I GOT to this thread via a link from Visorcentral's Q & A article with you... And, here's you, responding! It's the great circle of life...

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