VisorCentral.com - Emergency Charger kit for Prism

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Accessories (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=3)
-- Emergency Charger kit for Prism (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=9693)

Posted by kalahari on 11-26-2000 05:04 AM:

Tech Center Labs is now taking orders for the Emergency Charger kit for the Prism. Don't know if the product is actually shipping yet. See http://www.talestuff.com

Posted by JHromadka on 11-26-2000 11:50 PM:

I just posted a review of it. Very cool. Will be in my briefcase from now on.

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Posted by robrink on 11-27-2000 04:54 AM:

Any problems with using rechargeable AA batteries in the battery kit? I have a good supply of them for my Nikon coolpix camera, and figured they could get some good use!

Posted by Tan Kit Hoong on 11-27-2000 10:51 AM:

Hey, how come I can't just buy the US$20 adaptor to plug in my AC adaptor into? It seems that Tech Centre Labs is seeling it as a bundle together with the battery pack.

...and I don't want the battery pack since the AC adaptor for the Prism is multi-voltage anyway.

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Posted by dkessler on 11-27-2000 03:20 PM:

I'm glad to see TCL making this product but I have to say that the price is outrageous! The battery pack is $2 RadioShack part, the hotsync connector is $3. Figure another $5 for the DC power connectors and we're up to a whopping $10. And that doesn't include bulk discounts. Labor is a couple dollars tops, so TCL is raking in something like $20 profit on these things.

There's no magic here ... if you have a soldering iron and can rustle up a hotsync connector, you can build the exact same thing yourself and save $20. Details are in this thread: http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...p?threadid=8976

And FYI, using Energizer E^2 alkaline AA batteries, you can just about double your Prism's battery life. But if you want some serious runtime, build one that uses C or D cells and you'll be able to get 10x or more

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Posted by JHromadka on 11-27-2000 04:12 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by dkessler
I'm glad to see TCL making this product but I have to say that the price is outrageous! The battery pack is $2 RadioShack part, the hotsync connector is $3. Figure another $5 for the DC power connectors and we're up to a whopping $10. And that doesn't include bulk discounts. Labor is a couple dollars tops, so TCL is raking in something like $20 profit on these things.

Of course you can make your own, you're making the CF module.

Well I think it's a good price considering that you can sync with either A/C or AAA batteries. TCL is a small company that can't afford high volume purchasing. Compared to the Handspring charger it's a good deal.

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Posted by dkessler on 11-27-2000 04:43 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by JHromadka
Of course you can make your own, you're making the CF module.

Rats! My evil plot to turn a few more people to the "dark side" of homebrew Visor accessories has been exposed!

quote:
Compared to the Handspring charger it's a good deal.

No argument there ... Handspring should be ashamed of what they're charging for that item.

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

Posted by sluggo on 11-29-2000 07:59 PM:

Holy Crap!

I ordered my emergency charger on Monday the 27th and got it in the mail today! So much for please allow for a week to process.

Posted by valodya on 12-01-2000 05:14 PM:

How many charges can you get from a set of AA batteries? Just wondering.

Posted by michaelayland on 12-04-2000 04:20 PM:

Emergency charging

Am I looking for something Different in an emergency I have no power but plenty of 12volt DC Can anyone advise if there is a cigar lighter kit so that I may recharge my Prism from the car or more essential from the boat. I am concerned that most of the UK 6volt kits are vey cheap and the measured voltage on my prism charger is less than 6volt (5.8) Any advice welcome
Best Regards
Mike Ayland

Posted by sluggo on 12-04-2000 04:48 PM:

Re: Emergency charging

quote:
Originally posted by michaelayland
Am I looking for something Different in an emergency I have no power but plenty of 12volt DC Can anyone advise if there is a cigar lighter kit so that I may recharge my Prism from the car or more essential from the boat. I am concerned that most of the UK 6volt kits are vey cheap and the measured voltage on my prism charger is less than 6volt (5.8) Any advice welcome
Best Regards
Mike Ayland

The folk at http://www.talestuff.com are working on a cigarette lighter charger for the Prism. They will post it on their site when it's ready.

Posted by Tan Kit Hoong on 12-04-2000 05:22 PM:

Is it possible to just get the $20 adapter?

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Tan Kit Hoong,
Star Publications (M) Ltd
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Posted by sluggo on 12-04-2000 06:11 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Tan Kit Hoong
Is it possible to just get the $20 adapter?

You would have to go to their site and look. I think you can.

Posted by Babylon5 on 12-07-2000 05:53 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Tan Kit Hoong
Is it possible to just get the $20 adapter?

Yes it is listed as $20 sold by itself. I am thinking of this as well as I have no idea where to get the $3 hotsync connector that dkessler mentioned above

If I could find a cheap hotsync connetor it would be way eaiser and cheaper to just build it.

Dave, you may not know as you may not have played with one, but do you think this connector already has the diode set up in the connector so we can just slap our own battery case together? Or would we still need the diode inline with the battery case.

I also want to make the diode whithin its own inline connector so I can remove it once the batteries get too low to charge per what you said before in the other thread.

Just wondering. Another project to do

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Posted by dkessler on 12-07-2000 08:34 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Babylon5
Dave, you may not know as you may not have played with one, but do you think this connector already has the diode set up in the connector so we can just slap our own battery case together? Or would we still need the diode inline with the battery case.

This is pure speculation but I would suspect that TCL just left the diode out. I've found that charging puts enough load on the batteries that a fresh pack of AA's will pull down below 6V almost immediately. With a C or D cell battery pack, the diode is probably still a good idea, but a AA pack really doesn't need it.

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

Posted by dtgillis on 12-08-2000 04:57 AM:

Airport Friendly?

Do you guys think you might be hassled at an airport with this Emergency Charger?

The reason I'm asking, on my last trip to Austin, on a connecting flight at the RDU airport, after my carryon passed through the xray machine, security asked to look through my bag. I had my Toshiba Libretto mininotebook, Canon BJC-80 printer, round containters holding ink cartridge and scanner cartridge, Visor Dlx, and Stowaway keyboard. They were particularly interested in inspecting the Stowaway and the scanner cartridge for the BJC-80. They wanted me to demonstrate the Stowaway. They said they had never seen anything like that before.

Anyway... I'm glad I wasn't my usual late self for this flight.

David

[Edited by dtgillis on 12-07-2000 at 11:59 PM]

Posted by dkessler on 12-08-2000 01:33 PM:

Re: Airport Friendly?

quote:
Originally posted by dtgillis
Do you guys think you might be hassled at an airport with this Emergency Charger?

I don't think that a "AA" cell battery pack by itself will draw much attention. However, the more gadgets you have in your bag, the more likely you are to catch security's watchful eye. I do expect my "C" cell battery pack to raise some eyebrows though (especially when traveling internationally), so I will certainly allow a for a few extra minutes at the security checkpoints.

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

Posted by MarkEagle on 12-08-2000 01:48 PM:

Re: Re: Airport Friendly?

quote:
Originally posted by dkessler
I do expect my "C" cell battery pack to raise some eyebrows though (especially when traveling internationally)...

Just imagine what it will be like when we all need to start lugging around a DieHard!

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Posted by JHromadka on 12-08-2000 02:45 PM:

When I went to Dallas, I expected the worst as I took a bunch of modules with me. The only thing they were interested in was the earphones for my MiniJam.

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Old Friend

Posted by Usonian on 01-11-2001 12:05 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by dkessler
I've found that charging puts enough load on the batteries that a fresh pack of AA's will pull down below 6V almost immediately. With a C or D cell battery pack, the diode is probably still a good idea, but a AA pack really doesn't need it.

Have you been consistently using a AA battery back with no diode with no problems? I don't want to seem like I'm questioning your expertise - I'm just being paranoid about my precious Prism; I'd hate to somehow render it inoperable right before the trip I'm taking in a few weeks

I was set to buy the Tech Center Labs charger in anticipation of my trip, but they're currently backorded... They are, however, going to sell me a couple of hotsync connectors and I'm going to build my own. I like Babylon5's idea of giving the diode its own connector, too... maybe I'll get fancy & build it with diode on/off switch.

Thanks for all the great tips & info, dkessler - yours are some of the most informative posts I see on VC.

-Andy

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