Earlier on I bought a very cheap (< 4 euros) PSP USB charger/sync cable, brandless, packed in a rectangular white box with the photo of the cable on it. But the quality is not so satisfactory, mainly for two things: 1) The AC jack is a bit too tight; 2) I notice some charging irregularity as the orange charging LED on my 3200 flashes sometimes, and may also not lit at all. After a very brief trial I decided to ditch it, perhaps i will give it to someone who has a real PSP.

Then a while ago I bought a new one. It's Logic-3 retractable USB charger/data cable. The jack fits into Z well, and charging does seem to work very well. Even though the price is a bit more than double of the other, I am very happy with this one, especially because it is used to feed my beloved Z' delicate charging circuit.

I've googled a bit and found quite a lot of sites are talking about the Logic-3 game console products. Looks like a decent manufacturer.

Although both cables are produced in China, I can really tell the difference, both in their look and their build quality.

Here is a photo of the two cables FYI.



Has any Z owner used this kind of cables? What do you think of them? Any good recommendation also?

Okay, here is another shot with four of my "Zaurus common mobile charging options"



Left top: Logic 3 retractable PSP USB Charger/Data Cable
Left bottom: Gold 4-in-1 (PSP/NDS Lite/NDS/SP) Emergency Charger -- 9800 mAh!!
Right top: Brandless PSP charge/data cable. A bit crappy.
Right bottom: Battery extender from ShirtPocket (using 4 rechargeable AAs); not using anymore because I fear its insufficient output (4 x 1.2V rechargeable AA).

I use the Logic 3 one all the time - I have a powered hub which sometimes is a hub for the Z and other times its the power source for the Z. I got a PSP charger that uses AAA batteries but it does not seem to work (no loss at $2). I also had a Zap Universal Portable Power thingy - basically a Lithium 4800mAH source - but it blew up while charging after about a month and a half - course got it on Ebay and Zap refuse to honour the warranty.

my PSP data/charge cable is just like the one in the photo. when the Z is in standby it works and the charge light comes on, but when it's on I think the Z can draw too much current for some usb ports and the charge light goes off. when I turn the Z on, the charge light flickers and goes out.

I am running OZ and this runs everything off the hdd, I'd guess that if I were using a solely flash based distro like Cacko it'd not draw so much power.

Hmm. My brandless cable behaves almost the same as what you say. But the Logic 3 one works just fine no matter whether the Z is on or off.

A real "live" example here: right now my 3200 is spinning its MD hard compiling Angband 3.0.7s3 under OpenBSD, while the charging light never goes off or even flickers a single tiny moment, which suggests that the Logic 3 cable may provide enough current to the Z, while the other cable is not up to the job.

Good to hear more positive report on the Logic 3 cable. Then I can feel assured to keep using this.
I am sorry about you unhappy experience with the Zap thingie. At one time I almost bought one as well, but somehow (fortunately!?) I missed the chance, and then finally stumbled upon the beefier Gold 9800 mAh charger. I've been using it for months and it seem quite reliable, particular during long distance travel and during flight. Some friends of mine are also happy with it on their Z. It seems Meanie is also using something similar to this one.

OT Looking at my pics again, a sudden illusion came to my mind telling me that i am looking at some dried blackened pieces of mummies or some arcane Ginseng....

The ZAP came with a cable that had a USB connector one end and a set of adapters at the other - the problem was the cable couldn't deliver the current to the Z. I ended up using the Logic 3 with the Zap. The Zap cable wouldn't even work with my powered hub. All in all not impressed with the Zap - but loved the concept - the Zap was almost identical in length and breadth of the Z and half the thickness and godd for many hours - especially since I use pdaXrom running of the minidrive (C3000 - no choice really).

Are there any "Real" stores that carry this?
I'm talking about a store you walk into and pay cash for things.

Just add one small footnote: the mini usb on Logic 3 fits Z well and works for data exchange!
Now this cable, together with the usb host cable and cf wifi are among the most essential armament for Terrier my new war dog.

@Jon_J: I bought the beefy 9800 last time when I was in Hong Kong. I am not aware of any physical locations selling this in Europe or the America, apart from ebay, etc. Anyway in around two months I will be in there again to work for a few weeks. *If* time allows and shipping is not too costly. I may help those who are really interested. (Cresho, how about you? )

*** Oops. Forgot to say the Gold 9800 mAh charger is selling only at around or perhaps less than EUR 10 or USD 12 in Hong Kong, iirc.

The Logic 3 is always with my Z - vital equipment indeed.
Ebay currently has the 9800 Gold thingie for $18 inc postage to UK - sounds good enough to me.
How do you re-charge the 9800? Does it come with a charger unit or use the PSP/Zaurus one?