OESF Portables Forum
General Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: mimsmall on November 24, 2004, 10:48:18 am
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The sharpusa website didn't list a car charger as an accessory.
So, is any one doing this?
This feature would be very handy for people driving around looking for hotspots.
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I am using a lighter adapter from Radio Shack with the appropriate polarity plug and it is working fine. I did many long trips using my GPS and my Zaurus in my car without a glitch. You also have the option to use another Radio Shack adapter which gives you one 110V 60Hz output and plug the charger included with your Zaurus.
It is very important to use the proper polarity (it can be changed by reverse the plug from Radio Shack, so, if you have kids that may plug and unplug this adapter don't blindly plug it in your Zaurus or glue the plug to the wire).
The part number is 273-1857, the output is 4.5V DC and 1A. Use the B plug (they are named after letters) and align the + sign on the plug with the TIP mark on the wire end.
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Do a search for "zaurus car charger" on ebay. You'll find many for around $5 and $5 shipping for a total cost of $10.
I use one I got off ebay and it works great.
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Thanks everyone;
I think I'll go with Radio Shack, it's just down the road.
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Sometimes (as happened with me), Radio Shack is out of the particular car charger you need. I built my own. If you can't get what you need from Radio Shack, let me know and I'll send instructions on how to make one. They aren't too hard and will cost about $5-10 plus your labor.
Also, get (beg, borrow, or steal) a multimeter and check the actual voltage output of the car charger you get before plugging it into your Z. Some (especially the really cheap ones) do not have a regulated output and it can vary high enough to fry your Z. Just a word of warning, never seen it happen, but have heard some horror stories here.
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You could always grab a power inverter (Amazons list (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=electronics&field-keywords=power%252520inverter&field-browse=172282&search-type=ss&bq=1&store-name=electronics/ref=xs_ap_l_xgl23/103-6212032-2039830)) and plug your Zaurus into that. Then you can use it for other things too .
Of course it will probably cost a little more (but not much).
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Also, never leave the charger plugged in when you start the car.
The resulting power surge can fry the charger circuit of the zaurus.
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zbones - ?
Fry your zaurus? I don't understand... If you're using a car charger circuit, with some linear power convertor their max voltage is about 30volts.... Your car doesn't surge to that... usually it brownouts when it's turning over the engine to start.
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omega, I don't claim to know the physics of this, I am just re-quoting old threads.
see this thread 10 posts down from TRIsoft :-
https://www.oesf.org/forums/inde...&hl=car+charger (https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4484&hl=car+charger)
TRI-soft are well known and well trusted in the zaurus community so I have no reason to doubt them on this.
I am also fairly sure I have seen posts from people who have bricked their zaurus this way, but can't find them at the moment.
I use an old nokia car charger that I cut the plug off and soldered a zaurus type connector on instead.
It works great, but I never leave it plugged in when starting the car after reading that post.
Maybe it's untrue, or just a marketing ploy, but I personally wouldn't want to risk it and wouldn't want anyone destroying their pride and joy either.
Either way, make sure the polarity is correct as other people in this thread have said. See these posts about bricked zauri with car chargers that have the wrong polarity :-
bricked z1 (https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6555&hl=car+charger)
bricked Z 2 (https://www.oesf.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7888&hl=car+charger)
Peter
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I have heard of various electronic devices being destroyed by low quality car chargers when starting a vehicle. I have never seen this happen or actually talked to anyone that it happened to. . .
That said, I don't want to be the one to experience it first hand. A car's electrical system is not set up to deliver a stable voltage to sensitive electronics. I disconnect everything not hard wired before starting my truck. I just don't want to risk it. My chargers were home made using 7805 regulator chips and capacitors to supposedly stop problems like this from happening, but. . .
My ham radio is wired direct to the battery, my gps is fed off of that connection. Other than that, all plugs are pulled before starting (usually they're just not plugged in until the truck is started).