Customer Reviews

USB Car Charger Adapter for Audiovox 5600, Audiovox 6700, All BlackBerry 8700 8700r 8700g 8700f 8700c 7250 7290 7520 7230 7210 7510 7280 6210 6230 6280, All Palm Treo 650 700p 700w TX T5 Life Drive E E2, All HP iPAQ, HTC Cingular 8125, 2125, HTC T-Mobile

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Summary: I bought two of these chargers. Neither worked initially, but after modification they worked. However, this may work with many phones without modification.

Full story: When I received this product, I tried it with my Palm Treo Pro and Garmin Nuvi 265wt. With the Treo, the screen lit up, but my phone did not charge. With the Nuvi, the Nuvi thought it was plugged into a computer rather than a charger, and did not charge. I realize neither of these products is on the list of supported products for this charger, but a USB charger should be a USB charger. I looked up the USB specification, and in order for a device to recognize that it is plugged into a charger, the D+ and D- lines are supposed to be shorted with no more than 200 Ohms. I checked these pins on the charger (they are the middle two pins of the four pins) and the resistance between them measured 50 kOhms. I soldered in a 100 Ohm resistor between these two pins on the PCB and tried the charger again, and sure enough, it works like a charm. Also, the voltage output was a little out of spec, but not too unreasonable, at 5.3V. This was a pretty simple mod, but if I were to purchase another charger, I'd buy a different one that already meets the USB spec, unless my particular phone does not require a charger that meets the specification of shorting the data lines together (some phones have other charging requirements).

It keeps the cell phone going, but it seemed to me like the charging rate was very low

This thing is great, I have purchased it and the wall version. It maybe classic marketing where you get it for a penny and pay for shipping, but it is well worth it. The quality is very good and the price is right with shipping, and the service execellent, I had mine in five days. My 80 yr old father-in-law needed one for his WII and I was going to send him one of mine only to realize it was cheaper to order another one and have it sent directly.

This item is a very standard cigarette lighter to USB charger for whatever components you have. It is rated for a higher current (850mA) than the home computer (500mA). Technically it should charge things a bit faster but I noticed nothing significant. Without something proper I can test with, I do not have any values to state. The components themselves may have a current limiting charging system. The plastic cosmetically...ugly, but no one really buys it for looks. Its a bit bulky, it sticks out farther than I thought.