Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with charger

What does this High Pitched Noise mean? Am I a Dog?

bluefly — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:06:22 -0800

I just bought a charger for my cellphone at Target. It's not the special manufacturer's brand, but an after market one that costs half of what the Sprint store chargers cost. When I plugged it into the wall, it started making a high pitched noise. I haven't plugged the other end of the charger into my phone for fear of ruining it. Is this normal? Is my charger bad? Thanks.

I Ch-Ch-Charge you

gensubuser — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:10:49 -0800

Where would you go to get a cheap iPhone/iPod wall charger and/or USB cable? From looking at amazon and a couple other vendors, it seems there is a very popular tactic of ramping down the product quality in successive batches. By the time an item has 4star reviews, the next shipment could very well fry your device. I have a 2G Touch.

Can you recommend a vendor that either: A) has a large inventory in stock of the same device, such that I can rely on the reviews, or B) is semi-branded such that their reputation matters?

Or, some other tactic.

Laptop charger inlet slowly breaking.

ekpyrotic — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:43:01 -0800

Laptop charger inlet slowly breaking. Hey guys, the [one pin] port where my laptop charger connects is starting to break. I have to connect the charger to the laptop in a particular position for it to work. Otherwise, I'm happy with my 2-year-old laptop. Any advice?

Samsung Camera Battery Recharger in the Bay Area?

zevious — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:51:27 -0800

I have a Samsung TL320 digicam, but no battery charger. Where can I obtain a charger for it, ASAP, near Berkeley, CA?

Can a Canon CB-2LV battery charger with output of 4.2v 0.65A safely charge a Canon Battery Pack NB-5L 3.7V 1120mAh(Li-ion)

CaptMcalister — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:24:39 -0800

Can a Canon CB-2LV battery charger with output of 4.2v 0.65A safely charge a Canon Battery Pack NB-5L 3.7V 1120mAh(Li-ion) if I cut the little bits of plastic stopping me out of the way?

What is the best universal charger to reduce cable clutter, esp while travelling?

shalam — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:26:05 -0800

What is the best universal charger to reduce cable clutter, esp while travelling? Equipment that I need charged:
1. Macbook Pro
2. Nikon D70 battery
3. NiMh batteries for flash unit etc
4. Canon camcorder
5. iPhone
6. Scansnap scanner - portable
7. sony ericsson phone

cheers.

Keeping the phone charged on the go

crapples — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:53:25 -0800

Will a Verizon brand car charger ruin the battery on my new Blackberry Curve? I have read and heard in various places that car chargers are bad for batteries for various reasons. However, the Verizon folks say that the cheap Walmart chargers are bad because they never stop pumping the juice even after the phone is fully charged. They say that their chargers, purchased from their stores, are "smart" enough to lay-off once the phone is charged. They say that using them won't hurt my battery at all.

Are they feeding me a line?

On Monday I'm headed out on a week long camping trip and would really love to have a charged phone during the drive and whenever we're near the car. Thanks.

Camcorder Batter Charger EMERGENCY!

MaddyRex — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:30:14 -0800

I am in NYC and I need to buy a camcorder battery charger TODAY! The camcorder model is Panasonic PV GS320 and the battery pack number is PV DAC14D. This shouldn't be so hard, right? Where can I get a battery charger for the PV GS320 model of battery. I called B&H and they said the battery pack I'm looking for is the PV DAC14D but they would need to order it and unfortunately (poor planning....ugh) I need it today. I'm in New York City -- is there a place here that specializes in this sort of thing...? Any tips on where I should look?

Is difference in voltage and pins an issue with replacement batteries andd chargers?

filthy light thief — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:59:44 -0800

Are third party chargers and batteries OK for Canon digital cameras? I have a Canon PowerShot SD850 IS, and I've lost my charger. I bought an Empire Scientific multi-battery charger and a Rayovac battery that were labeled as being suitable for my camera. On getting them home, I noticed that the charger had 2 prongs instead of 3, touching the two ends but not the middle space (see this generic battery). What is the middle prong for?

The replacement battery is 3.6v 750mAh, while the original is 3.7v 1120 mAh (both Li-ion). I know mAh doesn't matter (except for life-span of the charge), but is the difference between voltages an issue?

iPhone car charger?

olinerd — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:13:46 -0800

What's a good iPhone car charger that won't make my music noisy? I have a 3G iPhone. I have a car with an aux input. I enjoy playing iPhone music over my car stereo via this input. It's all spiffy.

Until next week, when I have to drive for twelve hours (instead of the usual max seven) to a relative's house for Thanksgiving. I also need to use the phone for navigation, occasional phone calls to update worried parents on progress, and so forth. When I switch off with my co-driver, I may also want to play games on the phone. We may also use the Pandora app to stream some music when we're in 3G areas. All this points to serious battery draw.

So: I want a car charger for the phone. The problem is, I had one of the Monster combination FM transmitter/charger things for an older iPod that I plugged into my old first gen iPhone, and it charged, but any music played over the aux input to the stereo while the charger was plugged in was horribly static-y. I'm not sure if this was a problem with putting something designed for an old iPod into an iPhone, or if the charging itself interferes with the music playback, or what, but it was pretty craptacular. It wasn't GSM noise -- it was serious static.

I don't have any friends with car chargers I can try out to see if iPhone-specific chargers work better, and I'd rather not drop the money on one that isn't going to work. Has anyone had experience with an iPhone car charger that doesn't interfere with the output to a car stereo (via a cable, not over FM transmission)? What do you recommend? (I've found reviews of chargers, and I've found reviews of connections to aux inputs, but nothing really combining the two to see if there are noise issues)

Again, this is a 3G iPhone, and I've got a built-in aux input to my car stereo.

Why does my Mac power adapter spark?

plasticbugs — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:55:15 -0800

When I plug my MacBook Pro Power Adapter into most/all outlets, I see a blue spark as the prongs enter the outlet. Is this normal? I see and hear a spark every time I plug my MacBook Pro power adapter into an outlet. I'm using the standard two prong charger seen here. I think the sparking is a new thing. I don't remember this happening regularly before; I bought my MacBook pro two years ago. What causes the spark? Should I be worried about my charger (and ultimately, my laptop)? Does anyone else have this happening with their power adapters?

As a precaution, I make sure to plug the adapter into the wall before I connect it to my laptop.

For reference, the spark seems bigger than a standard static electricity spark.

Will a universal Craftsman charger work with my 15.6V drill?

ets960 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:57:24 -0800

Will a universal Craftsman charger work with my 15.6V drill? It's a 15.6 V cordless drill, numbers on the drill are G0330, model number 315.114630. There's an image of the drill on ebay: here.

The battery number is 130234027. My other charger stopped charging and I forgot about the warranty and was pissed off so I threw it away. Now I have the drill with two batteries but can't charge them. I can buy a new 15.6 V charger, but it's not worth it to pay 40 dollars for the charger when I can pay 80 for a brand new 18V drill. I just want a cheap charger that will keep this thing going for a while until I end up buying a new set of tools.

The 18V universal chargers don't mention this battery, but I feel like it would work anyways, but I'd hate to spend 20 bucks and have it not work. Does anybody have any ideas?

Need help charging my mobile phone

korres — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:23:34 -0800

I have a Motorola V188 mobile phone from the U.S. I'm in the Netherlands with no charger, and I really need to charge the phone ASAP. How? I was thinking about trying to find a place to buy a new battery, instead of trying to find a way to charge the current one. But I don't know if that's a good idea (or if finding the right battery is harder than I imagine).

My service provider is T-Mobile, if that helps at all.

Horray for electric scooters!

TomMelee — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:07:44 -0800

I want to charge this scooter w/o buying another bunch of crap. Can you help me? Ok, so...I bought this scooter today reaaaalllly cheap off craigslist. It's been modified with a newer, bigger controller and newer, bigger batteries.

In its current configuration it's 36v, instead of the stock 20v. It's got an extra battery to be run at 48v, which is what I *want* to do, and yes the controller is rated for that kind of power.

This is the plug: here. I've got a 36v charger for it.

This is what the battery connections look like: here.

I'm assuming that if I install the 4th battery and charge w/ the 36v charger, it just won't charge the last battery?

What if I do two at a time, will that overpower the batteries?

I've also got a 12v "smart" car charger that can operate as low as 2A. Is there any way I can use it to charge the batteries? Should I use it just to charge the single battery and use the 36v to charge the 3? Will that even work?

Basically I don't want to spend another $40 on a cheap import charger if I've already got what I need.

Lend me your electrical knowledge!

MacBook woes.

piratebowling — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:12:29 -0800

MacBook acting strange. Help! Let me start out by saying that I am planning on taking the computer to a genius bar to have it checked out. I just want to make sure there is not some obvious culprit I can try to tackle before going there.

I have a MacBook that was purchased in Mid to late 2007. When I first got it, it had a problem of shutting down randomly. At these times it would give me a message that it had to restart (in several languages) and it seemed to happen primarily (if not exclusively) when it was NOT plugged in. After a couple weeks, however, it stopped misbehaving and gave me no problems.

Fast forward to about 8 or 9 months later (March of this year). It starts shutting down on me with some regularity. It happens mostly when I am either online or using a java program a friend wrote for me. It shuts down without a message, and often simply falls asleep and refuses to wake back up. I take it to the Mac store, and they decide based ont he information I give them that the computer needs a new logicboard. That is replaced, and it seemed fine for about a month.

Now, it is shutting down every time I use this java program. Within minutes, if not seconds, the computer shuts down. I do NOT hear the fan running when this happens, although the computer gets very hot. This shut down happens both when the computer is plugged in and when it is running off a battery. I should also mention that the java program did not always cause the computer to shut down but now seems to be a trigger for it.

Also, possibly related, the charger will sometimes just turn itself off (meaning the light shuts off and it stops charging) until I unplug and replug the charger back into the computer. This charger problem had been happening before the logic board was replaced as well.

Thanks so much.

Where to find a battery USB charger?

tomble — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:22:02 -0800

Help me keep my mp3 player charged while I'm travelling! I'm travelling in a couple of months, and taking my mp3 player with me of course. However, with a couple of long flights ahead of me I'm worried that my mp3 player won't last the duration, and that I won't be able to charge it while flying.

What I'm seeking is essentially a battery pack with a USB socket in it, so I can load it up with fresh batteries and then charge from that. I would have thought it was easier to find such a device than it has been, but perhaps my search terms are all wrong.

Does leaving a lithium-ion batter in a charger shorten its life?

ManInSuit — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 11:22:22 -0800

Does leaving a lithium-ion batter in a charger shorten its life? Here’s one for the battery experts out there:

If I have a lithium-ion battery-powered device, which I only use infrequently, will it diminish its battery life much to always leave it in the charger?

Here’s the specifics:

I recently bought a Garmin Nuvi 250 GPS (Thanks Green - it’s awesome!) I pretty much only ever use it when I travel (and then, mostly, in a car, where it runs off the lighter adapter). But once in a while, very infrequently, I use it when walking or cycling, which means it runs off batteries.

Part of me thinks: Okay. Just leave it plugged into a charger all the time, so that on those off occasions I want it, I can use it. Part of me wonders if I’m squandering the health of the battery by doing this. My understanding is that all rechargeable batteries lose their zip through multiple recharging. How much zip am I taking away by leaving this thing in its charger?

How to replace my Palm Tungsten E charger today?

oblique red — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:15:15 -0800

I have lost the charger for my Palm Tungsten E. I know I can buy a replacement online, but I need to use my Palm quickly and don't want to wait for something to be shipped if I can avoid it. Most stores don't seem to stock the charger for the E, since it's an older model. My question: will the charger from any other Palm/Treo/Handspring model work with my PDA, and if so, what stores (in the greater Atlanta area) are likely to carry it?

iPod + car charger = BZZZZZZ???

steveminutillo — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:43:33 -0800

How can I listen to and recharge my iPod at the same time in my car without the audio quality sucking? I have a 2nd generation iPod and a car with an aux input for the stereo. I can plug my iPod into this input and listen to it though the car speakers and it works great! The problem comes when I want to recharge it while listening.

First I bought a DC to AC inverter at Radio Shack, and then plugged the iPod's AC adapter into it. The iPod was able to recharge, but when I listened to music while charging a loud and annoying HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM sound came through the car's speakers.

I thought maybe the problem had something to do with the ridiculously overcomplicated DC/AC/DC conversion, so I went for the direct route: I bought this car firewire charger. This worked a little better, but instead of a loud hum, I get a BUZZZZZZZZZ sound which seems to go up and down in frequency in sync with the engine revolutions!

So where am I going wrong? Has anybody done this without causing audible interference?

Batteries running down and I can't keep up

bassjump — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:57:49 -0800

Coincidence, or a problem with a wall outlet in my new apartment? My cell phone and laptop batteries are suddenly holding charges for shorter and shorter periods of time. I moved to a new apartment about 3 weeks ago. Last week or so, I noticed that my cell phone (Motorola KRZR, Verizon if it matters) needed charging more often, and that once it lost one bar, it was a pretty steep slope to the low battery song. This past weekend, I noticed that my computer (Dell Inspiron 600m) battery ran down about twice as fast as it used to even a few weeks ago. Eek.

I've been charging both of these in the outlet next to my bed. Is it possible that something in that particular outlet is screwing up the chargers/batteries/whatever it is that makes these things work? If so, how would I know?

Or is it just coincidence, and the batteries to my laptop and phone are dying the way these things do in time?

I know nothing about electronics in the abstract, so please phrase your answer accordingly. Suggestions, explanations, and educated guesses all welcome.

Battery charger for 12V power supply?

hodyoaten — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:26:15 -0800

Calling electricians: can I use one of those "battery chargers" they sell at Auto Zone to power a small appliance that needs 12V? The appliance is an RV waste pump that needs to be on just 5 minutes every week. The manufacturer sheet says it needs a 12VDC 20A connection. The only available power is 110 VAC.

It's pretty much impossible to find any kind of 110V to 12V converter, but there's oodles of battery chargers like this at AutoZone, Wal-Mart, etc. Will these work as a basic power supply, or will they act flaky when they don't get connected to a battery? Will those fully automatic chargers refuse to power a motor? Can I just go by the highest amp rating on the charger packaging and make sure it's 20A or above?

Again, I will only be operating the thing 5 minutes a week, so I don't need a certified, by-the-book connection; just something that will get the job done.

Two Nokia phones from different countries on the same charger?

mdonley — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:26:14 -0800

I have two Nokia mobile phones - one purchased in the US and one that I've purchased here in Indonesia, both with their own similar-looking chargers (though with obvious differences on the plugs). Can I charge the Indonesian phone in the US on the US charger? I'd be using the Indonesian-bought one for trips abroad in a few months, and I'd want it to be charged in the US before buying a PAYG SIM card and credit in the country I'd be visiting.

Thanks.

Should I buy a solar trickle charger?

Mid — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:34:42 -0800

Car battery solar trickle charger -- fact or fiction? So I don't drive for like 2 weeks at a time. In the winter, this means dead battery. Googling around indicates that there are these solar "trickle charger" devices sit on your dash, plug into your lighter socket, and slowly charge your battery. Has anyone actually used one of these things? Did it work? I'm skeptical.

Example here.

Do chargers use electricity when they aren't being used?

Glum — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 16:26:49 -0800

ChargerFilter: Do chargers for things like mobile phones, digital cameras, camcorders etc. use power (and cost money) if they are left plugged in? Would it be worth unplugging them all (or switching of the plug board/power strip) they are connected to?

This thread almost answers the question (see the last comment)

Can I use a different voltage transformer?

[insert clever name here] — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 08:31:09 -0800

I lost my camera's battery charger transformer on a trip. Can't find one anywhere cheaply. Can I use another voltage? My nikon 995's transformer ran away. The cradle for the battery says it needs 10.v/.6a input, but I can't find a 10.5 volt transformer anywhere. If I go with a lower voltage, such as a nine volt, will it charge, just at a slower rate? Or not at all?