Solar charger for Samsung Galaxy Note-II - Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm looking for portable (camping/hiking type) solar charger for Samsung Note 2 (T-Mobile version). Just bought GOAL ZERO Nomad 7+ Guide-I/O Plus (which is AA/AAA battery bank. When I plugged in my Note into the solar panel instead of charging it was draining battery, so after 2 hour I wen from 35% down to 19%. I did testing on the battery bank (from USB to micro-USB on the phone and it works fine). So my question is:
1) is it possible that the panel is defective or Note2 is simply so incompatybile with the whole world ?
2) is there any other nice solar kit that would work and at the same time is small and light enough.
This is also possible because Note-2 (as well as Galaxy-3) uses 11 pin instead 5-pin USB pinout...
Eventually I would like to charge also my Samsung SLATE-7. I plugged it to the panel through the lighter outlet (as I have an extra charger that takes the power from the lighter then converts it to the higher voltage/amps - I believe is is around 19-20V). The only problem is that (as I herd) charging this way would be pretty slow. I have spent several hours last two days trying to find something that would work but after my several bad experiences with Samsung I have to be 100% sure when I order something on line. In this case I was lucky as I bought Nomad-7 at REI store so I can easily return it. I've seen several nice chargers on line today but at this moment I cannot be sure that anyone of them would work.
Any advice appreciated.

The note 2 requires at least a 1 amp output JUST to run while you're using the device (ie screen on)... It will charge slowly at 1 amp with the screen off and the phone not in use.
1.5 amps is recommended minimum to charge while you're actually using the device...
2 amps is the stock wall charger...
USB 2.0 output is only 500mA... Which is enough to trickle charge the note 2 while not in use.
So basically... look for a Solar charger that has at least 5v 1amp (if not 2amps) USB output. That should charge it. Or it my opinion? Invest in a 11,000mah + External usb battery and separate Solar panel kit. Most solar kits come with dinky 4000mah or less battery packs which is barely enough to charge your phone once. (if that)

Related

[Q] 2000/2100mah USB Car Adaptors ok for G-Note?

Hi all,
Just a quick question, anyone currently using a 2000 / 2100 mah USB car adaptor with their G-Note?
I currently have a 1000 mah adaptor I believe and after a 2.5 / 3 hour journey, whilst charging, connected to the cars bluetooth and using Co-Pilot, I was down to about 20 / 30 % I think at the end of it.
Will the 2000 / 2100 mah USB car adaptors off ebay be ok to use with the G-Note and will it help keep the phone charged when using the phone as a SatNav?
See link to ebay item
Thanks in advance.
A DC power supply shouldn't be measured in mAh... Maybe they meant 2100 milliamperes? 2100 milliamps would be 2.1 amps which is the more amperage than my HP Touchpad charger (2 amps) which should be more than enough.
I don't know how much I would trust an ebay seller that can't even get the terms correctly, but if it's a 2.1 amp charger it should be fine.
Cool, thanks for the heads up PickleHead, I just thought that mAh was the rate of amp flow per hour and didn't realise it was specific for discharge rate of batteries. I'll have another look around.
Just had a look on the back of the USB mains plug for the Note and my Dell Streak and they both have OUTPUT @ 1.0A which is 1 amp right? But a 2.1 amp USB car adaptor should still be fine right? What about 3.1 or even 4.2 amp ones....or are they way too much for the Note?
I've also discovered today what a thirsty little beast the Note is while running satnav. I have a 1 amp car charger with the centre pins shorted together to force the phone to go into "AC Charging" mode, which it does perfectly well. However, over a 20 mile, 30 minute journey I was seeing the battery drop by about 1% per mile (every 90 seconds) whilst charging. That was with CoPilot Live Premium. On the way back I switched to Navfree, with pretty much the same result. I even have CoPilot set to dim the display in between turning announcements. On my old phone that make the difference between a solidly increasing charge and one that struggles to keep up. On the Note it was losing charge even with that feature enabled.
I'm going to need to be finding an alternate charger for the car, so recommendations would be welcome. I can't see a 2 Amp charger being a problem. The Note should take as much as it needs/wants, so long as the charger lets it have the juice it demands.
I would go for the official dock, except I'm told that it won't accommodate the Note whilst protected by a gel skin/case, so the official dock is a non starter for me.
Griffin PowerJolt car charger
tdodd said:
I've also discovered today what a thirsty little beast the Note is while running satnav. I have a 1 amp car charger with the centre pins shorted together to force the phone to go into "AC Charging" mode, which it does perfectly well. However, over a 20 mile, 30 minute journey I was seeing the battery drop by about 1% per mile (every 90 seconds) whilst charging. That was with CoPilot Live Premium. On the way back I switched to Navfree, with pretty much the same result. I even have CoPilot set to dim the display in between turning announcements. On my old phone that make the difference between a solidly increasing charge and one that struggles to keep up. On the Note it was losing charge even with that feature enabled.
I'm going to need to be finding an alternate charger for the car, so recommendations would be welcome. I can't see a 2 Amp charger being a problem. The Note should take as much as it needs/wants, so long as the charger lets it have the juice it demands.
I would go for the official dock, except I'm told that it won't accommodate the Note whilst protected by a gel skin/case, so the official dock is a non starter for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Griffin PowerJolt Micro for iPad.
Output: 5 volts DC at 2.1 amps
Output power: 10 watts
http://store.griffintechnology.com/ipad/original-ipad/powerjolt-micro-ipad
My Griffen Powerjolt charges the battery while Google navigation is running.
It's possible Google nav is less of a power drain than Navfree. I'll have to try it.
- Frank
I am using the original samsung galaxy tab charger which is rated at 2amps, it works fine with igo, but while using pandora, blurtooth a2dp and igo, the phone charges slowly...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App
I hav always used a 2A car adaptor as even the Nexus One was a thirst beast as it played the audio over bluetooth to the car dock that had its own speaker.
It works fine with Navigation/Navfree/Waze and the phone charges rather than discharges slowly with the lower power adaptors. The Official Samsung Car Dock comes with a power adaptor that is only rated at 1Amp.
The adaptor I use was intended for an iPad which needs at least 2A. Some adaptors have ratings that should be taken with a pinch of salt. If you can find one rated for an iPad (the type that plugs into the cigar socket and has a USB socket on it rather than an integral iPad connector) then you can't go wrong.
For those asking, I got my Samsung Car Dock from Handtec (in the UK) at: http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/5881/samsung-galaxy-note-official-vehicle-dock-kit-
I have the micro usb power cable from the original htc Nexus One car dock. I believe that this provides a 2 amp charging current, and my note charges, albeit slowly while using the phone as a sat nav with google maps
On a similar note about charging (which seems appropriate here), I have the original Galaxy Tab which doesn't allow charging over USB with the standard cable. However I bought an adapter which allows the Tab to charge from a USB port but you can't use it for data, I'm wondering if it's ok to use the same adapter with the Note so it charges quicker off a USB port?
Thanks for the link to the car dock, that looks pretty good
John

Car Charger

I bought the below car charger because the cheap generic one I had from an old phone couldn't keep up with the drain from the screen when running sat nav.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290627400358?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
This also doesn't work, it loses a percent of charge every 10 minutes or so, while I'm aware this isn't alot and I can probably get anywhere in the UK on a full charge, the fact is I want my phone to actually be charging while it's plugged in as I don't always have a full charge and I may need it topping up on my journey in case I don't have another charging opportunity for a while.
I cannot find another genuine samsung product that claims to be compatible with the s2 (indeed the above "genuine" charger doesn't appear on Samsung's website.) There is one on their site (P10CBE In-Car Charger) however it claims to be only compatible with the galaxy tab. While I know it simply has a USB socket for use with any data cable, I'm worried it may damage the phone if rated too high in amps (700mA to 2A is a big jump.)
So I have 3 questions...
1) Is the tab charger safe to use, and does anyone else have this and can confirm it can keep up with the screen permanently on with google navigation running.
2) Can anyone suggest another brand that they have experience with it definitely keeping up with the charge on a galaxy s2, running screen etc.
3) I quite like the look of the official Samsung car mount, can anyone confirm if the charger included with this can keep up etc (also if you know what ampage it's rated to as I can't find this info on the product data.)
Many thanks if you take the time to reply to this, a bit lengthy I know.
lancemate
Use siyah's kernel to increase the charging current, how high you can go is anyones guess. Stock kernel supply's 450mA when plugged into a usb port and 650mA when plugged into a charger, i set mine to 800mA for both and all seems fine so far.
I have used a motorola car charger and this has actually worked better that the original samsung car charger, charges faster, and has a cool blue light. since the micro-usb is non-proprietary, you have lots of options.
Using an Official charger, better than those cheap ones that fail to keep the battery topped up while using the phone as a satnav.
I have a Sony Ericsson Original AN401 Compact Car Charger and it charges when using satnav.
The main problem with the cheap adapters is the output current, it tends to be too low for GPS. Make sure it is regulated & 750mah or higher.

Hyperion dual dock with extra dock for extra batteries! 19.99 - 24.99 eBay MANY PICS!

So as promised, here's a review of the Hyperion desktop dock. Just trying to help the community!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1635558
Hyperion dual dock with extra dock for extra batteries! 19.99-24.99 eBay.* MANY PICS!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
This is a DECENT dock, if you don't mind the SLOW charging.
When I charge my Note on this dock by itself (NO 2nd BATTERY charging), the dock only charge via USB mode, compared to AC mode. You can see this using Battery Monitor Widget or via Settings --> About.
It is by design since I have TWO (2) of these, ordered in the span of 4 weeks as replacement, and both exhibit the same problem.
I also test this by comparing the charging time via the Dock (USB mode) and then via Samsung original charger and the Dock charge twice as long.
Looking at the dock power supply, it only output 1.5mA. Given that the dock have the ability to charge BOTH the Note and 2nd battery, that's about 0.750mA for each charging circuit. The power supply should output at least 2mA and split that between the Note circuit and 2nd battery circuit in the dock. Samsung original charger output 1mA by itself.
Well if you have this then charging one while using one.... You should never worry. I know I charge mine overnight then if need be, swap. I've got a total of 3 batteries but can only use 1 at a time so for me, it works.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
lanwarrior said:
This is a DECENT dock, if you don't mind the SLOW charging.
When I charge my Note on this dock by itself (NO 2nd BATTERY charging), the dock only charge via USB mode, compared to AC mode. You can see this using Battery Monitor Widget or via Settings --> About.
It is by design since I have TWO (2) of these, ordered in the span of 4 weeks as replacement, and both exhibit the same problem.
I also test this by comparing the charging time via the Dock (USB mode) and then via Samsung original charger and the Dock charge twice as long.
Looking at the dock power supply, it only output 1.5mA. Given that the dock have the ability to charge BOTH the Note and 2nd battery, that's about 0.750mA for each charging circuit. The power supply should output at least 2mA and split that between the Note circuit and 2nd battery circuit in the dock. Samsung original charger output 1mA by itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, I just checked the charging status and it shows AC on mine, not USB. My charged from %1 to full in just over 4 hours. This was in the dock, in the phone on an Anker battery. Not sure why yours may be different.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
Nice. Just what I've been looking for
lanwarrior said:
This is a DECENT dock, if you don't mind the SLOW charging.
When I charge my Note on this dock by itself (NO 2nd BATTERY charging), the dock only charge via USB mode, compared to AC mode. You can see this using Battery Monitor Widget or via Settings --> About.
It is by design since I have TWO (2) of these, ordered in the span of 4 weeks as replacement, and both exhibit the same problem.
I also test this by comparing the charging time via the Dock (USB mode) and then via Samsung original charger and the Dock charge twice as long.
Looking at the dock power supply, it only output 1.5mA. Given that the dock have the ability to charge BOTH the Note and 2nd battery, that's about 0.750mA for each charging circuit. The power supply should output at least 2mA and split that between the Note circuit and 2nd battery circuit in the dock. Samsung original charger output 1mA by itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the device will not draw 1A if it is not a samsung charger
it is a safety protocol that the device will draw less power through non-samsung chargers
even if the dock was 2A, the device wouldnt charge at 1A -> that would mean you would damage the second battery because it is charging with >1A
dakleenupman said:
Funny, I just checked the charging status and it shows AC on mine, not USB. My charged from %1 to full in just over 4 hours. This was in the dock, in the phone on an Anker battery. Not sure why yours may be different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You probably have the "re-designed" version?
As I mentioned above, I have 2 of these and was emailing the manufacturer and seller back and forth about this issue. The seller tested the unit that they have and it exhibit the same problem. So it could be the version I have have different circuitry or something. I bought this a while ago, so I gave up pursuing it since it took a long time to resolve the issue that time.
The dock is working (charging that is), so its not that it is defective. But I just want to share my experiences for those who need "fast" charging (4 hours with AC v.s. 8 hours with USB) and don't have 3 batteries either.
PS: I am sure it is not my Note, because when I plug the phone with Samsung original charger, and even a NewTrent battery pack, I got "AC" charge and not USB.
lanwarrior said:
You probably have the "re-designed" version?
As I mentioned above, I have 2 of these and was emailing the manufacturer and seller back and forth about this issue. The seller tested the unit that they have and it exhibit the same problem. So it could be the version I have have different circuitry or something. I bought this a while ago, so I gave up pursuing it since it took a long time to resolve the issue that time.
The dock is working (charging that is), so its not that it is defective. But I just want to share my experiences for those who need "fast" charging (4 hours with AC v.s. 8 hours with USB) and don't have 3 batteries either.
PS: I am sure it is not my Note, because when I plug the phone with Samsung original charger, and even a NewTrent battery pack, I got "AC" charge and not USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh. I had no idea there were different versions. I just bought this and wanted to share my experience as well.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA

Slow Charging

I am travelling at the moment overseas (for work). At home my 10.1 usually charges every night in a docking station. I bought a spare lead and my trusty multi pined (world Wide) USB charger that I use for my phone etc when I travel. When I plug the Pad into the charger it only charges at about 5% per hour so from dead flat it takes a whole day. At home its recharged in a few hours. What gives?? The charger is plenty big enough and doesn't even get warm. I tried a different charger (Not a Samsung Charger) and I get the same charge rate. Any body know if there is something special about the charger and if so how can I get around this problem in the short term.
Next time Ill just bring the Samsung charger
Darkfibre50 said:
I am travelling at the moment overseas (for work). At home my 10.1 usually charges every night in a docking station. I bought a spare lead and my trusty multi pined (world Wide) USB charger that I use for my phone etc when I travel. When I plug the Pad into the charger it only charges at about 5% per hour so from dead flat it takes a whole day. At home its recharged in a few hours. What gives?? The charger is plenty big enough and doesn't even get warm. I tried a different charger (Not a Samsung Charger) and I get the same charge rate. Any body know if there is something special about the charger and if so how can I get around this problem in the short term.
Next time Ill just bring the Samsung charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a 2 amp charger. Most normal USB chargers are only 0.5 amps.
DanielNTX is right. Our toy has a 7000mAh Battery. The normal charger provides us with 2A per hour which - by using maths - makes the tab charge from 0-100 in about 3.5 hours (slightly more as you have to calculate efficiency loss and also the tab uses power during that time (Wifi, 3G, whatever's turned on)
Phone chargers usualy only deliver 500mA (or 0.5A) per hour, some more (The Blackberry charger provides 700mA for instance). Depending on how much Amp your phone charger provides, it can take longer, in the case of a 500mA charger it takes 4 times as long. (14 hours+).
It is really hard to find a good wallcharger that provides 2A that is not either flimsy as hell or pricy. HP had a firesale a few days ago where they sold their Touchpad charger (5.3V, 2A) for a cheap 5€ (including shipping) unfortunatelly my order got cancelled due to the high demand, but you should definatelly search for a charger with a higher amperage.
Yes yoar are correct the Charger I am using although physically large is only one amp.
Looks like I am in the market for a 2 amp charger
When you are charging, is there a red cross through the battery symbol in the bottom right of the screen?
If so, then the problem is that your charger does not signal to the tab that it is a charger and so the tab will only trickle charge (as it would from a regular USB port).
The solution is:
a) to buy a tab compatible charger which sends this signal
b) buy an adapter to send the signal, search for somethig like "Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 New PC Charging Power USB Cable Adaptor" on eBay
c) if you have electronics skills make up a little circuit to fool the tab. It involves soldering a couple of surface mount resistors between the +5, D+, D- & 0v. Several pages around on it. Here's one I found in a hurry, sorry, can't post links yet... h t t p : / / forums.webosnation.com/hp-touchpad-accessories/314741-how-get-full-power-charge-mobile-battery-car-hp-touchpad.html
I can't find my original wallcharger anymore
I use the original usb-cable and the charge unit from my SIII but it's slow as hell. And when the tab is on most of the time there is a red cross on the battery. It's very sucky
Just go find any old wallcharger that provides 2 Amps then. I bought a second original charger off of amazon for "just" 15€. It's not the cheapest I could find, but easily the one I trust most not to burst up in flames
I would recommend staying away from cheap, flimsy adapters.
http://www.amazon.de/Samsung-ETA-P10E-Reiseladegerät-inkl-USB-Kabel/dp/B0044EAVB6/ref=pd_cp_ce_1
EDIT: I suspect the SIII charger does not output 2A, really. Such a poweradapter is very uncommon for phones (I have not seen one with such an amperage yet) and only common for "high power devices".
EDIT2: If it is this one you have (http://www.amazon.de/Samsung-ETA0U8...D2LC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1345112597&sr=8-4), then yes, this does not provide enough power for the Galaxy Tab. This has an output of only 1A.
EDIT3: For you, my belgian friend: http://www.amazon.fr/Samsung-ETA-P1...AVB6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345112860&sr=8-2
a bit more expensive than in germany, but you have free shipping to belgium
Buying a 2A charger won't do because the tab is limiting the current it draws from the charger unless it detects the original charger. This is to comply with the USB standard maximum current of 0.5A. If the tab drew more current from a standard charger, chances are good that the charger either shuts off due to overload or simply goes defect.
To use a 2A standard charger using the full current, you need to buy/build an adaptor cable to fool the tab into thinking it's hooked up to the original charger.
Regards
Achim
I use the original charger and I get the red cross. Damn Samsung QC...
Darkfibre50 said:
I am travelling at the moment overseas (for work). At home my 10.1 usually charges every night in a docking station. I bought a spare lead and my trusty multi pined (world Wide) USB charger that I use for my phone etc when I travel. When I plug the Pad into the charger it only charges at about 5% per hour so from dead flat it takes a whole day. At home its recharged in a few hours. What gives?? The charger is plenty big enough and doesn't even get warm. I tried a different charger (Not a Samsung Charger) and I get the same charge rate. Any body know if there is something special about the charger and if so how can I get around this problem in the short term.
Next time Ill just bring the Samsung charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely turn off the tablets. Im pretty sure it'll work
Sent from my GT-P7500 using xda premium
slow charging WITH samsung charger?
I've been using the samsung wall charger from the box with my galaxy tab 10.1 and a few days ago it started to only trickle charge when plugged in with it. It charges like 3-5% per hour, and says its "discharging" in the battery menu while its plugged in. Thing is, the charger I have is frayed a bit at the male-to-tab (not male-to-block) side of the cord. Could this be causing my problem? I don't want to buy another charger for no reason, but I also don't want to send in my tab for weeks on end to find out it was the charger...any advice?

Galaxy Note 3 or iPad Air Charger

hi. the battery charger that i got with my LG optimu G Pro is ****. its just now that i checked that i have been deceived
its chinese copy and its only 0.2A charger...
now i know the reason why my phone charges soooo slow...
anyways. i think Note 3 and iPad air charger are 2A and 2.4A. so can i use iPad or Note 3 charger to charge my phone? will that be ok?
any one here using that?
thanks
Use OEM LG charger with 1.2 output. I am using LG G2 OEM charger and it charges very fast! But not sure it's compatible completely
Sent from my LG E988
If youre tech savy you can make your own,you just need a switchmode 5v regulator (they usually put out up to 3 amps) and you put a resistor across the data pins (i think 100 ohm) and itll charge the phone as fast as it can safely charge. I made my own charger for the car and the phone gets fully charged in about an hour and a half. (With screen on and playing Bluetooth music). Other wise if you buy a charger, get as many amps as you can. Atleast 1.5+ . and to make the phone charge in AC mode if it only says USB you need a resistor across the data pins.
Thats funny... my G Pro came with a 1.8a LG charger, my G2 came with a 1.2a.
Yeah you'll be fine. The "extra" amperage in the charger is available capacity that your phone can draw from, it will regulate itself but that can also depend on the charger and how they pin the USB. Its different than if you have extra volts (like a 10vdc charger which would provide too high of a voltage and damage electronics). I usually charge all my phones at when I get home with my wife's iPad charger super fast. Likewise you can use your LG charger to charge the iPad but will be slower since it has less amp capacity to supply. Part of the reason they provide the bigger charger is to sustain battery level while using the device (It should be large enough that the battery doesn't drain while your using the device while plugged into the charger).
Most computer USB ports typically provide .5a of power and will be your slowest charging option, at best you get a newer laptop with "high capacity" ports and it provides only 1.0a.
I've been using an iPad 1st gen charger with GPro since day one, been working flawlessly for 4 months now. Charges fast.

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