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I'm looking for the perfect Xoom case (for me).
I want a case that can house the Xoom, Motorola keyboard, Altec Lansing Sound Blade, and assorted small accessories such as a Mojo mini mouse, usb otg cable, stylus, card reader, etc. It can be hard or soft, and I don't want it to be larger than what I need for all those things.
BUT- I want it to have solar panels and a battery that will charge my Xoom & Droid.
I've found one for $600, but I'm not really quite THAT green!
Anyone have such a case? Chime in even if you have a charger (solar) that can fully charge the Xoom. I'm not opposed to buying a solar charger and somehow matting it with the bag.
Next choice would be a stand alone solar charger w/battery that is dimensionally close to the Xoom.
Thanks all.
Also looking at non-solar backup batteries. I would want one that is the same dimensions as the Xoom.
Question: What are the battery specs I'm looking for to fully charge the Xoom? Double what the Xoom's capacity is?
if you can do simple soldering and are proficient in modding you could make a pelican case to suit your needs. pelicans are also water proof. (do not work for pelican, i promise) they come with foam liners you can cut to suit individual items.
i turned one into an all in one 12v powered, ipod, wireless remote system with a headphone jack to plug into a amp on my dinghy so i could use my ijet wireless commander without getting everything wet, and keeping ipod and separate phone and wireless unit powered and charged. was pretty cool cause when i went out in the dinghy all i had to do was plug this box into cig lighter and haedphone jack on amp, and i had a water proof stereo, with wireless remote so i never had to touch ipod. or risk getting wet. ive since dissassembled the setup but i can show you pics of how the pick and pull foam in the box is easy to deal with.
not sure if i can post links, but here is waht i suggest, or something similar
http://www.pelican.com/1075/index.html
also solar panels are not that efficient, the solar panel will be more of a gimmick than anything else, especially if you are charging extra batterys as well, unless you make a mini foldout array, and now it is just getting complicated and unecessary. lithium packs are light, if you look on google you can find slim lithium packs to make a spare external pack, keep in mind you will need to keep the pack at 12v since thats what the xoom charges with. also its important to remember that the xoom uses 12v at 1.5 amp. by comparison thats almost equal to the output of 5 standard apple wall chargers, thats why our xooms charge so quick.. solar panels put out around 7w per square foot at 12v for the affordable panels that you see on peoples roofs, you would need a 4 square foot solar panel to meet the charging requirements of the xoom. so it would just be easier to integrate a beefy lithium pack that you can plug directly into the xoom. a properly sized pack could charge a xoom at least twice without weighing you down too much. of course you need to make sure you have the proper protections in place so you dont over or undercharge the external pack, packs can blow if treated incorrectly as we all know.
sorry about the ramble, sometimes i get carried away.
Thanks for all the input, bundles.
I am a good fabricator, so I may actually adapt something similar to the pelican, fitting it with a solar panel and LiIon battery pack. I know I can't run or charge directly off the solar cell, but the cell can take all day to charge the power pack; -That doesn't matter. Fitting the case together with all the components doesn't bother me, and I solder well (used to be a jeweler). But setting up several batteries in parallel or series, etc, I'm less confident about. Don't wanna burn the Xoom, and I don't wanna start one of those pretty green flamers like the old laptop batteries sometimes did!
I was also hoping to find something that allowed for several different currents/voltages so I could also charge the wife's iPad, our cameras, Droids, etc.
So it looks like the Energizer XP18000 is what I'll get for realtime practical functionality that meets my criterion, but I might make a separate solar cell unit to charge it with in the future.
the one other thing i forgot to mention is leaving a bag out in the sun will get very hot, i wouldnt want to cook my xoom in a solar powered oven of death. when you want to use it, it may be too hot.
If looking for solar / power up combo (costs a bit, but panels are amazing, I have the Adventure 10) ... check GoalZero products.
http://www.goalzero.com/shop/c/1/
That links to their power kit list.
if you can charge via your USB port you should also check out PortableSolarPower dot Biz and look at their USB solar charing panels , the 12w USB panel is perfect for the tablets that need 2 amps to recharge.
PortableSolar said:
if you can charge via your USB port you should also check out PortableSolarPower dot Biz and look at their USB solar charing panels , the 12w USB panel is perfect for the tablets that need 2 amps to recharge.
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Unfortunately, the Xoom cannot charge via USB.
I know nothing about qi or wireless charging, so don't laugh if im asking too much but I just recently bought a Kenu Airframe for my car, and I love it! Very minimal. its nice. I was wondering if its possible to make your own qi charger, and whats the smallest it would have to be for qi devices (such as nexus 5) to successfully charge to it? I am planning a project soon to install a charger, and Bluetooth receiver inside my dash in my car, and so I wont mind hiding the internals for a qi charger on the inside of the car if its possible. My idea was something almost as small as those nfc stickers, but for qi charging, where the actual charging part could be the slim "nfc sticker" size, with the actual qi parts hiding under dash. is this possible?
unvaluablespace said:
I know nothing about qi or wireless charging, so don't laugh if im asking too much but I just recently bought a Kenu Airframe for my car, and I love it! Very minimal. its nice. I was wondering if its possible to make your own qi charger, and whats the smallest it would have to be for qi devices (such as nexus 5) to successfully charge to it? I am planning a project soon to install a charger, and Bluetooth receiver inside my dash in my car, and so I wont mind hiding the internals for a qi charger on the inside of the car if its possible. My idea was something almost as small as those nfc stickers, but for qi charging, where the actual charging part could be the slim "nfc sticker" size, with the actual qi parts hiding under dash. is this possible?
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Click to collapse
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Metrans+MWT01+Qi+Wireless+Charger+Teardown/13532
look at a Qi charger teardown
the circuit board probably contains voltage/current regulation stuff along with other stuff, can hide it anywhere
you'll simply need to miniaturize that coil, probably similar to how NFC tags look like... there is some current output, range and efficiency relationship on how you choose the coil size, material, length, radius etc
paperWastage said:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Metrans+MWT01+Qi+Wireless+Charger+Teardown/13532
look at a Qi charger teardown
the circuit board probably contains voltage/current regulation stuff along with other stuff, can hide it anywhere
you'll simply need to miniaturize that coil, probably similar to how NFC tags look like... there is some current output, range and efficiency relationship on how you choose the coil size, material, length, radius etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jesus, that's all there is to it!? this is exactly what I was hoping for! Would it be safe to assume nearly all qi chargers are built similar then? if that coil is any indication, you just might be right. I have a feeling though that the coil is that big for a reason. My guess is smaller might reduce power output, but if its the same concept, ill pick up a cheap charger on ebay to tear apart and play with, just to test it.
Here is the Kenu Airframe for anyone interested:
http://www.kenu.com/products/airframe
if you like small mounts, this sucker is really well built. price might be a bit much for some, but believe me, its worth it.
my idea is to use the small center "Kenu" plate in the middle of the mount for qi charging. One could make the coil somehow on the airframe, possibly in the size of a NFC sticker, and have it wired into a micro usb port on the back of the airframe mount. then on the qi charger size, where the coil is, wire that with a micro usb cord, and simply attach the two cables together. This would allow for any possible adjustments if you wanted to move the mount around.
EDIT: hmmm, a quick google search found this:
http://www.mouser.com/new/Wurth-Electronics/WE-WPC-Coils/
is qi charging really just a basic charger, just with a magnetic inductive coil instead of micro usb cable? is it really that simple?
The coils are specified by the Qi spec. i.e. you can't just use an arbitrary loop of wire. But, it should be relatively trivial to break open a charging pad and put its guts in a new housing.
Working from scratch, however, is complicated and fraught with peril. You'd have to get a chip (like IDTP9036) and wire it up. And no, actually "wiring" it won't work, you'd have to make a circuit board for it to live on.
sciguy125 said:
The coils are specified by the Qi spec. i.e. you can't just use an arbitrary loop of wire. But, it should be relatively trivial to break open a charging pad and put its guts in a new housing.
Working from scratch, however, is complicated and fraught with peril. You'd have to get a chip (like IDTP9036) and wire it up. And no, actually "wiring" it won't work, you'd have to make a circuit board for it to live on.
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well, what I mean is, can you essentially use a regular wire, inbetween the qi coil, and the qi charging component itself? in the link provided by paperwastage, it looks as though all the qi charger itself basically is, is the qi component hardware itself, with the qi compatible inductive coil soldered in. by that concept, I am asking if you could TECHNICALLY add a regular wire between the coil and components, to essentially extend where the actual coil itself can be placed and used?
unvaluablespace said:
well, what I mean is, can you essentially use a regular wire, inbetween the qi coil, and the qi charging component itself?
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Click to collapse
You could likely add small extensions to the coil. Though, I don't have enough experience with them to know exactly how much. Personally, I would be wary of adding more than an inch or two to each end. However, you could always experiment and see what works...
Qi help
the distance between the coil and the output board, is going to effect how much power is lost internally.
the size of the coil, the wire size, the wrap (basically anything that affects the field strength) will effect the efficiency.
you'll note alot of the Qi pads out there use 2A draw to power them, but only transfer power at between 500-1000ma....and they only guarantee the lower limit. (i'm guessing because of production variations, like how accurately the coiling is laid down, whether the copper wire had high or low contamination the day it was drawn, etc)
this is where knowing the Qi spec, and tuning your antenna coil comes into play.
all that being said, GL !
I was doing some reading here and there, bought a few cheap qi coils and pcb boards. I was trying to request a sample of TI's new PCB board/coil that does not require magnets(so we can continue to use NFC, and possible compass issues.), but when I tried to request a sample their website would glitch out, may try it again sometime soon.
Did you get anywhere with this? I am trying to extend the distance between the PCB and coil and am unsure of what cable to use.
So right before I sold my wife's Nexus 5, I had the opportunity to test it out with he RavPower RP-WCN11. It's basically a 4800mAh capacity portable charger like other ones on the market. You can attach a device to it with a USB cord like any other. However, it also has QI wireless charging capability.
I guess you could also say it's like a normal QI wireless charging pad that happens to have a 4800 mAh capacity battery inside.
I know others have referenced the product a few times. Here's a video with it in use.
My wife continues to use the power bank in the car and when we're walking our daughter around the neighborhood. It's held up pretty well.
Current price is $56.99 on Amazon w/ free shipping.
http://bit.ly/PyBmoF
The invention of mobile phone extricates us from the space limit caused by telephone wire and provides an unchained telecommunication experience; the close physical connection between PC and mouse ends with the advent of wireless mouse which makes computer operation freer and smoother; The WIFI frees us from the messy network cable and enables us to surf internet anywhere and anytime…….
Your smart phone will look even more SMART when get rid of its ‘tail’ (charging cable).
Although the technologies, formation and standards witness rapid development and various wireless technologies have brought great convenience for our lives, there seems to be one little ‘tail’ that still sticks round on our desks—-the charging cable. The wireless transmission of signal has become a common phenomenon in our lives, how about the wireless transmission of electricity? Today, I will share my experience on ‘wireless charging’ with you guys and introduce to you this wireless charging product—–tail terminator.
Lugulake wireless charger is covered mainly with the classic black, which creates a simple and stylish outlook. Made of heat-resistant ABS eco-friendly material, this product is endowed with superior properties such as abrasion resistance, waterproof and anti-corrosion. There is a conspicuous striking logo right on the center of the contact panel, which is exactly where the power comes from. Beneath the logo are the coils, a key component for wireless electricity transmission. Around the logo is a gray rubber ring, which provides a skid-resistant surface for your device and makes sure your device is placed stably while being charged. The metal button below the product is the power switch. The dotted lights around could indicate the power connection status as well as the charging status. When plugged in, there will be a blue light blinking; when the wireless charging is successful, there will be a green light blinking accompanying with a ‘beep’ sound.
The bottom side of this product is thoughtfully designed just like its top side. The latticed texture never goes out of style. The four gray skid-resistant rubber pads at the corners reflects the devotion of manufacturer to details.
A universal USB cable will be sufficient for both input and output. This product is with a shape
as small as your mobile phone, which is every convenient to carry with you.
Compatibility & Freedom
Mobile phones of different brands will come with different chargers and charging ports. Lugulake wireless charger provides different wireless charging receiving modules for mainstream brands like iPhone, Samsung, Nokia and so on. Therefore, the mobile phones of different brands can be charged wirelessly on this product, even when there is a 5mm gap between the contact panel and your device. Believe or not, USB charging cable will be a reminiscent product in the future.
Unlike other chargers or wireless charging products on the market, Lugulake pays more attention to the practicability and user experience. For instance, Lugulake is equipped with 6000mAh lithium polymer battery, which makes it more than just a wireless charger but also a portable battery. Therefore, Lugulake could power your devices both indoor and outdoor.
Safety & High Conversion
Lugulake wireless charger boasts of a precise and rigorous circuit design and adopts the latest QI technical solution. The maximum input current is 5V and 1.5A. The high-duty boost chip technology could protect the charger while quick charging. The Lugulake also push the battery cells protection technology to a new limit—7 protections: overcharge protection, over discharge protection, over voltage protection, over current protection, overpower protection, temperature protection and short circuit protection.
In term of power transmission, the conversion ratio between Lugulake wireless charger and mobile phone reaches 70%, much higher than competing products on the market. The charging time is totally up to you. From the moment you use Lugulake wireless charger, you do not have to plan the charging time, all you have to do are simple put-downing and picking-up.
I'm looking for long time use external charger
This Qi wireless recharger=power bank+wireless charger. Good I'll try it.
lugulake said:
The invention of mobile phone extricates us from the space limit caused by telephone wire and provides an unchained telecommunication experience; the close physical connection between PC and mouse ends with the advent of wireless mouse which makes computer operation freer and smoother; The WIFI frees us from the messy network cable and enables us to surf internet anywhere and anytime…….
Your smart phone will look even more SMART when get rid of its ‘tail’ (charging cable).
Although the technologies, formation and standards witness rapid development and various wireless technologies have brought great convenience for our lives, there seems to be one little ‘tail’ that still sticks round on our desks—-the charging cable. The wireless transmission of signal has become a common phenomenon in our lives, how about the wireless transmission of electricity? Today, I will share my experience on ‘wireless charging’ with you guys and introduce to you this wireless charging product—–tail terminator.
Lugulake wireless charger is covered mainly with the classic black, which creates a simple and stylish outlook. Made of heat-resistant ABS eco-friendly material, this product is endowed with superior properties such as abrasion resistance, waterproof and anti-corrosion. There is a conspicuous striking logo right on the center of the contact panel, which is exactly where the power comes from. Beneath the logo are the coils, a key component for wireless electricity transmission. Around the logo is a gray rubber ring, which provides a skid-resistant surface for your device and makes sure your device is placed stably while being charged. The metal button below the product is the power switch. The dotted lights around could indicate the power connection status as well as the charging status. When plugged in, there will be a blue light blinking; when the wireless charging is successful, there will be a green light blinking accompanying with a ‘beep’ sound.
The bottom side of this product is thoughtfully designed just like its top side. The latticed texture never goes out of style. The four gray skid-resistant rubber pads at the corners reflects the devotion of manufacturer to details.
A universal USB cable will be sufficient for both input and output. This product is with a shape
as small as your mobile phone, which is every convenient to carry with you.
Compatibility & Freedom
Mobile phones of different brands will come with different chargers and charging ports. Lugulake wireless charger provides different wireless charging receiving modules for mainstream brands like iPhone, Samsung, Nokia and so on. Therefore, the mobile phones of different brands can be charged wirelessly on this product, even when there is a 5mm gap between the contact panel and your device. Believe or not, USB charging cable will be a reminiscent product in the future.
Unlike other chargers or wireless charging products on the market, Lugulake pays more attention to the practicability and user experience. For instance, Lugulake is equipped with 6000mAh lithium polymer battery, which makes it more than just a wireless charger but also a portable battery. Therefore, Lugulake could power your devices both indoor and outdoor.
Safety & High Conversion
Lugulake wireless charger boasts of a precise and rigorous circuit design and adopts the latest QI technical solution. The maximum input current is 5V and 1.5A. The high-duty boost chip technology could protect the charger while quick charging. The Lugulake also push the battery cells protection technology to a new limit—7 protections: overcharge protection, over discharge protection, over voltage protection, over current protection, overpower protection, temperature protection and short circuit protection.
In term of power transmission, the conversion ratio between Lugulake wireless charger and mobile phone reaches 70%, much higher than competing products on the market. The charging time is totally up to you. From the moment you use Lugulake wireless charger, you do not have to plan the charging time, all you have to do are simple put-downing and picking-up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was reading for a while through the various subforums here trying to catch some info on selecting the "best" qi charger for charging our devices here at home (N4, N5 + some others). Finally after reading this review I came to the conclusion that in terms of efficiency, power consumption and charging time more or less all qi chargers perform equal. There are some exceptions tho, like the Panasonic TM101 with it's moving coil or the Tylt VÜ. Both allow free positioning (more or less) of the devices.
I noticed that especially with a case on, proper alignment becomes very important. So you give up fiddling with tiny microUSB connectors but have to deal with aligning the phone to accquire efficient charging. So I wonder is there any affordable charger out there with multiple coils?
sebr said:
I was reading for a while through the various subforums here trying to catch some info on selecting the "best" qi charger for charging our devices here at home (N4, N5 + some others). Finally after reading this review I came to the conclusion that in terms of efficiency, power consumption and charging time more or less all qi chargers perform equal. There are some exceptions tho, like the Panasonic TM101 with it's moving coil or the Tylt VÜ. Both allow free positioning (more or less) of the devices.
I noticed that especially with a case on, proper alignment becomes very important. So you give up fiddling with tiny microUSB connectors but have to deal with aligning the phone to accquire efficient charging. So I wonder is there any affordable charger out there with multiple coils?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have almost all the big names out there. I have the nexus 4 orb charger and the nexus 5 charger. The energizer and LG verizon branded one. I also have the Tylt Vu. Now I have the AirDock in the car.
To me multiple coils is a feature and not really required. The only one I have that has multiple coils is the Tylt Vu. Its good, but has a big footprint so that charger remains next to my alarm clock and LG G Watch charging set up. I have the LG verizon charger that my wife uses for the Nexus 4. and I use the Nexus 5 pad at work because that had the smallest footprint. I have used various cases with each of these chargers, including the airdock. From the Spigen Ultra Hybrid to the Nexus 4 replica bumper for the Nexus 5, they all work. Sure the Tylt can charge my phone horizontally, but that's it really. lol.
I guess to answer your question, the cheapest multi coil? Well even though this technically not a mulit coil, it does locate your coil for you on your qi compatible device. Pretty neat IMO.
Panasonic QE-TM101
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=Panasonic+QE-TM101&_sop=15
Here's a cheapy tylt VU clone
http://www.dx.com/p/itian-a6-3-coil...let-pc-mobile-phone-black-325355#.U_O10EFaUTk
And here's a late addtion...the Nillkin 3 coil charger
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/141370021990?lpid=82
Thanks for your answer. The Panasonic charger is, according to most reviews, not supporting trickle charging. If the device is charged completely the coil returns to initial position and the battery dicharges. In some cases there is also the charging coil repeatedly moving to the device and back to parking position again. Plus for some odd reason it is only available from Japan as direct import.
Tylt VU is way too overpriced, although the concept behind it seems great. Even the clone is too expensive.
So far the Nillkin Energy Stone looks good. Just cannot sind any serious reviews of it. Also only shipping from HK only which could be a problem due to strict german customs here