DC Cell phone chargers

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tonybackache
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DC Cell phone chargers

Post by tonybackache »

Doesn't most all Cell Phones use a 12v DC charger? The difference is just the myriad of plugs? Now on the AC chargers I think the voltage varies according to type of phone.
Reason I ask, instead of buying yet another DC charger for current phone, opt to convert an existing DC charger with appropriate, connecting plug.
Dean Huster
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Post by Dean Huster »

1. Good luck finding a mating plug short of clipping the end off another charger.

2. DC chargers are so danged cheap at Wal-Mart that it's hardly worth possibly wrecking your phone with a hasty lash-up.

3. They make these cute little cubes that are nothing but 12-volt wall warts with a big 12-volt automotive female cigarette lighter connector for the output. Buy this and a 12-volt DC charger cord and you don't need the AC charger along when you go on trips.

4. I believe that all the charging circuitry (current & voltage regulation, temperature sensing, full-charge sense, etc.) is inside the phone vs. in the various chargers, so at least that's one plus for rolling your own.

Dean
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
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Chris Smith
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Post by Chris Smith »

Every cell phone battery I bought I used for home made LED flash lights.

I just added a small jack from All Electronics and hooked them up to my solar panel.

That was probably 10 years ago and they all still work.

Unless the ?cell phone? has a cover that blocks you modifying it, you should be able to run 2 wires into a small jack at the tail, and go from there. A little epoxy....

Also a pig tail in line jack will work.
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jollyrgr
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Post by jollyrgr »

Cell phone chargers are a pain. Between my mom, my brother, and myself we have about six different Nokia cell phone models from over the years. Each as a different charge voltage and coaxial connector size. My current LG phone does not even use a coaxial connector for charging.

No, the phones' "INPUTS" are not all 12V. I'd be surprised if any are that voltage. I have a bunch of wall warts from cell phone chargers that are "junkbox" devices I convert for use on other items. I have voltages at 3.5V, 3.7V, 5.9V, and 6.0V just to name a few. If I needed a charger at 3.5V would I hesitate to use the 3.7V? No, not really. I would not use the 5.9V or 6.0V on the 3.5V phones.

One thing I did do is get a "cigarette lighter" type wall wart. This is a 120VAC to 12VDC adapter. It has a cigarette lighter type fitting on it that allows you to plug in your car charger directly into it. I carry that in my car so if I am on vacation or at someone else's house I can charge my phone inside.
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tonybackache
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DC Cell phone chargers

Post by tonybackache »

By looking at DC chargers from past phones I see no type of voltage regualtion. Male cigarette plug power cord & connector for phone.
I frequent Yard Sales & its unbelievable the number of chargers headed for the land fill (almost as many coffee cups). I'm sure petroleum products are used making molded plugs & etc. Asian Phone Manufactures are not helping the Global Warming problem.
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frhrwa
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Post by frhrwa »

I have a box full of chargers if you need a specific one.. I have LG, SANYO, Motorola (two different ends), and its a pain in the butt keeping up with the cell phone manufacturers.. to bad we all wouldn't boycott the jerks.. they change these things so you have to buy all new equipment each time you change phones.. standardize standardize standardize! I have enough of them now, what I should do is find the CEO's address, get some surgical tubing, make a big slingshot and fire them through his windows.. ha.. let him see what his bigshot engineers are doing... I must have sold and given away 2 dozen in the last garage sale..
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haklesup
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Post by haklesup »

I think your assumption is wrong. While DC chargers usually have a 12V input, the output is still smaller and compatible with whatever battery it was intended for. Find your phone's manual before connecting 12V to it.

In most cases the car chargers are just a few volts higher than analogous AC chargers to allow for faster charging (more current via Ohms law). This is possible because in a 12V car system, the DC current is more accessible without expensive transformers as you would find in an AC charger. An AC charger with as much current as a car charger would have a rather large wall wart or switcher.

However, if your DC adapter for your car does put out a voltage and current in range with the phone's charge input, then it should be just fine to connect it to the phone.

You know the only difference between the LG chargers for my phone and the new models is the way the plastic is notched on the connector body, the pinout and contacts are exactly the same. Force me to buy a new charger, not so long as my exacto knife is sharp. Nokia phones seem to have more universal chargers.
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