m500 Series Travel Chargers Available

Posted By: Ed Thursday, July 5, 2001 3:20:56 PM

One of the most sought-after peripherals for the m500 series is a travel charger. Palm has been promising one almost since the m500 series was released but it has yet to materialize. However, an online retailer named Tech Center Labs, which makes a wide array of Palm-related products, is offering an Emergency 9V Charger for m500/m505. It costs $29.

This charger is simply a small wire with a connector that fits onto the serial port on the Palm and another that connects to a 9 volt battery. It comes with a small holding pouch.

They also offer a AA Battery Pack for the m500/m505 that costs $16. This connects to the power input on the cradle and is capable of charging and running the Palm.

Thanks to Ray and Mike Cane for the tip. -Ed

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Any issues with these?

Cheetah @ 7/5/2001 3:40:03 PM #
This is very convienient because of it's size, but I hesitate to use one of these devices, although I have absolutely no reason why.

Does anyone know if there are risks by using this device? What does Palm think about this?



RE: Any issues with these?
mikecane @ 7/5/2001 3:45:01 PM #
Check out reviews on the net @ other sites. Many people have used prior versions of this charger (V, Vx) w/o any problems at all. I think the main difference between this and Palm's own one is the plastic casing and the AAs instead of a 9v.

I swear by mine
alee @ 7/5/2001 5:40:31 PM #
I used my 9V emergency charger on my Palm V for quite a while now, and have never had a problem. I never left home without it.

I placed my order for the 9V m505 charger earlier this week. This is a must have if you ever travel. More convenient than an AC charger, and smaller too!

-Al

RE: Any issues with these?
Cheetah @ 7/6/2001 2:25:00 AM #
Thanks for the info, and sorry for being so skeptical. Just that I would hate to damage my non-replaceable battery in my $450 505.

I'm not a electrical engineer, but it would seem that a device is designed to charge at a certain voltage. Does a 9V battery charge at the same rate/voltage (or what ever the correct factor is) as the cradle?

There must be an EE around here somewhere!?!



RE: Any issues with these?
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 11:35:45 AM #
I'm not and Electrical Engineer, but the guy who wrote this page is: http://www.pstec.de/ppp/pppm505/pppm505.html#T3b

He says that the M50x has the charging circuitry built-in, so all it needs is a regulated 5V supply...

Ben

RE: Wow!
Cheetah @ 7/6/2001 1:30:58 PM #
Ben,

Thanks for the link. That is the best technical evaluation I've seen on any Palm. A MUST read for Palm fanatics.

Regarding this battery charger, I'm not sure his analysis makes me more comfortable with this 9V charger.

He writes:

Fortunately Palm also found the space to fit the complete charge logic in the unit. Like the PalmIIIc, the m505 needs only stabilized 5V (up to 700mA) to be charged. The PalmVx still used a dedicated external LiIon charger supplying the right current/voltage regulation.

With a little luck and the right adapter (self made), you might be able to use your mobile supply in the car to charge also your m505. Alot of mobiles use external 5V supplies and most of the cigarette plug style adapters are able to supply 1A, more than enough. A little warning here: If you intend to use a replacement for the original 5V supply from Palm, make sure it's truly regulated! There are good regulated wall bricks on the market for as much as $10-$20, they'll do it. Don't use the usual $5 '3-6-9-12V' supplies!! They are most likely not regulated and the output voltage is varying strongly with the output load. But a LiIon battery is not charged with a constant current, but with a constant voltage (along with a current limit if necessary). In other words, when the LiIon battery is quite empty, the charge current might be as high as 300-500mA and the voltage of the cheap brick is right. Later, when the battery becomes full the current drops below 10mA and the voltage would rise above a healthy level, due to the missing load. So better spend a few $$$ more!

Dumb Question:

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/5/2001 3:53:20 PM #
The Palm Cradle's power supply unit dosen't do any of the 'processing' of the smart-charging, per se, does it? It's just a wall wart that provides X-Volts DC, right? So what's to keep some enterprising young individual from just getting a battery holder for the correct number of AA batteries (Voltage/1.5, for the non-tech ) and thumping something like the lower box together in ten or fifteen minutes? I mean. that's definately what it /looks/ like.
Your Milage May Vary, It's A Dumb Idea, Don't send me your burned up toys, etc.

RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/5/2001 5:50:14 PM #
You're absolutely right! That was a dumb question! This thing only costs $29. Instead of that, you're going to start hooking up voltage to the connectors on your Palm?

RE: Dumb Question:
fkclo @ 7/6/2001 2:24:23 AM #
Charging a Li-ion battery is more complicated than you may think. The Emergency Charger comes with a charging circuit and protection electronics to make sure the charging, even in case of emergency, is done right.

Francis Lo
Hong Kong
RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 3:18:00 AM #
Why is this thing $29? I bought a similar item for the Palm Vx at Compusa for $10. I think it was a fellows brand or something. Any reason why this is 3 times as much?

RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 6:36:09 AM #
It looks more like a temporary power supply than a charger...

$29 is a sad price to pay for a battery with about 10 cents worth of parts attached to it.

The website looks pretty sad too.

RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 7:05:50 AM #
A small price to pay for keeping you palm up and running whilst away from home.

RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 10:35:33 AM #
Hey, don't knock the product. There's some innovation and R&D into it. About the website... you've been spoonfed too many CGI PHP ASP and SHTML pages. This guys got an idea and put it up. If you like it, great. If not, go elsewhere for your product. I'm sure it took some time to put up that site so a personal blow isn't warranted.

If you can string together a bunch of ICs, resistors and capacitors AND make it look half decent with the Universal Connector for under $29, go ahead. If you can take those 10 cent components like you say and make a decent profit, do it. Otherwise, deroggatory statements are not necessary.

RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 10:40:56 AM #
AC connector, not universal connector. :)

Bump.

RE: Dumb Question:
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 10:42:39 AM #
Yes and no. The 9v uses the Universal Connector ($29). The AA battery one uses the Cradle socket ($16).

Not that dumb
I.M. Anonymous @ 7/8/2001 11:53:02 AM #
But you would have to regulate the power from the battery.
Yes, it is true that a LiIon battery pack needs complex charging circutry to properly charge, but all that is built in to the Palm (PalmIIIc, m500, m505. NOT the V or Vx).
All you need to do is take the batterypower through a regulator to get 3,3 or 5v stabilized (is it 3,3 or 5? Don't remember...) and it would charge.

Palm branded M500 series chargers

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/6/2001 10:02:58 AM #
Any updates on when these will be available? The last I heard was early July, but I have yet to find them in stock anywhere.

Quick Questions

Claire @ 7/6/2001 12:29:52 PM #
Hello all,

Does this device completely charge the m505?

How many charges do you get out of a 9v battery? and 2 AA's?

Thanks,

Claire

Just got mine today!

alee @ 7/7/2001 10:55:31 PM #
Just got my m505 9V charger today. It is a very simple device, and does not have the green LED that the Palm V 9V charger had.

On the upside, it is extremely small and will disappear nicely into your pocket. Definitely going to be a lot more convenient than the Palm travel charger!

-Al

-

Sirkhan @ 7/8/2001 6:01:23 AM #
Hey i'm using my m505 with my nokia charger... So if you want to charge a palm on a travel,you only neeh some batteries... This product is just a cable,with a good connector!

Battery Length

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/9/2001 12:14:10 PM #
How long will the Palm M505 run on the 9V battery and does it charge the Ion battery?

Purple m505?

I.M. Anonymous @ 7/9/2001 12:45:04 PM #
Look at that pic up there. Is it just me, or is that m505 purple?

RE: Purple m505?
tritan @ 7/9/2001 10:31:55 PM #
I thought the same thing. A purple palm!!!!who has the skins for the M500 series?? I would love to change my 505 skin..Anybody??

Emergency Chargers

I.M. Anonymous @ 8/29/2001 9:47:30 PM #
I already have a charger for the Palm IIIc. Does anyone know of an adapter that would take the connector to the bottom of the IIIc to the Power Input of the Paml M505 Cradle. An adapter to a Serial port would also be nice to use my old GPS.

Travel Charger

IceStar @ 7/29/2002 8:42:10 AM #
I purchased a MicroInnovations Palm compatible travel charger for my m515 on Ebay. According to the manufacturer, whom I called, This is compatible with the m125, m130, m500 series and i705.

I think MicroInnovations is supposed to be a good company. This charger fits in any AC outlet, has a LED indicator, has a 10' cable, does rapid charging, has over charging protection and works with 110-220 volts.

I would appreciate it if anyone having positive or negative would post them here.

Many thanks!

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