Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

The CA-101 cables are not shorted that way. They are datacables. If the D+ and D- were shorted together, or if D+, or D- were shorted to ground in any way, then communication would not work.

CA-101 will charge the phone when connected to a computer that is alive, and the computer agrees to supply power to the phone.

D+ to ground is not the correct way to identify as a charger. D+ and D- should be connected together.

You can find the Battery Charging spec at usb.org, in a zip. batt_charging_1_1_FINAL.pdf

Page 7 shows the connection, “A Dedicated Charging Port is required to short the D+ and D- lines with a resistance of RDCHG_DAT”, page 29 specifies max 200 ohms across D+ and D-. Although the wording on page 7 suggests it should be exactly 200 ohms... Also on Page 29, a minimum of 2 MEGA ohms of resistance between D+ and ground or vbus. That is, not connected together at all.

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

Well.. i took the plunge for the N900 knowing about this going in thinkin, hey it won't be so bad.. but after 3 days of ownership i forgot my charger in a hotel room.. talk about ANNOYING! all my USB wall plugs and car chargers cannot charge this stupid brick :( I had a nice infrastructure of USB chargers to keep my gadgets alive, the most important gadget the N900 is the only one that won't charge :(

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

browsing brando, this showed up:
http://mobile.brando.com/brando-work...c0704d003.html

it appears that they have removed the data pins (observer the close up of the usb a side).

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

just noticed 2 entries on ebay that charge from usb:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_t...All-Categories

retractable one would be handy.

Scott

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

I just recently bought another iPod/iPhone mains plus car charger and works perfectly with original CA-101 cable.

Just a heads up.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Maybe it's coincidence but both chargers designed for iPods/iPhones seems to work.

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

Kindle chargers work and are combo electrical outlet/usb chargers.

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

I have some Gomadic "tips" that are charge-only.
This one looks like a charge-only micro-usb tip:
TIP-0000-69

Gomadic cables definitely aren't cheap, but they are handy when you have many different devices (most of mine are mini-usb, but my wife has many different manufacturers).

I use my charge-only mini-usb tips with one of the motorola mini-micro adapters to charge my n900 with battery packs/outlets/etc.

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

ZAGGsparq Recalled, Owners Get A Free Replacement: http://thenokiaguide.com/2010/02/16/...e-replacement/

There seems to be a problem with the current Sparq, and a new 2.0 version should be on the way in Late March.

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

There may be a recall for early ZAGGsparqs, but definitely not because it cannot charge N900! :) With the proper cable, suited for dumb chargers (as this lengthy thread discusses) my ZAGGsparq charges my N900 just fine...

Re: Solution: N900 Charging from dumb power sources
 

Gizmodo.com just posted a piece about a cable that has a switch that shorts the data lines. So you can have one cable for charging and data transfer.
It is available here:
sync-blocker cable