Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Any suggestions?

I found the ZaggSparq
http://www.zagg.com/accessories/ZAGGsparq.php

and then there's also Nokia's small device with 1500mah

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I like the powermonkey.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I like the look of the power monkey explorer but have you tested the power monkey with the N900 ? I note there have been charger issues with the N900 and wouldn't want to spend that much without somebody else having used it first ?

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I've got one and I used to use it for the N810. I'll have a goo at hooking this at at some point in the next few days and see how it works.

If I haven't posted by the weekend then someone PM me with a link to this thread and I'll get it sorted.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I have briefly tested the PowerMonkey with the n900 and confirmed that it does (at least initially) charge the n900, whereas the 'el cheapo' external battery I have doesn't.

I'll do a more thorough test over the next couple of days and use the PM exclusively to charge the n900 and see how it goes.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Yea, I guess it would depend on the voltage the external bat supplies as well as how well it holds that threshold voltage under load and over time. The PM provides 5.5V if I remember correctly, anything supplying 5 to about 5.5 volts under load should be ok.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I just ordered the following:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/rev...b-power-packs/

4400 mAh should easily cover any long haul flights :)

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

i uses the self compiled version,

4x batterieholder with solderd microUSB

works fine with ReadyToUseAkkus like eneloops or normal batteries

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

My self build power pack consists of a Sony AW series and a usb lead. lasts for ages but bloody big lump to carry around! lol

Rest of the time I have a charged spare battery in my pocket and just swap when required. Never managed to drain both in a day though.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Spare battery in jeans small pocket. Easy and cheap. 5 euros a piece :)

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Self made are nice but ideally you want something with at least 5 (6V) or 6(7.2V) rechargeable AAs and use a 5v regulator so that you obtain a better charge throughout the load on the batteries. Of course it costs more and the regulator will eat up some of the power.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Excellent news :D Saves me typing something up. Thanks for that!

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I bought this: Proporta TurboCharger 3400. Just got it delivered, comes with plugs for nokia/apple/microUSB and a few others. A quick test showed it charging my n900 fine. I'll do a full test when I've got the charger fully charged and my n900 drained (shouldn't be too long then :) )

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

That looks very much like the one I got from http://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/ for £22 shipped to Sweden (although admittedly only with the micro-USB tip, 8 tips can be had for £4.50).

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

wow yeah, they look exactly the same besides the colour. I'm going to be stuck in Paris CDG for 10 hours on Sunday so I'll definitely see if the investment is worth it then.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

ok so i fully charged the proporta 3400 (took 4 hours).

I then charged my nokia 6610 navigator (BL-5M 900mAh) from low battery indication to full in 1.5hours.

The proporta was left with 4 LEDs on.

Then I fully charged my n900 from the first low battery indication and this took 2 hours.

The proporta was left with 1 LED on, I don't know how accurate the indicators are but 1LED works out to 680mAh if the device is to spec.

Note: I received a 7minute phonecall inbetween the n900's charging, I disconnected the charger and plugged it back on afterwards (3g and wifi were off)...

Not the most comprehensive test, but by these numbers I rate the proporta 3400 should give the n900 2 full charges with the device on and minimal usage during charging. Good enough for me!

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Does anyone have any thoughts on this sort of thing: http://www.paramountzone.com/rphone.htm ?

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

hmm, if two minutes of winding gives you 10mins on an ipod then you'll be doing plenty of winding for your n900 :p

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Thanks for that. I was kind of expecting "will / will not destroy your device" thoughts, but nonetheless quite an interesting one... (Think of the CO2 emissions though! ;) )

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

It certainly won't destroy your device anyway. As said, it'll take a lot of winding to get any real power, so I suspect it'll only be useful for emergency situations, rather than for regular charging. Unless you're trying to build up your arm muscles anyway!

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Maybe someone should build one that uses a treadle ;)

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I have two backup solar batteries from Daylight Savings ($25 inc shipping) that pretty much work really well for me. One I keep in the car, and the other in my bag. Both can charge via solar and USB, and will render just enough of a charge to keeping me solid until I hit a wall wart.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

hehe, sorry my bad :)
nah, i don't think it'll destroy the device, provided it provides a constant output through the microusb...

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

how come some people say that proporta external battery pack works for them with the n900 and some say it doesn't?

see:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...roporta&page=2
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...light=proporta

i want to get an external battery pack, but i want to make sure i get one that works before i place an order.

btw does anyone have any experience with ORA Lil Sync USB Mobile Power Pack?

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

if you are considering ZAGGsparq today is the day to buy it -

Zagg.com offers 50% off all Products on their site today. Shipping is free if you spend $30 or more, otherwise it starts at $2.99 they also have invisibleSHIELD for the N900 TODAY ONLY

thanks to slickdeals.net for this one

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Worked first time for me.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

just wanted to share some stuff. BMC digital is the link if you guys want to buy Nokia CP 321- pouch, i got from them fits good on phone.https://www.bmcdigital.co.uk/

since battery is problem, i got travel charger from Fry's store at $ 3.99( Biztech or mytech) and officedepot has CASELOGIC Ac-Dc wall adapter for car chargers for $ 9.99 and it works fine. i have tried it. i tried lot of ac-dc adapters and most out there are compitable with iphone and those does not work with N900. best thing is buy it try it in parking lot and if not worked return it.
bestbuy has combo called Rocketfish it works fine but is $29.99.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

zaggsparq is not working on n900...

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I purchased a Energizer XP2000 and a Scosche sunVOLT solar battery/charger (this was on clearance).

The energizer only works if I plug the microusb into the n900 within 1-2 seconds of hitting the status/on button.

Plugging the n900's usb cable into the sunVOLT's female usb adapter produced no results, but using the cable and microusb tip from the XP2000 got this working as well.

As far as I can tell, power must be live on whatever you want to charge on before/during the initial insertion of the microusb plug into the n900. Hitting the juice after insertion does not appear to make the device charge.

I don't have a ZAGGsparq, but was considering one before hearing that it didn't work properly with the n900.

Has anyone managed to get the zagg working by shorting the usb cables as has worked with some other chargers? I have a feeling a similar circuitry in the XP2000 cable/tip is what enables my n900 to charge from the sunVOLT

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Hey, thanks a lot for that tip !

I have a Sanyo Eneloop USB booster that worked just fine with my tablets and phones, and I was very disappointed that I could not seem to use it with the N900 through the microUSB cable...

The only way I could make it charge was by chaining a Nokia USB-to-small-round-tip adapter (CA-44), the round-tip-to-USB adapter block that came with the N900, and the microUSB cable... unpractical, to say the least ! :-)

Even then, the Eneloop booster emitted a loud-pitched whine that it didn't usually have, as if something was wrong with the electronics, which made me uncomfortable.

I just hadn't thought of pressing the booster's charge button *before* plugging in the USB... now it works just fine, including with a 1$ third-party "ziplinq-like" adapter, with no whine, so all is well again !

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

if you're having trouble using zaggsparq I believe it is the usb cable. I was having issues charging with zaggsparq but I found a usb cable just for charging and no data sync. Give this a try, you can also find it cheaper on ebay.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketfi...fish&cp=2&lp=9

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Just bought one of these: http://yogenstore.com/

Will let you know how it turns out. I also own a cheap charger with a crank, but it's too hard to turn for long periods. Hopefully the pull-cord will be easier.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I have one of these Energizer Energi To Go I used with my Nokia E71 (had the 2.5mm power cable). Connected it to the Nokia CA-146 and lo and behold, it charges my N900! Good solution, IMO. I also have a Kensington power pack ( http://us.kensington.com/html/13883.html ) which, unfortunately, won't charge they N900. Worked fine with my E71 and my Zune, however.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Received my Yogen device yesterday (pull-cord kinetic charger). Played with it for a few minutes and was unable to get it to charge my N900. Will experiment with it more later, but it doesn't look good...

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

Got my proporta USB TurboCharger.
the micro usb plug that comes with it is too large to fit into the n900 (also too large for n96, so i guess its not standard).

it also comes with a plug for the previous nokia chargers, so i used it with the small power adapter that comes with the n900 and it charges ok*.

*though the adapter gets a bit hot and charging takes forever through this thing.

UPDATE:
i've contacted proporta, and they sent me a new connector head that works!!
*no need to short the data pins (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...sb+charge+pins) the connector head already does it. so the retractable cable that comes with it can be used with any dumb charger.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I've heard things about the Tekkeon MP1800. Has anyone tried one? I've been waiting for the price to fall below $30 but it seems to be pretty steady at around the $35-40 mark. I just don't want a device that will end up killing the phone.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I don't know about the Tekkeon MP1800 but I use the Tekeon MP1550 and it seems to work, although I did have to bridge the middle two pins of the usb inlet. I like it because it because I use AA eneloops and it also works as a battery charger, and will work with 2 or 4 batteries.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I just got the PortaPow Usb Battery from http://portablepowersupplies.co.uk/u...atterypack.htm and am quite happy with it. I haven't needed to charge the N900 more than once using it so I don't know how many charges it really takes yet.

What I did find out is that it won't charge if you're not using the geniune Nokia battery. I bought a replacement battery that claims to be Nokia. In fact it has the same sticker and looks exactly the same, but it says "Cell made in Korea. Further processed in China" instead of just "Made in China" like the one that came with the phone.

The replacement battery charges just fine via Nokia's power supply and the usb cable, but it won't work with the PortaPow. I don't know if this is an issue with the PortaPow or with the replacement battery (found here http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/..._ya_oh_product )

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I've experimented a bit more with the YoGen and I have good news. I was able to get some response from the N900 by setting the YoGen to the higher voltage setting (there's a little switch) and turning the N900 off completely. When I did that, I was able to get the green charging light on the YoGen to flash on and off, and the orange charging light on the N900 to pulse. I haven't yet run down my N900 battery to empty and then attempted to spend a half-hour pulling to see if it's really charging though.

Re: Alternative Energy Sources for N900 (for when you need that extra power)
 

I have found this...
http://cgi.ebay.de/Akku-Ladegeraet-B...ht_4401wt_1022
It is 24000mAh so it will be able to charge the N900 for about 17 times!!!
It is great but is it compatible with N900???
any idea?


please use google translate cause it is in German..

Thanks