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View Full Version : Battery extender that uses 1.5v alkaline batteries & 1.3v rechargeables?


Fergus
10-21-2005, 11:23 AM
Does anyone know if there is a battery extender for the Dell x50v. I have looked on ebay and the ones available only allow the use of rechargeable AAs.
A scenario would be if i go away say cycle touring i may not have ready access to a power point if i did i would simply bring the excellent Dell provided charger. Having an extender that requires rechargeables sort of defeats the purpose having a battery extender as this then means that you have to lug around a battery charger for the AAs especially if away for long enough. A battery extender for me would only be beneficial if it ideally accepted both and definitely standard 1.5v batteries at the very least.

Cheers
Fergus

kaitanium
10-21-2005, 11:44 PM
wat about the super 3300mah extended battery sold on aximcase.com. its bigger than the extended battery sold at dell

Fergus
10-22-2005, 02:05 AM
Its ridiculously huge and ugly, no thanks would rather have the flexibility of a quality battery extender.

Fergus

PetiteFlower
10-22-2005, 06:21 AM
If it can use rechargable AA's, then shouldn't it be able to use regular AA's too?

miterb
10-22-2005, 03:47 PM
This is what you are looking for. http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~sessid~688020659~unit~Dell_Axim_X51v-509~area~accessories-Lil%27+Sync%AE+Cable+Accessories~item~USB-BATADPT01.htm

Brad

Fergus
10-22-2005, 05:55 PM
Thats just what i was after.

No not all batteries produce the same voltage, typically rechargeables produce lower voltages than the use once shop batteries.

Cheers
Fergus

rob_ocelot
10-23-2005, 06:57 PM
Thats just what i was after.

No not all batteries produce the same voltage, typically rechargeables produce lower voltages than the use once shop batteries.



Your typical Li-ion battery is 3.6V, while rechargable AA's are usually on the order of 1.2-1.3V. Three of them would be able to charge a li-ion battery, but most PPC battery extenders use four AA cells because PPC's will have an on board voltage regulator to ensure that you don't overwhelm the internal battery. Using four alkaline cells (1.5V each) should not be a problem.

I would not recommend using rechargable batteries in a battery extender because you can actaully reverse the charging process (where the internal battery is now being drained and charing the batteries in the extender) and damage the internal battery. Most PPC's should have circuitry to prevent draining the battery in this way, but I've encountered a Toshiba PPC whose internal battery will get confused as to how much charge it has left if this happens.

All this being said, with most modern Pocket PC's having swappable internal batteries it might be prudent to buy a spare or two of the regular internal battery, rather than fumbling around with AA's.

Stephen Beesley
10-24-2005, 06:10 AM
This is what you are looking for. http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~sessid~688020659~unit~Dell_Axim_X51v-509~area~accessories-Lil%27+Sync%AE+Cable+Accessories~item~USB-BATADPT01.htm

Brad

This is pretty much the exacty solution I have used for a range of PPCs over the last few years - althought the unit I use is an unbranded version purchased off ebay which also includes a unit for charging rechargeables through your USB port.

Although I pretty much always buy at least one standard rechargable battery for whatever PDA I have, I find that the ability to use standard (or rechargeable) AAs to charge up the device is very very handy - particularly when on a plane for very long flights or just away from ready access to power sockets.