Too many chargers

[RichardD]

Dilemma: I will carry my Sony Bookreader, Olympus Camera, likely a PEEK9 (which I have not yet purchased) and possibly my cell phone, on my AT thru attemt. Thats 4 different chargers.
Phone and Sony both have 5 volt chargers but slightly different size plugs for the device. Can one purchase adaptors so that one charger can charge both devices. ( I don't yet know what the PEEK needs). I assume the higher current 1500 milliamp charger for the Sony is OK for the 350 milliamp phone and unknown milliamps PEEK. Unless the electronics is very different from the 60's the device will draw what it needs and depends upon its input impedance (Is my thinking still correct?)
I don't know a way around the camera charger, it is a completely different shape and charges the camera battery outside of the camera and has three contact points.
I plan to save weight by carrying just one cable for wall to transformer but want it to be just a few inches long rather than the several feet. I have not been able to find a wall plug that can be connected to a cut short cable, they all seem to be one piece molded. I could cut the cable, solder together and insulate with tape but wondered if anyone had a better solution.

[kayak karl]

Radio Shack sells adapters. let them check. if you reverse the + & - you will fry it.

[Slo-go'en]

That can be a tricky problem. Most devices will have an internal charging circuit to manage the charging current to the correct level for the battery size being used. All that is required is the charger be able to supply the maximum amount of charge current that device needs. If an undersized charger is used, it will most likely shut its self down if the battery its connected to wants too much juice from it.

There are devices which don't have the charging regulator built in, as it is part of the external charger, so using anything other then the supplied charger can damage the battery or melt it down. And since every device always comes with the warning/disclamer to only use the supplied charger, you don't know if it is safe to use some "universal" charger or not.

Chances are you can get away with a single 5V charger of sufficent current for the device which needs the most and a suitable assortment of addaptors.

The camara batter has three terminals as one is a temperature senser connection. Charging circuits monitor the battery temperature to control the charge rate to the fastest safe level.

[Iceaxe]

I used the little charging cube that came with my Apple ipod shuffle to charge my Peek device on the trail.
You are in luck cause i have the peek, the peek's charger, the apple power cube and a special cord right here in front of me.
Heres the raw specs: Peek battery voltage 3.7 volts
Peek battery capacity 700 mAh
Peek wall charger output 700 mAh @ 5 volts
Peek charger style USB micro B
So I did not like the Peek wall charger cause the cord is fragile and gets tangled up in my pack. I had this Apple I pod shuffle and the charger for it is a simple cube that plugs into the wall and has a female USB 2.0 output (like on your computer).
The apple cube produces 1000 mAh (max) at 5 volts wich is more than enough for the Peek. Like another poster stated the peek has it's own regulated charging circuit so there is no worry about mixing chargers provided the voltages are the same which they are. I charged my peek this way for 4 months and had no problems.
Okay, I bought a "Zip LinQ" USB 2.0 AM/Micro B retractable converter cable.
This allowed me to carry just the tiny lightweight cordless apple power cube to charge my Peek and my Ipod shuffle.
In the process i eliminated the failure prone peek wallcharger. You will see what I mean when you get it. I met another hiker that had duct tape on his Peek charger too. The wires fray and break easy.
The trick is how to connect them.
Anyhow since i already had the Ipod and it's charger and the peek it only cost me 15 bucks for the Zip Linq adaptor cable.
The other neat reason to get this cable is itallows you to also charge your peek from any USB outlet. The computer will try to recognize the Peek and fail but it will continue to charge the peek while it's plugged in.
The only thing you can't do with the ziplinq cable is upgrade you peek's software.. you need a cable with a serial converter for that.

[Gipsy]

I can't really help with your current situation, but I did take several purchase over the last year into consideration of my trip. I opted for items that would/could be charged with a USB port. For those items I bought a USB charging pack that uses AA batteries to power/charge the items. Everything else that I carry runs on AA also so all I need is that one type of battery. I also only chose from cameras that ran on AA.

Although the 2-AAs only put a 50% charge on my phone, I only power it on occasionally to check messages or necessary calls, while on the trail. This holds me till I can get to an outlet for full charges, just like Iceaxe, I use a stock apple cube for that.

Sorry I couldn't help more, but maybe someone reading this thread will benefit from the info.

[Carbo]

Heh! I thought this thread was going to be about aggressive dogs coming at you on the trail!

Anyway, good luck with all the gadgets! Simple is best.

[Blissful]

One charger for me - my cell phone and it's lightweight enough to carry. Camera and MP3 runs on batteries.

[Miner]

First off, don't carry both a cell phone and a PEEK. If you need the cell phone, then dump the Peek and get a smartphone that you can type on; worked for me an many other hikers I know. If you can either buy trail electronics that last a long time on a charge (my MP3 player lasts 42+hours) or takes AA/AAA batteries that can be bought on the trail. Get a cell phone that can take an extra battery. Too many people bring their heavy power hungry stuff that works fine at home when there are options that will work much better for trail life out there. Just as I choose to buy gear specifically to use on a long trail that is lighter and mutli-use rather then using the only 6lb tent bought for car camping, I buy my electronics with an eye for use on the trail.

Many devices can be charged off USB. Get a AC to USB wall adapter and carry the correct USB cables to fit your devices since not all take the same plug size. Ignoring the camera which often need more power then USB allows, if the rest of your devices can't be charged off USB, pick another device. I kept in my bounce box a single AC to USB wall adapter to charge my cell phone and my MP3 player and a USB AA/AAA charger (more then paid for itself on the savings on Lithium batteries). I also had a charger for my large camcorder battery. Though I didn't carry mine as I sent them 2weeks ahead in my bounce box on average. But, if I had wanted to carry them with me instead, they didn't weight that much and would have been no big deal (I would have probably dumped the AA/AAA charger though).

[Wise Old Owl]

I am with Miner, I was about to post the same thing... Also After a few days you will be too tired to read so the Sony Book can stay home. If there are any notes or recording ideas, that can be done by a smart phone as well.

[wrongway_08]

- Check the chargers to see if they all carry the same specs.
- If one is higher then the others,, use the lowest current one and cut the end off. *this worked for me, I take no responsibility for messed up crap.
- Buy enough connector ends to be able to cut off all ends and make them work with one charger.
(if you have 5 chargers, then you need 1 female for the charger and 5 males for the tips.)
- Strip back the wires and solder the wires to the correct hot/ground wire(s). use heat shrink to finsh the job nice.
- Dont forget to shorten the charger wire so your not carry'n 5 feet of wire that you don't need to.
- Just plug in the charger and hook up what ever device you need to in town.

[sbhikes]

Read a paperback book and write your journal on paper with a pencil.

[wrongway_08]

On the USB cable, you only use two of the wires to make it charge. Same with all other ends. Just figure out the ones you need. Usually red/black, black/white, black/white.


Brining a book and journal is the easier option.

[Tennessee Viking]

You can buy a multi-volt power cord and various adapters you need at Radio Shack. But you will have to make sure you keep track of everything. The wrong voltage or polarity can fry your equipment.

Try to see if you can find a USB wall charger to fit everything.

[John B]

What is a "PEEK9"?

Will you be doing an on-line trail journal? I'm very interesting in following your hike. Do you have a rough start date?

[DripDry]

I used an iGO Charge Anywhere with great success last year (http://www.igo.com/mobile-device-chargers/charge-anywhere/invt/ps002730001/). It has two USB ports and has the added advantage of including an internal battery in the charger. It allows you to charge its internal battery and the device (phone, etc.) at the same time. In the field it allowed me to charge my phone at least once to full charge without external electricity (several times twice). It also allows you to "stealth" recharge the iGO at stores, gas stations, etc. without the need for cords, etc. which I did a number of times. iGo also has a lot of convertors if your devices don't have USB connectors. You can also find very short USB cords on eBay, etc. that helped cut the clutter (all my devices had different connectors).

[RichardD]

Thanks for the replies.
The bookreader comes with me, I really enjoy it on backpacking trips, its great to be able to read for an hour or two before sleep and no heavier than a paperback.
I am thinking the PEEK and no phone. Paper and pen is fine for a journal for a week or two, but six months! Its highly unlikely I would complete six months of typing up daily journal entries after the hike is over. My thinking is that it will not be much trouble for my wife to copy and paste my journal e mails into Trailjournals. Too much work for her to try to read my handwriting from snail mailed paper and pen, then type and post into trailjournals.
I rarely use the cell so its probably going to be left at home.
Camera definitely comes.
If I was purchasing everything new perhaps I could do better with need for chargers but these items have been accumulated over several years.
Dogs charging down the trail:sunI like that!

[RichardD]

John B : The PEEK9 is a portable e mail device, sends and receives e mails. Its lightweight and quite inexpensive. My thinking is that I can type my trailjournal entries as I go then transmit them to my wife whenever the unit has reception. It should be a quick job for her to copy and paste the text into trailjournals.
I start my hike March 23, listed under RichardD on trailjournals

[Mr. Shorts]

An idea, which im not sure if anyone posted yet, i just glanced through the replies. Bounce Box. Stick all your chargers in your bounce box, unless your gonna use a solar charger, you can slap me twice and call me sally if your gonna plug those things into a tree every night when you get to a shelter. The way i see it is your going to be using those things 90% of the time AT camp, and the rest of the time theyll be turned off. IMO there is no sens in lugging 4 different chargers 15 miles a day every day just so you can charge it when you get to a town with electricity. Granted there MAY be shelters along the way with outletts i personally wont know till this year, which is neither here nor there. Bottom line, dont worry about spending all that money, when you can just find a lil corner in you bounce box to stick those things so when you drop by the post office you can charge whats dying and save the weight.

But hey, do what works best for you :D there is no right or wrong way. theres just your way and my way.

Best o luck to ya dude. hope to see you out there.

[wvgrinder]

My MP3 player runs on one AAA. I plug my phone & camera into one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026RO82G/ref=ox_ya_os_product

[Star Walker]

i have a solar charger that has 8 differnt ports attached. it is actually lighter then the chargers i would need to take with me which is a huge plus.....i dont have to carry 3 chargers and i can charge on the trail......even in a tunnel of green it still slowly charges. i dotn remember the name of the charger but it only costs 120 bucks. i never really need it for my phone but it is epic to strap it to the top of my pack and plug in my mp3 player. it will keep a full charge all day incase i want to listen to it at night....but i normalyl dont because i enjoy stories from other hikers.

[Irisheyes]

I don't know if this will help, but I have the sony e reader pocket edition. The website claims you can
"Enjoy up to two full weeks of reading (7,500 continuous page turns) on a single battery charge"
So maybe you could just charge in towns...also there is a way to go to settings and shut down device when not in use to save battery power..

[RichardD]

Two Summers ago my Sony lasted fine for 8 days between charges, that was a couple of hours reading each night and 4 or 5 daily looks at the AT Guidebook. I don't think it lasts quite as long now as it's three years old but will be fine for use between towns. Typically I like to find a town stop every 8 to 10 days. I know the new readers are better but I am not about to buy a new one. Same goes for phone, I know the new ones can do everything but I just have a Tracphone and might not even take it on the trail.
The PEEK9 sounds great but I am still undecided, perhaps I can persuade my wife to transcribe snail mailed handwritten journal pages. I could buy a Summer down quilt for my hammock for the cost of PEEK and service and I might enjoy my hike better with it.
Decisions, decisions!

[RichardD]

Mr Shorts
The bounce box works fine for many folks but I had a bad experience with it, The PO lost it along with all of my "chargers", maps, extra gear etc.
Plug into shelters! :sun:sun:sun
I expect to be in uncivilization about once a week or less and that's where I will want to charge whatever gadgets I have with me.
I hope to see you on the trail.