[icon-discuss] Re: needed: way to charge unit away from home.
- From: "Beth Koenig" <bethko@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: john@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:25:01 -0800
What about a USB charger/adapter? Like they sell for ipods? If you can
plug into a USB slot on the computer then why not a USB slot in your
car?
Beth Koenig
bethko@xxxxxxxxx
Director of Deaf Blind Services
Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center
2960 Main Street A100
Irvine, CA 92614
http://www.deafadvocacy.org/dbs
Health, safety, and productivity are the cornerstones of independence.
At the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center we provide the training and
services necessary for the deaf and disabled to achieve equality and
independence in all areas of life.
On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 9:35 AM, John Esak <john@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Chris,
> Thanks for the warning! You are absolutely right.
>
> I would probably change the word cheap to badly designed or even inadequate,
> though, because it is certainly possible to get a good inverter for what I
> would consider cheap... say $30 to $50.
>
> If someone uses an inverter that does not deliver a clean 60cps 110 volt
> sine wave, than as you say and especially as your bad experience proves,
> switching systems do not perform properly at all. They depend on just such
> a clean wave. If they see a badly shaped square wave instead, they will
> malfunction in many different ways, and this could absolutely cause damage
> to your Icon.
>
> But, I wouldn't blame the Icon's switching power adaptor. Switching systems
> are a far better device than old style transformer supplies, and the one
> supplied with the Icon is just fine, and high quality.
>
> I designed electronic circuitry during the 70' and early 80's, and I should
> know better than to suggest anything "cheap". Standards have gone steadily
> down in manufacturing since before that (I would say they have plummeted
> since the 50's...), and it is very likely buying a cheap inverter would not
> be good to use with your Icon. The one I use, as I mentioned was about $90
> and it has 6 jacks on it, and meant to handle small electronics.
>
> So, I heed your warning and everyone else should, too. Of course, people
> reading this thread should not even consider using an inverter that isn't
> high quality and working right at that. The Icons are far too valuable to
> trust to anything you aren't sure about.
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Chris Hill [mailto:hillco@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
>> Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 12:22 PM
>> To: john@xxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: Re: [icon-discuss] Re: needed: way to charge unit away from home.
>>
>> As I posted earlier this weekend, it is indeed a problem. The
>> switching power supply that came with the icon does not get along with
>> cheap inverters, and you'll let the smoke out of one if you try it.
>>
>> On Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:43:22 -0400, you wrote:
>>
>> >There are lots of cheap (and expensive) DC/AC inverters. They are always
>> >sold at truck stops along the highway. Saw one recetnly for $8.95. They
>> >plug into the cigarett lighter and have a regular 110 outlet or two on
>> them.
>> >You could use this to charge a unit as small as the Icon/BP. I don't
>> think
>> >it is reccommended, but it would be no problem to do kthis for a unit as
>> low
>> >power as the Icon/BP.
>> >
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: icon-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:icon-discuss-
>> >> bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Beth Koenig
>> >> Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2008 9:31 PM
>> >> To: hillco@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >> Cc: icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >> Subject: [icon-discuss] Re: needed: way to charge unit away from home.
>> >>
>> >> I really need a way to charge my Braille Plus in the car. Many times I
>> >> find myself running low on power after a day of using it.
>> >> Beth Koenig
>> >> bethko@xxxxxxxxx
>> >> Director of Deaf Blind Services
>> >> Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center
>> >> 2960 Main Street A100
>> >> Irvine, CA 92614
>> >> http://www.deafadvocacy.org/dbs
>> >> Health, safety, and productivity are the cornerstones of independence.
>> At
>> >> the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center we provide the training and
>> >> services necessary for the deaf and disabled to achieve equality and
>> >> independence in all areas of life.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Sat, Oct 11, 2008 at 11:56 AM, Chris Hill <hillco@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> I thought I had it when I bought a small inverter with a usb power
>> >> jack. It charges the icon very slowly, however. Before that I
>> >> tried
>> >> plugging the icon's ac adapter into an inverter. It is an extremely
>> >> ill-behaved switching power supply, unfortunately. It blew up a
>> >> little 80 watt inverter I had, even though I had not plugged the
>> >> icon
>> >> into its power supply yet. On my 400 wat inverter, the power supply
>> >> caused the fan to kick up to the highest speed and things didn't
>> >> smell
>> >> too good, but I got it unhooked in time.
>> >>
>> >> Has anyone ever thought that there might be a good reason to use an
>> >> old fashioned dc adapter with a transformer in it?
>> >> If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original
>> >> sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your
>> >> message is related to LevelStar or APH then consider sending your
>> message
>> >> to icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Icon Discuss Mailing List
>> >> icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >> //www.freelists.org/list/icon-discuss
>> >>
>> >> To unsubscribe from the list send a blank message with unsubscribe
>> >> in the subject line to:
>> >>
>> >> icon-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>
>> >> To post to this list, send your message to:
>> >>
>> >> icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and
>> >> Braille +, Visit
>> >> the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
>> >> Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
>> >> http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
>> >> Visit the APH FAQ page at
>> >> http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender
>> only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is
>> related to LevelStar or APH then consider sending your message to icon-
>> discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >
>> >
>> >Icon Discuss Mailing List
>> >icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >//www.freelists.org/list/icon-discuss
>> >
>> >To unsubscribe from the list send a blank message with unsubscribe in the
>> subject line to:
>> >
>> >icon-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >
>> >To post to this list, send your message to:
>> >
>> >icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> >
>> >
>> >For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and Braille
>> +, Visit
>> >the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
>> >Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
>> >http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
>> >Visit the APH FAQ page at
>> >http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
>>
>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
>> Version: 8.0.173 / Virus Database: 270.8.0/1722 - Release Date: 10/13/2008
>> 7:50 AM
>
> If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender
> only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is
> related to LevelStar or APH then consider sending your message to
> icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Icon Discuss Mailing List
> icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> //www.freelists.org/list/icon-discuss
>
> To unsubscribe from the list send a blank message with unsubscribe in the
> subject line to:
>
> icon-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> To post to this list, send your message to:
>
> icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and Braille +,
> Visit
> the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
> Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
> http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
> Visit the APH FAQ page at
> http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
>
If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only.
If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to
LevelStar or APH then consider sending your message to
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Icon Discuss Mailing List
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
//www.freelists.org/list/icon-discuss
To unsubscribe from the list send a blank message with unsubscribe in the
subject line to:
icon-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To post to this list, send your message to:
icon-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For answers to the most frequently asked questions about Icon and Braille +,
Visit
the LevelStar and APH FAQ pages:
Visit the LevelStar FAQ page at
http://www.levelstar.com/support-faqs.php
Visit the APH FAQ page at
http://sun1.aph.org/webcast/brailleplus2/faq.html
Other related posts:
