USB wall charger

I picked up a USB wall charger that the company said would work with the Fuze. I got it from WalMart online store when I go my Fuze.  I Just wanted to confirm that some of you have used this unit and it works fine on the Fuse. It’s the “MUSIC POWER Duet” with dual USB charging ports and was $12.88…  Here this is the one I’m talking about! I just don’t want to plug into it until someone can confirm it works with the Fuze! 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5750794

Thnaks! George

Yeah, I have the Music Power Duet. It works great with Fuze. At about 50% charge. it takes about 2 hours to charge the Fuze. Its well worth the $12.88 that you pay for it. It’ll work with anything that charges using a USB cable.

@george_w wrote:

I picked up a USB wall charger that the company said would work with the Fuze. I got it from WalMart online store when I go my Fuze.  I Just wanted to confirm that some of you have used this unit and it works fine on the Fuse. It’s the “MUSIC POWER Duet” with dual USB charging ports and was $12.88…  Here this is the one I’m talking about! I just don’t want to plug into it until someone can confirm it works with the Fuze! 

 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5750794

 

Thnaks! George

Any USB wall charger will work as long as it meets specs for USB (5v and at least 500ma).  Nothing special is required for Sansa players.  I would avoid anything made specifically for some other device just in case it’s not normal USB.  But anything that’s intended as a general USB device charger (which this one appears to be) should work fine.

SilverWolf,

Thanks for the reply and it’s good to know you have one and that that it will indeed work with the fuze!

Skinjob, I just looked at the back of the unit and output Voltage. Well it has two output voltages. 1.5V at 500mA and 2.5V at 500mA

Strange I thought 5volts was the norm for USB devices…  What do you make of this? I just went to the spec page from the link I posted and on that page it does say 5 volts!  Guessing misprinted label on the unit…

SilverWolf,  Check out the back on your unit if you will! I know you confirm it works so I’ll use it but does yours list the same voltages on the back of the unit as mine?

George

Message Edited by George-W on 09-23-2008 12:33 PM

@george_w wrote:

Skinjob, I just looked at the back of the unit and output Voltage. Well it has two output voltages. 1.5V at 500mA and 2.5V at 500mA

Strange I thought 5volts was the norm for USB devices…  What do you make of this? I just went to the spec page from the link I posted and on that page it does say 5 volts!  Guessing misprinted label on the unit…

It’s hard to see in the photo, but I think the label is actually like this:

Vout 1: 5V - 500mA

Vout 2: 5V - 500mA

Meaning each of the two USB ports outputs 5 volts at 500 milliamps.  Which would be normal USB.

Skinjob,

Yep your right! Took two  pair of glasses at the same time for me to see it!! LOL!!  Thanks! George

I’ve used a few different chargers (including one I found, that was for a Blackberry). Everything seems to work with the Fuze. We have a (non-Sandisk) player and nothing works with that (other than computer USB), so the Fuze’s compatibility is much appreciated!

There’s really no point in spending money for “USB chargers” or whatever you call these devices. All you need is a USB port providing enough power. So, every USB hub will do the job, if it has its own power supply. No computer needed. In fact, the Fuze will happily play while charging its battery if the bus is inactive (i.e. not connected to a computer).

@zarquod wrote:
There’s really no point in spending money for “USB chargers” or whatever you call these devices. All you need is a USB port providing enough power. So, every USB hub will do the job, if it has its own power supply. No computer needed. In fact, the Fuze will happily play while charging its battery if the bus is inactive (i.e. not connected to a computer).

A lot of people have reported problems (no connection, not charging, etc.) when trying to use USB hubs, including some of the convenient front USB ports in the front of their computers. The ports in the back of the computer which are connected directly to the motherboard are more reliable and provide more power. The connection problems are usually solved when they use the back ports or a dedicated USB charger.

Personally, my front ports work just fine, but not all USB ports are ‘created equal’. :wink:

@zarquod wrote:
There’s really no point in spending money for “USB chargers” or whatever you call these devices. All you need is a USB port providing enough power. So, every USB hub will do the job, if it has its own power supply. No computer needed. In fact, the Fuze will happily play while charging its battery if the bus is inactive (i.e. not connected to a computer).

A USB charger can be pretty small, and better than carrying a USB hub and power supply on trips. A car charger can also be handy when you’re on-the-go. Or maybe I just want to listen to & charge my Fuze and not disconnect my USB hub (with everything else on it). Plus, they can be had for a lot less money than a powered USB hub.

The hub I have here is about 6 cm x 2.5 cm x 3.5 cm in size, the power supply’s dimensions are more or less the same. Look here:

http://www.sitecom.com/product.php?productname=USB+2.0+Hub+4+port+w%2Fpa&productcode=CN-034&productid=302&subgroupid=19

I paid less than 10 EUR for that thing. At that price, you don’t have to disconnect anything, IMHO. Just get another hub. :slight_smile:

@zarquod wrote:

The hub I have here is about 6 cm x 2.5 cm x 3.5 cm in size, the power supply’s dimensions are more or less the same. Look here:

 

http://www.sitecom.com/product.php?productname=USB+2.0+Hub+4+port+w%2Fpa&productcode=CN-034&productid=302&subgroupid=19

 

I paid less than 10 EUR for that thing. At that price, you don’t have to disconnect anything, IMHO. Just get another hub. :slight_smile:

 

Or you can get a usb wall charger, car charger and Sansa data cable package for even less, which is what I did.  Yes, it’s all cheaply made, but it works and  I figured it was worth the 8 bucks just for the extra Sansa data cable.

USB CABLE+CAR+WALL CHARGER FOR SANSA E250 E260 270 E280

If you happen to have an old hub lying around that you’re not using, it’s a good solution.  But I wouldn’t buy one just for that purpose.

Hi all, I have a related question to that.

Can I use a device to charge my Sansa e280 safely which has an output of either 4.5V / 5.4V / 6.4V / 9V and 1000mA / 1A?

i.e. what happens if i charge my sansa with a voltage of 4.5 volts?

thanks for your answers in advance!

hans

Chargers are cheap enough… Get yourself the right one and play it safe… 5v at 500ma I believe…  Walmart had a nice compact dual charger very compact for $12.88  Not a lot of money… 1000ma is  pretty hot IMO…  I think the .5 volt difference one way or the other with the battery technology and the hot MA rating may be to much for the battery… The type of battery used in the Fuze can be pretty violent when it’s not charged with the right load… Again in my

un-professional opinion! George 

I picked up the Charger at Wally World for 12.88. Works like a Charm! 

i own that charger and it works great. You just have to put it in stand-by mode by sliding the power button till it says going to stand-by mode.

I also have that same Walmart USB charger… I just plug in the Fuze it don’t matter if it’s off on it will charge in any mode… If it’s off it will turn itself on when plugged in…  Great charger!!  George 

I too have the music power duet and love it.  It’s cheap, compact, and portable, and doesn’t feel cheap.  I work for a third-party electronics vendor in Best Buy and Circuit City, and they send me alot of gadgets to test, demo, etc, so I tend to have at least one other USB powered device around at any given time.  I love being able to charge 2 devices from the same unit, and have yet to find a USB powered device that doesn’t work as good or better with that charger than their included one.  Also, the 500ma per port means that I can charge 2 devices without affecting charge time, and somehow it still stays cool!  I love it and would recommend it to anyone.

The other nice thing about a wall or car charger is that you can use your fuze while it’s charging. 

I think it was this one I got http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7081041 which has the wall and car charger.  I bought it at the store.  My laptop is so old it doesn’t charge the fuze (did at first).  So when I had a 5 day weekend from work (where I charge and load my fuze) I needed something and found this.

I keep the wall charger connected to the dock I bought (http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/docksansa).  Great way to watch movies and charge at the same time or keep it charged.  The dock was intended to plug into the cmputer or any USB type product, like a wall charger.

I just wanted to add a note here about USB wall chargers. I have a cheap one that works with 100-240V and one usb port. Cost me $1.50 here in Thailand. However, it wouldn’t work with my Sansa Fuze. It gives power but the Sansa indicates that it is connected and won’t start the charging.

With a bit of testing I found that if I taped the middle 2 USB pins (data lines) then it doesn’t show connected and it does charge. After this I looked inisde and saw that one of the data lines was connected to power (which in USB protocol indicates connected). I cut the trace on that data pin and put it back together and it now magically works. Just adding this here so others know. But also a warning not to do this unless you’re comfortable with electronics and opening things like this. It is a switching power supply and could have a charge inside so if you attempt this be careful about what you touch - perhaps wear rubber gloves or don’t do it at all. This is just info in case like me you bought one of these that doesn’t want to work for you and you feel confident with this simple modification.