What are the technical specs that have to be considered when buying a wall charger for the fuze?

Get one made by Griffin not made by Macally. I had a Macally first and as it happened with others the connection from the cable to the charger was tight and after a few charges never worked again.

Griffin makes one that comes with an extra cable, a car charger and a wall charger and works great. It is good to have an extra cable to keep at work.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerduosansa

Message Edited by bobletteross on 04-24-2009 07:27 AM

Ebay all day.

Stuff is SO cheap for our players on Ebay…

A bit of caution goes a long way here.  I have found that the specifications are basically meaningless on these devices.  What they advertise and what you get are more than likely going to be different.  What makes it even more “iffy” is that most of these chargers are not manufactured by one company.  It’s basically who bids the lowest gets the contract for producing these adapters.  Some work great, some will basically “fry” your unit.

Do you want to risk your fuze by using a $3.00 (or much less) product?  That’s your call.  I deal with a company that tests each charger or adapter they sell before listing it as compatible on their website.  Even then, due to the nature of this business, that might not be enough.  What is a good model and company today, may be substandard by the next batch.

At least with my personal experience, I find the adapters that are just the A/C plugin with a USB connection are a bit less problematic that the complete A/C adapters.  I’ve purchased several of the former at my local megamart that were marketed by reputable companies and haven’t had a problem (…yet!)

@bobletteross wrote:

Get one made by Griffin not made by Macally. I had a Macally first and as it happened with others the connection from the cable to the charger was tight and after a few charges never worked again.

 

Griffin makes one that comes with an extra cable, a car charger and a wall charger and works great. It is good to have an extra cable to keep at work.

 

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerduosansa

Message Edited by bobletteross on 04-24-2009 07:27 AM

Yes, this one seems like one of the most consistently reliable models.  If it were my money…this is the one I would get.

Good call GB.

Im not going to risk my player buying some 3.00$ charger.If im buying a charger i’d most probably buy a griffin,dlo or belkin or something like that.Thanks for the great replies guys.

Thanks,

SR

@sr_rox wrote:

Good call GB.

Im not going to risk my player buying some 3.00$ charger.If im buying a charger i’d most probably buy a griffin,dlo or belkin or something like that.Thanks for the great replies guys.

 

Thanks,

SR

Happy Charging!!!  :smiley:

I think you guys are nuts. The thing I posted a pic of is a very simple piece of equipment. They have been around for years. They are all the same. There are no “specs”. The generic one I got on Ebay is NO different then the one Griffin sells… except the price.

I got my happy little $3.00 Ebay charger and it didn’t fry my unit. The cable is a Fuze ready, all the adapter does is convert voltage to run down the USB cord. $25 vs $12 and some cases?!?

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-24-2009 02:43 PM

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-24-2009 02:49 PM

@peregrine wrote:

I think you guys are nuts. The thing I posted a pic of is a very simple piece of equipment. They have been around for years. They are all the same. There are no “specs”. The generic one I got on Ebay is NO different then the one Griffin sells… except the price.

I got my happy little $3.00 Ebay charger and it didn’t fry my unit. The cable is a Fuze ready, all the adapter does is convert voltage to run down the USB cord. $25 vs $12 and some cases?!?

 

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-24-2009 02:43 PM

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-24-2009 02:49 PM

Not entirely true. All AC or DC -to-USB adapters (should) deliver the same VOLTAGE, but the AMPERAGE varies widely. A 500mA adapter will charge your player faster than a 200mA adapter, assuming the player is designed to draw more than 200mA peak during charging.

@gwk1967 wrote:

All AC or DC -to-USB adapters (should) deliver the same VOLTAGE, but the AMPERAGE varies widely.

It shouldn’t.  USB requires 500ma.  No more, no less.  Many adapters can supply more, but this is a safety feature so that they’re harder to burn up if misused.  Nothing with a USB port should ever supply less, as that would be somewhat dangerous.  I wouldn’t buy a device that said something other then 500ma.

gwk1967 wrote: 

A 500mA adapter will charge your player faster than a 200mA adapter

Well 200mA USB adapters shouldn’t actually exist (though I won’t discount that some irresponsible manufactorer makes one), but if you tried to use one, it would might be damaged/destroyed since the Fuze draws morethen 200mA while charging.

gwk1967 wrote: 

assuming the player is designed to draw more than 200mA peak during charging

Its about 250ma for the charger, then another 100ma or so for the lights and processor IIRC. 

Message Edited by saratoga on 04-24-2009 02:04 PM

Message Edited by saratoga on 04-24-2009 02:04 PM

@gwk1967 wrote:


@peregrine wrote:

I think you guys are nuts. The thing I posted a pic of is a very simple piece of equipment. They have been around for years. They are all the same. There are no “specs”. The generic one I got on Ebay is NO different then the one Griffin sells… except the price.

I got my happy little $3.00 Ebay charger and it didn’t fry my unit. The cable is a Fuze ready, all the adapter does is convert voltage to run down the USB cord. $25 vs $12 and some cases?!?

 

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-24-2009 02:43 PM

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-24-2009 02:49 PM


Not entirely true. All AC or DC -to-USB adapters (should) deliver the same VOLTAGE, but the AMPERAGE varies widely. A 500mA adapter will charge your player faster than a 200mA adapter, assuming the player is designed to draw more than 200mA peak during charging.

If these devices are designed and manufactured properly (which many are not) everything should be fine.  That is my point.  These products are outsourced to the lowest bidder and many times these units do indeed do damage to the products they are connected to.

Caveat Emptor!!

but in VietNam , i can’t buy a charger for Fuze, please someone tell me the OUTPUT specs of the Fuze Charger  , can i buy an Ipod charger and use it with Fuze ? Can i use a charger which have Output specs : 800mA - 1000mA or 500mA is better ?

Message Edited by hummer83 on 04-24-2009 05:27 PM

Anything 500mA or more is fine.  The Fuze has a charging circuit built in that will never take more than it needs.

Basically, if the charger is designed for a USB device, it should work.  Don’t worry too much about it.

@tenzip wrote:

Anything 500mA or more is fine.   The Fuze has a charging circuit built in that will never take more than it needs.

 

Basically, if the charger is designed for a USB device, it should workDon’t worry too much about it.

Lot of blind faith working there.  Basically, most of these devices designed for charging are junk.  Some work, some don’t.  I for one am concerned about said devices because I know what kind of quality control goes into them…not much.

Just like anything a person purchases; if you do a bit of leg work and checking you can find the ones that are manufacturered by a reputable company and will stand behind what they sell.

All I can add is that I bought a generic USB wall charger with 500ma output, and it doesn’t charge my Fuze. :cry:

It works fine with other USB-powered devices, but the Fuze reacts with a “Connecting” notification, and doesn’t charge. So I don’t know if there are technical requirements out there for Fuze-compatible chargers, but I’d realy love to see them.

@fuze_owner_gb wrote:


@tenzip wrote:

Anything 500mA or more is fine.   The Fuze has a charging circuit built in that will never take more than it needs.

 

Basically, if the charger is designed for a USB device, it should workDon’t worry too much about it.


Lot of blind faith working there.  Basically, most of these devices designed for charging are junk.  Some work, some don’t.  I for one am concerned about said devices because I know what kind of quality control goes into them…not much.

 

Just like anything a person purchases; if you do a bit of leg work and checking you can find the ones that are manufacturered by a reputable company and will stand behind what they sell.

That’s what I’m saying, it should work.  Is there a chance that the QC is poor and it’s going to not work, or worse, toast your device?  Sure, there’s always that chance.  But your common, run of the mill USB charger SHOULD work.  Spend what you want, buy from where you want.  I use my Blackberry AC charger in the car with a power inverter, and PC USB everywhere else.  

The specs for USB chargers are set.  5V, 500mA.  I believe, though I haven’t looked, that the Blackberry charger can provide more current if needed.  Every USB charger available should meet those specs.

@hummer83 wrote:

but in VietNam , i can’t buy a charger for Fuze, please someone tell me the OUTPUT specs of the Fuze Charger  , can i buy an Ipod charger and use it with Fuze ? Can i use a charger which have Output specs : 800mA - 1000mA or 500mA is better ?

Message Edited by hummer83 on 04-24-2009 05:27 PM

No, don’t buy an iPod charger that has the iPod connector (wire ending in a connector).  I believe I read somewhere here in this forum that the iPod connector will fit in the Sansa, but will not charge it, and maybe also harm it.  The pins are not the same.

People here are talking about the output of either a charger with Sansa connector, or a wall charger that has a USB jack, to which you attach your Sansa connector, and then attach to the Fuze.

To your other question about mA output, yes, 500 mA or greater is fine.  So 800 or 1000 mA are fine.  (Less than 500 is not fine.)

Message Edited by jj2me on 04-25-2009 07:35 PM

@tenzip wrote:


@fuze_owner_gb wrote:


@tenzip wrote:

Anything 500mA or more is fine.   The Fuze has a charging circuit built in that will never take more than it needs.

 

Basically, if the charger is designed for a USB device, it should workDon’t worry too much about it.


Lot of blind faith working there.  Basically, most of these devices designed for charging are junk.  Some work, some don’t.  I for one am concerned about said devices because I know what kind of quality control goes into them…not much.

 

Just like anything a person purchases; if you do a bit of leg work and checking you can find the ones that are manufacturered by a reputable company and will stand behind what they sell.


That’s what I’m saying, it should work.  Is there a chance that the QC is poor and it’s going to not work, or worse, toast your device?  Sure, there’s always that chance.  But your common, run of the mill USB charger SHOULD work.  Spend what you want, buy from where you want.  I use my Blackberry AC charger in the car with a power inverter, and PC USB everywhere else.  

 

The specs for USB chargers are set.  5V, 500mA.  I believe, though I haven’t looked, that the Blackberry charger can provide more current if needed.  Every USB charger available should meet those specs.

That is the key statement.  The cold reality is that many of these devices are W-A-Y out of spec or just so poorly manufactured that they will either 1. not work  or 2. damage your device.  I think I mentioned this to you before that I used to be a buyer for this type of device and the out of spec/inop rate on these was near 50%.

I bought the POM (by UNIROSS). It can charge 8 AA or AAA batteries, and has a usb port. A little big, but cute…

@kookoo wrote:

All I can add is that I bought a generic USB wall charger with 500ma output, and it doesn’t charge my Fuze. :cry:

It works fine with other USB-powered devices, but the Fuze reacts with a “Connecting” notification, and doesn’t charge. So I don’t know if there are technical requirements out there for Fuze-compatible chargers, but I’d realy love to see them.

I bought a Belkin charging kit that had a sync cable, a USB wall unit and a USB Auto Adapter.  It’s fantastic.  I can charge my unit either in the car or at my desk, and since it came with a sync cable. I have an extra sync cable.  So at work, if I ever want to transfer a file or something, I just pull the cable from the wall wart and insert into my computer and I’m good to go.

Just buy this and be done with it. :wink:

LINK

Only 348…Vietnamese Dollars?!? or whatever you guys use over there? $19 US. You’ll certainly get much more for your money even if you only use the chargers, case and screen protector.

Message Edited by Peregrine on 04-27-2009 06:52 PM