Power Chargers

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by keno55

Thanks for the quick feedback, and additional thanks for throwing me into the proper thread.

No problem.

Originally Posted by keno55

...does that mean if I had some sort of 500mA charger, perhaps a cell phone charger, that you'd feel slightly more confident of that working? Or, are you pretty much thinking it's going to be the "Propriatary Creative Changer" route for the X-Fi?

Based upon charging specs, yes. 500mA is what USB puts out for charging, so a 500mA 5V charger would be just fine. However, based upon what I've heard around here with people having issues of many not working, I can't say for sure if it would work or not.

[CrowdAds]

[tchart]

Originally Posted by tchart

Howdy,

I have a 16gb X-fi which I love. My previous Creative player was a Zen Neeon for which I bought the official Creatve wall charger (the white one). My plan is obviously to use the charger with the X-fi too.

However, the X-fi seems to exhibit some strange behaviour when I plug it in.

If the device is off and I plug the charger in, the screen flickers a bit and charging icon comes on to show its charging. After a while (an hour or so) the screen appears to be off which would suggest its finished charging. If I turn the X-fi on it continues charging for a further hour or so and then the "plugged in" icon eventually displays.

If the device is on it seems to charge fine and the "plugged in" icon eventually appears.

The thing is that I prefer to plug it in over night and leave it to charge, right now Im not keen to do that in case its damaging the battery.

Does anyone else use a wall charger with their X-fi or Zen for that matter?

Trevor

Just an update, disabling the sleep/idle timers appears to help as the player is at least fully charged when I turn it back on.

Also, I happened to buy a Belkin dual USB charger for a steal the other day. It wont charge my x-fi or neeon. They both turn on but dont indicate any charging activity. The charger has 2 USB ports each outputting 5V 550ma.

My Creative charger is the 1A version.

Trevor

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by tchart

Just an update, disabling the sleep/idle timers appears to help as the player is at least fully charged when I turn it back on.

Ahhh, good to hear. Thanks for updating the thread.

Originally Posted by tchart

Also, I happened to buy a Belkin dual USB charger for a steal the other day. It wont charge my x-fi or neeon. They both turn on but dont indicate any charging activity. The charger has 2 USB ports each outputting 5V 550ma.

What a shame. Be careful wih those type of USB adapter/chargers. From the Zen FAQ:

Can I use one of those USB AC adapters for charging?

You may be able to get away with some being able to charge the Zen just fine, but I would stay away from these types of chargers in general and use a dedicated mini B USB charger instead. They are usually better regulated and protected.

Any charger really can potentially damage the connecting device if not in good working order, quality, and within the rated output specs the device can handle. Many AC chargers will have protection circuits built in to protect from over-charging, short circuiting, overload, voltage regulation, etc... Many of these types of "adapters" don't have these protection features in place due to their simplistic nature of just being meant for providing power more so than charging. I've seen too many of them outputting more power than their stated output specs. Keep in mind I'm not saying they won't work. Some do just fine. I'm just saying I don't trust them.

Originally Posted by tchart

My Creative charger is the 1A version.

Another FYI from the Zen FAQ:

You should always be careful regardless and only be using good quality working AC chargers. With that said and used, 1A is perfectly fine to use on the Zen in terms of not causing immediate problems. Now, how much battery life/capacity is lost in the long run, who really knows.... Anything above 1A I haven't tested. I would be weary of using more then 1A when plugging in a nearly full charge capacity Zen/battery due to the possibility of triggering the high voltage cut-off circuit prematurely since a high current charge can easily push the voltage up. To be safe and to ensure a lasting battery life, I wouldn't charge the battery in the Zen with more than 1C (like most lithium-ion batteries in these types of devices) everytime, all the time. Since the battery in the Zen is a 3.7v 550mA capacity lithium-ion battery, that would put a charge current of 1C at about 500-550mA. Just perfect for USB charging.

[tchart]

Totatally agree with your comments BobbyRS but given my 1A charger is the Creative one I think it will be okay.

Just for the record my Zen Neeon's battery (after 3 years) is still good and last a couple of days with regular play. I charged it with the 1A charger 90% of the time (very rarely using USB).

Im hoping the X-fi will have the same longevity - however given they are different beasts (colour vs lcd) their demands and stress on the battery is most likley different.

Trevor

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by tchart

Totatally agree with your comments BobbyRS but given my 1A charger is the Creative one I think it will be okay.

That may be, but that charger is for the Neeon correct? 1A may be just fine. After all it does work on the regular Zen, but the Zen X-Fi does seem to be a little more picky when it comes to charging, so I'm not sure. I just don't feel comfortable being the one saying "sure go ahead" and it ends up frying someones Zen.

Originally Posted by tchart

Just for the record my Zen Neeon's battery (after 3 years) is still good and last a couple of days with regular play. I charged it with the 1A charger 90% of the time (very rarely using USB).

The Zen Neeon was designed for 1A charging. It even has a 1A AC charger for it so.....

[EagleEye]

I also just received the X-Fi and also have a couple Vision M's and I had ordered the Gomadic charger with the replacement tips you can buy. This thing charges both of these units with no problems at all. The Gomadic is a little more money maybe but I like the idea of just changing the tips to be used with all my devices. Hope this helps.

[tchart]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

The Zen Neeon was designed for 1A charging. It even has a 1A AC charger for it so.....

BobbyRS, so is there an official X-fi charger? How many A/mA does it output?

My 1A charger is the "Universal" charger and is an authetic Creative one. Having said that perhaps its only "Universal" for older devices that can handle 1A.

On a side note, my Belkin charger came with a USB to Mini USB cable which is a "charge only" cable. Its quite handy for charging over USB as you can still listen to music even though its plugged into your PC (ie it doesnt dock). Interestingly if the player is off and I plug this cbale in it has the exact same behaviour I described when I use my 1A charger.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by tchart

BobbyRS, so is there an official X-fi charger? How many A/mA does it output?

These two chargers are advertised by Creative to be capable of charging the Zen or Zen X-Fi:

Universal Power Adapter Part# 70PD000000062
Zen Power Adapter Part# 70PD000000065

Both adapters are capable of outputting 2.4A. However they use pull up resistors on the data ends for recognizing and charging the USB players like the Zen X-Fi to limit the charging current.

Originally Posted by tchart

My 1A charger is the "Universal" charger and is an authetic Creative one. Having said that perhaps its only "Universal" for older devices that can handle 1A.

This one here? This one may very well work, idk. I just wouldn't like to be the first to try since it isn't listed as being compatible (due to age) and would be afraid it would output a full 1A. I noticed the pinout here; and it is listed as not working with the Zen Micro's (Micro's have the same requirement to have the pullup resistors on the AC chargers as the the Zen X-Fi looks to require for charging).... so that tells me it doesn't use the pullup resistors which would make me afraid it wouldn't even charge the Zen X-Fi. The Neeon's battery I believe is about twice the capacity of the Zen/Zen X-Fi, so it can handle the higher charge current of 1A better.