Gp2x Wiz Battery Charging Questions

[Nutty_Pumpkin]

I was wondering if the old Gp2x F-200 or F-100 AC charger would recharge the Wiz's rechargeable batteries. If not would my iphone usb charger work?

 

[Squirrel61]

If it's got rechargeable batteries, it should come with some kind of charger. Some devices however only come with a USB charging cable. For a Wiz, charging the battery over USB at 500 mA max would take hours, so I expect it to come with an AC charger.

 

[Nutty_Pumpkin]

if you go to play asia it says that it only comes with usb cable no AC adapter! Unfortunately!

 

[Squidge]

If it's got rechargeable batteries, it should come with some kind of charger. Some devices however only come with a USB charging cable. For a Wiz, charging the battery over USB at 500 mA max would take hours, so I expect it to come with an AC charger.

Don't forget that USB is only 100mA until the device in question requests extra current. Some PCs will actually disconnect a device that violates this rule. I wonder if the Wiz actually does this properly, or just expects to suck as much as needed from the PC?

 

[grahf]

Everything should charge via USB, as it truly is the life force of the gods. A couple simple cables are much easier to tote around than bulky power bricks. As it is, I charge most of my stuff via USB already. Even the batteries for my GP2x (Sanyo Eneloop charger).

Your right squidge. In my personal experience however, I've never come across a PC that abided by the 100mAh pre-handshake rule. I'm sure there are some out there, but I think this quietly died with usb 1.0.

 

[Squirrel61]

It's always possible to use one of these AC to USB 5V adapters. Or a car lighter to USB 5V adapter. Since the invention of the portable MP3 player, many 5V power supplies with a USB port have become available.

 

[Nutty_Pumpkin]

It's always possible to use one of these AC to USB 5V adapters. Or a car lighter to USB 5V adapter. Since the invention of the portable MP3 player, many 5V power supplies with a USB port have become available.

Thanks for the answers they helped alot!

 

[Squidge]

Your right squidge. In my personal experience however, I've never come across a PC that abided by the 100mAh pre-handshake rule. I'm sure there are some out there, but I think this quietly died with usb 1.0.

I think one that did have a problem was an ASUS Terminator or something similar. It turned off the USB port and you had to reset the machine to get it back. The fun thing was that it wasn't that stable - if you plugged a harddrive in that tried to use well over 500mA, then the machine just reboot without warning.

Power supply USB ports should work, but this is a GPH console.

 

[grahf]

Sometimes I get annoyed with the 500mAh cap. But on the other hand, it kind of has helped (ie: forced) peripheral manufactures to develop more power friendly ICs.
Lower power usage in mobile electronics has been the trend anyways, so things are kind of meeting in the middle as far as charge time vs usage time.

Those mini AC -> USB power plugs are omnipresent here in Japan, and most of them i've used don't bother to do any handshaking. I do have a portable USB power pack that does though, which I guess is understandable since its lithium ion based.

 

[Nutty_Pumpkin]

"Power supply USB ports should work, but this is a GPH console."

Hahaha i think i just might buy the offical AC adapter! Seeing it is a GPH console.

 

[Squidge]

I can just imagine them coming up with something absurd such as needing a different cable to charge than to connect it to a pc, because the usb cable needs to be centre negative

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

As far as I know the Wiz will be supplied with the correct USB cable for data TX and Charging. The official blurb says: Charging: AC Power / USB via Computer.

 

[Squirrel61]

... because the usb cable needs to be centre negative


I know what you mean But stupid as it is, there is a reason for the power plug on the 2x being centre negative. No, that's not for selling more consoles because people fried their 2x by using a universal AC adapter. And neither is it because GPH wants to sell more official AC adapters.

It's just because they use a stupid, cheap solution to switch from battery to external as soon as you plug in the adapter. For some reason they haven't thought of switching the GND line instead of +Vcc to keep the plug industry standard (= centre positive). And for some reason they haven't thought of incorporating a charging circuitry or some electronic switch, in which case they wouldn't have needed the stupid mechanical switch anyway.

The first time I plugged in the AC, I was highly surprised that the 2x rebooted, I hadn't expected that behaviour. From my laptop, PSP and NDS I got used to the fact that when the battery runs out, you just connect the AC and have a fair chance to save or end the game you're playing. But on the 2x, when the battery runs out, it's game over. Whether it runs flat or you plug in the AC, in both cases the 2x shuts down, killing the game. I can't think of what's worse when upgrading or downgrading the firmware, the battery runs out and bricks your 2x or there's a power surge on the AC and bricks your 2x.

Just my 2 cents on the current power matters, I seriously hope it will be better with the Wiz (it will because of the built-in battery).

 

[Orkie]

You can indeed connect and disconnect the Wiz as you please without it rebooting.

 

[Nutty_Pumpkin]

You can indeed connect and disconnect the Wiz as you please without it rebooting.

Some 1 disagrees with u!

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

You can even use a Samsung or LG phone charger to charge up the ole' Wiz as they have the same connector. I know this as that's what I am using now, it cost £10

 

[Squidge]

You can indeed connect and disconnect the Wiz as you please without it rebooting.

Some 1 disagrees with u!I think that someone is talking about a different console...

 

[geise69]

Pardon me for being stupid after reading everything, but this can use the old gp2x AC charger as well as charging through USB?

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

Pardon me for being stupid after reading everything, but this can use the old gp2x AC charger as well as charging through USB?

The Wiz doesn't have a DC port, the only way to charge it is via the 24 pin connector which means you have to use GPH's USB cable, a Samsung Phone charger or GPH's official charger.

 

[geise69]

Pardon me for being stupid after reading everything, but this can use the old gp2x AC charger as well as charging through USB?

The Wiz doesn't have a DC port, the only way to charge it is via the 24 pin connector which means you have to use GPH's USB cable, a Samsung Phone charger or GPH's official charger.

So GPH is doing an official AC adapter but with the 24 pin connection? Is it going to have the pal outlet connections like the GP2X one, so I will need the same pal/ntsc adapter? One last random question and I'll stop bugging. Does the Wiz have a power save feature where it will turn off the screen after a while if it's still on without any use? BTW thanks to everyone with a prototype for answering a lot of mine and others questions. I guess it's sort of a curse that comes with having prototypes.