Pandora Power Supply

[Squidge]

My mistake, I stand corrected

Got mixed up with power jack and battery terminals.

 

[Kyo]

so when it's not charging, it's supplying less than 5V per usb (3,7V), right?

 

[laurens]

so when it's not charging, it's supplying less than 5V per usb (3,7V), right?

That's highly unlikely, because all your USB devices wouldn't work anymore: USB is 5 volt. You can turn 3.something volt into 5volt, no probs, and I'm sure pandora do that.

 

[Kyo]

I doubt _ALL_ of them would stop working.

Yeah well, I was just making sure because of
QUOTE

hardware uses 5V input (but 3.7V battery if your not got the AC adaptor connected).



you're right though, I'm just being unnecessarily suspicious

 

[yosh64]

hey

This is something I never thought about, so will I have to get some sorta adaptor so I can plug it into power sockets over here (Australia)?

Also, this might be a stupid question... but say I wanted to use the pandora as an alarm clock or something, will it cause any harm to the battery if I have it plugged into the wall all night/morning? or will it draw power directly from the wall once the battery is fully charged?

cyas

 

[TaG]

This is something I never thought about, so will I have to get some sorta adaptor so I can plug it into power sockets over here (Australia)?

Also, this might be a stupid question... but say I wanted to use the pandora as an alarm clock or something, will it cause any harm to the battery if I have it plugged into the wall all night/morning? or will it draw power directly from the wall once the battery is fully charged?
Assuming the 'alarm clock' software is available, why would you need to plug it in all night? It will have more than enough power to last a night if the screen is off. I'm sure this has been brought up several times.

 

[Squidge]

so when it's not charging, it's supplying less than 5V per usb (3,7V), right?

No, 3.7V is the battery voltage. It'll still give you 5V to the USB ports.

 

[yosh64]

hey

TaG, one reason could be to recharge it and another is why not? I mean I'd rather have it plugged in than drain the battery. I don't really have much of an idea of how much battery it would use, if it uses a very very very small amount then I would consider just having it run from the battery. But yea, as I say I don't know this and I guess alot depends on the software, I'm sure the software could be underclocked and make use of any power management functionality.

Anyhows I want to do everything I can to save the battery, I mean in the sense of it's overall life span before having to purchase a new one.

Finally, I would probably program my own alarm clock if I end up getting a pandora and someone else doesn't do it before me edit: and if I felt I needed one, hehe.

If indeed it does use a very very very small amount of battery then I would be interested to know an estimate of how much, provided with some form of clarification/explaination of how those estimates were calculated.

edit
Now that I've made another post I wanted to bring attention back to my other question about whether I have to get some sorta adaptor so I can plug it into power sockets over here in Australia?

cyas

 

[fusion_power]

Our power requirements match the PSP pretty much identically: 5V @ 2A

For my GP2X I use a switching Power supply, this also can be set to 5V but afaik the Unit only has 1A, would this also work onto the Pandora?

ANd is there a final Power Adapter choosen? I hope it will be a nice and small one, not a big brick or so. Here is a example Pic (for size comparison) of my GP2X, down right is my Switching Power Adapter and bottom left a even smaller Power Supply from my Philishave, this Adapter also has a very durable and good quality Wire.


I would prefer a Unit in the Size of the Philishave Power Supply.

 

[Gilrad]

It shouldn't be too big; I have noticed that there is a correlation between charging power and size the size of the power adapter (makes sense, I would think).

For instance, I have a first gen eeepc 701, and while the power adapter is really small and mobile (awesome little detail IMO), the thing doesn't charge worth crap, often barely netting a positive charge when the thing is plugged in and on.

Since the P is far from the demands of an X86 laptop, I would imagine there is little reason to give it a large power adapter.


My question is this: When you have it charging both through it's power supply and usb, do they both charge it, or does it default to the power supply?

 

[Chip]

For my GP2X I use a switching Power supply, this also can be set to 5V but afaik the Unit only has 1A, would this also work onto the Pandora?

No. If the Pandora is expecting to be able to pull 2A and your PS can only supply 1A, then it will probably burn out.

It sounds to me that damn near everything in the Pandora, including charging, can be controlled through software. If this is the case then it is conceivable that the power draw could be limited for weaker chargers. This would have to be built into the firmware though, so I wouldn't try it unless MWeston or somebody else on the design team confirms it as an option. Remember that charging will take twice as long at 1A as it would at 2A, so using the proper charger is always going to be the better option.

 

[Squidge]

Yes, if the Pandora is doing something particularly taxing (all processors running, tv out, usb host, etc) then you might find that there is just enough power for the system, and none whatsoever for charging the battery (or the worst case scenario - random crashes as current peaks past the limit).

Best only to use the provided charger.

 

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

1. Will it be a clumsy brick, the size of a standard laptop charger (thus the size of Pandora)?
2. Or will it be small like a cellphone charger?
3. Or will it be built into Pandora, and you will just connect Pandora with a power cord to the nearest socket?
4. Will it support US/EU voltages: 100V/50Hz vs. 230V/60Hz ?

5. Is it bigger than a breadbox?
6. Is it something found around the home?
... :lol:

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!!! 20q rules!

anyways, it's great to know a psp power adapter is gonna work, as well as any usb charging device.
after all, that was supposed to be the default, you charge a 3.7V liion battery with a 5V power adapter, since usb gives you 5V...
the only problem is that standard USB can only supply 500mA of current (so you could end up "charging slower than using"), so that will make for a slow charging, while a psp power adapter is small and gives you 2000mA current.
I wouldnt expect any huge problems with a 1000mA adapter, unless the battery is empty and you try to play it while charging, with full brightness, sound, etc remember most aplications are expected to run for many hours using the battery, so you can see it doesn't really draw that much current.

As for the size of the PSU, that all depends on the Wattage rating. Higher Wattage means faster charging (within the safe limits of the battery) but also means larger components and therefore a larger PSU. While some power regulating and conversion circuitry will necessarily exist on the Pandora circuit board (the system needs several different voltages for different components), there will need to be some external adapter to supply a steady DC voltage. This will probably be either 3.7V or 5V.

this is something many people can't describe well, lemme try to help here (WIP electrical engineer here, I hope I don't write anything wrong )

the psp power adapter is reasonably small, and it's great (100-240V, 50-60Hz), I use it to charge my psp and my zen vision m.
it can give you 5V with a 2000mA current and it's not big because of that, or because of the "Wattage rating".
also, there is obviously a limit for the ammount of current the charging will require.

also, it's not like a pc, where you have to have those "several different voltages for different components", that would be kinda silly and bulky for a portable electronic system like this.

The idea here is to charge the battery, and it will charge the rest, so it wont "probably be either 3.7V or 5V", it's certainly going to be 5V because you are charging the battery, not simply replacing it.

My question is this: When you have it charging both through it's power supply and usb, do they both charge it, or does it default to the power supply?

that depends on the design they are using. technically they could parallel them and make them both charge, but for the shit-happens effect, they might have decided to make it choose (and in this case, choose the power supply)

For my GP2X I use a switching Power supply, this also can be set to 5V but afaik the Unit only has 1A, would this also work onto the Pandora?

yes, I wouldnt expect the pandora sucking more than 1A of current, and in that case, nothing bad will happen, only that it will charge slower (in this case, the battery will get empty slower). I'd say that can be used, but for any effects, the psp power supply is extremely easy to find anywhere, it's cheap and it's light/small

edit
Now that I've made another post I wanted to bring attention back to my other question about whether I have to get some sorta adaptor so I can plug it into power sockets over here in Australia?

a 5V 2A (center positive, I hope) adapter is pretty easy to find. the question about the power socket is only a matter of getting a physical adapter, in case you need it.