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Dell
Axim X50/X50v Powering issue Axim X50 require high current (at least 1 to 1.5A) to power and charge if
the internal battery is empty or nearly empty. The original supplied AC adapter
is rated at 2A. Without such high current, the PDA will not charge (if the internal
battery is empty or nearly empty). Most other PDA would happily accept low
current (below 0.5A) even if it means it is charged slowly. But it does work.
X50 is one of the very few PDA that will not accept low current thus many
users find it puzzling. This is happening when users are using car adapters (95%
currently on the market are rated 400-850mA) and USB (0.5A).
X50
has 2 SEPARATE power inputs: 1.
5v low current input - through USB. 2.
5.4v high current input - as used for AC adapter, through the supplied Dongle,
and DC input of Dell Travel Sync cable and our cables: PX50VA/PX50GP/GX50P, and
replacement DC Dongle - DCX50. The original supplied Dell USB
Travel Sync Cable has a separate DC input so it has both connections SEPARATELY. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is what happens in different situations: _____ 1. Connecting to 5.0v low current input
- Through Dell original USB sync cable (and our PRX50/PX50U).
The input accepts 5v - 0.5A to charge the battery - ONLY
WHEN THE PDA IS OFF!. If the PDA is on, the charging circuit is
disconnected. So there really has no issue about this. When
the PDA is ON
and the sync cable connected, the charge light is OFF.
When the PDA is OFF,
the charge light is ON
and the PDA is charged slowly.
Issues arise with some third party USB
Sync/charge cables which connect USB power to BOTH 5v low current AND
5.4v high current inputs. This is normal design with other PDAs without problem.
When the PDA is ON
and the sync cable connected, the charge light is ON.
Whether this works depends on a lot of situations: The PDA and the running
applications if it is on, battery used, battery capacity remained, and most
importantly, the PC USB port. By default USB port delivers maximum
0.5A so it should not work based on the the car charger figures. The same situations
with the car charger figures also apply. i.e. If you turn the PDA on and the capacity
has over 95%, it will charge the battery until it reaches 99-100%. We have
tested this design for over one month and has no ill effects on our PC or the
PDA, because our PC USB port is working properly and it restricts the current
to no more than 0.5A.
The cable will work (charge when it is on) when USB port
delivery more than 1A - and this may be a big problem. It means that the USB port
is not working as it should so there may be ill effects to the PC and/or PDA at
some point.
Therefor we have restrict our USB Sync/Charge cable to charge through
low current only when the PDA is off. _____ 1.
Connecting to 5.4v high current input - The voltage is not a problem,
it can happily accept 5v, but the current must be high enough (1.0A minimum with
PDA on, lower for PDA off). Depending on the battery (standard or extended)
and the remained capacity, at least 650mA (for standard battery) or 950mA (for
extended battery) is needed to charge the battery when the PDA is off. The battery
gradually draws less current with the capacity getting higher as it is charged.
When it reaches about 95%, it will draw less than 100mA. If the PDA is on,
it draws another 400-500mA depending on the running applications and screen brightness
etc. This is the theory. In practice, this is what happen if you use a car
charger rated 500mA: (this
is the most common output of most current Car USB adapters on the market, though
some are rated higher, they may not deliver as much as indicated) (This
is also a very common problem if you use a USB car adapter and a Sync/Charge cable
with both power input connected)
PDA OFF
CAPACITY below 50%
DOES NOT CHARGE
! And you cannot turn the PDA on if power is connected and the charging light
on. You have to disconnect the power in order to turn the PDA on.
PDA OFF
CAPACITY 50-99%
Whether it charge depends
on the car charger and individual PDA and car chargers vary enormously. It may
not be able to deliver maximum current it is rated. If you
cannot turn on the PDA when the charge light is on, it means that it is not charging.
PDA ON
CAPACITY 30-95%
Charging light is on
but the battery is not charged. But at least it keeps the PDA on and the battery
may go down very slightly over long period.
PDA ON
CAPACITY
over 95%
Charging light is on, it will charge the battery until it
reaches 99-100%
The figures are only a guide to give you some
idea of what is happening. Different situations may give different results.
SCREEN
FLICKERS: this is an indication that external current is not enough
to keep the PDA ON. You see flicks because of different brightness settings for
internal battery and external power. The PDA keeps switching between internal
battery and external power hence the flicker. By setting both battery/external
power brightness to the same level considerably lessens the flickering but it
is till noticeable. If this happens with the brightness down to minimum, it is
advised that you turn off the PDA to charge it up a bit before using it again
if you want to keep external power.
Our Car USB Adapter
CK203 is rated 850mA. It works normally
(charge battery with PDA ON) if the battery capacity remains more than 20%. It
may also work even if it is down to 5%. It can also charge with the battery nearly
empty with the PDA OFF. Therefore it is advised that you do not let the PDA run
down to very low before connecting it to power again if you intend to use car
power. There are now high output (2A) car adapters
on the market (it was scarcely available previously as there was not the demand
and it is more expensive) and we may introduce this if necessary. At present,
our CK203 is working satisfactorily so it is supplied with X50 unless users experience
problems.
Using Battery Extender PB4A
(with AA NiMH batteries) connecting to the high current DC input will have no
problem.
If you have questions about the above products please write to info-pcm
@ pc-mobile.net
