Topic: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I mentioned this in one of the other posts, but after a week or two of testing I can now recommend the Energizer ER-PHOTO picture frame battery for several hours of usage on the Chumby. In fact, the Chumby power adapter works with the battery too, so you can plug the AC into the battery and the battery into the Chumby, using it like a UPS backup.

I've updated the wiki at the link below. Retails for around $50 at BestBuy, CircuitCity, etc.. Let me know if anyone has any luck with it as well.

http://wiki.chumby.com/mediawiki/index. … for_chumby

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

Very cool. Could you post a picture of it stuffed inside of the Chumby? I have a similiar battery pack from where I work, but it is too big to stuff inside. Mine it rated at close to 4000mAh so it is a big bigger. My plan is to just use it as a sort of UPS, not really for making the Chumby mobile. Your solution makes it mobile. I'm going to have to pick one of those up.

Thanks

-HuckFinn

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

very cool! nice find. I think there are a few people out there who would be interested in using something like this.

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Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

Good to see that Bunnies response wasn't something about it blowing up :-)

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I think I'd be happy with at least 2 hours of "mobile" time, but around 3? AWESOME!

*Wishes Chumby would ship faster*

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

huckfinn wrote:

Could you post a picture of it stuffed inside of the Chumby?
Thanks

I have to say that I have not actually had the heart to operate on my Chumby yet, so I still keep the battery outside. Here's a picture:

http://snapfoo.com/images/posted/954921 … 145132.jpg

Looks a little larger than it actually is in the photo, but I'm fairly confident that it could be squeezed inside. An incision might be required to make the charger cable port easily accessible from the outside. (The ac port to charge the battery is next to the "power out" cable below the green light in the image.)

Hope this helps.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

hmmm, that does look rather big.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

ganson -- it's Energizer's problem if the Energizer battery pack blows up ;-)

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Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

For what it's worth, we've purchased a few of these packs and they are working with our chumbys. I haven't thoroughly tested the cycle life or the battery life, but I can confirm that it does work. The plug in the back is a little bit loose, though, but not bad. You just can't yank on it (e.g., if you drop the pack it will yank the cord out and the chumby will of course turn off).

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Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I wish I had the knowledge on how to hook this thing up...

11 (edited by ncoop23 2008-01-01 17:45:50)

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

Would I be able to take the pack apart and solder it to the connections on the std 12 volt plug so that it can be smaller and also recharge easily?  Is there a way I could overlay the input voltage of the battery before the power converter to get an idea of life/time remaining possibly by using an input on the logic board?  Last thing,  is there a chumbilical for the ironforge units with inputs and outputs on it??

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

You could take the pack apart, but you would run the risk of fire since the cells are made of Li-Ion and they lack the protection devices to be operated on directly.

There is a chumbilical for the Ironforge units; the schematics in the hardware developer area have all the documentation on the chumbilical there.

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Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I finally got mine and love it!  There is only one little problem and that is the plug is a little loose.  Other than that, it has freed my Chumby!!!  I was right also, if Chumby would put in a rechargeable battery it would make the perfect gadget.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I like this idea! might do it!
But I was able to run my chumby for 4 hours on 6 rechargeable AA's, it is quite tossed together at the moment. But I'm gonna house it better asap.
http://i28.tinypic.com/5o8a5g.jpg

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I've been using this for over two weeks.  Seems I've gotten over five hours, with shoutcast playing the volume lower than a teenager's lowest setting smile

However,the loose plug is becoming a problem.  Just tonight my daughter 'unplugged' the chumby at least five times in less than an hour.

Any suggestions on how to make a better fit?  I'm thinking velcro.  Of course, if I build a back pack to hold the battery that would help too probably.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

Yep - the loose plug issue is driving me crazy too.  It's put my chumby into the dust bin for a few months now.

17 (edited by joltdude 2008-03-14 04:14:36)

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I know Chumby is not a large manfacturer but wonder if you guys are large enough to make up some deal with Energizer for ER-Photo packs with a connector that wont fall off.. or a small mini cable to resolve the problem.. (kinda like one of those old tuner card to audio patch cables that were about 5-6 inches long)... Not having to worry about the plug would be nice, and who knows, might be able to get a deal on the packs wink

Im sorta surprised there isnt like a 12volt molex connector somewhere on that chumby wink
*similar to the keyed connector used on RC packs*

I know its not elegant, but even having a nice boxed 6 AA battery holder to plug into the bottom (the 9volt port) of the chumby would be useful, esp for a backup...

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I've been wanting to make a cord to run the thing in the car for making a weird ipod-like player when not running widgets, but I've been a bit leery of shorting things out on the chumby. Going to get one of those battery packs so there's at least a bit of safety between the two systems (surges, mis-wiring)
so if I melt the battery pack, I can just dig out my receipt and get another pack. Not so with Chumby. Still holding off till the 1 year anniversary comes up before I violate my warranty on me Chum'.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

Yes, be careful hooking up to a car - automotive electrical systems are not built to be friendly to complex electronics without spike protection.

20 (edited by ApoXX 2008-03-16 10:58:05)

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I found a new Chumby-compatible rechargeable battery yesterday, the "Lenmar Universal DVD Battery" (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index … 620&cp). It costs $50 and has a capacity of 9v 2600mAh, the Radio Shack website is wrong in saying it's 3600 mAh (I'll double check with my multimeter, but the battery and packaging both say 2600mAh).

The battery has almost the same footprint as the Chumby so I can just plop the Chumby on top with the cables hiding neatly behind. The battery, AC adapter, and car charger plugs fit the Chumby perfectly and don't appear to come loose at all. The AC adapter is rated at 12v 1amp and will power the Chumby just fine. The battery has an LED charge indicator showing when capacity is at 25%, 50%, 75%, and full. In addition, there are rubberized surfaces on the top and bottom which help keep things from slipping.

In my first test, after charging the battery to near-full capacity, I was able to pull 8+ hours with the Chumby on full brightness while streaming music. Unfortunately, I fell asleep after 8 hours so I'm not sure how much longer it went. I'm going to test it some more and will try to post pictures/video in the next few days, but I'm quite happy with it so far.

The main fault with this battery is that it can't power the Chumby while charging. I'm not sure why the battery disables itself when charging, perhaps it has something to do with eliminating surges when using the car adapter as Duane was saying above.

Edit: I tested it again today and got 8.5 hours out of a full charge streaming music/youtube half the time and rotating through widgets the other half. 8)

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

How big is that thing? Why would I buy that for $50 when the ER-Photo is same price and fits inside chumby? I'm looking for a reliable low cost solution.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

Just wanted to update this thread. I just bought one of the er-photo battery packs at walmart for $20. Not on sale or anything. They are with the digital photo frames.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I found a solution to the loose plug when using the ER-Photo pack. Radio Shhack part # 273-1716, it is a Adaptaplug "M". Perfect fit for the Chumby.

Re: Energizer rechargable battery works with Chumby out of the box.

I just found this battery pack, which seems to be the right voltage range and maybe slightly smaller than the ER-Photo.
Aluratek - ADMPFB100
for $34 at Neobits site
http://www.neobits.com/aluratek_-_admpf … 60464.html
Has anyone tried this solution? It looks small enough in the photos to possibly fit inside the bottom of the Chumby.
??
[I can't seem to find the ER-Photo for less than $59 @ Target.]