Re: Power

BwanaZulia wrote:

Is the Chumby Energy Star compliant?

No, the chumby has not been certified as an Energy Star device.

Re: Power

Who cares if its Energy Star compliant.. it doesnt use that much energy ANYWAYS so do you want to have the certification cost passed on.. then theres the problem with adding peripherals...

Re: Power

joltdude wrote:

Who cares if its Energy Star compliant.. it doesnt use that much energy ANYWAYS so do you want to have the certification cost passed on.. then theres the problem with adding peripherals...

I care because it is strict standard for appliances as to how much energy they can draw while on, off and in stanby.

I also care because energy prices are only going one way (hint: not down)

BZ

Re: Power

I also think it is important how the consumer electronics handles the energy.

Two weeks ago I put 9V battery (some expensive one) to chumby for more convenient moving between rooms. I know from the forum that chumby eats normally about 3 watts under normal circumstances (wifi & display on) so it can run less than one hour from normal 9V battery. However my wife switched it off and plugged it out of the electricity before leaving to holiday. After coming back one week later the battery was already empty.

Thus, I wonder what does the chumby do when switched off? I would expect very minimal energy consumption in "off" mode, necessary just for keeping time, alarm check and switch to "on" mode.

BTW. I have recently seen cool solar chargers with USB cable, intended for charging mobile phones, PDAs and so on, for $10-20 on ebay. Has anybody tried this with chumby? I can imagine such a solar panel with chumby-logo hologram or a cute silicon-based cover ... wink

Re: Power

Thus, I wonder what does the chumby do when switched off? I would expect very minimal energy consumption in "off" mode, necessary just for keeping time, alarm check and switch to "on" mode

Even when the main processor is off, the crypto processor is still alive and drawing power.  It's maintaining a clock, and it's also watching the "power" button.

Re: Power

I wouldn't think that a solar charger would be able to power the Chumby.
Those are primarily designed to provide a trickle charge.

Re: Power

BwanaZulia wrote:
joltdude wrote:

Who cares if its Energy Star compliant.. it doesnt use that much energy ANYWAYS so do you want to have the certification cost passed on.. then theres the problem with adding peripherals...

I care because it is strict standard for appliances as to how much energy they can draw while on, off and in stanby.

I also care because energy prices are only going one way (hint: not down)

BZ

The chumby does NOT use that much power.... Having it certified for a lousy sticker just adds to the cost...
Since it would probably need to be certified for every firmware upgrade..

In fact. I think *more* power saving features are somewhat on the to do list...

83 (edited by josep 2009-05-30 08:49:59)

Re: Power

Hi All,

I dig that this is an extremely old thread, but I have been thinking about building the battery pack Bunnie suggested a few years ago.  Has anyone tried this? From what I can tell Energizer has discontinued the ER-Photo even though you can still buy it online.

The biggest trouble I see is that the batteries themselves make this "little plug" quite large.  Six AA batteries are not small.

Re: Power

Hello everyone,

Sorry to bring an old post back from the dead, but I just bought a chumby classic and was wondering if there were any documented projects on adding a rechargable battery to it?

I'm trying my best to make the most of the first page, but the imageshack is dead. any other sources for information?

Re: Power

Can someone spec the Chumby One Power barrel connector?  Is it still 2.1mm?  Not ALL 2.1 mm barrel are created alike.  I have one that will not work.  Anyone have a Digikey (or other) part number that you know fits? 

Thanks.