USB charger for BJII

[Guest EmailGuy]

I recently upgraded from the AT&T 8525 to the BlackJack II.

I have several USB chargers that plug into an AC outlet or a car outlet and provide a powered USB port. With my old 8525 I could charge my phone using the standard USB cable.

My BlackJack II will not charge using the standard Samsung USB sync/charge cable. That same cable will charge my phone when plugged into a computer USB port.

Has anyone found a way to charge the BJII without a computer or the standard AC charger that came with the BJII? Does someone make a USB cable that 'tricks' the BJII into thinking it's connected to a computer so that it will charge? The original charger will charge it without a computer, so it must provide power on an extra pin or something to enable charging.

[Guest jonathanbaker1]

I couldn't understand what is not working ??? BOTH the wall charger and the USB cables should charge the phone. If one is not working then you should take it back to where you bought it and demand a replacement. You gotta play hardball with AT&T, lol. And both AT&T and Radio Shack have car chargers for the Blackjack.

[edit] Ok ok I read it 6 or 7 more times and now I understand. Nevermind. Anyways, just for something interesting FYI, my motherboard (Tyan) has powered USB ports when the computer is off!! AWESOME!! So I can charge my phone and wireless mouse while the computer is off :D I guess that's what you get for a $350 motherboard.

Edited March 26, 2008 by jonathanbaker1

[Guest thelostsoul]

Just tested it using an older AC to USB charger that I have and it did not work. It must work different then others do, so it would need a specific to this device charger, which I wouldn't expect to come out anytime soon...

[Guest jamieflanery]

Just tested it using an older AC to USB charger that I have and it did not work. It must work different then others do, so it would need a specific to this device charger, which I wouldn't expect to come out anytime soon...

Ok, i am having the same issue with another type of powered usb port charger that i bought for my ipod and have done a few different tests and it seems my BJII will only start charging once Windows recognizes the phone and links to it while booting up. So i am under the assumption that it is something that windows switches on through the usb data cable that starts the charge. Thus the reason my powered usb port on the car charger will not charge my phone. Anyone feel free to correct me if you know a solution bc i would love to not have to buy a new car charger..

[Guest jonathanbaker1]

This is interesting.. I've done alot of thinking about this. As we all probly know: USB has +5 volts between the RED wire and BLACK wire (ground). Theoretically, any good +5 volt source across the RED wire (with a ground at BLACK) should charge the device, regardless of whether or not it is connected to a wall outlet or car charger. Now, my USB Hub on my desktop is powered while the computer is off, but upon closer inspection, it will not charge my Blackjack. Funny, since my Blackjack "beeps" like it does when it starts charging, but it does not actually start charging, but will in fact DRAIN quickly because the display remains on for long periods. (go ahead and laugh at me now... I thought it was charging and left it overnight, only to awake to a dead phone..lol)

So what's up? I've disassembled a couple dozen USB cables to make custom (cheap) cables in the past, and I can assure you that the cables do not have any magical circuits inside that "trick" the phone to charge only when the computer is ON. What is far more likely, after much thought, is that the phone has a circuit built in which will not pull charge unless there is some data across the data wires, meaning the computer is on. But that doesn't explain the factory wall charger and factory car charger ($19.99 in case you're wondering). Yeah I dunno, it's got me there...

Here are some things to help this topic and maybe others in the future.

For reference: The Blackjack uses the "SAMSUNG S20-pin" type connection.

Here's a little review of the USB:

Standard USB Pinout & Cable Color Code

1 Red V BUS (+5V)

2 White D-

3 Green D+

4 Black Ground

__________________________________________________________________

Interesting picture of SAMSUNG Data Cables... maybe usefull...

I'm still trying to figure out exactly which one the BJII uses..

Edited March 31, 2008 by jonathanbaker1

[Guest pjpace]

This has stumped me too, and I only buy phones that you can charge off a USB port since I have a ton of USB plug outlets (for the home and car).

One thing I've found in the past is that the amps is inadequate for charging devices. You can have 5 volts but if you don't have enough amps, it won't go. I'm intrigued be the person who said it charges when the computer is on but not when it's off (unlike other devices they've used) because that blows my amp theory out the window... many of the cheap cigarette ligher adapters don't have enough amps so you have to my a decent one and check to make sure that's right.

But even my higher amp chargers aren't charging the i617... maybe it's too high (around 1 amp)?

What really confuses me is that Samsung has made such a unique plug and then f-ed with something as basic as charging the device. I can't find a power adapter at any store, and AT&T want some ungodly sum - this is an old school "screw the customer after they've purchased our multi-hundred dollar product so we can make another $10 off them" tactic. I thought with the agreement of the universal connector that companies would move past that... way to treat your customers bad, Samsung. Way to suck even more at getting the appropriate revenue generating add-ons into the stores like Best Buy and Ciruit City so the customers resort to eBay, and Samsung still doesn't make a cent, and has pissed off customers.

I'm also having trouble finding a headset - again, stupid proprietary connectors.

It's stresses like this that make me think long and hard about replacing a device, especially with another Samsung (and since they have a laundry list of connectors, practically a new one for each device, I will definitely steer clear of Samsing in the future since they're the only company that's doing this - I refuse to support it once I know how much they suck). Dreading purchasing all the add-ons has postponed my new phone purchases for many months, so they're only shooting themselves in the foot in the long run.

Other than that, I don't have many complaints about the phone. =)

This is interesting.. I've done alot of thinking about this. As we all probly know: USB has +5 volts between the RED wire and BLACK wire (ground). Theoretically, any good +5 volt source across the RED wire (with a ground at BLACK) should charge the device, regardless of whether or not it is connected to a wall outlet or car charger. Now, my USB Hub on my desktop is powered while the computer is off, but upon closer inspection, it will not charge my Blackjack. Funny, since my Blackjack "beeps" like it does when it starts charging, but it does not actually start charging, but will in fact DRAIN quickly because the display remains on for long periods. (go ahead and laugh at me now... I thought it was charging and left it overnight, only to awake to a dead phone..lol)

So what's up? I've disassembled a couple dozen USB cables to make custom (cheap) cables in the past, and I can assure you that the cables do not have any magical circuits inside that "trick" the phone to charge only when the computer is ON. What is far more likely, after much thought, is that the phone has a circuit built in which will not pull charge unless there is some data across the data wires, meaning the computer is on. But that doesn't explain the factory wall charger and factory car charger ($19.99 in case you're wondering). Yeah I dunno, it's got me there...

Here are some things to help this topic and maybe others in the future.

For reference: The Blackjack uses the "SAMSUNG S20-pin" type connection.

Here's a little review of the USB:

Standard USB Pinout & Cable Color Code

1 Red V BUS (+5V)

2 White D-

3 Green D+

4 Black Ground

__________________________________________________________________

Interesting picture of SAMSUNG Data Cables... maybe usefull...

I'm still trying to figure out exactly which one the BJII uses..