IsleOfMan

When I travel for leisure with my family, usually by car, we have A LOT of devices with us. I have 4 kids (5-yr old triplets, 2 of which have mild ASD, and a 2.5-yr old) and tablets make all the difference on long car rides and to help everyone wind down prior to bedtime in an unfamiliar place. That said, charging all these devices (listed below) leads to an outlet hunt anywhere we go. Here is what I need to charge, preferably at full speed, with 2 chargers:

- iPhone 5
- iPad (original)
- iPad 3
- Samsung Galaxy S4
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7"
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7"
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8"

I also have a Surface Pro and can charge the Galaxy S4 from the USB port on the charger if necessary.

Getting full-speed charging for multiple Galaxy Tab tablets on any charger seems to be the difficult part. I'm not sure what it is about their resistance-load setup but it seems to be different from both traditional Android devices AND iOS devices.

Right now I'm thinking one of these 6-port 50w chargers for everything except the Galaxy S4, which I would charge from the USB port on the Surface Pro's charger. This wouldn't quite be a full 2A for all 5 tablets, but I'm HOPING the smart universal ports can get the right amount of current to each device to charge somewhat close to full-speed. If not, I can offload one tablet and the Galaxy S4 to a 2-port 17w charger I already have. Another configuration might be the 5 tablets on the 6-port 50w charger on a desk (or somewhere else out of the way) and the 2 phones on the 2-port 17w charger by the beds.

Any other thoughts or ideas?

I'd like to keep the total charger cost to $30 or less, and I already have a 3.4A/17w dual USB charger on-hand. I'd also like to keep it two chargers total, even if I need two new chargers. It seems like above 50w is where prices jump from ~$20 to ~$35, and a single 60w 7-port charger may not quite charge all 7 devices with 5 of them being tablets. There is at least one 7-port charger/hub with a 12v power supply that can do 2.1a to all 7 ports, but it's expensive ($45) and bulky (mainly due to the 12v power adapter).

Thanks in advance!

gfunkdave

Have you read the wiki at the top of the existing thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-solution.html ?

I'd suggest getting two Anker 40W chargers. Each can do two iPads and a phone, or the equivalent (5 amps).

AnalogMan

Anker 40W is 8 amps Two of those should charge all your devices just fine. You will need a DC to AC inverter, but I assume you already have one or two in the car.

As far as I know the intelligent device detection so all devices charge at full speed works. I suspect you probably are using fairly long USB cables, keep those as short as possible. Longer (more than 6') cables will really reduce charging speed.

gfunkdave

Ah yes thanks!

IsleOfMan

Not looking to charge in the car, just at hotel/condo at destination.

Already having a 3.4a/17w 2-port charger that can handle 1 tablet and 1 phone, shouldn't a 5-port 10a/50w charger with smart device detection handle 4 tablets at full speed and 1 phone at/near full speed (2.1a x 4 + 1a)?

Right now I'm using included OEM cables with the tablets and iPhone, and a retractable cable with the S4... I might convert to retractable cables for the Samsung tablets as well, but will probably stick with OEM cables on the iOS devices.

AnalogMan

I haven't seen a 10A charger yet, and certainly not from the better known/reviewed manufacturers.

You may actually be able to get away with using only one of the Anker 40W chargers if you charge all devices overnight (there are cables that use 1 USB slot but have multiple connectors say micro usb/lightning/30 pin for example). You can charge 4 tablets at once full-speed (or very close to it) during high demand hours, then plug more in when everyone goes to sleep.

But you should probably carry two of those anyway as a backup. Having one fail with no alternative sounds like it will be a big problem for you.

IsleOfMan

There are a handful of 10A/50w 6-port chargers on Amazon... a few with auto-sensing ports and a few with labeled ports. Most seem to review quite well also. Most of the time the charging will be overnight, so even at 1A per device I doubt we would have any trouble. A 5 or 6 port device would also be quite nice for bulk charging overnight in one spot at home as well, even at less than full speed (at home, only the orignal iPad and its diminished battery capacity needs to be charged during the course of the day).

One big concern is compatibility with the 3 Galaxy Tab 3 devices... I've seen them act funny, charging EXTREMELY slow (like 500mA slow) on certain chargers other than their own (like the 3.4A/17w I have when plugged in at the same time as the iPad)... almost like if they can't draw full power, they'll only draw 500mA. This is one reason I'd like to get something with auto-sensing ports, to avoid plugging everything in, heading out to dinner, and coming back 2-3 hours later to see the Galaxy Tabs only gain 10% charge.

gfunkdave

Mind posting a link to some of the 10A chargers you're seeing? I'm sure we'd like to check them out.

I think Galaxy Tabs have a circuit that will only pull 500mA if it's not plugged into an official Galaxy Tab charger or something like that.

ScottC

This 60W Bolse charger is about as good as it gets at the moment:

http://www.amazon.com/Charging-Techn...=bolse+charger

IsleOfMan

I'm leaning towards this 50w 6-port Choetech model from Amazon for $20. I'll do some testing with is and return it if it's not up to its claimed output. At $20, an in-field failure won't be the end of the world with the 17w 2-port and a couple of single-port OEMs in the bag in case of emergency.

AnalogMan

You need a few 'Charger Doctors' - http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Charger-...item5d4f6eaca2

$5 if you need it in a hurry (shipped from North America), or $2 if you can wait (shipped from Asia). I bought a few maybe six months ago and they are reasonably accurate. I never did hook up an ammeter to check the numbers, but charging times correlate (inversely) with the current numbers shown.

Will definitely tell you if your Galaxy Tabs are pulling as much as possible.

IsleOfMan

I'll probably pick up 1 or 2 of those from Asia, but in reality some back-calculated current draw tests based on %charged, device battery mAh, and elapsed time should suffice for my needs.

WillCAD

You know, sometimes old-school works just fine. One of these:


Coupled with six of these:
http://amzn.com/B00KJVHPWQ [removed oversize image - gfunkdave]

Might do the trick. Total cost, around $60.

ScottC

How is that a good option? First of all, those chargers you linked to only deliver 1A, and whole setup costs 3x as much as a good 6 port charger. Sorry, but sometimes old school is just not an acceptable option.

And finally, those are 100% NOT original Apple chargers as Apple never made them in different colors. They are knockoff chargers with questionable safety.

gfunkdave

Actually, the charger you link to is almost certainly a BAD idea. Cheap knockoff chargers frequently don't meet safety specs and produce incredibly dirty power with over/under voltage. This is what messes up your phone/shocks you.

Take a look at these charger teardowns:
http://www.righto.com/2012/03/inside...d-why-you.html
http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-doze...-apple-is.html

As those blog posts mention, theres sqrt(2)*line voltage inside these chargers. That's 170 volts DC for a North American 120 volt line, or 340 volts DC for a European/rest of world 240 volt line. You want to make sure that safety rules are being followed!