Traveling with Too Many Chargers? 131
MotorMachineMercenar wonders: "I just took a roadtrip over a long weekend and noticed that I need to lug around too many chargers. I have a charger for my cell phone, Nintendo DS Lite, my two digital cameras and an iPod. Sometimes I will have one for a portable HDD and laptop. In addition I have to carry a plug converter as some of them have been bought overseas. That's up to eight gadgets just to give juice my power-hungry devices, and they take precious space and weight in my bags. Is there any way to limit the number of chargers without gimping my roadwarrior gear? Most devices have more or less fixed batteries, 'smart' chargers and proprietary plugs, but is it possible as DIY, or is there an existing product? I'd like to see a universal charger for which plugs for any current device with the flexibility to add more in the future. What are the limitations and caveats with 240 vs 120, wattage, cutting and connecting cables, and so forth?"
Easy! (Score:5, Informative)
There are also the alkaline/lithium battery powered auxillury chargers, most of which are universal with multiple connecters. You can also use the solar chargers, most of which include a DC car socket.
I think that sooner than later, everything small will charge from USB and everything larger will have automatically switching power supplies that can run from any typical power source without adaptation.
Re:IGo and others (Re:Easy!) (Score:2, Informative)
Re:IGo and others (Re:Easy!) (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Easy! (Score:3, Informative)
Universal Power Adapter (Score:2, Informative)
Re:use usb (Score:4, Informative)
I carry along a USB hub and power supply as my "charger". I can plug 4 devices into it for charging. Works great.
Re:Overvoltage (Score:2, Informative)
Re:use usb -- too slow (Score:2, Informative)
When you charge on the road, you want to get fully charged as fast as possible. Being able to charge two things at once is even better. Basically if you travel a lot, the iGo is the best solution. A gift you give yourself. There is a competing product from Kensington but afaik it's only at Circuit City and just as expensive.
Re:And people laugh at me for this... (Score:1, Informative)
Of course, I already had the charger, since everything from my mp3 player to my LED flashlight uses AA.