What does this gadget acually run on, is it 5 volts?

Brian

Hi Brian,

The battery (Lithium Ion or Lithium Polymer) will be a nominal 3.7 volts, but the charging circuit should work from (at least) 4.5 to 5.5 volts (e.g. as available from a USB port/charger).

Cheers, Alan.

That is magic as usual Alan. Thank you very much. I wanted to check. As I see people paying £40 or so for something called Monkey or similar. But I have just bought one from Ebay for £3.99. 2 AA batts and it uplifts them to 5v. So, just tried it out and it works great. But would not have tried it until voltage confirmed.

Bri

Hi Brian,

The Power Monkeys also contain a Lithium battery and a circuit to step the voltage up to the "normal" 5 volts. However, the batteries generally have quite a high capacity so can considerably extend the running time of the Adventurer (or whatever). But a couple of AA cells should be fine for an "emergency".

They may also have a solar cell, but the amount of energy available from a moderately-sized cell is really quite low.

Cheers, Alan.

Yep, it's just the emergency thing that I was looking for Alan. And this thing does boost to 5v. I could do with a shorter USB lead though. Any ideas?

Bri

Hi Brian,

The cable is basicallly a standard "USB type A to Mini USB type B" (as used by cameras, MP3 players, portable hard drives, etc.) so you might find a short cable, for example in a Pound shop. But I've heard that the Adventurer actually needs the type B with an "extended" body, so you might have difficulty finding anything that works reliably.

Cheers, Alan.

OK. And my other thought was that if I also keep a couple of spare AA's in my rucksack I have even extra emergency cover.

Thanks again Alan.

Bri

I picked up a short usb lead OK. It does work but could be pulled out rather easily. So, comparing it with the original, I just nicked a bit of the plastic surround off the the plug and it fits nice and snug now.
Bri

So 3 AA battries in a holder from maplins should do it?
what ape the pinouts on the b type connector?

Hi,

Not really, 3 x Rechargeable AAs will only give about 3.6 volts and even fresh Alkalines a rather marginal 4.5 volts (which drop well below 3.6 volts before proper "end of life"). 4 x AA NiMH would be better.

Power Supply on the Mini USB type B is on the end pins (1 and 5). Can't remember which way, but the easiest/cheapest method is to buy a USB A - Mini B cable from Poundland, or similar, cut the cable and check the colours which carry 0 - 5v when the type A is plugged into a charger or PC, etc.. Then use the B end to make your charger.

Cheers, Alan.