Charing Joye E-Go With Generic Mini Usb Cables

[randomizer]

Hi all,

New here, just got my Joye E-Go the other day and loving it. Also went a little nuts with ordering DIY stuff, so I'm hoping to be mixing my own liquids in a few days.

My E-Go has a mini-USB pass-through battery, and it came with a mini-USB cable that I've been plugging into my computer. I also have about a bajillion other mini-USB cables from external hard drives and the like, and I'm wondering if these are interchangeable. I also have a number of USB-to-power outlet adapters of the sort that came with my iPhone.

I'm wondering if there's any danger in using accessories these in addition to the cable that came with the device. Everything I've read says that one should be very careful not to use the 510 charger with the E-Go...but my impression was that all USB cables were 5v, so there shouldn't be any difference in terms of the power supplied.

Thanks to all on these forums. I did a lot of reading before buying, and the info here helped me save a lot of money in bad purchasing decisions.

Cheers!

[kitsune]

The USB adapters work great. I use the one for my ipod. I also use the usb car adapter without problem.

Not a clue as far as USB cables. I'm sure somebody will have the answer to that one.

BTW--Welcome very glad you have joined us.

[Christopher]

nope I use generic cables all the time

[mcquinn]

Only thing that worries me is,charging cables usally only have two conductors and data cables have four.If there were something in your battery that was wired wrong you could possibly zap something in your USB port on the puter.MOst likely would be ok though.

[Christopher]

hmm good point and something I didn't think about. Though I usually charge via a hub and not dirctly to the machine.

[randomizer]

Only thing that worries me is,charging cables usally only have two conductors and data cables have four.If there were something in your battery that was wired wrong you could possibly zap something in your USB port on the puter.MOst likely would be ok though.

Found this on Wikipedia regarding non-standard devices. It sounds like this would be a problem if the battery draws more than the USB maximum current (900 mA on newer devices), since my guess is that it doesn't really have the circuitry to ask the USB hub for the right amount of power.

My grasp of electrical engineering concepts is a little shaky. I haven't looked at this stuff since high school, though it's been fun to review it as I try to get a grip on atomizer resistance and the like.

Any way of figuring out what kind of current the 3.7v 650 mAh E-Go draws when it recharges via 5v USB? I assume it's some fraction of 650 mA, but not sure how to calculate it exactly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus#Non-standard_devices

Some non-standard USB devices use the 5 V power supply without participating in a proper USB network which negotiates power draws with the host interface. These are usually referred to as USB decorations. The typical example is a USB-powered keyboard light; fans, mug coolers and heaters, battery chargers, miniature vacuum cleaners, and even miniature lava lamps are available. In most cases, these items contain no digital circuitry, and thus are not Standard compliant USB devices at all. This can theoretically cause problems with some computers, such as drawing too much current and hurting circuitry; prior to the Battery Charging Specification, the USB specification required that devices connect in a low-power mode (100 mA maximum) and communicate their current requirements to the host, which would then permit the device to switch into high-power mode.

In addition to limiting the total average power used by the device, the USB specification limits the inrush current (i.e., that used to charge decoupling and filter capacitors) when the device is first connected. Otherwise, connecting a device could cause problems with the host's internal power. Also, USB devices are required to automatically enter ultra low-power suspend mode when the USB host is suspended. Nevertheless, many USB host interfaces do not cut off the power supply to USB devices when they are suspended since resuming from the suspended state would become a lot more complicated if they did.