Comments on: Gomadic QuadCharge Universal Charging Station

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:06:38 +0000

Wow, you’re right. I guess since I wasn’t using a Nokia device at the time of the review, I didn’t notice the lack of tips for that brand. Very odd that they don’t offer any tips for Nokia phones…

By: wisemommaerts

wisemommaerts — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:22:55 +0000

I thought I had found a great Christmas gift for my has everything IT guru husband, but…it does not support Nokia phones at this time. So sad…back to the drawing board. Glad I did a Google search for reviews of it and read the comments on those websites.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:50:12 +0000

Haivu:

I share that wish with you! And we’re actually close to having it granted. There are already items that can charge just by placing them on a special surface. Adn there’s always syncing via WiFi and Bluetooth

obligateaerobe:

I really like the style of the multipot! Very modern and classy.

By: obligateaerobe

obligateaerobe — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:23:19 +0000

We have used multipot (http://www.multipot.com) for some time. It it very cute and also serves as our hallway lamp. However it is limited to only a few devices, since modern power adapters are so bulky.

By: haivu

haivu — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:08:14 +0000

I long for the day when I just put my phone/PDA/iPod… on the desk and they are automatically charged and synchronized. Until hen, I guess you can solve the charging problem with QuadCharge or your homemade station.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:36:19 +0000

chriszzz:

Sure, you could connect all those items together and fabricate a nice container to house them. Or, you can just get this product The USB hub idea is a good one, but I can see one problem with it. It’s actually the same problem that the QuadCharger has… You would most likely want to located your DIY USB station next to a computer, so that you can also connect it to sync your devices. Otherwise, you’ll need 2 sets of cables. One for the charger station and one for your computer.

By: chriszzz

chriszzz — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:42:19 +0000

Julie;21265 wrote:

haivu:

Good for you for making your own charging station! The advantage of the Gomadic product is that it’s not a ‘power strip’ solution. The QuadCharge doesn’t contain several small AC adapters inside the base. It just has the one adapter. This makes it a safer product because it should not generate as much heat inside the box as the instructable solution.

All you need are the USB charging cables for the devices, a powered USB hub and a DC adaptor. Connect the DC adaptor to the hub, connect all cables to the hub, and viola !

Most DC adaptors for USB hubs are 1A, and the USB hubs usually have 4 hubs, therefore you can charge 4 devices at 0.25A ( 250mA ). Since most devices’ batteries are < 1000mAH, it will take about 3-4 hours to fully charge them. There you have it. A cheap, single-AC adaptor solution.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:06:49 +0000

haivu:

Good for you for making your own charging station! The advantage of the Gomadic product is that it’s not a ‘power strip’ solution. The QuadCharge doesn’t contain several small AC adapters inside the base. It just has the one adapter. This makes it a safer product because it should not generate as much heat inside the box as the instructable solution.

By: haivu

haivu — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:33:44 +0000

Julie, This is a neat idea. However, I am too cheap to buy that box, so I made one myself per the instruction from instructables.com. You can view my result here and here. The downside to this homemade solution is aesthetics, but it saves money and takes advantage of your existing charging cables.