A500 External Power Source

[2000roadie]

I will, unfortunately, have an extended flight soon (11 HRS) and would like a recommendation (if there is one), for an external Power supply to extend/run my A500. I would like it to be rechargeable when on the ground through outlet. Is there something without making it or having to modify the plug?

 

[Icebike]

If your flight has outlets in the seats (most flights of that length do) you can just use your normal charger.

The charger is good for anywhere in the world (just about any commercial power) with just a outlet converter which you can probably buy
for a couple bucks.

If you were to cobble something together it needs to be 12 volts dc, center positive. Take your plug to radio shack and find a tip that matches.

 

[frnkws]

there are existing threads dealing with this.
You will find more information in them dealing with external power supplies and chargers.
Walmart sells a power supply to plug into a lighter in a car.
It is the Powerline model 90336 and comes with 7 plugs, including the correct one for the A500.
It has settings of 3, 4.5, 6, 9 and 12 volts.
It also has a switch for positive or negative center pin. The setting for the A500 is + for the center pin.
You can always see what the setting needs to be on any device by looking at the charger that came with it.
I have taken a few extended flights to New Zealand and Australia from USA.
It was back a few years but they showed three movies on the flight.
Look in the accessories section of this site and you will find more info.
Acer Iconia Tab A500 Accessories

 

[ericw33]

2000roadie:

In another thread someone mentioned the Energizer power supply BUT they had to order (from Energizer) a different tip. I have used a few solutions but they all require some cord modification.

There are US FAA Li-Ion restrictions on Li-ion batteries so check before taking. Myself, I am using a Universal Laptop Battery (170Wh) which I can run for about 25 - hours and use < 25% of the EXTERNAL battery (and none of the internal). I also use some CCTV batteries- a handy one is the 5V/9V/12V unit as I can use the 5V USB for charging up all my stuff (cell, mp3..) and use the 12V for the Gateway TP60 (like a A500) at the same time. But I soldered a solution for this. I just run a cord out of my backpack to the tablet. It has a fuse and mid-connection so I can disconnect i as required.

I have a Seagate 3TB drive I take and also 2 Seagate ultra-portable drives (0.5 TB, 1.5 TB). 5 TB isn't much but enough for short-term travel. The ultra-portables run off the USB so you can use them in-flight. I find (for myself) 30-60 minute series are nice like (say) anime. For just in-flight 1 500GB drive should be fine (for there and back!). TEST AHEAD OF TIME - I've had FAT32 and HTFS drives work fine but had some issues with USB thumb drives. I'll be using some Bluetooth headphones as well for my wife and I. The Gateway TP60 (A500 re-branded - same company) is so-so on videos - it doesn't have the HP to run 1080p so take along DVD or at most, 720p (and test them first).

MXPlayer Pro works best (for me) thus far as it's optimized for multi-threads. The A510 penta-core or A700 would be better suited for this as they have the HP to run it. You might want to load 3 or 4 players and get the "pro" versions (they are cheap). You can play around with the setting such as hardware-software decoder if you' "pushing it on HD videos". Also test out sub-titles if your into anime and the like - not all work well with embedded subs or multi-linguals. Test first.

Don't forget a tablet stand as well so you can prop it up on the food tray and watch. Use Seatguru.com and make sure you do NOT choose seats where the tray is in the armrest. You want the tray to be fixed to the seat in front of you.

Last trip the movies SUCKED and the trip before the entertainment was down (arg!). This time, no problem-o. Also I have an Epson EX-5210 projector. Great for travel, does NOT require a cool down so so bulbs gone "bye-bye" when the AC goes out. It goes up to 300" on a wall but it does require AC and also, a micro-HDMI to HDMI adapter (they are cheap but you have to buy one before going).

See: http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/acer-iconia-tab-a500-forum/32623-external-battery.html



EW