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#41
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OT - cell phone advice
On Aug 11, 8:53*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote: My parents are still able to drive, go shopping, eat out, and so on. But, there have been a couple moments when the car broke down. Or, one was out, and the other didn't know why it was taking so long. I suggested they get a cell phone. The reply was that we don't *have the money to support another monthly bill. I've heard of phones where you buy the minutes in advance. Has anyone used such a phone, and which brand, where bought, etc? If it was twenty bucks or so, I'd buy the phone outright, and give it to them as a gift. -- Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus *www.lds.org . For about $10 per month you can probably add a line to YOUR account for them. Then YOU pay the bill and they get it for free. They then use YOUR minutes. Plus the phone will probably be free with a contract. They will then be able to call you for free and that'll make you the good son. |
#42
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OT - cell phone advice
Phisherman wrote:
On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:14:31 -0700, "cm" wrote: You can buy a pay as you go phone at Wal Mart for around $30. As long as they don't use it much it will not cost too much. The phone card you buy to load minute onto the phone expires at some point after it is activated so if you buy 30 minutes and don't use all those minutes within that time frame they will expire. Good luck, cm I don't like that. If I keep a cell phone in the glove box of my truck, it expires, I have an emergency, then what? Do Tracfones expire too? Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. |
#43
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OT - cell phone advice
FlavorFlav wrote:
wrote in : On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:46:34 -0700, SMS wrote: Free directory assistance is already available, but not live. I guess if they want to place calls with a live operator, versus entering the number or selecting the name from a list of contacts, that's an advantage of Jitterbug, but boy do you pay a premium for that. $100 a year, that seems to be what everyone else here is saying. If you have kids scattered across the country toll free incoming calls is a plus too. I know you said there were services as cheap as $30 a year but what kind of service is that? Who is the carrier? It kinda sounds sub-sub par - the $30 one. Like something mentioned on Law and Order all the time. "can't track it, it's a prepaid phone". And that is a Bad Thing? But seriously- prepaids aren't for everyone, and there are better and worse companies. I apparently chose one of the worse with Virgin, but at the time, that is all I saw in the stores around here, and a coworker recommended it. I was preparing for a road trip for a family emergency (cleaning up after a suddenly deceased relative), and had other things on my mind. I just needed a portable phone. I was in a hurry, and it was 'good enough' at the time, and most of the time since then. For as little as I use it, a conventional cell phone and account is simply out of the question. I could care less about texting and pictures- I just need a phone. -- aem sends... |
#44
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OT - cell phone advice
My vote is for Net10. The phones are cheap, and the air time is 10 cents a
minute. You might want to check their web site for coverage in your area but I went on a 2700 mile road trip and it worked everywhere except the very boonies. -- __ Roger Shoaf Important factors in selecting a mate: 1] Depth of gene pool 2] Position on the food chain. "Stormin Mormon" wrote in message ... My parents are still able to drive, go shopping, eat out, and so on. But, there have been a couple moments when the car broke down. Or, one was out, and the other didn't know why it was taking so long. I suggested they get a cell phone. The reply was that we don't have the money to support another monthly bill. I've heard of phones where you buy the minutes in advance. Has anyone used such a phone, and which brand, where bought, etc? If it was twenty bucks or so, I'd buy the phone outright, and give it to them as a gift. -- Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus www.lds.org . |
#45
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OT - cell phone advice
Roger Shoaf wrote:
My vote is for Net10. The phones are cheap, and the air time is 10 cents a minute. You might want to check their web site for coverage in your area but I went on a 2700 mile road trip and it worked everywhere except the very boonies. Net10 is good for a moderately heavy user, but the minimum monthly cost is $15 which is pretty high. The 10 cent a minute cost is also rather high. On the plus side, they do allow roaming off of AT&T onto other GSM networks at no extra cost. For a phone that is more likely to work in the boonies, albeit at extra cost per minute, use Tracfone CDMA phones, or PagePlus, or Verizon InPulse. |
#46
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OT - cell phone advice
On Aug 12, 1:32�am, Tony wrote:
Phisherman wrote: On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:14:31 -0700, "cm" wrote: You can buy a pay as you go phone at Wal Mart for around $30. As long as they don't use it much it will not cost too much. The phone card you buy to load minute onto the phone expires at some point after it is activated so if you buy 30 minutes and don't use all those minutes within that time frame they will expire. Good luck, cm I don't like that. �If I keep a cell phone in the glove box of my truck, it expires, I have an emergency, then what? �Do Tracfones expire too? Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. �If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. �Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again..- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - 911 cell is a required federal law mandate. but do try your old phone, the analog ones no longer work since every carrier went all digital. the phones will still power up, but not see any system since analog no longer exists |
#47
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OT - cell phone advice
Phisherman wrote:
I don't like that. If I keep a cell phone in the glove box of my truck, it expires, I have an emergency, then what? Do Tracfones expire too? If you get an unregistered CDMA phone, you can sign up with ARN for $10/year. Outgoing calls only. You don't get a phone number. From 25¢ to $1 per minute. "http://www.americanroaming.com/retail_buy.php" Be aware that you must have a CDMA phone that is unregistered with any carrier, not just deactivated. These can be hard to find. I've seen them on eBay though. |
#48
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OT - cell phone advice
On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:08:47 -0700, SMS
wrote: [snip] Is there anything wrong with Virgin Mobile, other than limited coverage area? 1. High per minute cost (recently increased) 2. High texting rates (they used to have the lowest texting rates) 3. Comparatively high monthly minimum (not really suitable for a glove compartment phone). That last one is important since I do want this for occasional use (glove compartment phone). I'm wanting to get a phone that works in Brownwood Texas. It's 49 miles off the interstate highway, and neither AT&T or Verizon provide coverage there. According to their map, it looks like Virgin does. Yeah, there are a very few areas where Sprint is the only major carrier, and it looks like you found one! I found out that Virgin does NOT cover Brownwood (Sprint does, but it's roaming). -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." -- Isaac Asimov |
#49
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OT - cell phone advice
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:32:03 -0400, Tony
wrote: Phisherman wrote: On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:14:31 -0700, "cm" wrote: You can buy a pay as you go phone at Wal Mart for around $30. As long as they don't use it much it will not cost too much. The phone card you buy to load minute onto the phone expires at some point after it is activated so if you buy 30 minutes and don't use all those minutes within that time frame they will expire. Good luck, cm I don't like that. If I keep a cell phone in the glove box of my truck, it expires, I have an emergency, then what? Do Tracfones expire too? Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. How efficient is the inverter? Older ones could be bad that way. -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." -- Isaac Asimov |
#50
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OT - cell phone advice
On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:06:20 -0700, SMS
wrote: [snip] Combine that Alltel service with Google Voice and chose one of your free options as a "favorite number" that you set to your Google Voice number. You then have unlimited incoming and outgoing calls without using any minutes because incoming calls are routed through Google Voice and come from your "favorite number" and you call your Google Voice number to place all outgoing calls and all outgoing calls are to your "favorite number." Good idea. What would you expect to see on caller ID when you do this? Alltel has discontinued offering their own prepaid plans and the 75 cents/day plan is no longer available. "No longer available" applies to NEW customers. My service continues to work as well as always. However, the options I chose are "text messages" and "nights & weekends", and changing one to "favorite number" might trigger that "no longer available" (requiring a Verizon plan). -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." -- Isaac Asimov |
#51
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OT - cell phone advice
Tony wrote:
Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. |
#52
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OT - cell phone advice
Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:06:20 -0700, SMS wrote: [snip] Combine that Alltel service with Google Voice and chose one of your free options as a "favorite number" that you set to your Google Voice number. You then have unlimited incoming and outgoing calls without using any minutes because incoming calls are routed through Google Voice and come from your "favorite number" and you call your Google Voice number to place all outgoing calls and all outgoing calls are to your "favorite number." Good idea. What would you expect to see on caller ID when you do this? It depends how you set up your Google Voice. You need to configure it so its the Google Voice number that is sent out by Google Voice, not the number that called the Google Voice number. Hence _all_ incoming calls made via Google Voice to the cell phone will show as the Google Voice phone number and your caller ID will be pretty worthless. There may be some violation of the terms of service to do this---if they can catch you. Alltel has discontinued offering their own prepaid plans and the 75 cents/day plan is no longer available. "No longer available" applies to NEW customers. My service continues to work as well as always. However, the options I chose are "text messages" and "nights & weekends", and changing one to "favorite number" might trigger that "no longer available" (requiring a Verizon plan). You might call them and ask. Couldn't hurt. |
#53
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OT - cell phone advice
bob haller wrote:
but do try your old phone, the analog ones no longer work since every carrier went all digital. the phones will still power up, but not see any system since analog no longer exists Contrary to popular belief analog most certainly does still exist. It was turned off in urban areas by major carriers, but out in rural areas there is still a lot of analog service still operating. The FCC gave the carriers _permission_ to turn off analog, they did not require that analog be turned off. A lot of coverage on the fringes of urban areas was lost when analog was turned off in those areas. |
#54
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OT - cell phone advice
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#55
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OT - cell phone advice
In article ,
SMS wrote: Tony wrote: Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? |
#56
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OT - cell phone advice
All the cell phone companies have it set up where they get their
gallon of blood out of you per year one way or another. Don't be fooled. Since so many other people have cell phones, just paint up a big sign for them to keep in their car that says "CALL 911". |
#57
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OT - cell phone advice
Smitty Two wrote:
Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? I saw some for $3.50 yesterday in a store near me, Action Surplus. These were after-market ones with the mini-USB connector used on a lot of Motorola, HTC, and Blackberry models. I buy the original Motorola car chargers for $5.95 from "http://www.cellularaccessory.com/syn1630.html". They have after-market ones for $2.95 "http://www.cellularaccessory.com/motv3cla.html." I've had after-market ones fail after a couple of years so now I prefer OEM. Use "gift4u" as a coupon code for another 5% off. U.S. mail shipping is pretty cheap from them. $1.95 on Total under $5 $2.95 on Total $5-$20. I have no affiliation with them, but I've been buying from them for a long time. |
#58
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OT - cell phone advice
PatM wrote:
In fact, Stormin, you might want to port their home number over to your cell phone service plan and let them give up their land line to save money. Giving them each a cell phone would be cheaper than keeping the land line. Step up and be the good son! :-) Well my mother and stepfather need the land line for 911 service. They now qualify for the quantity discount on rescue squad visits and ambulance rides. |
#59
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OT - cell phone advice
Tracfone or buy any cell phone but don't turn on service. Every cell
phone has 911 on it. So, if it's really for emergencies ONLY, the unactivated cell phone fills the need for FREE. |
#60
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OT - cell phone advice
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:32:03 -0400, Tony
wrote: Phisherman wrote: On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:14:31 -0700, "cm" wrote: You can buy a pay as you go phone at Wal Mart for around $30. As long as they don't use it much it will not cost too much. The phone card you buy to load minute onto the phone expires at some point after it is activated so if you buy 30 minutes and don't use all those minutes within that time frame they will expire. Good luck, cm I don't like that. If I keep a cell phone in the glove box of my truck, it expires, I have an emergency, then what? Do Tracfones expire too? Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. Well, I probably won't ever get nor use one then. Strange I don't use a cell phone, yet I can program the processor which is a lot more fun than talking a lot about nothing. |
#61
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OT - cell phone advice
Smitty Two wrote:
In article , SMS wrote: Tony wrote: Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? Goodwill or Salvation Army. Seriously. They usually have a basket on the shelf of various chargers and cords. That is where I got my current one, after I accidentally donated my old one along with a box of orphan phones to one of those 'cell phones for at-risk people' programs. Boy was I ****ed when I tried to plug up the incorrect charger I held on to, and found the plug was the wrong diameter. Garage sales are another good source- I haven't been at a sale in years that didn't have at least one baggie of cell phones and cords. Side rant- why don't they standardize chargers? -- aem sends... |
#62
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OT - cell phone advice
aemeijers wrote:
Side rant- why don't they standardize chargers? They pretty much have standardized on Mini-USB and Micro-USB connectors for charging. I certainly would not buy any new phone that used a charging port that was not Mini-USB or Micro-USB. Of the eight phones in our house, all are mini-USB for charging. |
#63
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OT - cell phone advice
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:13:40 -0400, aemeijers
wrote: Smitty Two wrote: In article , SMS wrote: Tony wrote: Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? Goodwill or Salvation Army. Seriously. They usually have a basket on the shelf of various chargers and cords. That is where I got my current one, after I accidentally donated my old one along with a box of orphan phones to one of those 'cell phones for at-risk people' programs. Boy was I ****ed when I tried to plug up the incorrect charger I held on to, and found the plug was the wrong diameter. Garage sales are another good source- I haven't been at a sale in years that didn't have at least one baggie of cell phones and cords. Side rant- why don't they standardize chargers? For the same reason that don't standardize USB connections. If they standardized them, they couldn't charge through the nose for their own. The U in USB is universal. That is a joke. |
#64
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OT - cell phone advice
aemeijers wrote:
Smitty Two wrote: In article , SMS wrote: Tony wrote: Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? Goodwill or Salvation Army. Seriously. They usually have a basket on the shelf of various chargers and cords. That is where I got my current one, after I accidentally donated my old one along with a box of orphan phones to one of those 'cell phones for at-risk people' programs. Boy was I ****ed when I tried to plug up the incorrect charger I held on to, and found the plug was the wrong diameter. Garage sales are another good source- I haven't been at a sale in years that didn't have at least one baggie of cell phones and cords. Side rant- why don't they standardize chargers? -- Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. TDD |
#65
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OT - cell phone advice
The Daring Dufas wrote:
aemeijers wrote: Smitty Two wrote: In article , SMS wrote: Tony wrote: Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? Goodwill or Salvation Army. Seriously. They usually have a basket on the shelf of various chargers and cords. That is where I got my current one, after I accidentally donated my old one along with a box of orphan phones to one of those 'cell phones for at-risk people' programs. Boy was I ****ed when I tried to plug up the incorrect charger I held on to, and found the plug was the wrong diameter. Garage sales are another good source- I haven't been at a sale in years that didn't have at least one baggie of cell phones and cords. Side rant- why don't they standardize chargers? -- Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. TDD OOPS! Looks like it may only be for the EU and Apple seems to have agreed to go along. TDD |
#66
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OT - cell phone advice
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:13:40 -0400, aemeijers wrote:
Smitty Two wrote: In article , SMS wrote: Tony wrote: Any cell phone I've ever heard of can always call 911 even if it's not paid, registered or whatever. If you keep it in the car, better have a charger that plugs into the cig lighter. Actually my brother just told me there is a cheap low wattage $10 inverter so you can use the free 120VAC charger in the car and never buy another special car charger again. That's an odd way to save the $3-5 cost of a car charger. Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? Goodwill or Salvation Army. Seriously. They usually have a basket on the shelf of various chargers and cords. That is where I got my current one, after I accidentally donated my old one along with a box of orphan phones to one of those 'cell phones for at-risk people' programs. Boy was I ****ed when I tried to plug up the incorrect charger I held on to, and found the plug was the wrong diameter. Garage sales are another good source- I haven't been at a sale in years that didn't have at least one baggie of cell phones and cords. Side rant- why don't they standardize chargers? It is finally happening. Many phones accept mini-usb or micro-usb plugs. Douglas Adams did a humorous piece called "war on donggely things" about having boxes and boxes of AC adapters, exasperated by having another set for the UK vs US. |
#67
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OT - cell phone advice
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:
Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. It's only been possible with the advent of inexpensive dc-dc converters. It used to be that if a device needed 3v or 9v for example, you had to have an ac adapter that supplied 3v or 9v. You couldn't feed it the 5v from a usb and then convert to the required internal voltage. |
#68
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OT - cell phone advice
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote: Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. It's only been possible with the advent of inexpensive dc-dc converters. It used to be that if a device needed 3v or 9v for example, you had to have an ac adapter that supplied 3v or 9v. You couldn't feed it the 5v from a usb and then convert to the required internal voltage. DC to DC converters have been around for many years and I think it's more of a miniaturization problem than a cost concern. The technology of putting it all on one SMD chip with a few outboard components is a more recent development. I do board level repairs on a lot of electronic gear and I've seen the converters get a lot smaller as the years have gone by. The darn things used to be the size of my palm. TDD |
#69
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OT - cell phone advice
In article
, mike wrote: All the cell phone companies have it set up where they get their gallon of blood out of you per year one way or another. Don't be fooled. Since so many other people have cell phones, just paint up a big sign for them to keep in their car that says "CALL 911". Mythbusters should try this out and see whether it actually works. Remember the cardboard accordion windshield inserts to protect your dashboard and interior from sunlight, that on the reverse side said "Need help, call police?" I always wondered whether that actually worked. |
#70
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OT - cell phone advice
In article ,
SMS wrote: Smitty Two wrote: Hey I could use a $3-5 car charger for my cell. Where's the best place to buy one? I saw some for $3.50 yesterday in a store near me, Action Surplus. These were after-market ones with the mini-USB connector used on a lot of Motorola, HTC, and Blackberry models. I buy the original Motorola car chargers for $5.95 from "http://www.cellularaccessory.com/syn1630.html". They have after-market ones for $2.95 "http://www.cellularaccessory.com/motv3cla.html." I've had after-market ones fail after a couple of years so now I prefer OEM. Use "gift4u" as a coupon code for another 5% off. U.S. mail shipping is pretty cheap from them. $1.95 on Total under $5 $2.95 on Total $5-$20. I have no affiliation with them, but I've been buying from them for a long time. Cool, thanks, I'll check 'em out. |
#71
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OT - cell phone advice
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote:
Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). My wife and I both told him that it sounded nuts to us that they would design it to work like that. Turned out he was using a cell-phone charger with the same plug. When he switched to the charger that came with the unit everything was fine. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" |
#72
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OT - cell phone advice
Rick Brandt wrote:
I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. Ah, the old Motorola "Unauthorized Charger" display. A standard Motorola USB charger puts ~1.4vdc onto the x pin (the 5th pin) of the mini USB plug. A Motorola phone looks for that voltage and will display "Unauthorized Charger" if it doesn't see it. So you can't charge your phone from a USB port using a standard USB to Mini USB cable (though if you have Motorola Phone Tools running on the computer it will work). I don't know if Motorola did this to sell more of their own chargers (if so it didn't work because the after-market chargers quickly figured out the necessary circuit) or for some other reason. Motorola mini USB chargers will charge non-Motorola phones, but non-Motorola compatible mini-USB chargers will not charge Motorola phones. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). The GPS units have larger batteries and higher current chargers. There's enough current to charge the battery, but not to charge the battery and operate the unit at the same time. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" Unfortunately that's true, though it certainly would be possible to build a high-current mini-USB charger with Motorola compatibility. It would just cost more to build. |
#73
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OT - cell phone advice
Rick Brandt wrote:
On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote: Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). My wife and I both told him that it sounded nuts to us that they would design it to work like that. Turned out he was using a cell-phone charger with the same plug. When he switched to the charger that came with the unit everything was fine. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" Of course it's compatible chargers. What I'd like to see is the ability of any phone to charge of any USB port on any equipment. TDD |
#74
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OT - cell phone advice
SMS wrote:
Rick Brandt wrote: I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. Ah, the old Motorola "Unauthorized Charger" display. A standard Motorola USB charger puts ~1.4vdc onto the x pin (the 5th pin) of the mini USB plug. A Motorola phone looks for that voltage and will display "Unauthorized Charger" if it doesn't see it. So you can't charge your phone from a USB port using a standard USB to Mini USB cable (though if you have Motorola Phone Tools running on the computer it will work). I don't know if Motorola did this to sell more of their own chargers (if so it didn't work because the after-market chargers quickly figured out the necessary circuit) or for some other reason. Motorola mini USB chargers will charge non-Motorola phones, but non-Motorola compatible mini-USB chargers will not charge Motorola phones. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). The GPS units have larger batteries and higher current chargers. There's enough current to charge the battery, but not to charge the battery and operate the unit at the same time. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" Unfortunately that's true, though it certainly would be possible to build a high-current mini-USB charger with Motorola compatibility. It would just cost more to build. I can see a little inline converter for the Motorola phones that would supply the required voltage. A little lump in the cable or a simple little pod with USB ports on either side that any USB cable would fit. TDD |
#75
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OT - cell phone advice
On Aug 13, 1:22*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article , *mike wrote: All the cell phone companies have it set up where they get their gallon of blood out of you per year one way or another. *Don't be fooled. Since so many other people have cell phones, just paint up a big sign for them to keep in their car that says "CALL 911". Mythbusters should try this out and see whether it actually works. Remember the cardboard accordion windshield inserts to protect your dashboard and interior from sunlight, that on the reverse side said "Need help, call police?" I always wondered whether that actually worked. It probably depends on how big your boobs are. But if no one comes, set out into traffic a few times and someone will call the cops. |
#76
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OT - cell phone advice
The Daring Dufas wrote:
Rick Brandt wrote: On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote: Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). My wife and I both told him that it sounded nuts to us that they would design it to work like that. Turned out he was using a cell-phone charger with the same plug. When he switched to the charger that came with the unit everything was fine. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" Of course it's compatible chargers. What I'd like to see is the ability of any phone to charge of any USB port on any equipment. And with a standard cable, no proprietary cables. You already can pretty much charge any phone off of a USB port with a non-standard cable sold by after-market accessory manufacturers. All phones use single cell li-ion batteries of around 3.7V, and are able to charge at 500mA or less (the official USB spec on how much current a standard USB port must be able to supply even though most can supply more). |
#77
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OT - cell phone advice
The Daring Dufas wrote:
I can see a little inline converter for the Motorola phones that would supply the required voltage. A little lump in the cable or a simple little pod with USB ports on either side that any USB cable would fit. It's a simple fix, just a voltage divider with resistors is all that's needed. But the fifth wire of the mini-USB plug needs to be in the cable and connected, not just left unconnected since the standard USB plug is only 4 pins. |
#78
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OT - cell phone advice
SMS wrote:
The Daring Dufas wrote: Rick Brandt wrote: On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote: Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). My wife and I both told him that it sounded nuts to us that they would design it to work like that. Turned out he was using a cell-phone charger with the same plug. When he switched to the charger that came with the unit everything was fine. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" Of course it's compatible chargers. What I'd like to see is the ability of any phone to charge of any USB port on any equipment. And with a standard cable, no proprietary cables. You already can pretty much charge any phone off of a USB port with a non-standard cable sold by after-market accessory manufacturers. All phones use single cell li-ion batteries of around 3.7V, and are able to charge at 500mA or less (the official USB spec on how much current a standard USB port must be able to supply even though most can supply more). I have several USB chargers that will plug into the cigarette lighter in a vehicle. I wonder what will become of the lighter when everyone quits smoking? *snicker* TDD |
#79
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OT - cell phone advice
The Daring Dufas wrote:
SMS wrote: The Daring Dufas wrote: Rick Brandt wrote: On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:54:16 -0500, The Daring Dufas wrote: Believe it or not, the manufacturers have actually gotten together to set a standard for chargers before the government does it for them, that is everyone except Apple. It looks like it will be the micro USB. It's something that needed to be done years ago. I have had one case though where the plugs from two chargers were the same (they would both fit my phone), but only one would actually charge it. The other caused the display to read "unrecognized charger" or something to that affect. My son had a similar experience with a Garmin gps unit. He was telling us he couldn't use it while the charger was plugged in (the charger did charge the battery properly). My wife and I both told him that it sounded nuts to us that they would design it to work like that. Turned out he was using a cell-phone charger with the same plug. When he switched to the charger that came with the unit everything was fine. So "compatible plug" != "compatible charger" Of course it's compatible chargers. What I'd like to see is the ability of any phone to charge of any USB port on any equipment. And with a standard cable, no proprietary cables. You already can pretty much charge any phone off of a USB port with a non-standard cable sold by after-market accessory manufacturers. All phones use single cell li-ion batteries of around 3.7V, and are able to charge at 500mA or less (the official USB spec on how much current a standard USB port must be able to supply even though most can supply more). I have several USB chargers that will plug into the cigarette lighter in a vehicle. I wonder what will become of the lighter when everyone quits smoking? *snicker* TDD They will put labels that state "accessory power" on them and fit them with a tethered or hinged cap instead of a lighter. Many vehicles are already made that way. |
#80
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OT - cell phone advice
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