Charging cell-phone battery - RC-Monster Forums

BrianG · **Charging cell-phone battery -** 05.10.2007, 08:10 PM

My work-assigned cell-phone has really crappy battery life IMO; and it's only ~1 month old. I leave it on 24/7 and if even I don't use it to talk all that much, I only get about 2 days of life before the battery bars start going down (and when they start going, down, it happens quick).

One day, I left the charger at work and the batt was almost dead. So, when I got home, I pulled the battery out and hooked it up to my Xtrema charger. The cell (1s @ 850mAh) says it is a 3.7v cell, but I set the CC/CV threshold to 4.1v/cell just in case. So, I charged her up at ~0.5C rate for about 2 hours. By the way, the starting voltage was 3.4v so the cutoff is kinda high IMO, but considering the discharge rate, not bad I guess.

Anyway, I was able to get 4 days of charge before I had to charge it again! :dft002: This tells me the charging circuit in the phones probably don't use a real CC/CV cycle - probably just the CC stage.

Has anyone else tried this? Or am I the only one bored enough?

squeeforever · 05.10.2007, 09:38 PM

I think your the only one bored enough. :p

BrianG · 05.10.2007, 09:39 PM

Hmmm, I don't really like the term bored. I think I prefer the term activity-challenged. :)

coolhandcountry · 05.10.2007, 10:18 PM

Hmmm. That is strange. Have you check the voltage out put on the cell phone charger. :D

BrianG · 05.10.2007, 10:28 PM

Way ahead of you man! The cell charger is simply a mini USB connector. So, it is sending a regulated 5v to the phone. That means the charger circuits are in the phone.

BP-Revo · 05.11.2007, 01:26 AM

Yea, I'm quite sure its a CC only for charging a phone.

Not really a problem for me, since I get about 3-5 days of hard use on a charge. This is an average of ~30 minutes of talking a day and listening to music with it for a good 4-5 hours a day (I have iTunes on it).

I can't imagine the time I get on a true CC/CV charge.

Brian, maybe your secret to being a zillionaire is making some sort of "true CC/CV" charger for cell phones :p

05.11.2007, 01:41 AM

Brain, I think you need a new RC vehicle to work on.

BrianG · 05.11.2007, 10:00 AM

I actually asked the cellphone place (US Cell) if they had some type of cradle that the battery could sit in. They gave me a blank look and asked why (:sigh:), soooo I went through the explanation, which simply resulted in an even more blank look.

Yeah, maybe I do need another vehicle to work on. Actually, I'll probably re-do the Jato for use with lipos so the total weight and weight distribution is a little better. I'll probably run this in the "mod truck" class at the local track's Wed night races. Since I basically cannot drive well, I'll have to make the truck handle as good as possible. :)

coolhandcountry · 05.11.2007, 10:52 AM

Did you notice a better signal with stronger battery in phone?

05.11.2007, 03:04 PM

Interesting. Let us know what phone it is. :)

I once charged my camcorder Li pack on my Triton charger, but didn't notice a difference in battery life.

BrianG · 05.11.2007, 04:46 PM

I didn't notice better range, but then again, I live in Metro Des Moines, so reception is rarely an issue. :)

Hmm, the phone is a Motorola v323. No, it's not flashy like a Razor (or whatever it's called), but I don't want a phone that will take pictures, play music, wash dishes, mow the lawn, etc. Personally, the more bells and whistles something has, the greater the chances of something going wrong.

A camcorder battery is a little different. It's possible that the makers actually put a decent charging circuit in it. Also, cell phones are kinda cheap considering the technology in them and the size. The makers probably cut corners where possible to keep prices lower while still offering the list of features they have.

05.11.2007, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianG

I didn't notice better range, but then again, I live in Metro Des Moines, so reception is rarely an issue. :)

Hmm, the phone is a Motorola v323. No, it's not flashy like a Razor (or whatever it's called), but I don't want a phone that will take pictures, play music, wash dishes, mow the lawn, etc. Personally, the more bells and whistles something has, the greater the chances of something going wrong.

A camcorder battery is a little different. It's possible that the makers actually put a decent charging circuit in it. Also, cell phones are kinda cheap considering the technology in them and the size. The makers probably cut corners where possible to keep prices lower while still offering the list of features they have.

lol razrs, i got one, not that gr8 imo, i have had it a tiny while and i need a i phone lol

but u could be on to something, my moms fone does that to, where it dies quick..... so maybe u could be a million air:018:

squeeforever · 05.11.2007, 10:09 PM

I had a Razr and didn't like it...I only had it for a few weeks before I got the Sony Ericsson W810i. I like it MUCH better.

05.11.2007, 10:14 PM

yup yup

BrianG · 05.11.2007, 10:28 PM

Well, anyway, I like the phone I have since it seems pretty solid (I'm hard on phones - I've had 6 in the last 4 years). The only extra feature it has that I like is the alarm clock. I set three alarms about 3 minutes apart so that if I hit snooze on the first one, the second goes on a minute later, and so on. It simply irritates me awake. :)