Battery Pack

[sexyleb]

I intend to get the 60 gb (x5 will be primarily Video playback) so i need a bit more battery life. Anyone know where to get/how to make a battery pack? Also, how much life do battery packs have, and can they be used to charge the x5 battery

[tsayin]

If you want video playback that much, you're probably better off wating for the A2 with a better screen.

[Aewon]

Isn't there going to be an X5L 60GB?

[Fido]

No, for the same reason as there is no M3L 40GB, it would be too big. (It would be 27mm at the thick part, that's over an inch!)

[Giant Cow of Death]

I was looking into buying the 20 or 30gb X5 and making battery packs also. The reason being I wouldn't need the extra battery life often enough to justify the bigger size.

Anyway there is a battery making guide on MisticRiver here: http://www.misticriver.net/boards/showthread.php?t=7695

Though you still need to figure out what type of connector the X5 uses.

[Pepe]

I made one for my m3. If you search for it you can find a picture of it somewhere in this forum. To make one is not hard!

[jw0613]

i agree with tsayin.. screen size matters alot when it comes to video playback...

[bradavon]

There is a link on the forums to a cheap battery pack you can buy, much easier than making your own.

[Fido]

Wasn't that europe only? What about the good people in the U S of A?

[bradavon]

Pass sorry. If it's available in Europe I'm sure it will be in America. It wasn't made by Cowon so I'm sure others are available there.

[Fido]

I'm sure there's one available in the US, but where?

[bradavon]

Here we are found on this site using the search engine, it takes 4 AA batteries: http://www.dapstore.com/pd-1149252326.htm?categoryId=15

They ship worldwide for 16€ extra (only 6€ more than Europe), here: http://www.dapstore.com/discl.htm , in case you need it: http://www.worldlingo.com/en/websites/url_translator.html

Making it 32€ in total, not bad really. This definitely works with the M3 (according to this site) and I read the X5 has the same connections.

I found it here which also says for the iRiver DAPs it lasts for 30 hours, that's loads:

http://www.iaudiophile.net/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1485&p=3

You can also buy a battery upgrade for the iRiver H1xx/H3xx series to take it from 16 hours to 24 hours (lovely):

http://www.dapstore.com/pd1097579036.htm?categoryId=2

There is one for the Ipod also. I would have thought you void the warranty if you open them but it's tempting.

[Yasakani]

So would the battery pack be only be used as a portable charger?
Or would it be used like what some people have on their discmans, having it play and use the power of the battery pack at the same time? Because in the Pre-Review of the X5, Austin says that it cannot charge and play at the same time.

[austinv]

i said it cannot be charging FROM USB and play at the same time. :)

no problem with charging from AC power and playing music at the same time, of course..

[bradavon]

So would the battery pack be only be used as a portable charger?
From what I understand it isn't a portable charger but more of a portable power source.

I'm hoping it could be a charger though, surely this is possible?

[chino9334]

Does the power has to go first through the battery? I once opened an iPod and removed the battery and connected it to the DC wll adapter and worked fine. I hope this is all the same for all DAP's. It if works like an alternate source of energy that would make the battery life go longer (not per charge but overall, hope that you understand).

[bradavon]

Sorry I don't. What would the purpose be?

[chino9334]

Li-Ion batteries have a life span. If the battery is not used and the DC adapter is used, less wear can occur to the battery. For example, if you listen to music on your room and use the battery to play it and use the 14 hours or so than you would have to recharge it (meaning that the battery has to go on another recharge cycle). But since you are on your room and hava access to electricity, the battery won't have to go through the cycle. I hope this clarifies a little bit. If someone undestands what I please try to explain better.

[tsayin]

Li-Ion batteries have a lifespan of 2-3 years after manufacture (they will no longer hold more than 60% of their rated capacity at that point) no matter how they are used. You aren't going to make that much worse with heavy usage, so it's silly to jump through hoops to try to protect it. That mattered with Ni-Cds, which were much easier to mess up, and didn't have the limited shelf-life of Li-Ions.

When you plug in an external battery pack, it looks like an AC adaptor to the DAP, so it _will_ charge from it, and then continue to run from it after the internal batteries are fully charged, just like it would if you plugged it into the wall.

[Fido]

Actually, I remember hearing that if you keep it at 40% charge or something it lasts longer. But I wouldn't worry about it.

[jw0613]

yes.. i think most people will move on to another device in 2-3 years..

[Fido]

Or pay 50$ for a replacement.
And while your at it you could buy a higher capacity battery too.

[bradavon]

Won't those break the warranty though Fido? or do Ipod, Cowon etc . . . sell them?

Li-Ion batteries have a life span. If the battery is not used and the DC adapter is used, less wear can occur to the battery. For example, if you listen to music on your room and use the battery to play it and use the 14 hours or so than you would have to recharge it (meaning that the battery has to go on another recharge cycle). But since you are on your room and hava access to electricity, the battery won't have to go through the cycle.
Thanks.

That makes sense. Doesn't the battery switch off surely when plugged in and fully

When you plug in an external battery pack, it looks like an AC adaptor to the DAP, so it _will_ charge from it, and then continue to run from it after the internal batteries are fully charged, just like it would if you plugged it into the wall.
I was thinking that would be the case. I just wanted confirmation, excellent.

I wonder how many times you could charge the dap from the same 4 batteries???

[Fido]

You can get the job done professionally, or do it yourself, it would probably be even cheaper if you did it yourself. In 2-3 years your warrenty would expire anyways, so it doesn't matter.

The li-ion battery would not last any less if it was in constant use or not.

The battery packs are supposed to add 30 hours with the iRiver (if the X5 uses less energy then longer)

[bradavon]

Is that from one set of AA batteries?

[Fido]

I think it is 4 AA batteries.

[esca]

newb question; exactly how does this thing work? it looks like x5 needs a 5 volt DC how do you get 5 V from four 1.5 V AA batteries?

[tsayin]

4 AA batteries gives between 3.6 and 6 volts depending on how far they are discharged. You could probably only use them down to ~4.5 volts, but it should work. At most you would need to stick an LDO in the battery pack.

[bradavon]

ldo?

[tsayin]

Low Dropout Regulator. Would be able to provide 5v from a 5v and up input. Wastes some power and won't give you 5v from 3v, but it's really cheap.