Back up battery for camping

[masterswimmer]

Anyone ever try the Biolite Stove?

[thughes]

...

[big flash]

nice info LT!

i use one of these that shows up on woot cheap often:
http://www.woot.com/offers/gorilla-1...w-led-screen-8

works great camping/hiking/hunting/rockingthebaby

[ADK2ndClub]

Sorry, but your information is out of date. The USB Specifications can be different depending on what is providing the data and/or power, and the newer devices can deliver a LOT more power than in the past.

Some USB 2.0 and a LOT of USB 3.0 spec devices can and ARE designed to charge at much higher voltages and wattages than what the PC's USB specs are for the 2.0 and 3.0 ports. Most of these devices come with their own special AC/USB chargers in the box, and with a very high quality USB cable using much thicker gauge wire. A good example of this is the ASUS Zenphone 2 , which has a 9volt/2amp 18 Watt AC/USB Adapter for rapid charging of it's 3 Amp Hour Lithium Polymer Battery.

USB 3.1 specs up the ante all the way up to 100 WATTS of power with 10 Gpbs data throughput! Read the below article from ExtremeTech for further information.

USB-C vs. USB 3.1: What’s the difference?

SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps (USB 3.1 Gen 2) from the USB-IF

Sorry I was revering to "universal" nor proprietary. All the ones I have handled at work (hundreds of models) that are market "Universal" are rated to 5V because they do not know what device you are plugging into, so they keep the voltage typically at 5V so they don't runt the risk of getting angry calls by consumers who ruined there device, wattage and amperage they can amp up and not worry about because they will only consume what they are capable of. When I worked for Fujitsu in 2012 the ISO was 5V. (ever plug a point of sale hand scanner rated for 9V into a port jumpered for 12V? it smokes instantly)

They way I read your original post was you replaced your factory charger with a universal and its now charging faster and it was because of increased volts. Yes higher grade thicker cables will transfer more efficiently and with less voltage loss (as DC degrades quite fast, which is why we all have AC current in our walls), but all the universals I have seen are at 5V for liability reasons, the aftermarket ones for specific devices that may vary in voltage is marked specifically for that product. And I was under the impression that this thread was for "universal".

[Lord Timelord]

The newer universal AC/USB ones are backward compatible with all devices. They have an intelligent circuit in them that determines what the device is asking for. So it'll only send what the device is asking for, so we all avoid the dreaded "what's that burning smell???...DOH!".

For example, my Anker battery will send up to 3 Amps of juice, but only if the device asks for it. It also limits output to 5 volts. However some of the new AC/USB universal adapters have the capability to change their output voltage and wattage to meet the demand of the device that is attached to them. No doubt we'll see the capability added to the portable batteries after they figure out how to add the intelligent circuitry without making their prices a lot higher. The USB 3.1 Spec is going to be sweet once fully implemented.

[harleyhutch]

Thanks LT, great to have your knowledge floating around on the site.
FUAC