iLounge

1

Interesting… Thanks.

One more question though.  If this is an issue with the *iPod’s* own accessory detection, does the Belkin AutoKit also NOT charge the iPod directly, or can it?

Posted by Jerrod H. in TX on August 13, 2003 at 12:14 PM (PST)

2

i will have to try it with my battery pack.

Posted by mac_gladdy on August 13, 2003 at 12:20 PM (PST)

3

this is sooo interesting. i think im gonna get myself a belkin battery pack. cheapest is around $47. Look it up at [url=http://www.pricegrabber.com]http://www.pricegrabber.com[/url]

Posted by phester in TX on August 13, 2003 at 12:27 PM (PST)

4

I’m lost. Why would you want it to charge the i-pod? Isn’t the battery pack used when the internal power runs out on the move? Don’t you want to save your AA batteries for those occaisions?

Posted by Chris Matchett on August 13, 2003 at 12:41 PM (PST)

5

Chris… an example.

You’re out camping for a week.  (No electricity, of course).  During the week, you take a couple hikes a day, and you don’t want to carry around iPod + battery pack.  So, you can leave the belkin and the AAs in your tent and charge overnight, as if you were plugged in.

Many similar situations apply.

Posted by Jerrod H. in TX on August 13, 2003 at 12:57 PM (PST)

6

Good answer Azdude.  Chris, its really a matter of choice or opinion.  Either way, it’s always good to know the full possibilities of the accessories we’ve purchased for our Ipods.

Posted by jsmoove7 on August 13, 2003 at 1:02 PM (PST)

7

Its good to know that the dock will bypass the ipod accessory id.  Maybe we will see some ‘hacking’ of future products to work through the dock.

Posted by freezone on August 13, 2003 at 2:39 PM (PST)

8

The auto kit is a blessing.  Its builtin amp is pretty cool and you get line-out volume.

Posted by tetro on August 13, 2003 at 3:33 PM (PST)

9

Thanks.
Interesting to see how many full charges you could get out of a set of AA then.

Posted by Chris Matchett on August 13, 2003 at 8:02 PM (PST)

10

And Belkin is now charging $70 for this $1.98 piece of plastic?  Wow!

Posted by Obadiah on August 14, 2003 at 4:25 AM (PST)

11

I have a Belkin battery pack. My intent is to use it backpackiing for a week. I do not want to use AA batteries.

I used NIMH recharageable for a test. They lasted about 15 hours. I’m not quite sure how long because the 4 LED’s on the Belkin are calibrated for AA’s which have a couple tenths of a volt more voltage than rechargeables. You have more charge than the LED’s show. I still had two LED’s on after about 8-10 hours.

If you use NIMH’s don’t charge them with a standard NICAD charger or else they will only run the iPod for about 5 hours (my first attempt).

I don’t recommend charging the iPod via the Belkin unit for this kind of use. The reason is that—for every unit of charge you put in a battery, there is a loss. NIMH only get out about 66% of what you put in. You waste 1/3 of your battery power.
See this site:  http://www.powerstream.com/NiMH.htm

I got a small pouch at REI that holds the iPod/Belkin combo around my neck. It works great.

Steven

Posted by Steven on August 14, 2003 at 7:05 PM (PST)

12

so you HAVE to have the dock present on your camping trip or whatever? I don’t want to bring the dock, can’t someone find a way to charge the ipod with the pack DIRECTLY? Basically hack it to disable the “only recognize dock accessory” feature?

What’s the point of “only recognizing the dock”? Is that supposed to be some kind of feature?? Also, how come you can charge it directly to the dock cable (without the dock), if the only thing it recognizes is the dock? or is the dock the only “Accessory”?

And if so, why only the dock? Why limit to the dock?

Posted by spirit on August 17, 2003 at 4:27 PM (PST)

13

STEVEN, what bag is that? The REI bag, I would like one!! THanks

Posted by spirit on August 17, 2003 at 4:30 PM (PST)

14

Does anybody know if the Belkin Battery pack will power the ipod if the internal batter has died?

I know it would be bulky, but at least it would still be useable.

Posted by Jill on September 2, 2003 at 9:29 PM (PST)

15

I believe that’s what it’s for.

Posted by Jerrod H. in TX on September 3, 2003 at 3:08 AM (PST)

16

No, what I mean is completely died, as in dead,can’t be replaced! I believe you can’t replace the internal battery, so when it goes, the ipods no good. Would the battery pack work with a completely dead internal battery?

Posted by Jill on September 3, 2003 at 3:12 AM (PST)

17

The Belkin WILL power the iPod if its internal battery is dead.

I don’t have the dock present when I’m backpacking. The Belkin has rubber suctions that piggyback it to the iPod. The Belkin’s connector plugs into the iPod. Me and my iPod in its REI “Lowe Alpine 4 inch X 6 inch by 2 inch case can trot off into the mountains for about 20-25 hours (close guess).

Here are some links for REPLACING the iPod’s internal battery:
http://www.ipodbattery.com/

http://www.pdasmart.com/

http://www.ipodlounge.com/#smalldogbattery

http://deep.urbanturban.no:16080/ipod/disassembly/

Posted by Steven Sanders on September 5, 2003 at 12:59 PM (PST)

18

I didn’t understand the “dead” question…
If the iPod battery is dead (as opposed to discharged) and you want to piggyback a Belkin as a permanant solution to powering the iPod, it should work IF the dead internal battery is not shorted.

[ Tech discussion: Older NICAD’s sometimes shorted out when they went dead. Acutally, they were shorting all the time, but when charged, the shorts would quickly “unshort” as the battery “anealed” the short. A discharged battery can’t “unshort” anyying.] 

I don’t know about the NIMH in the iPod.

Just take the iPod to an Apple store that sells Belkins + 4 batteries & see if it’ll power your iPod with the dead battery. If it does, the internal battery is not shorted. Buy it.

Posted by Steven Sanders on September 5, 2003 at 1:43 PM (PST)

19

Thanks for the help. The internal battery doesn’t last long (on the way out I think!) anymore, so I was looking for an alternative to buying a new iPod and wondered if the battery pack would keep the iPod powered….better than throwing it out. I’ve looked at   the first website you listed for a replacement internal battery but they don’t ship outside the U.S or Canada, so I’ll probably try the battery pack! (ordered from the U.S at Smalldog) Apple Stores don’t sell them here. (Australia)

Posted by Jill on September 5, 2003 at 10:20 PM (PST)

20

I recently purchased the belkin battery pack and I attempted to charge it after I read this article.  The ipod shows no increase of battery charge.  Is there something special you have to do or should it charge automatically?

Posted by Skye on April 15, 2004 at 11:30 AM (PST)