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I have an idea!!!!

Just imagine this piece of technology.

Imagine a bluetooth enabled clock that will let you know what time it is on your smartphone!!!
 
It would sure be cool if Belkin updated there WEMO devices and Honeywell updated there wifi thermostats.

Waiting for a software update, but at least the apps work well.
 
I'm really excited about the energy saving potential of this device. I'm sure it totally makes up for the manufacturing costs, the always-on bluetooth connection, and having it delivered to my front door from a factory in china.
 
I just read everything I could about the 'Powerslayer' on the website of Velvet wire because I was sure that I was missing something.

After straining to understand what this fancy power supply is I have realized that this is probably one of the most questionable products I have ever seen.

A quote:

Vampires lurk in your devices.
Adaptiv™ software stops energy vampires that lurk in your devices from sucking unused power from your wall outlets. With Powerslayer, you never have to unplug your charger again.

So basically, this is a power supply that stops generating DC when you unplug your phone. Unlike most "wall warts" that will continue to draw some current to product DC that is not utilized.

Is that all this thing does? If it is then I am amazed that there is a market for this device.
 
The switch from full charge to trickle charge makes sense. Around here, we had a bunch of larger batteries fail because of 'trickle chargers' somehow over charging the batteries. Things like dirt bike, tractor, and lawn tractor batteries mysteriously failing, all over one season. I now put them on a light timer so the don't ruin the damn batteries, I hope.

You are right, here's what's happening:
Outdoor tools and vehicles use NiCad or NiMH batteries mostly, with some Lithium Ion ones for newer/expensive power tools.
All of the NiCad and NiMH chargers that come with the initial purchase are cheap-ass ones that don't regulate the trickle charger properly, and do exactly as you say, the equivalent of boiling the battery dry over a season.
Lithium Ion batteries require a smarter charger in the first place, but it's still possible to cheap out on the circuitry (wasting power even though the battery is fully charged).
Phone and pad batteries, because they are so small, have a much bigger problem with heat buildup (boom), so chargers have to be much smarter anyway. If they didn't, phones would be going boom at your bedside.
Vehicle batteries have the benefit of ambient air cooling.
 
I don't get it, am I missing something here? What on Earth do you need a "Smart charger" for?!

I already have smart chargers - for my AA, AAA, 18650, 26150 and 24-volt mower batteries - that detect the voltage of the batteries and determine whether they can be charged (or are defective) as well as when to reduce the charging to a trickle.

All of the 25 Ryobi tools I own have smart chargers for the 18-volt batteries.

Smart chargers are better than chargers on a timer which may shut off before reaching full charge.

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I have an idea!!!!

Just imagine this piece of technology.

Imagine a bluetooth enabled clock that will let you know what time it is on your smartphone!!!

Go for it! Become an instant billionaire!
 
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I have an idea!!!!

Just imagine this piece of technology.

Imagine a bluetooth enabled clock that will let you know what time it is on your smartphone!!!

Genius!

I would buy your clock over this whatever-it-is Velvet-whatever. At least you could describe what your device does.
 
So, what is this for exactly?

I'm guessing this BT appcessory device serves as a USB socket, and maybe it measures the current flow and smartly shuts itself down to save energy. It's not a lot of energy, but every little bit counts.

Logic is practically free these days, so all wall-wart AC adapters should read this product as a bit of a warning that they will soon be obsolete.

If all mankind had some smarts in their AC adapters, probably we'd have enough electrical energy to use in a useful way instead of just releasing it as heat and waste.


Having said all that, yeah, you'd think the article would spit out what the thing does, I am just guessing here as to what this USB charging device with BT is

Check out my iWater Wizard product (it's also bluetooth):

http://www.iwaterwizard.com

Or check out my ZenWheels Micro Car, another MFi Bluetooth creation of mine:

http://www.zenwheels.com

Kudo's to getting some media coverage for this USB charging device with Bluetooth guys, but maybe have a look at my stuff and see if you can also place Plantraco products on the forums prominently, it could increase our sales.
 
The switch from full charge to trickle charge makes sense. Around here, we had a bunch of larger batteries fail because of 'trickle chargers' somehow over charging the batteries. Things like dirt bike, tractor, and lawn tractor batteries mysteriously failing, all over one season. I now put them on a light timer so the don't ruin the damn batteries, I hope.

But my first reaction was 'Ah, another product in search of a market', yet I now do unplug most electronic devices when I'm gone for more than a day or two. Phantom power usage is HUGE with some devices, and coupled with blown batteries, yikes, it gets expensive. I was horrified with how much the AT&T/Cisco DVR sucks when it's not being used...

Yes, trickle charge is vital to battery life. That's why apple products do it very well. I'm also pretty sure you can't charge dirt bike, tractor, and lawn tractor batteries on USB.
 
I have an idea!!!!

Just imagine this piece of technology.

Imagine a bluetooth enabled clock that will let you know what time it is on your smartphone!!!

You're missing a trick here. Surely you need an iWatch app, so you can watch the time on your bluetooth clock on your iWatch as well. :p

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What brand and where did you buy it?

Anker charger at Amazon, UK. They have 40 Watt and 25 Watt; I would always go for the 40 Watt (using chargers near their limit for long time is usually not a good idea).
 
You are right, here's what's happening:
Outdoor tools and vehicles use NiCad or NiMH batteries mostly, with some Lithium Ion ones for newer/expensive power tools.
All of the NiCad and NiMH chargers that come with the initial purchase are cheap-ass ones that don't regulate the trickle charger properly, and do exactly as you say, the equivalent of boiling the battery dry over a season.
Lithium Ion batteries require a smarter charger in the first place, but it's still possible to cheap out on the circuitry (wasting power even though the battery is fully charged).
Phone and pad batteries, because they are so small, have a much bigger problem with heat buildup (boom), so chargers have to be much smarter anyway. If they didn't, phones would be going boom at your bedside.
Vehicle batteries have the benefit of ambient air cooling.

True, but I was talking about the sealed lead/acid batteries (VRLA) types. Trickle chargers seem to have burned through three batteries from three different devices in one winter storage season.

But yeah, I'm surprised where LiON batteries are being used. They are nasty, as they have the ability to have a cascading thermal failure (thermal runaway). I'd not want to have a pacemaker or other implantable device with a LiON battery. and the 'Dreamliners' use a lithium cobalt oxide battery that is even more susceptible to thermal runaway. 'Nightmareliner' more like... Perhaps they should make it possible to 'dump the core' like in the Star Trek TV shows. :D

Back to our regularly scheduled program...

This charger sounds like those 'power pad' chargers, in a way. They were 'The Next Great Advancement In Battery Charging' (insert overly dramatic classical music here) and they kinda failed from the looks of things. The local stores all clearanced them out ages ago.

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Yes, trickle charge is vital to battery life. That's why apple products do it very well. I'm also pretty sure you can't charge dirt bike, tractor, and lawn tractor batteries on USB.

It would be impractical... The cables would have to be really long...
 
wow, so many crazy ideas.

why even have a phone if Bluetooth connected devices are gonna be the "in thing" the amount that we need to take our phones out of our pockets will be less and less the more BLE/Bluetooth devices we have.

Does anyone look at their screen anymore ??
 
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