My 15-year-old car has an an old-style key with the stick of metal like this: this. I’ve already replaced the coin battery in the key once from a kit on ebay, but that died after a while. So now I’m not sure if they charger in the key is broken, the charger in the steering column is broken, or if the battery was not the right kind.
If I try this kind of key on a charge pad, will any charge pad work? Does the orientation of the key on the pad matter? I realized I also have one of those Sphero robot ball chargers which I think is also an induction charger. It’s like a little bowl and would be the perfect shape to be a key holder.
If you have certain BMW models, it might charge inductively. Would need to know some specs, but as long as the battery isn’t dead, it’s possible an inductive phone charger would work.
That said, if you replaced the battery on your own and it’s not a rechargeable one, you are totally out of luck.
So somebody please 'splain me something to fight my iggorance, because I don’t think I’ve ever used or seen a “cordless” charger before.
Exactly what part of this whole system is “cordless”?
You plug the charger into a wall socket? That sounds cordful and conventional to me.
And you put your phone into the cradle? Isn’t that how a conventional charger works?
Does this mean that the cradle has no direct metal-to-metal contact with the bottom of the phone? Is that where the “cord” isn’t?
Oh wait, does this refer to phones that you charge by plugging a cord into a mini-USB port (or not)? (As I mentioned in a nearby thread, I don’t keep current with the latest tech all the time. I’m still using an old un-smart cell phone, but it does get charged by plugging a wire from the charger into it. Thus, the charger has no cradle to plug the phone into.)
The charger has a cord, but you just lay your phone or watch on a pad to charge it.
No need to place it in a cradle.
It’s really a solution in search of a problem…
I can pick up my phone in the middle of the night, look at it and put it back on the charging pad, instead of having to keep it tethered to a charging cable or disconnect it from the charging cable and then have to reconnect it in the dark. Yes, it’s an unnecessary convenience but I like it.
The charging pad is connected to the electrical outlet with a cord, but you do that once and it’s all set. When it’s time to charge your phone, you never have to fish around for a cord and then connect/disconnect that cord to your phone. The convenience lies in quick, one handed operation: just set your phone down approximately in the center of the charger pad, and it starts charging. here’s a video review of one; the disembodied hand sets a phone down on the charger at 1:12, and it starts charging right away. Done charging? Pick up the phone and walk away.
Not all smartphones have this feature. But it’s popular enough so that Apple started incorporating it into their iPhones starting with the iPhone 8.
I’m reminded of the story about Michael Okuda (who co-wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) being asked “How do the Heisenberg compensators work?”
To which he reportedly responded, “They work just fine, thank you.”
Weirdly, though, I don’t think Apple sells a charging pad under its own brand. (I was at an Apple Store a few months ago and they had charging pads, I think Belkin brand, but none of their own.) It seemed odd for them to abandon the market.
Is it possible to charge your Tesla with some average brand-less home cordless phone charger? How much time would it take? Or how many would you need to charge it in some reasonable time? I’d guess some compatibility problems could also occur.
Ignoring the fact that the Tesla doesn’t have an inductive coil to receive the charge:
The comes-with-the-car Tesla mobile charging adapter can do 32 amps at 220 volts. A phone inductive fast charger does 1 amp at 9 volts. That’s a difference of something like 7000 watts. The inductive phone charger would provide about 0.03 miles of charging per hour. On the other hand, I think the Tesla mobile charger can charge a phone in 0.8 seconds.
In my experience, the USB jack is the first part of a phone that breaks or wears out. If you mostly use a wireless charger, you won’t wear out the USB jack.
That’s not how mine is oriented. It’s not a flat pad. It’s a circular base, with a flat piece about the size of my iPhone attached to the base and standing up at a bit of an angle. That’s what I mean by the cradle.
But it is wireless in that there is no wire connection between the phone and the charging unit. I just set it in the charger, standing up against the flat piece, and it charges.
And thanks to those who answered my newbie questions with your explanations, including that link with the pics.
Interesting that multiple charging platforms by multiple manufacturers, and multiple kinds of devices from phones to watches to Teslas, can all be used compatibly, and that a single charger can charge several devices at once. Whoda imagined it? Next thing you know, we’ll all start agreeing on which way to hang the toilet paper.
Still, surprising that Apple doesn’t offer (and require) their own charging device for their own mobile devices.
I suppose one of these days I’ll need to get with the program and update myself to at least mid-to-late 20th century, for starters. I’ll get right on it as soon as I finish my current project of installing indoor plumbing.
My '16 Avalon has a built in charging pad in front of the gear selector on the console. Very handy, until I bought a galaxy S10+ which does not fit in the allotted space.:smack:
How much time would it take? Or how many would you need to charge it in some reasonable time? I’d guess some compatibility problems could also occur.