Like many others on this forum, I’m disappointed that the Clip doesn’t ship with an AC wall charger (and think that as a cost-cutting measure it would be much better to omit crappy earbuds -which many people will replace anyway - than to omit an AC charger from the package). But as things stand, I’m looking for an AC charger for my 4gb clip, and I think it’s worth having a general thread about technical spec requirements for an AC charger for use with the Clip.
I have found Sansa’s customer support entirely unhelpful on this count - they either know nothing of general requirements or won’t say, which may be due to liability reasons, as they don’t want to be responsible for players that die from charging the wrong way, and don’t want to have to police or test all available chargers.
Some baseline info, some of which I know from experience, some that I’m assuming and other that I’ve learned from various threads on this fourm:
The memory capacity of the Clip has nothing to do with its charging - requirements are the same for 1g, 2g and 4g models of the Clip
When charging with a “smart” USB cord attached to a computer, the Clip is in “communication” mode with the computer and cannot be used to play music
When charging with a dedicated AC charger (“dumb” USB with no capacity for data transfer) the Clip functions normally - this means that:
the Clip can play music while charging with an AC charger
despite charging, the Clip will shut off automatically after 1 or 5 minutes of non-use (or whatever it’s set for) - so to charge using an AC charger, the Clip must be set to NOT power down automatically - this is true in some people’s experience and not in others - check this thread
AC chargers may vary in output voltage, but the player determines how much voltage it draws from the charger, or at least such was stated in this thread
On my end, I have a Motorola AC charger that came with my cellphone (which has a standard USB interface, same as the clip) with an output of 5V and 550mA. I haven’t yet used it with my Sansa Clip - while I assume that it will safely work, I want to play it safe and learn more about the general requirements of AC chargers for use with the Clip. I also have a car-charger (plugs into cigarette lighter) for use with my phone, but can’t find technical specs on it.
Do you know the technical specifications on either your GPS charger or car adapter?
And/or, is it your understanding that most USB chargers (AC or car adapters) will work fine with the Clip?
Based on my tests, any 5VDC charger rated at 200 ma current or more should be more than enough. You’re unlikely to find one that puny. Most will be at least 500 ma. But it should be 5V, not more or less. The Clip will draw *current* as needed, so the charger can’t have too much, but the voltage needs to be 5V. Any charger with a USB socket will be 5V. So really, pretty much anything should work.
However, as I reported in the other thread, a charger will work best (charge most rapidly) if it complies with the new March, 2007, standard for USB charging. The newer the charger, the more likely it is to be compliant.
I’m the one that reported the auto-power and/or sleep settings turned off the charging. This was based on a sharp reduction in the current the Clip drew at exactly 15 minutes, which was what my time settings were. Obviously I need to go back and do that again more carefully and see precisely what happens. It may have been just the sleep setting, which would not normally be a factor.
Based on my tests, any 5VDC charger rated at 200 ma current or more should be more than enough. You’re unlikely to find one that puny. Most will be at least 500 ma. But it should be 5V, not more or less. The Clip will draw *current* as needed, so the charger can’t have too much, but the voltage needs to be 5V. Any charger with a USB socket will be 5V. So really, pretty much anything should work.
However, as I reported . . .(continued)
I’ve wondered about these (as I’m sure many here have. . .sorry if these have already been discussed) Amazon is full of USB charger for around $1.50. Of course they don’t list the output specs:
If you scroll down on the page they also offer a 5 VDC 500 mA for $2 more (again, free ground ship)
What say the Professors of all things Sansa? . . .I know the old adage about getting what you pay for but 20 bucks for the Mcally as I’m about to order a $50 player? Ouch!
I’ve wondered about these (as I’m sure many here have. . .sorry if these have already been discussed) Amazon is full of USB charger for around $1.50. Of course they don’t list the output specs:
I would be leary of the ones claiming to be specifically for ipods, especially ones that say things like:
“Intelligent IC chip inside recognizes a fully charged battery and automatically switches to a saver mode to prevent overcharging and short circuit.”
That may be necessary for ipods, but it doesn’t sound like what you want for the Clip. The Clip does its own battery charging. All the charger needs to do is provide a 5V supply at 200 ma or more. An “intelligent IC chip” isn’t a good thing as far as I’m concerned. You want the charger to be totally dumb, and not try to “connect” with the Clip in the USB sense.
But I also have to say that I have zero experience with Apple products, and don’t know how they charge up or what special requirements they have. It just seems to me that you want one that works for the widest possible range of USB devices.
Yeah, I agree with all you note. $20 is too much–if you don’t mind doing it, you get $10 off if you open a new Google Checkout account and then purchase from Buy.com. That seems like a possible compromise between security and cost.
I thought I was pretty net-savy. But I can’t seem to find that deal offered on Google Checkout or Buy.com. (? ? ?) Where’s the $10 offer?
I also spent some time on MacAlly’s site & see they have one model for IPOD and a different model for Sansa (SN-A411.) Frustrating though because while MacAlly lists specs they specifically do not list output (voltage or mA)
Message Edited by RideBikes on 03-15-2008 07:06 PM
"I have found Sansa’s customer support entirely unhelpful on this count - they either know nothing of general requirements or won’t say, which may be due to liability reasons, as they don’t want to be responsible for players that die from charging the wrong way, and don’t want to have to police or test all available chargers. "
All: Sorry- from a consumer’s perspective, I find the need to have this technical discussion ridiculous. Why does Sansa even make this discussion necessary for us to engineer our own accessories? Too difficult for them to test, offer, or at least endorse/certify one A/C charger? Or at least tell us customers the A/C specs required? Do other companies not have the same liability exposure, etc. as does Sansa, yet they seem to find a way to offer a robust accessory line (or at least partner with those who do)?
Has anybody ever seen any accessories offered by Appl* for their products? Ca-Ching!$$$
I’m a geek in my professional career, but, sorry Sansa- I should not have to be a geek in my leisure time to figure out your products for my leisure use.
I don’t get Sansa’s corporate behavior. They could have the greatest, coolest, sexiest MP3 players in the world, but if they ignore the other factors required to come close to even a mild challenge to Appl*'s market dominance, they’ve got a loong way to go on the other fundamentals (e.g, customer service, marketing, product pre-market testing, etc.).
Even though I own many Appl* products, I want to give the Clip a fair chance, but so far, I’m very underwhelmed with my underwhelming first Sansa experience as a whole (my first Sansa product is now an MP3 player that I cannot operate without major handicaps when used outdoors and Sansa says- too bad “you opened the package, ■■■■■■. You’re stuck!” Too bad, 'cause the clip has some very competitive features. My ONLY reason for even trying the Sansa is because of the Rhapsody integration and Rhapsody’s incompatibility with the 900 pound gorilla in the market.
Now, does anybody know anywhere I might be able to buy an A/C adapter for my iP*d? Maybe Appl* won’t tell me what charger it requires! (" Shh, don’t tell the customer what works with our products. Let’s make them guess!!!" )
@ calkid: I agree that it’s pretty poor (and bafflingly strange) corporate behavior on Sansa’s part. Seems like penny-wise, pound-foolish behavior. The documentation that comes with the Clip is incredibly simple/poor as well.
It doesn’t specifically say it’s for the Clip, but it does mention similar items, including the View. So it probably would work fine. I don’t know who dlo.com is.
Of course, it’s $40. That’s more than I paid for my 1GB Clip. :-) But it looks like you get both the AC and the car chargers.
If you find the Clip page on the Sandisk.com site, and pull down Accessories, there are a couple others listed. But again, I suspect price would be an issue.
It doesn’t specifically say it’s for the Clip, but it does mention similar items, including the View. So it probably would work fine.
Peabody: Thanks for the suggestion for the 200 series chargers. My contention is- why can’t Sansa simply tell we consumers what chargers are compatible with the Clip? How long has the Clip line been on the market now? I agree with you, it “probably will work” but why should we even have to guess? I also agree that the charger referenced is overpriced. And Why should I have to also buy a car charger with it that I don’t need?
My experience in searching for an A/C wall charger known to be compatible with the Clip has been as frustrating as others on this forum have communicated. And I also have found Sansa support unable or unwilling to answer the question, for unknown reasons.
You know, that’s just the way it is with Sandisk Sansa’s–everything is done to 65%, instead of 100% The player models are decent, but there’s always some nagging thing they never get around to addressing. The customer support takes 24-48hrs to reply to a ticket and never deviates from a lame script asking you to update firmware, format the player, etc., even when the question you ask would absolutely not be fixed by a format, might take a 30 sec google search, whatever. Getting your RMA’d player back from Sandisk takes many, many weeks.
Why can’t they provide a simple list of AC chargers that work? Dunno, why *can’t* they? You are absolutely right, there isn’t any real excuse for it. It would take 5 mins to add some info to the website that says something like “a 5V, 800mA USB ac adapter can be used to recharge.” Why did they ship a 4GB clip with a screen that you can’t read in the sunlight? Dunno, why didn’t one of the designers take the prototype with them over lunch or home one evening and go out for a walk, get a coffee, whatever. It’s not even hard to notice the screen ■■■■■, anyone could see it if they just took the 30 extra seconds to mess around with it.
That’s the deal with Sandisk. They just don’t go the extra mile and it shows in every step of the operation.
I got sick of it and bought a different brand player. My sansa is up for sale on craigslist. Hope the next owner has a better experience with it than I did.
Unfortunately, in their reply they also said “please do confirm compatibility and that your specifications are met with each device” (sigh), so who knows whether the second charger will actually work.
Message Edited by PromisedPlanet on 03-19-2008 08:55 AM
The Sandisk representative’s reply also said something slightly snarky-sounding about finding chargers by doing a Google search, so most like that’s what he did.
I emailed Sandisk to ask about this. They said “we don’t supply chargers for the Clip” (no kidding!) but recommended these:
PP: Thanks for forwarding the helpful charger links. The Amazon link is the first charger that I’ve seen that actually claims 4GB Clip compatiblity in the marketing stuff. Based on the numerous related posts on this forum, there is much confusion amongst the Clip user community regarding a compatible charger for 4GB clip, standard current output of USB ports, etc. Too bad somebody from Sansa is not willing to provide a definitive answer or specifictation, to clarify. From a consumer’s perspective, that does not seem to be asking much of them?
