Program Requirements:
Device:
Palm V

I'm a regular watcher of The Gadgeteer.   Undoubtedly, this is the best web site out there for those of us who are afflicted with gadgetitis.

I use a Palm V (just recently upgraded to the Vx), and have used various PDAs since one of the earliest Sharps years ago.

A couple weeks ago I saw a reference to the TCL Emergency Charger for the Palm V from Tech Center Labs.  Right now I can't recall where I saw it.  But, I went to their site and looked at it...a simple little Palm V adapter that hooked to a 9-volt battery for recharging the Palm V without the adapter (or electricity). It's a bit pricey, I think the delivered cost was about $34.  But, as I often travel to weird places in the world, I thought it was a bit of insurance.  Little did I know...

I ordered it on a Wednesday to have it sent regular mail.  The darn thing arrived on Friday.  I glanced at it and tossed it in my computer bag.

The next evening I left on a miserable overnight flight via Miami, through La Paz, to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.  It's near the Paraguayan and Brazilian borders right smack in the middle of South America.  The hotel was rated as five-star (by someone who was slightly numerically challenged), but liveable for a week or so.  I was attending a conference that was being held in the hotel.

One evening I was on my laptop and it hit me that I hadn't charged my Palm V since I had arrived.  My battery was showing about 40% discharged.  I pulled out my travel adapter and looked for a place to plug it in.  The hotel used U.S.-style electrical outlets that could also accommodate European round pin plugs.  I was using the only readily available outlet near the table for my laptop, so I went into the bathroom and plugged in the Palm V travel adapter to the outlet near the sink.  I let it charge until I returned from dinner.

Well, then I had a bit of a problem.  The wall outlet would NOT let go of my travel adapter.  Nothing I could do would get it out of the socket.  I tried prying, pulling, and anything else without getting electrocuted to no avail. I called the main desk and about 20 minutes later a maintenance man showed up.  He didn't speak English, nor I Spanish, but it was obvious what the
problem was.  I showed him by my pulling and prying that the adapter would not come out of the wall plug.

Well, he stared at it for a minute or so.  Then he grabbed the cord and gave the adapter an almighty yank!  Of course, it immediately came out. Unfortunately, it left the two flat pins and various parts of the adapter inside the wall outlet.

He shrugged, left, and a few minutes later came back with a new wall outlet, which he put in without shutting off the power.  Every couple minutes I heard a snap and something in Spanish that might have been "oh, fudge," but he eventually came out and proudly had me come in and look at the new outlet in the wall.

After he left I looked at the remnants of the travel adapter and remembered the TCL emergency charger.  I didn't have a 9-volt with me, but bought one the next day.  And the charger worked fine.  I kept my Palm V charged fully for the remaining week I was there with one 9-volt.

It would have been impossible to replace the travel adapter there -- this place is NOT on the cutting edge of technology.  I couldn't even find an English newspaper in the town.

Most Lithium-Ion chargers use a two step process, the cell is charged to 4.1V (or 4.2V) with a constant current, followed by a constant voltage for the final 30% capacity. 3-Com's cradle (and the emergency charger) use a current limited constant voltage. The charge indicator LED changes brightness while charging so you can tell at a glance how the charge is progressing. 

The instructions give a certain sequence for plugging in the adapter and then the battery. If I had had a 9-volt battery with me, I probably would have just attached the battery to the connector and then to the Palm...which is exactly BACKWARDS of what the instructions say. I don't know if it would do any damage, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

So, for your readers who travel off the beaten path and use a Palm V -- invest $30+ in the emergency charger.  In fact, if you are really traveling light, it would be the only thing you need.

Price: $29.00

Pros:
Portable backup charger.
Works with a regular 9v battery.
Don't need access to an electrical wall outlet.

Cons:
None