Car charger for Jornada 680e?

I do a lot of driving for a living and was wondering if anyone has found a car charger that will work with the Jornada 680e. My wifi card really drains the battery and it would be handy to recharge it from the car.

Thanks for any input!

I can't tell you exactly what you need becasue I don't know much about the 680e but I can give you a guideline on what to look for. Your best bet is to get a universal addapter from somewhere like Radio Shack and buy the right addapter ends and alll that. But there may be a cheaper way depending on your device. This is provided that you dont need a voltage higher than 12v (atually 13.8 volts DC on a properly work system in most cars) you can easly and cheaply make your own.

****PARTS NEEDED ****
1x coaxil power pug (you will need to find which ever on fits device)
[$2.59radioshack]
1x Cigarette Lighter Power Plug (make sure it's fused[5amp max])
[3.49radioshack]
*** solderless connections can be found
1x length of wire at least 20g

Find out how many volts your normal charger is (mine is 12v on a 620lx). Now if the voltage is close you shouldnt have to mess with resistance (droping the voltage).

Find out what polarity the plug takes (+center pole or - center pole). Normally if you look on you AC charger or on the device itself there will be a small diagram indicating this.

Ok so we will assume (for the sake of an example) that you have 13.8 in your car and that your device uses 12V (if less add resistors on the +wire if more your on your own) with a positive center pole. The center pole of the cigarette lighter should be + unless you have some weird car. Now you have all the info you need. All that you need to do is connect + to the + and - to -.


Your device should have a power regulator built into it to handle a voltage range something like 10v-15vDC. So, as long as 13.8 volts (12v car system) falls some where in in that range there is no need to change the voltage.

Wow! Those instructions were extremely detailed! Thanks for the suggestion.

Hey Idoru,

I had another thought, just in case. They make 175 watt and 400 watt inverters that plug into your cigarette lighter with a regular household plug on the other end. I bought one at Sears Automotive a few years back. Mine is only a 175 watt and listed on the package it reads that 175 watts is good to power or charge a Laptop computer, so why not a Jornada 680e?? Hey, after reading your question, I went out and dug mine out of the garage and I am going to use it. Just a thought.......Martnus

the 680 takes much less than a laptop... the original AC adapter is 30W (12V/2.5A).

I went and had a rummage in my garage after reading this thread. The highest rating I could find for a lighter power supply was 9v, 500mA. Doubt that there would be enough even to trickle charge in that.

This is a little pricey, but it looks like it will work.

http://www.igo.com/Product_Detail.asp?ProductCode=MOB+PS0055-11

The 680e requires a 12 Volt, 2.5 amp DC charge.

Radio Shack sells a Universal 2500mA (2.5 amp) DC Power Adapter. It will output a variety of voltages, including 12 volts.

It has a cigarette lighter plug on one end and an adapter sleeve on the other end into which an "Adaptaplug" can be inserted. In other words, different sized Adaptaplugs can be inserted into the adapter sleeve. This allows you to use the correct size Adaptaplug for the Jornada-side input.

A set of four Adaptaplugs comes with the purchase. Unfortunately, none of them are the right size to fit the 680e. The good news, however, is that Radio Shack also sells a zillion other sized Adaptaplugs, including the one you'll need.

If you decide to buy one of these Universal Power Adapters, take your 680e to Radio Shack with you. By doing so, they'll be able to determine the correct size Adaptaplug for you.

In my local Radio Shack the Unvieral Power Adapter costs $29.99. I don't know what they charge for the Adaptaplug you'll have to buy, however.

One CAUTION ... the Adaptaplug and the Adapter Sleeve must be connected in a specific way (tip polarity). If you accidently reverse the polarity, you can permanently damage the adapter and/or your 680e.


Enjoy!