5-6 ports with QC for home use and 2 ports for travel. Simple as that 
+1. Great Idea. Even though the Allmaybe CU6 uses very little power when it is connected to the mains, but isn’t charging any device, it would be nice to have a switch on the back to be absolutely safe.
I also agree that 6 ports is enough.
Edit>> I can’t vote 6 ports *and *at least 1 QC3.0?
Clean power output :+1: And maybe a compact 3-4 port wall plug version instead of the long power cable ones we have now.
Everyone’s use case is different, and we all think ours is the ‘right’ one. :sunglasses:
I have a couple 5 port BlitzWolf chargers, one with a quick charge port and one without. I think if you are making a new charger, QC ports (at least a couple) are mandatory. Having extra space so a USB meter can be used on any given, or even adjacent ports is a very good idea. I would prefer that the power supply have a standard power cord rather than a wall wart brick so I can plug it in and keep it on my desk without finding space for another transformer. If you do use an external power supply, please use 12VDC in, with a center positive, ‘standard’ connector. By doing so, it could fairly easily be used in a car, boat or anywhere a 12V deep cycle battery might show up.
USB C capable seems like it is where the industry is going, I don’t have anything that needs it yet, but if it is backward compatible with USB 2 & 3, go for it.
Having the charger be functional as a high speed USB hub would be absolutely marvelous, and I would buy one immediately right after HKJ approves it, and probably 3 or 4 more soon thereafter. I work with several High School competitive robotics teams (FIRST) and being able to (quick) charge multiple devices between matches while still using them to program changes and debug would be very helpful.
An onboard power switch with LED indicator would also be nice.
Hi, do you mean USB Type-C?
To Minimoke: Thanks for your advice, quite practical.
To Maukka: May I further ask, if there is a LCD screen on the charger itself displaying charging current, voltage and things like that, will you still prefer using power meters when charging?
Hi dodge_911, your idea will make the charger more convenient. That’s good. Many many thanks.
Hi woody, I will edit it right now. Hope it helps.
Thank you! There is no doubt you made a wonderful conclusion of all we had talked about :+1: and 12v DC is new.
Our present CU6 has a LED indicator, but it makes no big sense in fact, I guess.
Thanks - I have changed my vote to 6 with 1 QC port
Everything should be at least 2A. By that I mean 2A for each USB port and 2A for each battery. For the VC4 that means 20A in total.
The 6 ports on the VC4 fit perfectly so anything less than 6 ports would be bad.
Some additional wishes (for another product)
- A power bank function would be great.
- A flashlight function (if a power bank). Nothing fancy. Just an emergency light.
I fully agree with the suggestions made by “Lazy-R-us” but have one extra suggestion
I think the polarity shouldn’t matter. It’s quite easy to ‘correct’ the polarity.
I have a Braun battery powered razor. I just put it in the charging cradle. It accepts everything from 6 DC to 240 AC. Flexibility is great.
I think it shouldn’t be complicated at all.
The question shouldn’t be “How many ports?” but “How many batteries?”
The number of batteries defines the size of the charger. Then simply add as many USB ports as possible.
I think best sellers fall on 2-ports because they are cheaper and/or smaller. Nobody hates more ports.
Maybe you should take a 2 model and start thinking how you could add an extra port without increasing the size of the device.
It’s about size AND functionality.
I’ll explain that from my own personal situation
I fly from Europe to the USA 2 times a year.
I take with me:
- A phone, a tablet and a bluetooth device for audio.
- A 13500 mAh powerbank.
- A charger which I use when waiting at the airport.
- A few batteries for my flashlight and a charger.
With limited time at the airport it’s very important the charging goes as fast as possible.
When your charger also has a power bank function I no longer need a powerbank + flashlight batteries + charger. Only your charger.
So while your product may be a little bigger than other products it’s 2-in-1. For me it would save space and weight.
One function I’ve never found in any powerbank is the ability to charge low power devices. I have hearing aids and a small bluetooth device that streams audio from my phone and tablet to my hearing aids. It small so has a small battery with which only takes a few mA to charge. Powerbanks just switch off at such small loads. They assume my device is a large battery on ‘trickle load’.
So allowing tiny loads would be great. But not only for people who are cursed with bad hearing. I have a small USB to HDMI device so I can play movies stored on my tablet on a TV (in an hotel room). That device needs external power. And guess what. It draws so little power my powerbank switches off.
To summarize a charging option for very low power devices (uses a regular USB cable)
The reason I spec’d center positive is that so much of my other electronics gear already has center positive. So I have lots of cables made up that way, several wall wart transformers and a couple cigarette lighter (or are they now ‘vehicle power outlets’?) cables. The LiitoKalla Engineer 500 charger supplies are my most recent addition.
A supply like your Braun that is happy with whatever you feed it would be absolutely perfect.
If the display is accurate I don’t see the need for an external power meter on a daily basis, but sometimes I still like to log voltage and current to a file via bluetooth on my YZXStudio Meters (1266 & 1270).
The new Xiaomi 10000mAh power bank with QC can.
The YZXStudio power bank also has a user configurable auto off current.
I’m not sure but there may be some confusion.
Obviously it’s great all your center positive stuff works with the charger. Likewise it’s great it works with center negative.
So my reply/idea was that it’s no problem for the engineer who designs the charger, to add a simple electronic circuit inside the charger so it doesn’t matter it’s center positive or center negative.
Most plugs I’ve seen (lately) are center positive. Unfortunately the diameter of the plugs is far less uniform. That’s a far bigger problem than polarity because the there are only 2 ways around that: a] Separate conversion plugs. b] The device as many inputs that accept all plug formats.
Option b is great for a desktop charger for which size doesn’t matter. But the space simply isn’t available on a compact travel charger.
Pardon? Do you mean a product combining ALLMAYBE CU6, XTAR VC4 and even a power bank together?
Since my meaning of “USB charger” refer to USB wall charger, which should have no batteries at all, I am a little puzzled by your post. Would you please further explain?
Like this: http://www.gearbest.com/chargers/pp_272183.html?wid=21
I try to explain more clearly.
Add 6 USB ports to the XTAR VC4. When the wall charger is plugged it charges 4 batteries and all devices plugged into the USB ports.
When the wall charger is not plugged in, the 4 batteries should supply power to the USB ports.
That’s power bank functionality.
Another way to look at it is: A power bank with removable batteries.
I guess it shouldn’t be a big problem. Any smart USB charger can do this. Strictly speaking, USB chargers are not exactly chargers. They are wall adaptors.
As HKJ said in his new thread “Also remember that any usb “charger” only provides power, the actual charging is always controlled from the phone or pad.” In this way, USB charger only offer power but does not determine when to cut off charging as powerbanks.
And “smart” means “The charger has a chip that automatically select the best coding for fast charging at 5 volt.” Since it’s a case of 5V output, I would highly appreciate if you could forward some photos of your low power devices, especially about the specifications. Then, maybe we can better address the problem. PM or comment below is welcome. Hope it helps.
Allmaybe,
Never had a problem with a wall charger or from a USB slot on my PC
But I had with a power bank (which I suggested as an option)
Can’t find any relevant technical data:
It’s just 60x30x8mm. The battery is even smaller. So the charging current is really low.
As mentioned elsewhere xiaomi noticed this problem too because their power bank had problems charging smart watches.
4 ports for me. A good compromise between practicality and size.