Can someone please tell me exactly where I can find a car adapter that will actually power a pass through?
Can someone who is qualified, as in an IT tech,hardware geek, etc, please tell me if it really is safe to power a PT through your computers USB port? If so does it need to be a particular kind of PT....inline battery etc. And explain to me how this is possible when the nature of a usb port on a pc is to put out 500ma max. ?
Can someone please tell me exactly where I can buy a USB hub or adapter that puts out enough power to run a PT ?
I guess I'm just a dork, (vs a geek...which would be a good thing) but I just cannot figure this out. All the sellers say...sit at your PC and vape till you die....but IF you can get the tech specs on the device you find out it needs 1300 or even 1800 ma to run the thing. You buy a kit that comes with a PT and a car adapter and then find out the adapter is only good for battery charging...you can't run the PT with it. The best I have seen is 1000ma and apparently that isn't enough. Please help an electrically challenged person in need.
Thank You
8-o
lorikay13,
I don't want to spark any heated arguments on this, but wanted to help you if I could. First a simple answer: It is more than 90% likely that a PT rated to consume 1 Amp n 5v to work with nearly all USB plug-ins. Could it cause problems, possibly to likely. Hundreds if not thousand of factors will come into play by pushing the switch on a PT plugged into a PC.
Want a reference point to do some fact finding? Start by searching for USB on wikipedia. Use the embedded links to read about anything you don't understand.
Want a extremely opinionated long explanation? Read beyond this.
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This is going to be long, and skip over any part you already understand. I'll break it into sections for easy skimming.
I. My qualifications
I have been working in a paid position for computer support starting out as a lab assistant formatting floppies since I was 14. I worked supporting hardware/software/electrical devices anything requiring electricity for about 15 years. I have since moved from working with PC and Electrical hardware and work almost exclusively with server hardware and software, except for all my dam bum friends and my own. That being said, someone who is currently working day in and out with PC hardware is more qualified to speak about the state of current PC hardware compatibility with PTs; but I have a large amount of varied hardware experience. Let me also state that an electrical engineer who designs USB hardware would be the ultimate source on this.
II. The other discussion I know of on this topic in ECF
There is also a massive thread on this already discussing in heated details cons and pros here:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ews/65391-reasonably-priced-5volt-510-pt.html
III. Describing an Overload with the average person in mind
I want to start by helping anyone who possibly doesn't understand overloading a circuit by describing the most common problem people have with it. In a house that is poorly wired, or even adequately wired, you plug a hairdryer and a heater into the same outlet, turn em both on high, its likely the circuit breaker will trip. This is an overload. You have tripped the circuit breakers built in safety feature to turn that circuit off. The circuit breaker is rated in amps. If you exceed the amps of that breaker it simply turns off. Why? If it didn't the wires going from the breaker to the outlet could start over heating. When electricity moves through copper the more of it you demand from more things plugged in to the outlet, the hotter the cable going to it gets.
IV. Computer Standards an Overview with USB
Now moving to a more complex device then a wire, you have a computer. A computer is the culmination of literally hundreds of thousands of specifications that have evolved and changed since the begging. Nearly every component of a computer has a standard to it. Even the case, ie at atx etc etc. Some standards are completely gone from any use, ie ISA. The specific standard in question is USB 2.0 or variant. Nearly every computer device/computer like device uses this standard or a variant of it. If its extremely old it may use USB 1.0 or variant. If you purchase something at a retail outlet today, it is safe to assume it uses this standard. USB 3.0 is on the horizon and may even be marketed in some devices now. Unsure as I have not read anything on it in a while on it.
V. Electrical Devices as to their input and overload of
An electrical device is made/designed to have a certain input of electricity. This will always include either AC or DC and Voltage and Amps. The tolerance to these factors being different then what is actually supplied varies tremendously depending on the device. A +/- is always built into these devices and hopefully a safeguard if these variations are exceeded. A general rule is the more expensive items have more safeguards then cheaper ones. A common instance of people testing these tolerances is with Universal adapters that simply have switches for Volts/Amps and plug them into a device that they possibly lost the original adapter for. I have at least 3 of these universal adapters, and use them often.
VI. Computer Devices and USB Overload a compelling argument for using a Powered USB hub
A computer can and will power whatever the designers of the circuitry involved in the USB port intended it to power, and go beyond this to its either safeguarded overload, or un-safeguarded overload. In the second case, you will have a problem, either small or very significant. The computer may simply turn off, or it may cause a small explosion in a cap or other circuitry. For this reason alone, a simple $10 usb hub vs a computer repair that will cost at least 100s possibly thousands of dollars to fix, it would always be my personal preference to plug a usb anything not explicitly designed with a stamp of approval of USB 2.0 on its label, backed up with a company that has been producing USB devices for at least 5 years, and a warranty that does not exclude personal damage to equipment, to always use a powered usb hub or adapter made to power the usb device.
VII. A bit more about tolerances and my personal experience
I have plugged universal adapters into devices after setting the V/A to the exact specification on the devices, only to have a dead device after wards. This gives me a great excuse to buy another device with its proper power source, but is also more costly then the device working with the universal adapter. This may be due to a crappy universal adapter or mislabeling the device from the manufacturer, or other reasons. A general rule is a device that does not have a simple copper wire going straight to the outlet or uses a defined battery could have potential problems with anything other than its original power supply. On the other hand, I have plugged in devices with absolutely no knowledge of the required Volts/Amps and simply changed it from the lowest to highest and found the device to work fine after finding an acceptable V/A to the device. Extremely risky process not only endangering the device, but my safety. Nonetheless I have done it dozens of times.
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I hope this helps at least 1 person, I know I have learned hundreds if not thousands of things from this great forum. Sorry if it's extremely lengthy and opinionated. I'm not a writer of even adept quality. Failed English writing test for entry to college 
