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Ask Slashdot: What Interesting Things Can I Power With an External USB Battery?

Posted by timothy on from the charge-other-usb-batteries-recursively dept.

New submitter expert464 writes: I just purchased an external USB battery for the main purpose of charging smartphones. I've also thought of using it to power a USB lamp and charge a bluetooth speaker. What other things am I missing that would be useful and/or interesting to power when not near an electrical outlet? Have a question for Slashdot's readers? Take a look at other recent questions first to see if someone else has had a similar question. And if not, ask away! The more details and context you include, the more likely your question will be selected.

23 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Of course... by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 2, Informative

    recharge your vape

    --
    Wherever You Go, There You Are
    1. Re:Of course... by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 2

      Vape, trending terminology for Vaporizer, or electronic cigarette

      The Juice is a flavoring in propylene glycol that may or may not contain nicotine (or thc in states where it is legal)

      I have used to to quit smoking, and then to quit nicotine

      The vapor has 99.9% less carcinogens than tobacco smoke, some recent research indicates that the nicotine version is less addictive than tobacco smoke since it does not contain secondary chemicals that act like an anti-depressant

      Anti-smoking activists that make money from the taxation of tobacco (result of the nationwide lawsuit settlement) are seeing their revenues reduced by half because of the people moving away from tobacco to vapes

      They are now working aggressively to get vapes covered under similar taxation by making false claims that they are as dangerous as tobacco products. They have no facts on their side as even NIH studies site them as being as safe as nicotine gum, so they fight with a lot of bluster, emotion and fear articles about teens using vapes

      They have demonstrated that they do not care about the impact to health, just the money going into their pockets

      Give a prohibitionist a dime, and they will spend it looking for a way to get another dollar from you

      --
      Wherever You Go, There You Are
    2. Re:Of course... by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 3, Informative

      Citation
      "Existing evidence indicates that EC use is by far a less harmful alternative to smoking. There is no tobacco and no combustion involved in EC use; therefore, regular vapers may avoid several harmful toxic chemicals that are typically present in the smoke of tobacco cigarettes. Indeed, some toxic chemicals are released in the EC vapor as well, but their levels are substantially lower compared with tobacco smoke, and in some cases (such as nitrosamines) are comparable with the amounts found in pharmaceutical nicotine products. Surveys, clinical, chemistry and toxicology data have often been mispresented or misinterpreted by health authorities and tobacco regulators, in such a way that the potential for harmful consequences of EC use has been largely exaggerate"
      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm...

      --
      Wherever You Go, There You Are
  2. A small 20m code xmitter by WorldWarPi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Low-power amateur radio is always fun, especially backpacking where portable power is nice.

  3. Raspberry Pi by wikes82 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I use mine to power my raspberry pi sometime

  4. Picture Frame by gunslnger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I use mine to power a digital picture frame so I could actually hang it or place some place that having a cord to it would look bad.

  5. For a stimulating usage... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...there are USB powered vibrators.

  6. Re:What? by war4peace · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He bought something he doesn't know what ELSE to do with. But fine, be a jackass.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  7. BlinkyTape or a similar LED installation by kav2k · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You could look into LED decoration. For example, BlinkyTape - a LED strip with an attached Arduino-compatible controller.

    It can be just decoration, or you can use it for light painting.

    Of course, you can build your own LED-based contraption.

  8. Hmm by koan · · Score: 4, Funny

    A vagal nerve stimulator.

    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
  9. Re:What? by Powercntrl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    He bought something he doesn't know what ELSE to do with. But fine, be a jackass.

    I've seen some idiotic "Ask Slashdot" stories, but this one probably takes the cake. To use the ever-popular car analogy, it's like asking "I just realized my car has a 12 volt electrical receptacle in the dashboard, what sort of things can I plug in?"

    Yet another "Ask Slashdot" that can easily be solved by Google.

    --

    ---
    DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
  10. Quadcopter by AndyKron · · Score: 3, Informative

    I bought one specifically for recharging my Estes ProtoX micro quadcopter. http://www.amazon.com/Estes-Pr...

  11. Re:What? by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apparently there just wasn't anything interesting or important to talk about today.

    Oh, wait...

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  12. Let me Google that for you... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2

    Well, with the magic of Google I've got:
    A one can fridge:
    http://www.kleargear.com/usb-refrigerator-desktop-12131.html
    Something that looks like the Borg got you:
    http://www.kleargear.com/usb-head-massage-12527.html
    This I really like for the voltage detection:
    http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00919337000P?sid=IDxCMDFx20140801x001&KPID=00919337000&kpid=00919337000
    And this is along the same lines:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O13K9JY?tag=price106300d-20&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  13. Quadcopter by Brianwa · · Score: 2

    The CX-10 nano quadcopter can be charged from one of those. The whole kit is small enough to fit in your pocket, which is pretty cool.

  14. What I have found by FrankN · · Score: 2

    I've been looking into this myself since hurricane season is coming up. It's not easy to find this stuff, because a search that includes USB finds a lot of things.

    On Amazon, I have found flashlights, lanterns, weather radios, and FRS radios. Sometimes you have to read the detailed description of the item to find that it can be charged from usb..

    Frank

  15. Paper Weight by jt-socal · · Score: 2

    Handy if windy

  16. Some more incredibly vague questions for you by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hey everyone, I just bought a bottle that I can attach to my bike so I can drink water while I'm riding my bike. What other drinkable liquids can I put in it?

    Also I just bought some AAA batteries for my TV remote. What else can I put them in?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Some more incredibly vague questions for you by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 4, Funny

      You could put them in that bottle that you attach to your bike...

  17. Re:What? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 5, Informative

    You'd think Dice would have learned about the damned Streisand Effect from all the stories here on Slashdot. All it would have taken is a single line: "Disclaimer: Sourceforge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dice Holdings, Inc." in the summary. Major news media outlets do this *all the time* when reporting on (either positive or negative news) their sister organizations owned by the same umbrella corporation.

    The topic would have been done, discussed, and on it's way to being forgotten by now. Instead, you simply get a slow burn of news and a bunch of people irritated at your obvious and ham-handed suppression of a story.

    Note: Sorry for the offtopic. Consider it a small act of "civil disobedience."

    --
    Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  18. buy two by ozduo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then use one to charge the other!

    --
    I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
  19. Ummm ... anything? by gstoddart · · Score: 2

    What other things am I missing that would be useful and/or interesting to power when not near an electrical outlet?

    Well, your phone, your tablet, your GPS, your portable speakers, your music player. You know, anything you own which can be charged via USB.

    I've got 2x5000 mAh, and 2x6000 mAh batteries I keep charged around the house and when I travel. They all have 1A and 2.1A outputs, as well as built in LED flashlights. Which means I can keep most of my stuff charged until I get where I'm going. Or I can charge them where I'm sitting instead of being chained to a wall charger. (And I've got a 4-port USB wall charger as well as a 3-port USB wall charger which will do 120/240V 50/60Hz.)

    They've handy and convenient, but do you actually need to ask "what things that charge from USB can I charge from USB"?

    If it charges from USB, and you own it ... ta da!

    Years ago I decided that except for very specific things (like my camera), I won't own anything which doesn't charge with standard USB. From there, a couple of cables, a couple of batteries, and a couple of wall chargers and you can keep stuff always charged.

    Once you toss proprietary cables, or anything which can't charge by USB ... you find it's a lot easier to pack what you need.

    My travel electronics bag is now capable of operating everything I need from any electrical source by reusing the same USB cables. It really cuts down on the crap and clutter.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  20. Good question. by rhodium_mir · · Score: 2

    I think the best use for this would be to power a USB Pet Rock.

    --
    You can't spell "oneiromancy" without "roman".