If you are stuck without your cradle...

[Izzard]

Please note, I am writing this for information purposes ONLY.

If you have lost/broken/forgotten your cradle and you need to power/charge your UX50, it will charge perfectly well with any reasonable AC/DC adaptor.

I was stuck in a country which uses a different plug shape and voltage for mains power. So I found a hardware store (something like Radio Shack) and bought a universal power supply that could switch to 5V and could deliver 2000mA. I pulled the DC plug off the end, stripped the wires and carefully taped them to the far left and right pads on the bottom of my UX50.

If you really want to do this, I advise spending a bit more for a GOOD QUALITY supply. Secondly pay attention to the +ve and -ve terminals. I have no idea what would happen if you got them the wrong way around, but I suspect it would involve crying for a while and punching the wall.

I can guess what the reaction to this post might be, so I'll try to preempt it:

The above suggestion is stupid, stupid, stupid and you should not rick frying your handheld. If your handheld develops any fault or (heaven forbid) dies as a result of your little experiment then Sony has a right to laugh in your face. Having said that, if you're a nut like me, you're desperate for power and you despise having to fork out megabucks for a proprietary charger, go for it - and good luck!

Edit: Added pics of above (http://www.cliesource.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=36178).

[ClieKun]

I had been stuck in a different part of the world and had the same problem. But the way you did it was far better then me.

[Quantumduck]

And it just supports the phrase, "Necessity is the Mother of all Invention."
Kudos to your resourcefullness. Not many would have thought of that, but it makes perfect sense.

[johnny_boy]

Hi first post but been lurking a couple of days. I have a UX50 on its way to me but my 625C has a 110-240V and the power supply has a standard "8" connector cable into the transformer. I have a selection of these power cables for the UK, Europe and the USA and take a UK one and two for the country I'm visiting with me when I travel. these cables are easy to get hold of and cheap.

I can't see how you ended up in a country that "uses a different plug shape and voltage for mains power". I could understand what you're saying if you forgot the cradle but I've yet to be anywhere that doesn't run on 100-250V and changing the power end seems so much easier.

I may just be misundertanding your post.

Cheers

[Izzard]

Yes, sorry, I should explain – there was a special reason why I was stuck without power, and it wasn't because I forgot anything. And I've read that the Sony power supply takes 110v or 240v, and uses a standard 'figure 8' lead for power input, so you're right - most people would never need this unless their PSU breaks or they forget it. However.. ...I have never seen a Clie charger yet. Here's why:

I bought my Clié online while I was in the States last week. The reason?

UK typical price:
UX50 - $1,128 / £599 in the shops
512MB Memory Stick Pro - $565 / $300 in PC World
Total - $1693 / £900

Price I paid online:
UX50 - $514 / £273 from Comp-U-Plus
512MB Memory Stick Pro - $150 / $80 from Comp-U-Plus
Total (inc. postage) - $670 / £355

So that's a difference of about $1023 or £545. Anyway, I digress.

It arrived, after a couple of days delay due to snow storms in Fargo, absolutely fine apart from NO POWER SUPPLY in the box! I could not believe it. I had spent days getting excited and reading CliéSource forums, and leaping to the window when I heard a van.. ..only to find I could not charge the thing up and use it!

That's why I went to Radio Shack and bought a $20 universal power supply, wrapped the bare wire ends in strips of tin foil and then taped the foil strips to my cradle contact points. It worked a treat. It's now over a week since I ordered (with overnight delivery) and I'm still without a Sony power supply. I've charged my UX-50 several times with my makeshift supply and so far there have been no problems. Now I'm back in the UK and someone has to forward the package when it finally arrives from Sony. Oh well.. win some, lose some I guess.

[johnny_boy]

Ow! Better prices than I got! I looked for quite a bit of time before buying from xpcreation on eBay and it's on-route from the USA just now. I paid £412.11 (£321 in auction + £49 for 256Mb Memory Stick Pro and then postage/insurance).

It's a sealed unit and the guy responded very quickly to a query as I'd asked for it to go to a different address and wanted to confirm which it would go to. He sent it to my address rather than my parents - oh well, I can live with that! Just means a wee bit mor eof a delay before I can collect it from the depot unless a neighbour signs for it.

I looks superp, I played with one in John Lewis but £599 was toooo expensive. the cheapest UK price was £497.99 at Amazon.

[Izzard]

Yeah - that's the odd thing - mine was a sealed box too. Let's just says that Sony's name was mud when I realised. Well.. until I first switched it on, that is :)