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Question

charging camcorder JVC GC-XA1 with PC

Jul 4, 2013 12:50PM PDT

To charge the battery, the manual says, "you must use the adapter AC-V17LU and USB cable". What is the adapter? Did to come with the camera? Does that have something to do with an AC adpater?

Can I just plug the USB cable into the computer to charge? If yes, why did it say I "must" use the adapter? When I plug the USB into the camera & PC, the light blinks so I guess it's charging.

The manual says when charging, from the camera menu, should I choose "adapter" (rather than USB). What's the difference? I didn't find the info in the manual.

I figure the different between "adpater" and "USB" from the camera menu is probably charging from AC vs PC or maybe the difference is charging vs data transfer. Anyone know?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Look at the charger closely.
Jul 4, 2013 1:17PM PDT

Your common PC port will deliver 500mA. I won't duplicate the web but there are wall chargers with 2.0A which charge faster.

You have the charger so you can look it over.
Bob

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not sure what that means
Jul 4, 2013 5:56PM PDT

You say "You have the charger so you can look it over." Not sure what that means. I'm pretty sure I now know what the manual means by "adapter". I think that means what you plug into an AC outlet & plug the other end into the camera for charging. So "adapter" is the same as "charger" when using AC. If so, one didn't come with the camera. Just have the USB cable.

I do have 2 adapter/chargers (AC to USB) that came with my cell phone. Both say 750 mA. Can I use them?

Also, I still don't understand what to choose on the camera menu. When I plug the USB cable into the camera & PC, from the camera menu, I can choose "USB" or "Adapter". Maybe when it's plugged into a PC I should choose "USB" & when it's plugged into AC I should choose "Adapter". Does that make sense? Why would it make a difference? For my cell, I don't have to choose.

I tried 2 options. Plugged the camera into the PC using the USB cable. Chose "USB" in the camera menu. Did again & chose "Adapter". In both cases, the light on the camera was blinking which indicated charging. So I don't see the difference.

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Sorry but I can't help you read the original charger.
Jul 5, 2013 1:48AM PDT

I had hoped you would read the original charger rating but you have 2 and I can't tell if they are from JVC.

Since JVC didn't publish the rating I had to leave it to you to read the fine print on the part. And I won't duplicate the web about higher rated USB chargers. It's your gear, your choice.
Bob

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chargers
Jul 5, 2013 3:28AM PDT

I went to the JVC website & did a search for the charger they said I should use, but it didn't find that model number. Strange they don't show their own product. I don't have the part so can't read the fine print on it.

Searched the web, but those sites only said "5 V DC" output but didn't show amps. So I don't know what the JVC charger has & I don't know what I can use. The 2 I have are not JVC but are 750 mA. So, I don't know if I can use them with my camera (JVC Action Camera GC-XA1).

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good news, bad news
Jul 5, 2013 4:43PM PDT

The good news is that I emailed JVC & they answered! The bad news is that they didn't have much info. I asked about the specs on the AC/USB adapter they said I had to use. They said they don't have it anymore & don't have any specs. They said I could use a similar charger like for an iPod or iPhone. So it's not clear I can use ANY charger but I'm going to assume that's the case.

Proffitt, thanks for all your info. If I understand correctly, you're saying the higher the amp output of the charger, the faster it will charge. I didn't see anything saying if the amps were too high it would damage things so I'll assume any charger will do. I appreciate all your help.

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So far there are 2 somewhat standards.
Jul 7, 2013 2:30AM PDT

Classic USB is 500mA and is not enough to get a fast charge or power some devices. To work around this the industry put out a 2000 mA (or 2A) charger and all that is well discussed.

I would be guessing why you don't have this charger. Maybe the camera only came with the cord or the charger was lost.

But I see you found the same lack of detail I did.
Bob

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right
Jul 7, 2013 4:32AM PDT

The camera did not come with a charger. I'll have to look around & buy one. Thanks for all the info.