gravastar Posted June 4, 2007 Share #1 Posted June 4, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've now encountered a major problem with the M8 charger in two hotels, US and currently Australia. Many wall sockets are either very near the floor, near the surface of a table or shelf. The distance between the bottom of the charger and socket means there is insufficient room to plug in the charger. Also some dual sockets are close together which precludes the use of the second socket when the charger is plugged in. If it weren't for helpful hotel staff allowing the use of their office socket I'd have been scuppered. Guy, if possible can you please pass this complaint to Leica, thanks. When I return home on of the first things I'll do is to see if I can modify the charger to take a lead and plug. Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 4, 2007 Posted June 4, 2007 Hi gravastar, Take a look here M8 Charger unuseable in some hotels.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
stunsworth Posted June 4, 2007 Share #2 Posted June 4, 2007 When I return home on of the first things I'll do is to see if I can modify the charger to take a lead and plug Why bother, just buy a short extension lead and shorten it further to a few inches. Then leave the changer plugged into the shortened lead's socket. I did wonder myself it this would be an issue, but I've yet to have it be a problem in practice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joachimeh Posted June 4, 2007 Share #3 Posted June 4, 2007 I've now encountered a major problem with the M8 charger in two hotels, US and currently Australia. Many wall sockets are either very near the floor, near the surface of a table or shelf. The distance between the bottom of the charger and socket means there is insufficient room to plug in the charger. Also some dual sockets are close together which precludes the use of the second socket when the charger is plugged in. If it weren't for helpful hotel staff allowing the use of their office socket I'd have been scuppered. Guy, if possible can you please pass this complaint to Leica, thanks. When I return home on of the first things I'll do is to see if I can modify the charger to take a lead and plug. Bob. Why is that a Leica problem? I don't think Leica has to fix the sockets! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 4, 2007 Share #4 Posted June 4, 2007 If it is near the floor, use the charger upside down...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted June 4, 2007 Share #5 Posted June 4, 2007 If it is near the floor, use the charger upside down...... Not in Australia, nor the UK - the plugs are not symmetric in that way. Adding a ISO standard flex port like the ones used on most external battery chargers would alleviate this problem. They are easy to find in any elec store - and can be shared with other devices. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craftsman Posted June 4, 2007 Share #6 Posted June 4, 2007 It's Leica's problem because they designed it to be plugged into a socket. Not the ideal perfectly placed , with room all around it socket but the one you may encounter in an everyday situation.You do think they may be capable of doing this don't you? Or... maybe not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbaron Posted June 4, 2007 Share #7 Posted June 4, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) See PC Cables, Computer Cables, Liberator, Power Strip Liberator at Cyberguys.com or PC Cables, Computer Cables, Liberator, Power Strip Liberator at Cyberguys.com Just one more thing to stuff in the bag. <sigh> --Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted June 4, 2007 Share #8 Posted June 4, 2007 An alternative is to use the car battery cable and connect it instead to a lap-top brick - the charger will accept input voltages from about 8v to 24v. Apple bricks are no good because of the Mag-Safe connector (which has defeated me) and because they do not switch on until they can confirm they are connected to an Apple laptop. Regular chargers for the likes of Sony and Toshiba are fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 4, 2007 Share #9 Posted June 4, 2007 It's Leica's problem because they designed it to be plugged into a socket. Not the ideal perfectly placed , with room all around it socket but the one you may encounter in an everyday situation.You do think they may be capable of doing this don't you? Or... maybe not. Yeah-and they drive on the wrong side of the road too... Seriously. The third connector on the plug is a plastic dummy. I think if you grind it off you can use the charger upside down. I might even donate you a plug to try it out, as I have a two spare ones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wparsonsgisnet Posted June 4, 2007 Share #10 Posted June 4, 2007 When I travel, I always carry an extension cord to handle odd problems -- but mostly to allow me to put my stuff in the corner and charge multiple things at the same time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucek Posted June 4, 2007 Share #11 Posted June 4, 2007 With all of the electronic crap I carry with me I now always bring along a small power strip. Not only is it difficult trying to find empty (and convenient) wall outlets in a hotel room but there are never enough now anyways, what with chargers for the computer, PDA, portable hard disk, camera batteries, etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted June 4, 2007 Share #12 Posted June 4, 2007 Yeah-and they drive on the wrong side of the road too... Seriously. The third connector on the plug is a plastic dummy. I think if you grind it off you can use the charger upside down. I might even donate you a plug to try it out, as I have a two spare ones. Sadly not in Australia - the pins are like so [ / \ ] - guaranteeing that upside down is not an option... However if Leica had the sense to make the plug adapter go into the charger in either orientation - now that would have been forward thinking. (now that I say this I'm pretty sure it won't but not entirely sure). I dare say the wall sockets in solms are all sensibly located, just as the suits are all pure wool and all light fittings daylight corrected Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 4, 2007 Share #13 Posted June 4, 2007 Ah- Is that what that plug is for. I have been wondering which country this strange malformed USA plug served. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpStart Posted June 4, 2007 Share #14 Posted June 4, 2007 Like some others, I now carry a small power bar with me. Charging a cell phone, computer a blackberry and a camera - maybe even a camcorder can be a pain in the neck in small hotel rooms - or as I found out recently on a Cruise ship. They can be pretty small and light. Cheers DBK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 4, 2007 Share #15 Posted June 4, 2007 I have the same problem simply in my room... an extension cable F/M has been the fix Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
35mmSummicron Posted June 4, 2007 Share #16 Posted June 4, 2007 i can't believe this post has gone on as long as it has. it is NOT leica's responsibility to build battery chargers to accommodate for the interior designs and furniture arrangements of particular hotel rooms around the world. to the original poster, if not going out to buy an inexpensive extension cord to solve the problem, did it not occur to you to ask the hotel to borrow one? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted June 4, 2007 Share #17 Posted June 4, 2007 Ah- Is that what that plug is for. I have been wondering which country this strange malformed USA plug served. That's funny - the M8's in Australia (when I got mine) were shipped without an Australian plug adapter in the box - but you have one in yours... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 4, 2007 Share #18 Posted June 4, 2007 We did in a feature request asking for a new travel charger to be made. We asked but you know how that goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanG Posted June 4, 2007 Share #19 Posted June 4, 2007 There has been some progress. When I was a student in London (1973) there were a few kinds of outlets so some devices came without plugs at all. You had to buy the appropriate type and attach it to the cord. One of my room-mates just pushed the wires into the outlets without using a plug. He secured it by forcing in match sticks. He had a degree in electrical engineering from Cambridge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted June 4, 2007 Share #20 Posted June 4, 2007 There has been some progress. When I was a student in London (1973) there were a few kinds of outlets so some devices came without plugs at all. You had to buy the appropriate type and attach it to the cord. One of my room-mates just pushed the wires into the outlets without using a plug. He secured it by forcing in match sticks. He had a degree in electrical engineering from Cambridge. Alan, Do you think your former roommate might be the person who designed the M8's charger? ;-) Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.