diNovo Mini™

**nobb** · 05-15-2008, 07:36 PM

Ok, just picked up the unit. And wow, it is really sexy. Its a bit inconvenient that you have to take it into the house to charge. Maybe I'll rig up a voltage regulator based on the lm315 chip so that the unit can be charged in the car.

Also, it would have been better if it used simple AA or AAA batteries instead, rather than the proprietary lithium ion.

**danielkh** · 05-15-2008, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by nobb

Ok, just picked up the unit. And wow, it is really sexy. Its a bit inconvenient that you have to take it into the house to charge. Maybe I'll rig up a voltage regulator based on the lm315 chip so that the unit can be charged in the car.

Also, it would have been better if it used simple AA or AAA batteries instead, rather than the proprietary lithium ion.

Make a car charger and we'll all buy one from you.

Be one heck of a market!

**nobb** · 05-16-2008, 01:14 PM

I had some time today so I built a car charger out of parts I had laying around. I used the lm317 voltage regulator. Here is a good site for a tutorial on how to wire up this chip:

http://web.archive.org/web/200705182...rial-full.html

Vout = 1.25(1+R2/R1), so you need an R2/R1 = 5.4 to get Vout= 8v. Do do this, I used two 220 and one 100 ohm resistor in series to get 540. This is my R2. Then used a 100 ohm resistor as R1. R2/R1 = 540/100 = 5.4. I forgot what capacitors I used, but I used the largest caps I could fit in both the input (C1) and output (C2) just to help smooth out the voltage from ripples.

The lm317 is bolted to a small heatsink, just incase.

Pics are attached. Cant really see in the pics, but the dinovo mini is charging perfectly from the cigarette adapter.

**JimmyFitz** · 05-17-2008, 12:18 AM

Dell still has it for $98.59 (+ S&H). I just ordered one.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...322&lid=680413

**Chamberlin** · 05-21-2008, 01:28 AM

I have been finding that in some programs the D-pad becomes temporarily unresponsive and I have to switch to mouse mode for a second to regain D-pad control..... but mouse mode on the other hand is always 100%. Still troublesome not to have all the 'blue' key functions lit up at night either. Add a mouse wheel and make some minor tweaks and fixes and you would have CarPc perfection.

**JimmyFitz** · 05-21-2008, 08:14 AM

Got mine today. Works well via Bluetooth with my Windows Mobile Phone also!

**nobb** · 06-18-2008, 07:21 PM

Its been close to a month since I had my dinovo mini, but I just notice the black glossy cover is getting scruffed up, probably from all the bumping around in my armrest.

Anyone have any ideas on how to give it back its shine and to protect the cover from future scratches?

**kibble** · 06-18-2008, 10:29 PM

I don't know about protecting it, but you could probably go to the car store and get one of those kits to restore the clarity and shine of your headlights. Mine's looking pretty beat up too and I haven't had it for too long. The top is too easy to scratch. Everything inside still looks quite new though, but then again it's supposed to be a protective cover!

**pancit175** · 06-21-2008, 01:22 AM

Update...
Fyi, I just picked this up the other day and I searched around and found a hack for the provided program to reassign the media keys on the top row of the keyboard, and not just the three keys on the leftside with the use of the function button.
http://www.mstar.net/users/rlowens/uberOptions/

Enjoy, and you can thank me later.