Well, Muska has already reviewed similar chargers - frogs. These amphibians are different: with and without indicators, cheap and not very cheap. But this one won me over with its price and thousands of rave reviews on the site. Is everything good? If you are interested in knowing the answer to this question, welcome to my review, in which, as always, there will be a lot of photos and not very many words))

In general, I ordered it, not particularly worrying about what kind of animal would come. Fortunately, the price allows) I took it mainly as an alternative charger for my wife's phone. She has a phone - a purebred Chinese, the charge has already been interrupted and will soon order to live long, and it is unrealistic to find a similar charge, because it has a non-standard connector. But 2 batteries are included. You can safely charge one with a toad, and use the second in your phone. In addition, in the summer a frog can also help out, you can not take a bunch of chargers with you to the sea (phones, camera, boombox), but take only 1 frog))
Well, now about the green) After reading the rave reviews on the site, I realized one thing - it does not fit our sockets, you need an adapter, but they don’t give it in the kit. Well, I politely asked the seller to put it in the parcel for me and, lo and behold, the adapter was in the box. Although it costs 3 kopecks, it's still nice, especially since the store is ambiguous. The adapter was loose and had to be pulled up before use, at the same time I looked at the insides and was surprised by the “complexity” of the design))



The wah-wah itself is made of dense, transparent, blue plastic. The clip holding the battery is rigid. Antennae - contacts are set to any battery.

Charging current: 300mA Max. You can charge batteries with a capacity of up to 2000mA. More capacious batteries - can undercharge. The charging selects the polarity automatically, if you have connected the antennae correctly, the red LED will light up.

When charging, the LEDs shimmer in different colors - by God, like a garland)) When it is charged, it stops blinking. On the one hand, it’s beautiful (I love all kinds of luminous things) and you can see it well, on the other hand, with such color accompaniment, you won’t be able to sleep, so charging is in another room))

You can see how it works in this short video:

Size - it can be said that it is compact

Finally, I want to conduct a mini-test, check the quality of battery charging. If undercharged or overcharged. Or is everything ok?
I am using a battery for testing. Chinese phone his wife. Its characteristics can be seen in the photo:

First, I charge it to the limit with the help of a frog. After charging, I measure the voltage on the battery.

The result is positive. The numbers on the multimeter match those on the battery. After that, I completely discharged the phone and charged it using the usual charger that came with the phone:

As you can see, the readings are almost the same, which indicates that the quality of the Chinese frog is no worse than that of the Chinese charger. In general, it copes with its functions perfectly well, the case does not heat up much (a little warm). True, the charging current is not very large, so it charges slowly. How it will manifest itself over time - I do not know, but so far I'm satisfied. Over time, I think contacts can break - antennae, in appearance this is the weakest link. Everything else is ok. Although there are negative reviews on the site, some chargers quickly burned out. Therefore, I would not recommend leaving something on charging unattended. God saves man, who save himself. Thank you all for your attention, as always, I will be happy to answer your questions.

I plan to buy +24 Add to favorites Liked the review +31 +60

A universal charger, popularly referred to as a “frog”, “toad” or “clothespin”, is designed to charge lithium batteries with a capacity not exceeding 2000 mAh. You cannot charge other types of batteries with it.

The charger can be powered from a 220V home electrical network, from the car's network and via a computer's USB port. The process is controlled by a chip and when charging is completed, the device will turn off. As an example, let's try to learn how to use the "frog" to charge the battery.

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Accumulator charging

Though appearance universal chargers from different manufacturers may differ, the charging process is approximately the same. For successful charging you need:

  • Fix the battery in the device;
  • Connect terminals charger to the battery contacts;
  • Check the polarity - for this you need to press the "TE" button (usually it is located on the left). If the contacts are connected correctly, the light above the "CON" button will light up. In case the poles are reversed, you need to press the "CO" key to reverse the polarity, then again "TE" to make sure the polarity is correct;
  • The absence of the "TE" button means that the device automatically determines the polarity;
  • Now you can connect the device to the network;
  • The lights above the two buttons should light up: "PW" and "CH". The first means connecting to the network, and the second - the charging process;
  • The light bulb above the FULL button is a signal that the charging process is completed;
  • It is not recommended to leave the charger unattended or near flammable objects.

Charging a fully discharged battery

Using the universal charger, you can charge batteries that have not been used for a long time and have completely lost their charge. In this case, it is difficult to determine the polarity of the contacts, so proceed as follows:

  • Fix the battery in the device and attach the contacts;
  • Since the battery has no residual charge, the “CON” button will not light up, so you need to connect the device to the network for a few minutes;
  • If the “CH” key lights up or starts flashing, it means that the contacts are connected correctly, charging is in progress;
  • Otherwise, it is necessary to change the polarity of the contacts using the "CO" button and make sure that the charging process has begun.

Faults and solutions

Incorrect operation of the device may indicate a malfunction in the device or in the rechargeable battery:

  • If, when the device is connected to the network, two buttons light up simultaneously: "PW" and "FULL", you need to check the contacts. They may have come loose and need to be reattached;
  • A burning “FULL” button when connecting a discharged battery may indicate a malfunction.

Charger "Frog" - well-known universal device designed to restore the charge of lithium batteries mobile phones and other small gadgets. With a different type of battery, this device cannot be used.

Role in everyday life

Sometimes there are times when charging block there is no smartphone or mobile at hand, it is irretrievably broken or lost, and it is not possible to purchase it in the near future. In this case, it is replaced by "Frog" - Alternative names - "clothespin", "toad". This device is equipped with adjustable contacts, to which the battery itself, previously removed from the device, is connected directly. Of course, such a process involves some inconvenience associated with the constant removal of the battery and the possible failure of the settings, but sometimes this is the only successful way out of this situation.

Where and what can it be used for?

As mentioned above, this device is suitable for recharging most small-sized equipment, mainly phones and cameras. The frog device usually comes with instructions, but the problem may lie in the content of the brochure text on foreign language, since these devices are mostly made in China.

Some useful information

In addition to a cell phone, the Frog charger can charge a camera, a PDA or a navigator, but only if lithium batteries with a small capacity are used. The device is connected to the network with standard voltage. When the battery is fully charged, the device will automatically turn off the power. Typically, this takes about two to three hours.

There are several types of "frog" devices that can be connected to various sources of electricity:

  • To a regular 220 volt household outlet.
  • To the car network - 12 volts.
  • Connecting to a PC via a USB port - 5 volts.

The most practical and common is the frog charger, powered by the home network. The choice of type of device depends on the personal preference of each.

Explanation of device designations

Each such device has several indicator lights, next to which letters are indicated to help regulate the entire recharging process:

  • Full, ful - indicates that the battery is fully charged.
  • Charge, ch - means that the charging process is in progress.
  • Power, pw - the device is connected to a power source.
  • Con - polarity is correct.
  • Te - polarity check in progress.

How the Frog charger works

How to adjust the polarity manually? First you need to clamp the battery in the charger so that the contacts of the device are connected to the "-" and "+" terminals. If the battery has three or more contacts, then you need to use the two extreme ones.

If the polarity is correctly determined when connecting, when you press the left “Te” button, the green light with the inscription “Con” should light up, otherwise press the right “Con” button, then again “Te”. On some devices, the “Con” LED may light up when connected without first pressing.

The most convenient models are those that automatically determine the polarity, respectively, they do not have the right button for changing the polarity.

If everything is done correctly, the green “Con” light is on, which means that you can plug the device into a power outlet. At this point, "Power" and "Charge" should turn on. When the battery charging process is completed, the right "Full" LED will light up. Now the device can be removed from the socket and the battery can be used for its intended purpose.

Non-standard situations

If "Con" does not light up at all, then the battery is completely dead and needs a "buildup". In this case, it can be connected arbitrarily in any polarity, and then plugged into the network for five minutes. If “Charge” flashes, it means that charging is carried out correctly, if not, then it means that you need to right click change the polarity and see how the “Charge” pointer behaves in this case.

If “Power” and “Full” immediately began to burn, then most likely the battery in the “frog” is poorly installed, it should be more securely fixed.

Charging time varies depending on the capacity of the battery, typically two to five hours:

  • 1000 mAh - 5 hours.
  • 800 mAh - 4 hours.
  • 500 mAh - 2.5 hours.

How to use the frog charger?

The classic device is designed for 220-volt voltage, on the back of its cover there are two sliding pins located parallel to each other - they can be separated to the required distance corresponding to the distance between the battery contacts.

When switched on, polarity can be corrected manually via buttons or automatically. It all depends on what model your Frog charger is.

If the battery is completely worn out, the following situations may occur:


If desired, and with some skill, a do-it-yourself frog charger can be built using a simple scheme.

Batteries with more than two contacts can be charged using the described device, however, for this it will be necessary to disassemble the battery and connect charging to it, bypassing the controller.

Based on the foregoing, it can be understood that the "Frog" is a universal charger, which is very useful in case of failure of other power sources, small batteries, as well as the inability to charge gadgets in the usual way, which happens quite often. On the this moment manufacturers offer all new devices equipped with a USB port and an LCD display, which greatly simplifies their use.

Device advantages:

  • The presence of a USB port that allows you to charge most devices.
  • Ease of use.
  • Versatility.

Flaws:

  • With frequent use, relative fragility.
  • Long process of charging capacious batteries.

"Frog" - the best option for a spare energy source

Despite a few shortcomings, the “Frog” is a charger, the price of which is very diverse (from 60 to 650 rubles), it is quite a useful thing in the household, if only because it is able to literally revive batteries of phones and cameras that do not show signs of life . But it should be borne in mind that you need to use this device as needed. Too frequent charging using the "Frog" can lead to rapid depletion of the battery and, accordingly, its failure. Paradoxical, but true.

Despite the fact that these chargers are mainly made in China, you should not neglect such products. On the modern market, you can find universal and unique auxiliary devices that can greatly facilitate our lives and give a second chance to details that would otherwise fly into the trash. Therefore, it makes sense to have at least some idea of ​​​​how to use the Frog device for the usual recharging of a telephone battery.

There are situations when the charger that comes with the device has stopped working or the battery has run down so much that it needs to be “overclocked” for normal operation.

In this case, a universal charger - "frog" will help. It is suitable not only for the phone, but also for camcorders, GPS-navigators and cameras, the main condition is that the battery is lithium.

Also, its capacity should not exceed 2000 mAh, current strength - 200 mA, voltage - 3.5-4.8 W.

There are three types of frogs:

  • standard, powered by 220 V;
  • automotive, powered by a 12 V network;
  • computer, powered by a 5 V USB port.

They also come in automatic and semi-automatic. The main difference is that the former have three indicator lights, while the latter have four.

How to use the frog to charge the battery

There is nothing difficult in connecting a discharged battery to a frog. First you need to find out what the indicators located at the bottom of the charger mean. So let's look at each of them:

  • TE - testing for correct connection;
  • CON - turns on after the TE indicator in case of correct connection;
  • PW - lights up when connected to the network;
  • CH - flashes during recharging;
  • FUL - means that the battery is 100% charged;
  • CO - must be pressed if you need to change the polarity, if testing revealed a connection problem.

Now that we know the purpose of the buttons and the designations of the indicators, let's proceed directly to charging the battery. We take out the battery from the device and attach its contacts to the contacts of the frog.

It does not matter how to connect, because the polarity is determined automatically. If the "plus" and "minus" matched, the CON (connection) indicator will light up. We insert the "toad" into the outlet, and after an hour and a half the LED under the inscription FUL should light up.

The degree of charge is determined by a microchip. Although some argue that the device turns off when fully charged, it is still better to keep an eye on the process: the device is Chinese - a fire may occur when connected to the network for a long time.

For safety reasons, the plugged-in frog should be kept away from flammable materials.

Troubleshooting

As you can see, everything is quite simple, but some difficulties and unforeseen situations may arise.

  • After testing, none of the indicators lit up. In this case, press the CO button. Did not help? Then you, apparently, made a mistake with the contacts, because there can be four of them on the battery, and you only need two - “+” and “-”. If after the rearrangement no changes are observed, then either the charger drove, or the battery is no longer working.
  • It also happens that the phone for a long time was not used, and you suddenly remembered it. The battery charge has already dried up, for this reason the indicators will not light up. And then you should insert the frog into the outlet for a short period of time, no more than 10 minutes. After that, you can charge the battery through the phone.
  • When connected to the network, the FUL indicator may light up immediately. This means that the battery is no longer working.
  • Another indicator of inoperability is fast recharging (5-10 minutes);
  • The simultaneous glow of the PW and FUL diodes indicates that the device does not contact the battery. You need to check the connection.

That's probably all that could be said about how to use the frog to charge the battery.

We can only add that the device is readily available on the markets and is inexpensive (about 200 rubles), so if for some reason you cannot recharge your device in the standard way, purchase a universal Chinese charger.

In recent years, most of the technology has become autonomous and lightweight, but it is still not possible to solve such a seemingly simple problem of standardizing charging connectors. This is where the universal frog charger comes to the rescue, which is able to work with any phone battery, regardless of brand, size and configuration. In the article we will talk about what a universal frog phone charger is and how to use it, its features of work.

The frog charger has a simple filling. In the device circuit, the AC-to-DC converter and the controller chip play the main role. The converter reduces the voltage supplied to the device and serves as a kind of limiter. The charger can operate on current with a voltage in the range of 100-230 V.

The controller serves as a sensor. Depending on the structure of the device, information is displayed either as text on the screen or via LEDs.

Important. The indicator only warns about malfunctions and the amount of charge in the battery, but is not able to interrupt the supply of electricity based on this information. Recharging shortens the life and may cause a fire. After the battery is completely filled, the “frog” must be removed from the device and only then remove the battery.

Device types

The devices are usually divided into two types: automatic (changing the polarity of the batteries on their own) and semi-automatic (for which you need to correctly connect the terminals depending on the plus or minus at the end of the battery).

Depending on the price, such chargers are equipped with either LCD (LCD screen) or LEDs. Let's deal with the automatic device first:

  • FULL (FUL, OK) - lights up when the battery is fully charged;
  • CH (CHARGE) - the process of charging the battery installed in the terminals is in progress;
  • TE (TEST) - the battery is installed in the terminals.

Such "toads" themselves change the polarity in the contacts, you do not need to manually configure anything.

Semi-autos are a little more difficult to handle. They do not have a TEST button; instead, the following sensors are installed:

  • PW - the charger is connected to the network;
  • CON - indicates the correct polarity of the battery.

In addition to the indicator lights on Chinese devices, there are additional buttons on the panel under the clamp: TE - to turn on, and CON - to change polarity. The latter can be installed on the side of the belly of the apparatus.

Depending on the type of food, UZU is conditionally divided into three subgroups.

Equipped with standard power plugs. Input voltage - 220 V.

hybrid

The device has both a USB port and a plug. Due to differences in voltages in the sources, the strength of the output current will be different.

Automotive

How to charge a battery with a frog? Can be charged from car cigarette lighter. Input voltage - 12 V.

Charging process

Whatever the brand of battery, before using the frog for, you need to make sure that the battery is in order. Do not use crumpled batteries with a damaged metal layer.

Phones usually have 3 or 4 pins. Two of them are used for charging, and service information is transmitted through the remaining ones: the level of charge and the voltage in the network. When the battery is charged, the phone activates the power disconnect mechanism. This prevents overheating and damage to the battery.

But the problem is that manufacturers are trying to make original batteries so that they cannot be used in devices of other brands. The distance between the contacts for each device is different, therefore, before starting charging, the “frog” terminals must be adjusted: move, increase or decrease the angle between them.

To do this, we apply the battery without opening the clip. Thanks to the transparent plastic, this is easy to do, the electrical terminals underneath are clearly visible. Next, look at the contacts on the battery. If there are no symbols, you need to connect the battery to the two extreme contacts: first try the left ones, charging has not started - try those on the right side. At major manufacturers(Samsung, Fly Benq) plus and minus are usually indicated on the battery label.

Having decided on this and opening the “frog”, it is necessary that the “teeth” tightly, with an emphasis, touch the battery contacts. Next, turn on the charger. If everything is correct, the TE lamp will light up and CH will start flashing.

In semi-automatic memory, PW and CON should light up. If the last light does not light up, you should press the CON button or move the slider on the side of the "frog". When the charging process is completed, FULL will light up.

Frog charging time

The safest way to charge the battery is to use a frog phone charger. It supplies a very low charge of current to the batteries. In most cases, the output voltage is 3.5–4.8 V. This is several times less than what a standard phone power supply supplies. The maximum possible current is 1.5 A, but in reality the values ​​​​are much less, about 240-300 mA. As a result, it will take a little more than 13 hours to charge a smartphone battery with a capacity of 200 mAh, 2000 mAh - 6.5 hours.

For charging laptop batteries and large household appliances"toads" will not fit. The charging time will be too long, and the size will not allow you to install a battery in the clip. To restore them, either Powerbank or a native charger is suitable.

The device can only work with lithium-ion batteries. It is not designed to fill alkaline and nickel batteries with electricity.

"Frogs" are widely used in powering small household appliances. They are suitable for restoring the charge of devices such as:

  • digital and SLR cameras;
  • cell phone batteries;
  • batteries of smartphones and tablets, players;
  • screwdrivers;
  • Kids toys.

However, they will be useless for powering gadgets that have a non-removable battery. Do not try to charge such devices via USB.

Precautionary measures:

  • Universal chargers should be stored in a dry place. Avoid getting water on them. The assembly of "frogs" wants to leave the best, they do not possess moisture resistance.
  • When the battery is installed and connected to the mains, you need to monitor it. If it starts to warm up, pull out the "frog" immediately.
  • Do not leave the charger plugged in overnight.
  • During charging, there should be no combustible materials near the device.
  • Change the location of the terminals and adjust the position of the battery in the clamp before connecting the device to the network.

Prices

The cheapest chargers cost from 100 rubles. On average, you will have to pay about 200 rubles. Devices with LCD screens will cost 250-300 rubles. Chinese devices cost 1-2 dollars on Aliexpress, you can find cheaper ones, but they have a drawback: they often have a local, non-European plug.

Recently, hybrids have appeared for installing one battery and equipped with an additional one or two contacts for connecting a USB cable - the price is from 500 rubles. In fact, they serve as a power supply at the same time.

Outcome

The “frog”, if used correctly, will help charge the gadget, but this accessory is clearly not suitable for permanent use. The charging time is long, and each time you have to remove the battery. And most importantly, at this time you can miss an important call.