mack1

Hi Catch,

I have a Motorola cell phone. The wall socket charger puts out 5 volts DC at .55 amperes. Watts is volts times amperes, thus, my unit puts out 2.75 watts max. You are really charging a small battery inside the cell phone. The car has 12 volts, so the cigarette lighter adapter simply reduces the 12 volts to 5 volts and feeds my cell phone in the car. Remember I said that you could leave them plugged in without draining the car battery.

An inverter is only needed if you need larger than 12 volts (not the case with cell phones). If you have a car adapter that will reduce 12 volts to 5, then the only problem will be to find a connector that will fit into your cell phone and getting it wired up. Those connectors are very small and would be hard to wire up.

I would recommend that you try a different place to get the adapter. Should be able to find one for about $10. Try Radio Shack, Wall Mart, Kmart, etc. Just show them your phone and ask them if they have a car adapter for it. Better yet, just call them up and tell them what you want and see what they have to say.

I just re-read your last post and I now get the picture. The answer is yes, you could use your car inverter that puts out 120 volts and plug your home cell phone charger into it. An inverter to charge a cell phone battery is Big Time Overkill. I wouldn't leave an inverter running overnight unattended. Inverters are not that efficient and would probably run the car battery down if left on overnight. The cell phone wouldn't, as it needs very little to charge. Try to get the regular cigerette lighter plugin charger for an affordable price. Good thinking on the inverter though.

Very best regards,
Mack1