Author Topic: Bike mounted USB Charger  (Read 82613 times)

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #75 on: 31 August, 2008, 01:56:06 pm »
This thread is an example of why I love yACF and the community we have going here.

The drawings from Simon were like double dutch for me.  The photos were much better. 

Can someone show how big the actual units are and where you are putting them on the bike please?

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #76 on: 31 August, 2008, 02:00:18 pm »
You can get some idea of the size of the ones shown in the photos by knowing that the distance between hole centres is 0.1" ie around 2.5mm, or to put it another way, there are ten holes to an inch.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #77 on: 31 August, 2008, 02:01:30 pm »
I've been watching this thread in the vain hope that it would start to make sense at some point.

Can anyone recommend a good electronics primer? ;D

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #78 on: 31 August, 2008, 02:10:50 pm »
Further to Grub's comments and David's pics below, could somebody please perhaps ...

OK, construction has commenced..

From this:


via this:






to this:



Not yet tested - I will need to fix a flat tyre on a hub gear with coaster brake wheel first

..d

Place the components on a drawn circuit diagram so an idiot like me begins to understand how this works.  Even better, perhaps lay out the components and then add in the lines so that the components replace the symbols on the diagram, please?

Many many thanks btw for all the contributions to date.  I find this very interesting.

I have two more questions if I may, please?

Is it possible to build something like this without soldering?   Soldering for me is definitely out though I guess I can find a willing assistant if absolutely necessary.

I have a plan to have an on-off-on rocker switch so I can flip the output manually between charging batteries / phone, etc. and powering the lights.   Does this sound feasible?   



border-rider

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #79 on: 31 August, 2008, 03:07:16 pm »
Quote
Is it possible to build something like this without soldering?   

Difficult, as all the components are designed to be soldered. 

TBH I think it'd be easier, quicker and cheaper to deploy your willing assistant than find a way to build reliably it without solder ;)

Quote
I have a plan to have an on-off-on rocker switch so I can flip the output manually between charging batteries / phone, etc. and powering the lights.   Does this sound feasible?   

Yep

That's what I'd do

There are 2 options - one is to get all clever and have  a switchable DC output powering a home-brew LED lamp; the other is just to switch the input between this circuit and standard dynamo lights

Nick H.

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #80 on: 31 August, 2008, 08:13:49 pm »
Thanks for the encouraging reply. Another question for you, prompted by this:

A wind turbine would only be sensible if you were cycling into strong wind. 

I came across this thing: http://hymini.com/html/HYmini.html   It seems tailor made for cyclists. You can connect a panel to it as well. Maybe you could connect a dynohub too?

It's supposed to start generating power with more than 9 mph of wind. So if you were cycling along at 15 mph on a windless day wouldn't it work rather well? Or is the output too puny compared to a dynohub?  Or does it create so much drag that it's not worth the pedalling effort?

They claim 200-850 mA, which they say will charge a phone in an hour.

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #81 on: 31 August, 2008, 08:29:34 pm »
If you are converting motion into electrical energy, the most efficient way to do it is with a generator directly connected to your wheels.  A wind turbine which is taking energy from your motion through the air is going to be a lot less efficient, ie it'll create more drag for a given amount of energy than a dynamo will, the relatively "loose" coupling of energy onto an air turbine will lose a lot, and be relatively inefficient compared to the fairly tightly coupled mechanical connection of a dynohub or even a bottle dynamo.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #82 on: 31 August, 2008, 08:34:27 pm »

Quote
I have a plan to have an on-off-on rocker switch so I can flip the output manually between charging batteries / phone, etc. and powering the lights.   Does this sound feasible?   

Yep

That's what I'd do

There are 2 options - one is to get all clever and have  a switchable DC output powering a home-brew LED lamp; the other is just to switch the input between this circuit and standard dynamo lights

I have built both types of circuit for different people. If you are using a standard bike light then switching the input between that and the charging circuit is preferable, and much less stressful for the electronics. I use a homemade light containing 3 Seoul P4 LEDs in series and I therefore have to switch the output of the rectifier part of the circuit (ie before the LM2940 and the tantalum caps) between the LM2940 and the light. If you do this you have to be careful not to switch whilst on the move and not to switch from 'off' (ie switched to neither output) to either output or the high voltages that may be present in C1 could fry the LEDs or the LM2940. Really a crowbar circuit should be introduced if output switching is to be used (only a zener diode and a power transistor), but this may be beyond the scope of this thread.

Andrij

  • Андрій
  • Ερασιτεχνικός μισάνθρωπος
Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #83 on: 31 August, 2008, 09:02:31 pm »
I know next to nothing about electrikery, so I'd be grateful if the experts here could supply some enlightenment.

These say they run off a 6v3w dynamo.  My dynamo is 6v2.4w.  Does this mean the two are incompatible or just that the device would take longer to charge?  ??? 

And I'll second the request for a pointer to an "Idiots Guide to Electrickery".
;D  Andrij.  I pronounce you Complete and Utter GIT   :thumbsup:

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #84 on: 31 August, 2008, 09:54:19 pm »
Further to Grub's comments and David's pics below, could somebody please perhaps ...

OK, construction has commenced..

Not yet tested - I will need to fix a flat tyre on a hub gear with coaster brake wheel first

..d

Place the components on a drawn circuit diagram so an idiot like me begins to understand how this works.  Even better, perhaps lay out the components and then add in the lines so that the components replace the symbols on the diagram, please?

Many many thanks btw for all the contributions to date.  I find this very interesting.

I have two more questions if I may, please?

Is it possible to build something like this without soldering?   Soldering for me is definitely out though I guess I can find a willing assistant if absolutely necessary.

I have a plan to have an on-off-on rocker switch so I can flip the output manually between charging batteries / phone, etc. and powering the lights.   Does this sound feasible?   


What I did was to go through the circuit and label the various connections. I started with the USB connector which sits between rows 2-5 of the strip board. Row 2 is the +5v, 5 is the -5V. Rows 1 and 6 are empty. I then added in the voltage regulator. As the positive row is 2 I put the positive leg in that row, the middle leg is now row 3 and the input is row 4.
3 is connected to 5 with a bridging wire link (the tagend off one of the other components - waste not, want not.

From there I figured that the two 470u caps would span up to two rows, and the big one has to span 3/5 and 4. Numbering all the distinct connections then identified where all the ends of the components should go. Ground is 3 or 5. Positive in is 4. Positive out is 2.  The Zener diodes then get connections numbered 9 and 10 for the dynamo input and the intermediate connections 7 and 8 - doesn't matter which gets which number as long as they then all join up OK.  It sounds complex but is actually really easy once you sit down with the diagram and start labelling it.

BTW, it appears to work. I connected it across the dynamo, and the output to my pocket DV camera, and it flashed up the 'are you charging from the USB' dialogue when I span the wheel, and didn't burn out. So I am happy.

..d
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

border-rider

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #85 on: 31 August, 2008, 10:17:04 pm »
These say they run off a 6v3w dynamo.  My dynamo is 6v2.4w.  Does this mean the two are incompatible or just that the device would take longer to charge?  ???

Longer to charge, I think.  A 3 W dynamo and a 2.4 W dynamo are jut the same, except one gives 20% less current.  Simon's circuit operates on voltage, so that;d work with either.  I expect the device you link to is the same.

Quote
And I'll second the request for a pointer to an "Idiots Guide to Electrickery".

Quite a big subject :)

Maybe better to ask some questions

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #86 on: 01 September, 2008, 08:37:03 am »
For a beginners guide to lectrickery, try 'Starting Electronics' by Brindley - ISBN 9780750663861

Takes you through what each of the major component types does up to building simple digital circuits.

I'll take some more pics with a ruler (though the size of the USB socket should give you some idea, and knowing the stripboard is 2.5mm pitch between the holes.)

..d
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

rower40

  • Not my boat. Now sold.
Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #87 on: 01 September, 2008, 08:50:05 am »
For a beginners guide to lectrickery, try 'Starting Electronics' by Brindley - ISBN 9780750663861

Takes you through what each of the major component types does up to building simple digital circuits.

I'll take some more pics with a ruler (though the size of the USB socket should give you some idea, and knowing the stripboard is 2.5mm pitch between the holes.)

..d
[Pedant's Corner]  Stripboard is 2.54 mm pitch.  Except in the former USSR, where they really did try 2.5mm.  The normal one is 10 strips to an inch, innit?  What with electronics being dominated by the 'mercans.  [/Pedant's Corner]

Near the start of "The Wrong Trousers", Gromit is reading "Electronics for Dogs".  Where can I get a copy?
Be Naughty; save Santa a trip

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #88 on: 01 September, 2008, 08:56:55 am »
For a beginners guide to lectrickery, try 'Starting Electronics' by Brindley - ISBN 9780750663861

Takes you through what each of the major component types does up to building simple digital circuits.

I'll take some more pics with a ruler (though the size of the USB socket should give you some idea, and knowing the stripboard is 2.5mm pitch between the holes.)

..d

Thanks for the book reference and all the other advice David.  :thumbsup:

tiermat

  • According to Jane, I'm a Unisex SpaceAdmin
Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #89 on: 01 September, 2008, 01:10:28 pm »
I know next to nothing about electrikery, so I'd be grateful if the experts here could supply some enlightenment.

These say they run off a 6v3w dynamo.  My dynamo is 6v2.4w.  Does this mean the two are incompatible or just that the device would take longer to charge?  ??? 

Depends upon the device and what it is expecting.  For example a few years ago Nokia, in their infinite wisdom changed the design of the 6210 phone (the bog standard business candy bar one)and this design change meant it now need a few (as in <1.0) more watts to charge, if it didn't detect that value or above it assumed that the charger wasn't working correctly and thus didn't charge the phone.  Unfortunately for Nokia the car cradles that every sales rep and his dog had fitted to their car gave out the smaller value that the old design used...

Cue lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth
I feel like Captain Kirk, on a brand new planet every day, a little like King Kong on top of the Empire State

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #90 on: 01 September, 2008, 08:46:28 pm »
For a beginners guide to lectrickery, try 'Starting Electronics' by Brindley - ISBN 9780750663861

Takes you through what each of the major component types does up to building simple digital circuits.

I'll take some more pics with a ruler (though the size of the USB socket should give you some idea, and knowing the stripboard is 2.5mm pitch between the holes.)

..d

Very kind, David - I've ordered it from the library :)

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #91 on: 20 August, 2010, 04:12:57 pm »
I bought a cheapO 2 AA battery USB charger from fleabay last week and I am very pleased with it! I can now charge my Garmin Edge and my iPhone wherever I want, and if I run out of rechargeable AAs I can always buy a couple. I can now use my phone to surf the web on trains etc with no fear of ending up with a flat battery. Truly the most useful £3 I think I have ever spent!

Gotte

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #92 on: 16 January, 2011, 06:04:54 pm »
I know this is an oldish thread, but thought I'd resurrect it with a question.

Will this work with a HTC hero which will charge from a USB port:

GENUINE NOKIA DC-14 BICYCLE CHARGER KIT CR-124 HOLDER on eBay (end time  09-Feb-11 16:07:16 GMT)

Here's the technical spec:

Compatible with bottle type bicycle dynamos with 6V/3W and 12V/3W output
5.0V/450mA/15km/h. Maximum current 70mA
Charging starts at ~6km/h and maximum output is achieved at 25km/h. Charging stops when the speed reaches 50km/m
Charging time depends on cycling speed, for example a Nokia 1202 with a 860mAh battery can be charged with about 20 minutes of cycling at a speed of about 10km/h (for the Nokia 1202 this would mean approximately 57 mins talk time or 74h standby time)


I know little about electrics, though suspect there might be a typo where it states:

5.0V/450mA/15km/h. Maximum current 70mA

I'm guessing for a maximum current it should read 700mA, rather than 70mA.

I like this solution because it uses a bottle dynamo which is independent of lights ( don't want the lights and what to be able to switch the setup between 700c tourer and 26 in mountain bike tourer). I also have a different lighting setup I want to run independent of a dynamo. I know this uses a 2mm jack to charge, but you can buy an adaptor to make it mini USB.

Thanks

andygates

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Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #93 on: 16 January, 2011, 09:11:39 pm »
I've just seen this The Plug thingy, which is a head-tube battery with wires up its jacksie and a USB port on top.  Chuffy (rarely of this parish) has it to test, but is, alas, Ned Ludd and will probably blame it for soggy folding maps and a failure of his sundial's nightlight.  ;)

the plug, dynamo hub phone charger from tout terrain.de | Padded Shorts
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Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #94 on: 16 January, 2011, 09:43:59 pm »
I know this is an oldish thread, but thought I'd resurrect it with a question.

Will this work with a HTC hero which will charge from a USB port:

GENUINE NOKIA DC-14 BICYCLE CHARGER KIT CR-124 HOLDER on eBay (end time  09-Feb-11 16:07:16 GMT)

Maybe, but you'd have to hack cables.

Quote
Here's the technical spec:

Compatible with bottle type bicycle dynamos with 6V/3W and 12V/3W output
5.0V/450mA/15km/h. Maximum current 70mA
Charging starts at ~6km/h and maximum output is achieved at 25km/h. Charging stops when the speed reaches 50km/m
Charging time depends on cycling speed, for example a Nokia 1202 with a 860mAh battery can be charged with about 20 minutes of cycling at a speed of about 10km/h (for the Nokia 1202 this would mean approximately 57 mins talk time or 74h standby time)


I know little about electrics, though suspect there might be a typo where it states:

5.0V/450mA/15km/h. Maximum current 70mA

I'm guessing for a maximum current it should read 700mA, rather than 70mA.

That does look like a typo, the Nokia site claims it will charge an 860mAh battery in 20 minutes at 10km/h. The figures don't add up somewhere.

I quite like the idea of the plug, and it is very neat looking, but
  • It doesn't seal, and has a forward + upward facing socket, so not ideal for typical British summer use
  • It will get in the way of anything mounted on the stem - like computers, route sheets, or, in the case of one of my bikes, the GPS that I'd like to power from it!
  • It is only suitable for steel or alloy steerers

It's also not clear how well it smooths the power; ideally it'd have a reasonable sized battery (or big capacitor) on board so that it can continue to charge your device during short stops or whilst grunting slowly up hill. Some devices really don't like having the external power continually connected and disconnected.

The B&M e-werk gets around this by having a fairly expensive 1400mAh cache battery option.
The ReeCharge has a 1600mAh battery built into one reasonably priced (about £70) unit, but it is fugly.

Gotte

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #95 on: 17 January, 2011, 01:51:32 pm »
Do you know if the Reecharge will work off a bottle dynamo, that is, is there any difference between the output of a 5v bottle dynamo and hub dynamo?
I'd be very interested in the Reecharge, but I want it to run off a bottle dynamo so I can switch it between bikes with different wheelsizes.

Thanks.

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #96 on: 17 January, 2011, 02:33:15 pm »
I was a bit torn between the plug, ewerk and reecharge. I've decided to order the reecharge as the cheapo option since Evans have it for £65 free delivery. If it is too fugly I will hide it in my bar bag  ;D

I will report on how well it works with my iphone 3GS and Garmin Edge 705 (and Schmidt dynohub).

The info on the ewerk site suggests that Garmin Edge's may only power from it or recharge the battery but not both and possibly not while the device is in use. I am not sure how correct this is, and the chart seems to suggest it depends what version of the firmware you have as to which of the two it will do. This I found a little off putting as on PBP and long audaxes I will definitely need it to both power and charge my Garmin Edge during the day so I can use it at night when my dyno light is being powered by the hub instead.

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #97 on: 17 January, 2011, 02:59:24 pm »
The info on the ewerk site suggests that Garmin Edge's may only power from it or recharge the battery but not both and possibly not while the device is in use. I am not sure how correct this is, and the chart seems to suggest it depends what version of the firmware you have as to which of the two it will do. This I found a little off putting as on PBP and long audaxes I will definitely need it to both power and charge my Garmin Edge during the day so I can use it at night when my dyno light is being powered by the hub instead.

It'll be fine. Older versions of the Edge 705 wouldn't charge whilst in use (regardless of what the power source was).

Looking at the table it seems that v2.6 couldn't charge whilst in use, whilst 2.9 (and later) can. I bought my Edge 705 last year (v3.1 firmware) and it happily charges whilst in use. The firmware can be updated.

Last June I started a 400 with the Edge 705 fully charged. At 8pm it was starting to get dark so I plugged the Edge 705 (now with only 15% or so of charge left) in to the Portapow battery pack. I then rode through the night with the backlight on. When it got light in the morning I unplugged the Portapow battery pack and turned off the backlight, the Edge 705 was fully charged.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #98 on: 17 January, 2011, 04:20:34 pm »
Yes, I'm sure the ReeCharge will be fine for the 705 too. I've been eyeing it up on the Evans site, hovering over the buy button.

I've been running the 705 since it first came out, and can't say I've ever had any issues powering/recharging from an external battery, regardless of the software version - I'm pretty sure it was V2.20 when I got mine, the oldest file I have on Garmin Connect is from sw V 2.40 (back in 1998). As long as it has 5V into the USB port (with a small caveat about connecting the data pins together, which the ReeCharge should do, to stop it going into the mode where it thinks it is connected to a computer) then it will both operate and charge simultaneously.

I'm slightly hesitating as that price would buy me another couple of portapower batteries. Three of those would be more than enough for PBP for the phone and GPS, and have neater cabling on the bike. But being fully self-sufficient power-wise also has its attractions.

Re: Bike mounted USB Charger
« Reply #99 on: 17 January, 2011, 04:35:59 pm »
Yes, I'm sure the ReeCharge will be fine for the 705 too. I've been eyeing it up on the Evans site, hovering over the buy button.

I've been running the 705 since it first came out, and can't say I've ever had any issues powering/recharging from an external battery, regardless of the software version - I'm pretty sure it was V2.20 when I got mine, the oldest file I have on Garmin Connect is from sw V 2.40 (back in 1998). As long as it has 5V into the USB port (with a small caveat about connecting the data pins together, which the ReeCharge should do, to stop it going into the mode where it thinks it is connected to a computer) then it will both operate and charge simultaneously.

I'm slightly hesitating as that price would buy me another couple of portapower batteries. Three of those would be more than enough for PBP for the phone and GPS, and have neater cabling on the bike. But being fully self-sufficient power-wise also has its attractions.

Which ones are the data pins? This could actually be a very useful caveat as I could carry a cable of both types which would enable me to make the Garmin save whenever I wanted on long rides so I don't lose any data.