Anyone found a dynamo for charging their iPhone on the go; I have a lovely mount on my handlebars but running the GPS hammers the battery (lasted about half of PfS for example)
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Computers, GPS, 'Smart' 'Phones
Dynamo for iPhone
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Posted 13 years ago #
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Any dynamo will provide enough power, you need a regulator circuit to take the ac from the dynamo and convert it to 5v DC. There are a few solutions and some very expensive. Best cheap one i seen was adding 4AA nimh batteries after a rectifier this caps the voltage at an acceptable level and keeps the current flowing even when your stopped.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Nokia sell a bike charger for their phones - the DC14. It was reveiwed in the 14 Feb issue of CW. Costs £25. So there may be others for iPhone.
Posted 13 years ago # -
If you could get that cheap enough it would be a simple matter to mod it to work on the iphone. But it looks a little expensive given you don't need the bottle and you'd have to hack of the connectors.
This dude's done most of the hard work, though his solution is mega bucks.
http://garote.bdmonkeys.net/bike_charger/index.htmlPosted 13 years ago # -
If anyone has any sort of generator available I should be able to figure out a USB conversion.
I take it iPhones do charge off USB and not just some fabulously-expensive-but-exquisitely-packaged wall wart....
Shouldn't be expensive, guy at steveo's link has gone over the top, I think.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I would go for solar charger strapped to back pack or pannier
Posted 13 years ago # -
"I would go for solar charger"
I've tried two with USB output.
Basically don't do what they claim.
Not convinced would do even at Equator.
Any recommendations??
Posted 13 years ago # -
Wind turbine generator. Any extra juice left over from charging the ipad (it's only a matter of time before you get an ipad bracket for your handlebars) can be used to feed an electric boost system to get you up the hills! :)
Perpetual whatnow?
Posted 13 years ago # -
All of the solar devices i've looked into are woefully under powered even in all but 'optimal' conditions you need a huge panel on your back to charge an iPhone as fairly unlikely to be riding with your back to the sun all day.
iPhone has a battery around 5wh that's about 1400mah x 3.7v. So you'd need a 5w panel in optimal conditions for an hour to charge or a 1w panel 5hrs. Obviously there are losses this is the ideal world where drivers give us adequate space.
A 5w panel is huge for a bike and unless you staked it out at midday during the summer you'd not get that 5w for the full hour. Similarly a 1w panel whilst small enough would take too long for these mystical ideal conditions so would take more like 8-10 hours of good sun light, with the panel facing the sun the whole time.
Better solution: Dynamo or carry/buy more AA's.
Posted 13 years ago # -
MJG:
Choose a dynamo and we'll go from there.If lots of people are interested, there might be justification for a kit of some kind.
Worth a vote?
Posted 13 years ago # -
"there might be justification for a kit of some kind"
I've never been able to find an AA batts to USB gadget.
Would have thought there'd be a market for that.
I would be wary of connecting a dynamo to an iPhone however 'reliable' the electronics were.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Maplin sell these iGo products. 2xAA -> MiniUSB.
http://www.igo.com/accessories/powerxtender-charger/invt/ps002640004/
http://www.igo.com/a-series-tips-for-mobile-devices/igo-power-tip-a32-for-select-mobile-devices/invt/660063201/People seem quite content to plug their iPhone/iPad etc. into a car cigarette lighter which is quite "rough" so I would think a dynamo/generator would be quite managable. Dynamos Don't blow the bulbs too often, after all.
Wouldn't have to be a iPhone either, could be a GPS/loud horn/backup light etc.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Aa to usb is quite common, if your DIY inclined the minty boost is quite efficient and fairly simple. There are lots of single Aa to usb but this is really inefficient.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Posted 13 years ago #
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This is what I would like a small solar panel to be able to charge.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Two problems, one charging lithium batteries is not for the faint of heart they can go kaboom very easily, the iPhone has lots of nice circuitry to stop that. Second, thats 9.5 w/h so would take twice as long to charge, or need twice the panel.
Posted 13 years ago # -
And thridly...
A solar panel to deliver 5W is about 300x300mm (1sqft).
However, your add-on pack will have charging circuits built in so just needs the wall-wart voltage to work.
A slight practical difficulty for on-bike use is that charging the pack while connected to a phone is prohibited
Posted 13 years ago # -
That looks like a good one, 3v to 5v is much more efficient than the 1.5v to 5v so it'll be much better than the very cheap ones and its much simpler than building one.
Nimh are really easy to charge just apply a current and wait for them to get hot then they are done. Not great for them but they survive. You could charge 4 2000mha aa from a dynamo in 4 hours given a dynamo gives a (fairly) fixed 500ma you'd just have to remember to unplug it before you cooked the cells.
Ninja edit: bought one as well.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Ok, so its related but a bit higher loading...
Im sitting beside an ampcan with no charger, its got a sealed lead-acid 12v battery and I have a european 12v battery charger, a couple of small 3cm square solar cells and a SON dynamo. Will I be able to use the latter two for charging on the road?
Posted 13 years ago # -
Readers of this thread might be interested in this...
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/ewerk.aspI think your SON is probably a 6V nominal output device so some kind of inverter/regulator is needed to charge the battery but possible in principle.
Solar cells that small won't make much of a dent on charging an SLA, other than to keep it topped up as it self-dischrges over time. Depends on the voltage the produce too.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Actually, given enough speed a dynamo can produce as much voltage as is needed to keep its constant 500ma so charging a sla battery would be ok the problem is stopping the charging before you cook it. You'd be better with some nimh though just as easy to charge but much lighter for a given power.
Solar cells as alibali says are just going to waste weight.
Posted 13 years ago # -
thanks alibali, Have been at work with the 'leccy screwdriver and the can is now happily charging off its new power supply :), its not human powered but it will work anywhere in europe now.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Great! Time to go off and test your handywork somewhere warm!
Steveo, is the 500mA limit behaviour typical of generators and dynamos or peculiar to the SON?
Posted 13 years ago # -
I think its fairly typical of all bicycle type generators, i don't know why, I think the only problem comes in some of the higher end ones have a zenner diode to stop the voltage running away and blowing light bulbs.
My commuter rig next year is going to have a hub dynamo and a few led's which are the perfect companion. Have a look at this, its a bit geeky....
http://pilom.com/BicycleElectronics/DynamoCircuits.htmPosted 13 years ago # -
Thanks Steveo, that's very interesting and informative (and possibly the least geeky thing posted here for weeks, but that's a personal point of view!).
The author has put a lot of work into that development, makes charging an iPhone seem a bit basic really.
Posted 13 years ago # -
What you don't like bricks?!?
Yeah i think he's a dude from the candle power forums, you want geeky and niche interest have a look at those dudes, some of the best bike light going.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I'll stick with CCE - it has it all. Bricks. LEDs. Apple-mackery. And the occasional cycling reference.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"I'll stick with CCE - it has it all. Bricks. LEDs. Apple-mackery. And the occasional cycling reference."
Think we need some recipes - probably just for cake...
As for bricks, well I was disappointed that K doesn't actually collect them - taking photos isn't the same.
Imagine if 'we' just collected photos of bicycles!
Posted 13 years ago #
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