Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Zzing Smartphone Edition or dahon biologic reecharge for iphone 3g ?

Hi,

i'm french so my english is quite poor, sorry for that.

I buy a 20" wheel whith dynamo (3N30). And i would like to charge my phone with GPS (xgps) is on. I don't have a lot of money. The e-werk is great but too expensive.

-i think first : Zzing Smartphone Edition. 99€
and i see the dahon : is less expensive (76€ on evans), 139€ in france.

I see a cheap recharge for iphone but is not very powerful (less 500 ma)

But i'm creep in electronic. It's for a european tour in august 2011 et asia tour en 2013.

Thanks a lot. :love:

my blog (careful is in fr) : free-wild.over-blog.fr

up, anybody can help me?

Links for those who are wondering:
http://www.zzing.de/English_Zzing/index.php/produkt/faq
http://www.dahon.com/news/releases/2009/08/dahon-brings-green-power-every-bike

I like the Dahon's battery better. Can the Zzing also be mounted somewhere besides the handlebars?

i don't know. With, you can charge the iphone after the dahon's battery charge?

i don't know. With, you can charge the iphone after the dahon's battery charge?

Looks like it. It'll also charge itself via USB or a wall charger.

They're both basically battery packs that can be recharged by a bike dynamo.

The ZZing uses NiMH battery packs, the Dahon's is a lithium polymer battery. I'd guess that the ZZing's batteries are easier to replace in the future, but Dahon's will last longer before it needs replacing -- it's the same battery technology used in iPhones, iPads, and other mobile devices.

that why i like de zzing. But i's more expensive. I see the dahon for 70€ on ebay. It's not easy for a choice.

Flip a coin and take your pick, then. By the time you wear out either battery, there might be new technology on the market anyway.

lol ;)

I'd say the Reecharge, I've got that some time back & the quality is simply amazing, it's completely showerproof, can mount almost anywhere-Bar, steerer tube and it's small enough that it will also fit inside a Bar & frame bags, charges from all 3 sources. And it charges from dynamo even at quite low speeds. Very good product.

thanks

If you want to run your phone/gps directly from the dynamo hub for an extended period of time away from electricity, save your money, none of these devices will do the job. At best these devices may extend the runtime but will not be able to keep up on a multi day tour. The problem is the dyno hub is only rated for 3 watts (500mA) at 6 volts. Having said that, there is a minimum speed required to get that kind of power at a given electrical load.

I purchased a Zzing a couple of years ago, very nicely made device, great customer service from Ronald. I took a 9 day tour, planned on running my gps off of the hub. After about a day and a half, the battery in the Zzing had been discharged and everytime I stopped, so did my GPS. Luckily my GPS will run off of AA batteries and I was able to purchase batteries along the way. The problem was my GPS draws about 200-300 mA, at loaded touring speeds my hub didn't generate enough power to keep up.

Last year I built my own charging circuit using a bridge rectifier and an LM317 voltage regulater. The chart below shows current output for a SON Dynohub connected to my charging circuit and 4 completely discharged AA batteries in series (4.8 volts). Sorry the speed is in MPH, may have to convert to KPH, not sure what unit of measurement you use. I know KPH confuses me.


MPH------Charge Current mA
3------------------------20
5------------------------80
7----------------------180
8----------------------220
9----------------------280
10--------------------300
12--------------------380
13--------------------400
14--------------------430
15--------------------440
20--------------------480
Max-----------------510

As you can see from the chart above, if my device is drawing 200mA of current, I have to be going at least 8 mph to break even. I was averaging 10-12 mph on this trip and the hub couldn't keep up after a day and a half. As we all know, you can spend some time below 8 mph even if you are averaging 10-12. This problem is worse if your device draws more current. I have read that some iphones can draw close to 500mA. Would really have to pedal fast to keep up with that.

The data above is for 4 AA batteris in series or 4.8 volts so it should be close to the Zzing and similar devices as far as how much current you can get out of the hub. The Zzing will actually be a little worse because it uses a 5 AA 6 volt pack so it will take longer/more speed to charge.

Just a side note. In my opinion the Ewerk is about the worst device out there. It is very expensive and doesn't allow you to set the voltage to a level that will charge batteries in a reasonable amount of time. They give you a chart in the manual that tells you what to set the voltage at to direct charge batteries. According to the manual, you set it for 2.8 volts to charge a pair of AA batteries in series. They claim that overcharging is not possible and this setting will charge the batteries to 80%. What they don't tell you is it would take about 3 days of riding to charge a pair of AA's at that voltage. That is allot of money for an 80% charge!

If your device has a removeable battery, you may be able to build your own charger. The parts are fairly cheap. I built this one for charging AA batteries off of my hub. Works like a champ, will charge 2 AA's in about 5-6 hours which is good because that is how long my gps will run on a pair. Can see a few pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27020810@N08/sets/72157624318701597/

Hope this helps.