Cyclebum

Not talking solar. AC rechargeable. Anyone have experience with, recommendations for a small, high capacity model suitable for keeping a 'smart' phone powered up 24/7? Would be used when touring. Recharge done at campgounds/restaurants.

Don in Austin

Doesn't the smartphone have a 120v charger? Just plug it in whenever you are near 120v. If the GPS in the smartphone runs the battery down there are 2x to 3x oversize batteries with modified back cover available for most smartphones: https://www.mugen-power-batteries.com...FWmhtgoddE0DnA My smartphone now goes 2-3 days even with frequent use of the GPS.

Don in Austin

Cyclebum

Thanks Don. Cross posted.

There are good reasons for wanting a 'smart' phone to stay on 24/7 when touring, not the least of which is in case of a family emergency. The op in the thread had another. My interest in the subject was academic, as my simple flip phone will run for 3 days between charges.

unterhausen

I have a couple of the Energizer energi-to-go batteries. Unfortunately they don't come with a connector to charge my phone or my camera, so I just use them to charge my ipod. You can get extra connectors for the price of shipping, which is fairly reasonable.

LabDad

would something like this help? it it small...https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+pack&x=7&y=25

Looigi

Gomadic has all sorts of supplemental power packs etc.. Might have something like you're looking for.

https://www.gomadic.com/

whitefiretiger

I've got a friend that takes camping/hiking trips that last up to a week at a time he got a 3000mah extended life battery for his phone and this charging deal https://www.zagg.com/accessories/zaggsparq.php
He goes an entire week without needing a power outlet so I'd say this is a winning combo.

Or you could try and do something crazy like getting a 12v dynamo (or putting 2 6v dynamos) on you're bike and hooking to a 12v power outlet (cigarette lighter style) and use a car charger to keep you're phone charged while you ride. I'm sure there'd be need for voltage regulators, capacitors or what not in doing this... But it would be cool.

RaleighSport

I like that thing in theory.

whitefiretiger

It works great. I borrowed it for 4 days when my electricity was off and I was able to keep my EVO 4g charged the entire time because it and I use my phone like mad (its my only internet so I drain my battery down fast) I have to charge my phone every 12 hours (sometimes sooner)

bud16415

Here is what I built. My thought was to provide a 12V supply and then let a car charger adapter do the job of voltage and current control and monitoring to the phone. It worked pretty good but not quite ready for prime time yet. Most cars have a steady 12V minimum and when running are around 14V. The car adapters are mostly designed around 12 to 25V being supplied to them. Even though the output voltage is much lower USB charging voltage. It seems that my iPhone 4 is a smarter phone than my 3G was and when the pack voltage drops to about 9V the phone also turns the charge off. I had great success with using this on my 3G getting many, many days of 24-7 up time from a set of AA’s.

I have plans of doing a little more experimenting with a higher voltage supply and also several different car adapters for the iPhone. Right now I’m using it with one of the tiny USB to car lighter sockets and its working good. YMMV

First setup.

whitefiretiger

That's what I was thinking but using a 12 volt dynamo and maybe having a small 12 volt rechargeable battery. So dynamo charges batteries and batteries charge phone.

bud16415

I don’t see why you couldn’t do what you are saying. Many of the rechargeable single cells produce a lower voltage per cell 1.2v as opposed to 1.5v of the conventional throw away batteries. The car charger is a great way to get the electronics and protection your phone needs without designing a complex circuit on your own. Automobiles produce a range of power and it’s good to have something in line to regulate and protect the device being charged.

The reason I came up with this system with throw away batteries was to suit someone doing an extended bike tour. Availability of AA cell batteries is very common and they hold a charge for long periods of time unlike rechargeable batteries. If you had a dynamo supply charging them and you juiced the phone as you go that system would be renewable as long as you wanted to travel. A quick method of starting and stopping the dynamo would be nice so that you could always kick it in going downhill and click it out when climbing. It’s been years that I have had one on a bike but I do remember the drag they cause.

I picked AA over AAA or C cells was cost and weight. AAA required being replaced to often and C seemed to be too big and heavy of a pack.

I use my bike both as a touring bike and also a commuter. The lights I can recharge in the house with AC and on the road I can swap battery packs to be used to power lighting. Likewise when commuting I don’t need the backup batteries on the iPhone I just use my normal “Mophie juice pack case” The two full charges I carry in the case and phone are more than enough for a full day of phone and internet.

The most common complaint I hear about AC charging a smart phone in camp is leaving the phone some place like a restroom for several hours as most camp sites don’t have power for tent campers. And when eating in a restaurant you have to find an outlet. The hour or two you hang out waiting for a charge could be spent riding.

whitefiretiger

I agree throw away AA batteries are a easy way to go and relying on plugging in for hours is silly. I'm not a dynamo fan myself for the most part because I've crashed my bike when one locked up; but I was thinking for those long rides like when I need gps or possibly emergency call the rechargeable battery pack and dynamo would ensure I could power my phone. I was thinking if done right you could even charge the battery pack from the ac home power to to have an initial charge on the system. There's a chance you could even hook that pack of AA batteries to a dynamo and use rechargeable AA batteries in it instead of an expensive rechargeable battery pack.

socalrider

I have one of the apc mobile power lith-ion battery packs and it is small but packs a great charge.. You can find them on ebay for a little less $$$

https://www.amazon.com/APC-UPB10-Univ...5731154&sr=8-1

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SEALED-APC-M...item35b856dd1a