Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
Are you touring?
Not at the moment, but it's a primary reason I'd want such a feature set. I've also put off some day trips and overnighters because my phone dies after a couple hours of running nav/comp apps. Those might be solved with a reasonably priced <2lb power bank, but nothing beyond that.
Also I'm not sure that it's correct that dropping from full charge to 100ma mode will not disrupt the charge cycle. phones typically negotiate or sense the charge current and expect to be able to keep drawing that.
What the internals do with it is not the concern as long as it resumes actual charging once the current comes back up. AFAICT, it does that. What I want, and what my current one appears to do with low input current, is for it to leave the screen on, nav app up, and otherwise
act like it's charging whether it is or not.
I sure wouldn't want to use USB as a power distribution network on the bike if that's what you're proposing. USB connectors aren't waterproof or very durable in the scheme of these things.
Well, most of the original developers are still alive, so torturing and then drawing and quartering them for their idiocy and as an example to others is an option I'd still like to explore, but it won't fix the existing standard. Perhaps the solution would be for the actual fixed sockets to be something that is waterproof and durable, then make various cables for it, including all the male USB (A, B, mini/micro A/B) for direct connection to devices and a female A pigtail for anything that requires a proprietary cable. (Thus allowing a waterproof cable to be made with the proprietary cable, the female A pigtail and some silicone tape.)