Hub dynamo and electronics thread.

[Christopher R. Bennett]

It's proved to be quite simple to power a Gen 2 Spot GPS from a dynamo. All you need to do is to cut the end off a USB cable and connect the red/black wires to the appropriate terminal and then plug it into a power supply.  I tried a number of power banks and they didn't work - I suspect that the Spot goes into some power saving mode between signals and the power banks all shut down. However, works great with the Goal Zero. I got 60 hours of continuous transmission from 4 x Eneloop batteries.

I'm working on a detailed post to http://www.tri-duffer.com documenting all my experiences with dynamos -- including this hack and others. Check it out in a few weeks.

Chris

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Finished my post on 5 years of experience with dynamos/lights/usb/etc.:

https://triduffer.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/powering-your-gadgets-for-endurance-races/

[Lentamentalisk]

Cool that you got the Spot working of an external battery pack, but why not just put the batteries in the Spot at that point? I don't really see the issue with setting up a rotation of batteries through the Spot and charger. I imagine it is a lot more healthy for the batteries too.

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Cool that you got the Spot working of an external battery pack, but why not just put the batteries in the Spot at that point? I don't really see the issue with setting up a rotation of batteries through the Spot and charger. I imagine it is a lot more healthy for the batteries too.

Yes. That's what I originally thought. The SPOT is very power hungry which is why we need to use the Lithium batteries. You can run off regular batteries, but they will not last long before the red light is showing and you run the risk of losing the signal. So I got some high capacity rechargeable AAA's and tried those, but they also didn't last very long.  In my testing with the Goal Zero power pack I ran the SPOT continuously for 60 hours. What this means is that if I have the pack slowly charging from my dynamo then I can pretty well forget about the need to worry about SPOT batteries. Which may be a real plus for the adventure that I'm planning ...

[wolfmansbro]

Yes. That's what I originally thought. The SPOT is very power hungry which is why we need to use the Lithium batteries. You can run off regular batteries, but they will not last long before the red light is showing and you run the risk of losing the signal. So I got some high capacity rechargeable AAA's and tried those, but they also didn't last very long.  In my testing with the Goal Zero power pack I ran the SPOT continuously for 60 hours. What this means is that if I have the pack slowly charging from my dynamo then I can pretty well forget about the need to worry about SPOT batteries. Which may be a real plus for the adventure that I'm planning ...

According to the spot website you can power the Gen 3 tracker using the USB. Has that worked for you with the dynamo?
"SPOT Gen3 can be line powered through a 5v USB connection."

[Lentamentalisk]

You would need a feed through cache battery pack for that to work (to keep power from being interrupted when you slow down). I think that is the idea of the Goal Zero charger, as it can charge and discharge at the same time.

[the tortoise]

the least of my worries is my spot tracker. although lithium batteries are pricey you can get at least a week or more of tracking from a spot.
the real energy hogs are the smart phone, lights and GPS so I just concentrate on powering those off the dyno.

[Christopher R. Bennett]

the least of my worries is my spot tracker. although lithium batteries are pricey you can get at least a week or more of tracking from a spot.
the real energy hogs are the smart phone, lights and GPS so I just concentrate on powering those off the dyno.

Agree. This is really for the situation where you are unable to score the batteries. I'm planning some seriously long bikepacking in remote areas.

[the tortoise]

Agree. This is really for the situation where you are unable to score the batteries. I'm planning some seriously long bikepacking in remote areas.

Agree. This is really for the situation where you are unable to score the batteries. I'm planning some seriously long bikepacking in remote areas.

how remote? do you have to forage and hunt for food??😀

[Christopher R. Bennett]

how remote? do you have to forage and hunt for food??😀

Ha ha. Not quite that remote ... potentially places like outback Kazakhstan and others.

[wolfmansbro]

Looking for advice:

I am having trouble charging my phone and GPS. Current setup SON dynamo > k lite switch > Sinewave Reactor USB charger > Goal Zero Flip 10 (passthrough USB battery) > iPhone/Garmin GPS.
So here is the trouble, I did a test ride this weekend over typical single track terrain that I ride and average 8 MPH with constant speed changes because of terrain (5 MPH to 12 MPH). The phone will charge for a couple of seconds then drop out and a few seconds later it starts charging again. This results in the screen turning on and off. I started the ride at 60% battery but ended up with 40% battery on the phone after just 3 hours of riding. Any suggestions on how to get this setup to work properly? Trying to figure it out to use on the AZT 750 this spring.

[Lentamentalisk]

You will not be able to get much power out of your bike if you are traveling at that speed. You need a good 10-15mph to pull much off the hub. The battery may be able to trickle charge though, which would slowly increase your saved power, from which you could top off your phone at the end of the day. If you keep your phone off it should last you many many days of periodic use before it needs to be charged.

[bmike-vt]

Turn the phone off or put it in airplane mode. Charge the batteries and then top off the phone in the evening. 

IIRC from when I researched my system charging AAs is less efficient than charging a dedicated battery like the Limefuel, etc.

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Looking for advice:

I am having trouble charging my phone and GPS. Current setup SON dynamo > k lite switch > Sinewave Reactor USB charger > Goal Zero Flip 10 (passthrough USB battery) > iPhone/Garmin GPS.
So here is the trouble, I did a test ride this weekend over typical single track terrain that I ride and average 8 MPH with constant speed changes because of terrain (5 MPH to 12 MPH). The phone will charge for a couple of seconds then drop out and a few seconds later it starts charging again. This results in the screen turning on and off. I started the ride at 60% battery but ended up with 40% battery on the phone after just 3 hours of riding. Any suggestions on how to get this setup to work properly? Trying to figure it out to use on the AZT 750 this spring.

Tackle it sequentially. First thing is to ensure the Goal Zero is fully charged. Then run just your GPS as the pass through and ensure that it is receiving a charge. Then swap it out and put in the cell phone and see that it is receiving a charge. Then try both. What you may find is that with both of them they are exceeding the 0.5 Amp capacity of the USB output from the Goal Zero.

I recommend one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Charger-Doctor-Voltage-Current-Meter-Mobile-Battery-Tester-Power-Detector-HK-/141882140703?hash=item2108d5a81f:g:39UAAOSw3ydVwHOb when you are playing around. Best $3 I spent!

[Yogi the Barry]

I just posted a dynamo wheel [Exposure PD-8 hub/Stan's Crest 29er rim] for sale in the Classified forum, if anyone is interested. Due to a different fork, I had to build up a replacement 15mm thru-axle dynamo wheel.
Edit: I can throw in a brand new Schwalbe Racing Ralph [29 x 2.25" SnakeSkin] to sweeten the deal.

FS ad: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/classifieds/fs-exposure-%28pd-8%29-dynamo-hub-wheel-%28stan%27s-crest%29/

[Yogi the Barry]

You and I both know how to fix this if we could, right? Pedal faster... Sorry, couldn't resist.
I gave up trying to charge my iPhone 6, unless I had a very long and sustained descent. I only attempt to charge my Shuffle and helmet light. My eTrex 30 doesn't seem to like cycling on and off when plugged into the dynamo charger either. I put my phone into Airplane mode and only turn it on to send out an "I'm OK" message(s) and as a camera. That gives me at least 3-4 days of phone life. I take along the small factory iPhone wall-wart charger and try to charge a few minutes when I can [like a possible short stop in Patagonia, Sonoita, Tucson, Summerhaven, Oracle]. From my experience of riding the AZT 300, about the only sustained speed you might get is the pave out of Patagonia to Sonoita [with a tailwind] or perhaps a few minutes of bliss dropping off of the Oracle Ridge. Even then, you might forget to unplug the charger and undo all you've charged. I carry an extra set of lithiums for the GPS and SPOT. One set will last 3-4 days in the 10-20-30 series GPS. If I can't charge the Shuffle, no biggie, just no music. And even though I can charge my 18650 light battery, I don't rely on needing a charge and still carry a spare charged battery and a pair of CR123s as backup.
Think you're just confirming that charging might work great on a road bike, but it doesn't work very well during the slow speeds of technical mountain biking.
About the only option I've considered is charging a battery pack charger. But every time I add up the grams vs. mAh capacity, carrying a few crucial lithiums seems lighter. I'm a hopeless weight-weenie, but I only consider lighter if it's combined with better and reliable.
Cya on the AZT April 15th!
-Barry

Looking for advice:
I am having trouble charging my phone and GPS. .... The phone will charge for a couple of seconds then drop out and a few seconds later it starts charging again. This results in the screen turning on and off. I started the ride at 60% battery but ended up with 40% battery on the phone after just 3 hours of riding. Any suggestions on how to get this setup to work properly? Trying to figure it out to use on the AZT 750 this spring.

[the tortoise]

I heard talk of someone trying to develop a system that would charge a battery at any speed. That would seem to be the ticket.
Airplane mode is your friend. You can also adjust many phones to use less power. Keep screen off as much as possible. Charging while you are eating or where you can find an outlet is a good strategy too.
I often keep my phone plugged into my Luxos U light system and on my normal rides I always keep it topped off even in non airplane mode but as you go slower it becomes a problem and some phones play less well than others. I am using a sony z3 experia.
For AZT last year I was just going to go with the phone and no garmin but was glad I took the garmin! A smart phone can be used as a music player, camera, gps and map backup, web browser and gasp even a phone! Even on the AZT 750 last year I never ran out of phone juice but you got to be smart about it.
 I think the Tour Divide is the perfect place to use dyno power with a dyno light. I would still use a garmin which requires batteries and your spot needs batteries but having endless light and a charging source is really liberating. Just bring a backup head light for camp set up and in case you have a dyno light issue.

[wolfmansbro]

Played around a lot with the dynamo/usb during the stagecoach last weekend. Found a good strategy to keep the Garmin GPS topped off. So I just kept the Garmin plugged in to the Sinewave Reactor the whole time. Whenever I came to a hill or began averaging over 8MPH I would switch the plug on with my k-lite switch to begin charing. When I would start to move slower I would just switch it off. This stopped the Garmin from constantly saying "External Power lost" and prevented that annoying beeping every time I started to pedal too slow. Good strategy to use when the external battery packs are already charged and you don't need to charge anything else. It's not a plug it in and forget strategy but it kept the GPS charged enough to last all day and into the night when I needed to run the k-lite.

[NelsonC]

I have made some progress on setting up my dynamo hub, Bush & Muller IQ-X light and sinewave-revolution paired with a Goal Zero recharger.

I don't have much experience with the IQ-X yet, but if anyone is interested, I will post an update.

Below are a couple pictures of the setup I am working on.  I am using 1" black PVC pipe mounted on my aero bars.  So far, this is working well and at $1.20 for a 2' section (Home Depot), I can experiment with different configurations.  I started with the light mounted in the middle, but am now trying mounting both the light and my Etrex 20 out on the PVC.  This may be a bit crowded, but with my growing farsightedness, I am hoping it may be easier on my eyes.  I am also going to try an incarnation with the pipe extended out about an inch more on each side. I find I like to rest my wrists on the pipe in the aero position.  I should also note that I inserted a small section of 1' dowel where the IQ-X is mounted so that I can really tighten down the bolt holding the light on.

The wiring diagram for this is the same as that shown by bmike-vt earlier in this thread (thanks Mike).  Using the toggle switch tucked down next to the right aero bar, I can divert the power from the hub to the light or to the Sinewave (wire running back into my bags where the Sinewave is).  I am planning to seal all the holes with latex calk.  Having said this though, I may go without the end caps (also from Home Depot) so that if moisture does get in, it dries quickly.

[rick miller]

I just got a Goal Zero Guide 10 + to use with an SP-8x and Sinewave Revolution.  I like the concept of a pass-through AA/AAA charger, but the problem is that it won't start to charge (or pass-through) until I get up to about 18 mph (where it draws .75 A at 4.75 V).  A Brunton Pulse that I'm also using seems to work fine from 6 or 7 mph.  What are ur'all experiences with the Goal Zero?