Cycle 2 Charge charging

[wildgecko]

Been experimenting with an 'EzReal Dual Output USB Multimeter' from Amazon and my new exposure Dynamo and cycle2charge usb power supply.

With my 29" Ardent 2.4 tyres the Cycle2Charge delivers 5v 0.5A at 8.5mph (13.7kph). This is a little faster than the advertised 12.5kph on 26" wheels, but is as expected allowing for wheel size (both 102rpm).

The voltage and current don't appear to increase with speed and stay stable. Devices that worked well were Garmin Edge 800, a generic usb cache battery and an exposure Tracer rear light.

Surprisingly my iPhone 5 only drew 0.1A when connected direct but 1A when connected via a cache battery. The other anomaly was an exposure Diablo front light. It took as much current as it could get at the expense of voltage. It does the same from the 2.6Ah cache battery.

Conclusions:
- cycle2charge works as advertised and will not charge below 8.5mph on my bike.
- my iPhone does not charge well direct from the Cycle2Charge. I will use it via a cache battery.
- exposure Diablo really needs a power supply capable of delivering 2A. Bigger cache battery required if I want to recharge safely/efficiently
- it's worth spending £9 on a usb multimeter and experimenting with the various things you want to charge as you go in order to find the most efficient method.

[Mariner]

Devices that worked well were Garmin Edge 800.........

Could you clarify whether the Edge is operational during charge or turns itself off in charge mode?

[wildgecko]

Edge 800 was operational during charge. Need to use a cache battery though otherwise every time the speed drops it tells you it's lost power.

Using a 2A usb power supply the Edge 800 still draws a max current of 0.5A. I suppose if you were generating 5v 1A you could charge something else in parallel.

Si

[Zippy]

Edge 500 requires USB OTG standard cable in order to be able to charge it and use it at the same time. If you use a normal USB cable the edge reverts to slave mode the moment it detects some power through it.

I've yet to find anyone who sells these cables, so I just make my own.

[slugwash]

Do you think you'd be able to run a Cree light (less than 600 Lumen) with a USB cable off your set up, possibly through the cache battery so it keeps a constant light level ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350LM-CREE-XP ... 33919328c5

[wildgecko]

Website says the Cree light draws 1A at 4.2v. Cycle2Charge claims to deliver 5v1A at 15mph on my 29er. I'd say it would therefore run on a steady road ride but, at off road speeds, you wouldn't get much out of it. A cache battery would help but it wouldn't likely keep up with the drain from the light so it would run out eventually.

at £7.99 it's probably worth a punt though given a revo is £160!!

Any thoughts Zippy?

Si

[ianfitz]

I have no idea but worth a punt for 8 quid...

You'll be able to use the battery to charge other stuff anyway I guess.

[Zippy]

I reckon that's worth a punt, but would want a cache/buffer battery if it were me.

[jameso]

I've yet to find anyone who sells these cables, so I just make my own.

I picked up a cheap 3-way USB to mini/phone jack/iphone charge cable on ebay for a couple of £, pretty sure they're normally charge-only and not data cables I think, I cut off the iphone jack and use the 2 I need, no probs with the Garmin 800.

[Zippy]

I've yet to find anyone who sells these cables, so I just make my own.

I picked up a cheap 3-way USB to mini/phone jack/iphone charge cable on ebay for a couple of £, pretty sure they're normally charge-only and not data cables I think, I cut off the iphone jack and use the 2 I need, no probs with the Garmin 800.

AFAIK, 800 is fine with std usb and just power, for some reason the 500 requires USB OTG to charge and work at the same time... If you start googling it there's all kinds of forum posts etc. etc., it took a while for me first time round to get to the bottom of it!

USB OTG adaptors are normally so you can do stuff like plug your usb stick or usb keyboard into your phone/tablet...so not really for what we're doing with the edge.

Still, it's a very specific "problem" or rather design feature of an edge 500.

[jameso]

Ah apologies, didn't realise it was an issue specific to the 500. Seem to remember hearing something similar about the 800, but was probably that same issue you explained.

[Mariner]

So with this set up would you be running the Edge directly or just charging it or both?
I suspect the Edge only works off battery not direct power supply.
In run mode connected to charging cct how long to recharge batteries?
I am thinking of just using 4 way usb battery holder for charging gps batteries and direct connection for b&m IQ for charging front light.
Nothing is decided yet but this all adds to the store of knowledge.

[Zippy]

So with this set up would you be running the Edge directly or just charging it or both?

Both

Well, suspect edge does run off it's internal battery, but it can also be charged whilst doing this.