12 v USB power? | GTAMotorcycle.com

12 v USB power?

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uchi

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I'm on my phone and the data where I'm working is painfully slow so I didn't search and if I leave it I'll forget to ask later.
I've been running my go pro hero 3 black on my bike lately and the battery life is pathetic at best. So what I'm planning on doing is grabbing a skeleton case with the side opened up and keeping it powered via a USB cable. Is there a way to wire in a USB to 12v power or do I need to buy a cigarette lighter style adapter and wire that in to the bike? If that's the case where's a safe place to steal power from so it won't draw while the bike is off? Bike is a 2001 gixxer
 
You can buy a 12V -> USB power (waterproof) for like $10 on ebay.

It shouldn't be active if nothing is plugged in but you can splice it into your ignition wiring, or your running lights, etc.

However, you may find it nice to be able to charge something on your bike when it is off (like if your phone is near dead and you want to leave it in your trunk to charge).
 
Yup ebay is your friend, 12v - 5v USB is what you want. I think mine was $5.
 
Get one without a power led light if you can, that's a very small draw on power but still a draw. Or, stick a relay in and have it on only with switched power from a tail light or something. Alternatively, get a fuse block that's on a switched power relay and wire everything into that.
 
uchi said:
I'm on my phone and the data where I'm working is painfully slow so I didn't search and if I leave it I'll forget to ask later.
I've been running my go pro hero 3 black on my bike lately and the battery life is pathetic at best. So what I'm planning on doing is grabbing a skeleton case with the side opened up and keeping it powered via a USB cable.
Click to expand...

There are small, cheap, rechargeble USB power supplies.

http://www.dx.com/p/rechargeable-usb-emergency-power-backup-pack-2400mah-3060#.U-pcvmOv-kM

they typically have 2400mAh+, which is more than twice that feeble Go Pro battery.
 
jc100 said:
Get one without a power led light if you can, that's a very small draw on power but still a draw. Or, stick a relay in and have it on only with switched power from a tail light or something. Alternatively, get a fuse block that's on a switched power relay and wire everything into that.
Click to expand...
No need, positive to a hot wire like the head bulb and it will shut down when the key is off. I got that setup on my race bike to plug my laptimes
 
I used the hot wire as well on my bike for my heated grips. Also less cabling to route.

The battery pack is pretty handy, but you'll have to charge that too and take it off the bike. It's a lot less headache to just have the charger setup. Where would you put the portable battery anyway, short of a tank bag. The cabling would be an eyesore for me, and having to take it with you when you leave the bike
 
Plugs into your battery tender pigtail, 2.1A output, about $12 at Royal.

081-0158.jpg
 
Uchi, I have a 12V to USB adapter sitting on my work bench, swing over.
 
mike, im a few drinks in after the visitation for my friend, perhaps ill come by tomorrow night, shoot me your cell number on facebook. thanks buddy.

thanks fellas, ive got a portable power pack and use it in my tank bag while using my phone for navigation and such. i just wanna wire this in and hide it behind the gauge cluster. i run my go pro on the nose of the bike on the street and on the tank on the track, its all black anyways so i dont mind a piece of electrical tape running out and over the windshield or under it. i just hate being on a ride and having the go pro cut out part way through. i didnt realize these things were quite that cheap.
 
Dang Jayell, that's not bad. I prefer to have a waterproof casing on the end though because I store my bike outside.
 
I bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141141668747?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It works really well and it's relatively small. Has two USB ports. I wired it up directly to my battery with an inline fuse (2A or 3A, can't remember which). It has a power LED but that probably draws 10 mA (which is a very small load).

As an example, my Yuasa battery - model YT12A-BS - has a rating of 9.5 Amp-hours. Say I have something charging on my bike and it draws 0.5 A. My fully charged, brand new battery will last for approximately 19 hours. That's not quite true but it's an approximation.

I went on a three day trip and left my headset charging on the bike overnight. When I started my bike up in the morning it had no issues at all. Unless you're leaving your bike unattended for weeks, or leaving something plugged in for days, then I wouldn't really worry about it. Just be mindful and you won't have any issues.
 
thats far too great of an undertaking. i just want to charge my go pro and maybe my phone. i grabbed the one mike mentioned above from his place tonight, thanks for that btw. and my bike stays connected to the battery tender anytime its not being used so im not too worried about it drawing over the course of a week or two. i think ill do whats been mentioned and what mike said too. just run it off a relay from the battery and use the headlight or brakelight as a switch to trigger it. maybe even tach light as i the relay really shouldnt draw enough to affect anything
 
Did a ride today and my crappy cigarette socket didn't charge anything due to ****** contacts while I was riding on gravel. I think I'll swap it out for a Powerlett socket which seems made for more vibration. Comments?
 
Well isn't that the cats ***.. i spent 2 days on the web/ebay looking for something like that. Ended up buying a cig lighter socket from radio shack, and i had a mini cig usb adaptor. Not a big problem but the adaptors have a tendency to move out of the cig socket ...just push it back in once and a while. I did it for the same reason, go pro battery life sucks so now its hot all the time when im filming and i can charge any usb device off the bike if needed, I think i'm gona order 1 of those nifty adaptors just for the hell of it :)
mroberto said:
I bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141141668747?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It works really well and it's relatively small. Has two USB ports. I wired it up directly to my battery with an inline fuse (2A or 3A, can't remember which). It has a power LED but that probably draws 10 mA (which is a very small load).

As an example, my Yuasa battery - model YT12A-BS - has a rating of 9.5 Amp-hours. Say I have something charging on my bike and it draws 0.5 A. My fully charged, brand new battery will last for approximately 19 hours. That's not quite true but it's an approximation.

I went on a three day trip and left my headset charging on the bike overnight. When I started my bike up in the morning it had no issues at all. Unless you're leaving your bike unattended for weeks, or leaving something plugged in for days, then I wouldn't really worry about it. Just be mindful and you won't have any issues.
Click to expand...
 
Careful, some of the cheap adapters don't have the data pins shorted. Many phones wont charge without the data pins shorted. Others will pull a limited amount of current. I had to cut my waterproof adapter and solder the pins.

If I had to do it again I'd pick up a dual 2A cigarette lighter charger from princess auto and I would epoxy it in a small chewing gum case I saw.
 
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I bought a weather proof usb port that I stick to my tank with two side two. One line goes to the running lights for the brakes and one to the negative terminal. $3
 
I bought an adaptor that connected to the batter tender that was installed in my bike when I bought it. It powers my GPS with no issues. I also leave my phone under there when I'm in need of a charge. The adaptor was 25.00 from riderschoice
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