Charging Multiple Phones in Glove Box

[jonredcorn]

Sorry I couldn't keep tabs on this in a timely manner! You guys are exactly on the path I was hoping to be on!

Thanks for your help! I'm definitely ordering the Juiced Systems! (and doing almost exactly what dielawn mentioned)

EDIT - ***** I removed that part I posted - completely incorrect!! ****

Edited February 3, 2015 by jonredcorn

[toddthelineman]

Idk of that would work at all, but I'm thinking you'd have to hook that up to two batteries. In series. But those same battery's would already be in parralel for the rest of your devices. That regulator halves the input voltage. My guess is you hook that up to 14.4 volts and get 7.2 out. Then who knows what coming out of the USB charger. Probably just an intermittent low amp charge. What we need is a resistor that will just knock off about 1 volt. Then it will stay in a safe but usable range.

[jonredcorn]

Sorry I couldn't keep tabs on this in a timely manner! You guys are exactly on the path I was hoping to be on!

Thanks for your help! I'm definitely ordering the Juiced Systems! (and doing almost exactly what dielawn mentioned)

EDIT - ***** I removed that part I posted - completely incorrect!! ****

Idk of that would work at all, but I'm thinking you'd have to hook that up to two batteries. In series. But those same battery's would already be in parralel for the rest of your devices. That regulator halves the input voltage. My guess is you hook that up to 14.4 volts and get 7.2 out. Then who knows what coming out of the USB charger. Probably just an intermittent low amp charge. What we need is a resistor that will just knock off about 1 volt. Then it will stay in a safe but usable range.

It totally wouldn't work - What you said is likely correct. I removed it as to not confuse anyone.

I haven't looked hard, but I found a "military grade 12v-24v input -> 12v 5a output regulator" but the price was upwards of $200 hahaha so when I have some time I'll see if there is a cost effective option...

I also have a friend who is an EE and literally his entire immediate family all electrical engineers so I'm going to reach out to them and see what their best answer is considering three of them design power supplies for a living.

[CedarLakeSkier]

If you already have a 12V+ source, you should be able to use this (and a heat sync) to put out 12V and 2.2 amps

http://www.jameco.com/1/1/54647-mc7812ctg-ana-1a-12v-voltage-regulator-analog-linear.html

If it's under 12V you may have an issue, but the worst that would happen is it wouldn't charge under 12V

[jonredcorn]

Kind of crazy you mentioned this but , this is a product i produce. 7 port smart charger . The unit is a 7 port smart charger that is designed to charge up to 5 phones and 2 tablets simultaneously. It is built with an aluminum casing with mounting side tabs. This will work nicely if you plan on mounting the unit in your glove box. Comes with 12V 5A power supply. Let me know if you have any follow up questions.

Hey - It came today! This will probably work out great for the boat and I'm excited to check it out! I do have a follow-up question.

The charger comes with a USB 3.0 'A' Male -> USB 3.0 'B' Male Cord.

Why?

It doesn't indicate anywhere on the charger that it is a hub, nor does it have a USB 3.0 'B' female plug to use it as a hub... so why was it included??

[toddthelineman]

If you already have a 12V+ source, you should be able to use this (and a heat sync) to put out 12V and 2.2 amps

http://www.jameco.com/1/1/54647-mc7812ctg-ana-1a-12v-voltage-regulator-analog-linear.html

If it's under 12V you may have an issue, but the worst that would happen is it wouldn't charge under 12V

I think if you were using the 7 port charger to its capacity (2 ipads and 5 smartphones) you'd be pulling more than 2.2 amps. Way more

[CedarLakeSkier]

I think if you were using the 7 port charger to its capacity (2 ipads and 5 smartphones) you'd be pulling more than 2.2 amps. Way more

You are correct, of course. I wasn't thinking about 7 at a time, just a single one from the 2.1 amp draw for the iPad.

There is a way to connect in parallel for a higher current, but it gets a little more complicated. It still wouldn't be expensive to do. Or you could probably find a 12V 10 amp regulator of some type online for not a lot of money. I believe it said 2 - 2.1 amp ports and the others are 1 amp. that would mean less than 10 amps if all ports were being used

[Bill_AirJunky]

Seems like that would depend on what phones you're charging. A lot of the new ones draw 3.1 amps.

[CedarLakeSkier]

Seems like that would depend on what phones you're charging. A lot of the new ones draw 3.1 amps.

I'm not sure the 7 port charger discussed would let it draw 3.1 amps. it would probably just charge slower. Specs on the 7 port charger that is being discussed most ofter

• 7 Ports Designed To Charge Smart Phones and Tablets Simultaneously
• 5 Ports = 1 Amp Ouput, 5V
• 2 Ports = 2.1 Amp Output, 5V

also, the 12 volt transformer that comes with the unit is a 5 amp transformer. There was discussiong about just hooking up to the 12V power supply instead of using the transformer, but out of the box it seems like your max draw would be 5 amps.

[toddthelineman]

I haven't ordered one yet, but I plan on it. At least for my truck. But I'm going to most likely run it with the supplied transformer off of an inverter. I need one to charge power tools anyway

[justgary]

12V @ 5A through a DC to DC converter at 85% efficiency still gives 5V @ 10.2A, so you'll get full power even on the transformer.

The current draw is fine for direct connection to the boat battery, but it would be nice for dielawn to come back and verify if he meant exactly 14V maximum input or if you could get away with 14.4.

Jonredcorn, can you take a few screws out of it and read the part number on the converter inside? That will tell you if it is safe to connect to the boat battery.

[dielawn]

Hey - It came today! This will probably work out great for the boat and I'm excited to check it out! I do have a follow-up question.

The charger comes with a USB 3.0 'A' Male -> USB 3.0 'B' Male Cord.

Why?

It doesn't indicate anywhere on the charger that it is a hub, nor does it have a USB 3.0 'B' female plug to use it as a hub... so why was it included??

This was an accidental cable that was included with the shipment. It has no purpose for this specific charger. My factory messed up on that one.

@JustGary The unit will work on a standard 12v battery system and can handle the 14.4 V. I was just saying as a precaution try not to go above that. Some people have some pretty crazy stereo setups with different types of battery systems, so I don't want to recommend anyone hooking the hub up to their space age prototype nuclear generator.

[dielawn]

Also on a side note for everyone that is curious. Most new phones today such as iPhone 5/6 charge max at about 1.2 Amps. The Samsung galaxy line up is the same @ 1.2 amps. Tablets such as the standard iPads charge @ 2.1 Amp output, and the iPad mini charges at the heavy 2.4 amps. But keep in mind your phone and your tablets all charge at different rates depending on what % of the battery they are at. Its always fluctuating. These numbers provided are just the max. You won't and cannot hurt your phone by charging on the 2.1 amp input, phones and tablets are smart and only take the power that they need. So they can't damage themselves.

[justgary]

Thanks, dielawn.

And your phone will charge OK on a lower current also, but will take longer to charge.

[jonredcorn]

12V @ 5A through a DC to DC converter at 85% efficiency still gives 5V @ 10.2A, so you'll get full power even on the transformer.

The current draw is fine for direct connection to the boat battery, but it would be nice for dielawn to come back and verify if he meant exactly 14V maximum input or if you could get away with 14.4.

Jonredcorn, can you take a few screws out of it and read the part number on the converter inside? That will tell you if it is safe to connect to the boat battery.

Since you asked, I took it apart and checked it out...

Let me know what other pictures you might want..

It is hard to tell what is going on... but I think as it comes out of the DC12V1, it is fed through a 35V 100uf capacitor and then a very small (transistor) labled "Q1" on the PCB but the part # on top (barely readable) is "7002". I'll be honest I don't know wtf I'm looking for other than there are lots of capacitors and resistors...

I only see 1 transistor (the one mentioned)

I see 5 small and 2 somewhat larger "Inseparable assembly, IC Pkg" next to each USB plug

I see 4 larger "Inseparable assembly, IC Pkg" next to each of the 4 (inductors?)

Again - I am not sure what I'm looking at haha

Edited February 13, 2015 by jonredcorn

[jonredcorn]

This was an accidental cable that was included with the shipment. It has no purpose for this specific charger. My factory messed up on that one.

@JustGary The unit will work on a standard 12v battery system and can handle the 14.4 V. I was just saying as a precaution try not to go above that. Some people have some pretty crazy stereo setups with different types of battery systems, so I don't want to recommend anyone hooking the hub up to their space age prototype nuclear generator.

If this is true - that is so awesome! Its exactly what I was looking for.

Also for anyone interested, this thing charges stuff very quickly - faster than my OEM Samsung charger for my Galaxy S4. Its going to be awesome for the boat this summer! Thanks!

Edited February 13, 2015 by jonredcorn

[dielawn]

Thanks Team,

I appreciate the reviews, and the support.

[Bill_AirJunky]

I've tried using chargers that just don't deliver enough voltage if I'm running GPS, Bluetooth or WiFi. Being on the boat there is a good chance I will be running any or all of those. Now I wouldnt expect all the phones on the boat to be running all that & drawing the max amps. But I probably wouldnt be checking that either. But it sounds like it could be pulling more amps than I'd be comfortable running, or damaging, the boats electrical system. So I'd setup its own dedicated run, with a circuit breaker, to the batteries....just to be on the safe side.

[formulaben]

You guys are making me feel inadequate with my Wagan cup holder adapter. It was an inexpensive stop-gap measure until I could get something hard wired into the glovebox but so far I've found it's unnecessary...apparently I'm the only one who cares about a charged cell phone.

[oldjeep]

Looks like they need some caps on those lighter outlets.

[formulaben]

It's a great place to store spare change.

[jonredcorn]

You guys are making me feel inadequate with my Wagan cup holder adapter. It was an inexpensive stop-gap measure until I could get something hard wired into the glovebox but so far I've found it's unnecessary...apparently I'm the only one who cares about a charged cell phone.

I don't know if my "problem" is uncommon on here... but at any point I will have 4+ male and 4+ females ages 22-27 who each have a modern smart phone that has a battery that won't last 10 hours...

We use phones to communicate and make plans for that night...Couple that with complete inability for 50% of participants to plan ahead (charge before getting in the boat) and it would be sweet to have charged phones.

I also appreciate having a charged phone, As does my party crew.

[oldjeep]

I don't know if my "problem" is uncommon on here... but at any point I will have 4+ male and 4+ females ages 22-27 who each have a modern smart phone that has a battery that won't last 10 hours...

We use phones to communicate and make plans for that night...Couple that with complete inability for 50% of participants to plan ahead (charge before getting in the boat) and it would be sweet to have charged phones.

I also appreciate having a charged phone, As does my party crew.

Sounds like a generational problem - nobody does what they are currently doing.

[formulaben]

Sounds like a generational problem - nobody does what they are currently doing.

Any more of this and I'll have to charge you with assault and a battery. Watt made you say that? You gonna do it until it hertz? There should be more resistance to this.

[formulaben]

I'm sorry.