Hub Dynamo for charging mobile phones

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has used a hub dynamo (or for that matter any
dynamo) as a charging device for a mobile phone or other rechargeable
gadgets. I work for myself and use my mobile a lot for staying on top
of email and business etc. I've got LED lights front and rear so
wouldn't use the dynamo for charging / running the lights. It'd be
great to be able to run my business whilst on the road on a cycle
camping tour or similar but in the past have had to blag access to a
phone socket in cafes or bars whenever I could - not always the best
way forward and if I'm in a remote area then that option disappears .

I did look at the option of a solar charger sitting on top of my
panniers as well for days when I'm dossing around in my tent waiting
for the rain to stop but if it's lashing down with rain then there
won't be a lot of sun.

Any innovative suggestions which allow me to 'work' whilst on the road
would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

Pete.

On 2006-10-25, biking-geordie wrote:

[snip, working on the road, dynamo charging]

Pete, I've carried a USB charger, which is a lot lighter than a mains
charger. Spare, fully charged batteries are also lighter than
a dynamo and cost less.

--
Jan

biking-geordie wrote on 25/10/2006 11:59 +0100:
Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has used a hub dynamo (or for that matter any
dynamo) as a charging device for a mobile phone or other rechargeable
gadgets.

I've got one somewhere that was a gift from a well meaning relative.
Still in its original packing I think, if I can find it and it hasn't
gone tothedump.


--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

biking-geordie wrote:
Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has used a hub dynamo (or for that matter any
dynamo) as a charging device for a mobile phone or other rechargeable
gadgets. I work for myself and use my mobile a lot for staying on top

http://www.gobike.org/newsletters/sp...sMayJune02.pdf

you could make a simple (and not especially efficient) 12V source by
wiring the dynamo output to a bridge rectifier connected to a large-ish
capacitor and 12V zener in parallel.
Then you could use a car phone charger, they work with 12V.

It would use a bit more power than standard 6V 3W dynamo lights, rather
like using 2 headlights in series as some people do with hub dynamos.

rob


biking-geordie wrote:
Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has used a hub dynamo (or for that matter any
dynamo) as a charging device for a mobile phone or other rechargeable
gadgets. I work for myself and use my mobile a lot for staying on top
of email and business etc. I've got LED lights front and rear so
wouldn't use the dynamo for charging / running the lights. It'd be
great to be able to run my business whilst on the road on a cycle
camping tour or similar but in the past have had to blag access to a
phone socket in cafes or bars whenever I could - not always the best
way forward and if I'm in a remote area then that option disappears .

I did look at the option of a solar charger sitting on top of my
panniers as well for days when I'm dossing around in my tent waiting
for the rain to stop but if it's lashing down with rain then there
won't be a lot of sun.

Any innovative suggestions which allow me to 'work' whilst on the road
would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

Pete.

wrote:
you could make a simple (and not especially efficient) 12V source by
wiring the dynamo output to a bridge rectifier connected to a large-ish
capacitor and 12V zener in parallel.
Then you could use a car phone charger, they work with 12V.

Car charger - that'd work with a BuM 12v bottle dynamo (and the Schmidt
12v hub *when* they put it into production - what are they waiting for?)

sothach wrote:

Car charger - that'd work with a BuM 12v bottle dynamo (and the Schmidt
12v hub *when* they put it into production - what are they waiting for?)

Complete and utter confidence in the production engineering is my guess.
They don't have a reputation for Doing Things Right for nothing...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch wrote:
sothach wrote:

Car charger - that'd work with a BuM 12v bottle dynamo (and the Schmidt
12v hub *when* they put it into production - what are they waiting for?)


Complete and utter confidence in the production engineering is my guess.
They don't have a reputation for Doing Things Right for nothing...

I have heard that the German word for "effective" is the same as the
word for "efficient". This lack of distinction has resulted in the high
standards of engineering that one thinks of when considering German
products. They won't be cheap mind, but they will do the job very well.
On the other hand, in British industry the key word of the two is
"efficient", i.e. just good enough for the job and at the cheapest price.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of five.

Don Whybrow wrote:

I have heard that the German word for "effective" is the same as the
word for "efficient". This lack of distinction has resulted in the high
standards of engineering that one thinks of when considering German
products. They won't be cheap mind, but they will do the job very well.
On the other hand, in British industry the key word of the two is
"efficient", i.e. just good enough for the job and at the cheapest price.


My pocket German-English dictionary confirms what you have heard.
Interesting how little liguistic tidbits like this can help describe a
culture.

mark

biking-geordie wrote:

Just wondering if anyone has used a hub dynamo (or for that matter any
dynamo) as a charging device for a mobile phone or other rechargeable
gadgets. I work for myself and use my mobile a lot for staying on top
of email and business etc. I've got LED lights front and rear so
wouldn't use the dynamo for charging / running the lights. It'd be
great to be able to run my business whilst on the road on a cycle
camping tour or similar but in the past have had to blag access to a
phone socket in cafes or bars whenever I could - not always the best
way forward and if I'm in a remote area then that option disappears .

My solution to that problem was to buy an extra large capacity battery
for my mobile. If I leave it on day and night it lasts about 3 weeks,
more if I turn it off at nights etc.. I've often taken it for
week-long trips in which I used it every day for at least an hour
on-line and it came back home with plenty of charge still left.

--
Chris Malcolm DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]