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Wireless phone charger project: waterproof, fast, handlebar mounted, reliable.

Fang

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Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Messages
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Location
Austin, TX
First Name
Steve
Last Name
M
I made a pretty cool DIY phone charger, as an add-on to my RAM X-Grip IV phone mount. I drive through Baja and Mexico on my KTM690 Enduro quite a bit on extended off-pavement adventures, and I use my phone for GPS navigation. I've logged about 6000 Mexican miles in the past 5 months, about 50/50 dirt/slab, and one of the my worst reoccurring problems has been keeping my phone charged all the time. I am assuming I am not the only one who's had these problems, and here's my story of what I did to fix it, along with some info/ walk through for your own DIY solution.

I also would be extremely interested in any input for how I could do this better, or how other riders have solved these issues.


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I like to use my phone for navigation, etc. I have a Samsung S7 Active, and like most of the newer, nicer phones it is waterproof, but it also consumes a LOT of power. Invariably I will be off somewhere far away, dependent upon my navigation, and the battery will be about to die, with no way to recharge it on the go.

First there is the problem of actually generating enough power to keep the phone charged. Basically, only the newest, fastest "Qi 2.0 Fast Charging" can keep the phone charged while being operated with the screen at max brightness, navigation is running, playing music, with GPS and Bluetooth. Many chargers don't provide enough power to prevent it from slowly draining, even when plugged in and "charging." I.E. all the gas station chargers, etc simply are not good enough. Also, even though the phone is waterproof, in the presence of light rain or even high humidity the phone will detect the moisture and turn off the USB charging port to protect against shorts.... Which doesn't matter much because those fragile little micro USB plugs simply break all the time: vibration, wind buffeting, getting accidentally knocked... the cable plug breaks, the phone port breaks... It simply doesn't cut it. And then, as far as I know, there are absolutely no correct "Qi 2.0 fast chargers" on the market which are dust and water proof, vibration proof, and adventure motorcycle compatible.
In short, the standard USB charging port isn't good enough.

The other option is wireless charging. Most of the newer phones, including mine, have integrated wireless charging capabilities. I got the idea that the phone probably would wirelessly charge, even when wet! (And it does - even under water!) This could circumvent the whole crappy USB cord issue. However, wireless chargers are notoriously slow, they're super fragile, and you still have to use a micro USB cord to plug them in. Plus none of them are waterproof. However, there is a new QC 2.0 wireless quick charging protocol. It allows some wireless chargers to actually produces enough power to wirelessly quick charge a phone - enough to keep the phone running even under heavy use.

About 6 months ago ordered about a dozen various wireless QC 2.0 Quick Chargers and took them all apart to see if I could make my own. I am now on my 6th iteration, and I think I've worked out most of the kinks to making this work -- and keep on working, even in the roughest conditions.

My parts list: (note these Amazon links have no affiliation. They're just what I bought)
1. (recommended) 5-Way SAE Adapter Connector: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L643KS/?tag=twowhetex-20
2. (recommended) Battery Tender voltage display: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJ5KE9A/?tag=twowhetex-20
3. SAE to Cigarette Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E04YWNC/?tag=twowhetex-20
4. Aukey CC-T7 Dual USB Port Car Charger with QC 3.0 Certification: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019OSX8UC/?tag=twowhetex-20
5. Anker PowerLine+ Micro USB (1ft) Cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019PV2I3G/?tag=twowhetex-20
6. Fast Wireless Charger, PLESON Fast Charge QI Fast wireless Charging pad Stand for Samsung S7: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8D5NCA/?tag=twowhetex-20
7. Big thingie of JB Weld: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UYVIXO/?tag=twowhetex-20


To enable fast wireless "QC 2.0 Quick Charging" you need (1) a correct wireless charger, (2) a correct power supply, and (3) a USB cable that can handle the higher wattage - many cheap USB cables cannot.

When I took apart the chargers I realized they all are just 2 parts: a circuit board and a charging coil. I got the idea to seal the charging coil in epoxy, making a "Coil Puck," then mounting the puck to my Ram X-Grip phone mount. I then stashed the circuit board in a secure location (in my tank bag) inside an improvised waterproof enclosure. I soldered wires between the coil and the board, making an approx 3' extension (and sheathed them in wire wrap), then used the bottom of a paper Dixie cup as a mold to encase the charging coil in JB Weld (it's not conductive) -- the Coil Puck. That let me put the coil on the ram mount, and to do it securely and completely vibration resistant. I used 3m heavy-duty Weatherstripping adhesive. At this point I am not worried about making the puck as thin as possible; I'm shooting for sturdy.


here is a left-over disassembled QC Quick Charger with just the circuit board and the coil, held up next to the "coil puck" mounted on my RAM mount. The coil itself is a bit of copper winding adhered to a thin, fragile magnet.
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This is how thick the Coil Puck sits on the Ram mount. This is the larger style "RAM X-Grip IV." Observe that I bent the arms up at a slight angle to accommodate the additional thickness of the Coil Puck. I've logged THOUSANDS of miles (and several crashes) like this with no problems at all holding my phone. I trust it as secure.
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Here is the rest of the charger. I found an old broken flashlight to use as a housing for the Wireless Charger's circuit board. I know it looks a bit ghetto, but it ought to work. There is a spare wireless charger board + coil there for comparison. For a power supply I am using an above-average ANKER QC 2.0 compliant car charger, and since none of this is currently available to be purchased with motorcycle-friendly SAE connectors, I had to use a SAE-to-Cigarette lighter adapter. All these bits are mostly protected from the elements in my tank bag, but I crash (sometimes while crossing rivers...) so I tried to make each bit as waterproof as possible, this time I am using Hot Glue, but RTV sealant would probably work as well or maybe better. Observe sealant between the USB car charger and the Cigarette lighter power adapter; Gorilla Tape over the extra USB charging port; hot glue to reduce vibration fatigue at the USB cable and the Car Charger, and to prevent accidental unplugging; the red 1' USB cable is the most durable one I could find; the circuit board is in the housing - and I chose the old flashlight because I like how there is a large clear window: the circuit board has LEDs that illuminate when in use, etc; also the flashlight housing allowed me to mostly fill it with hot glue to protect it all further: the circuit board and its unprotected, flimsy micro-USB port are areas of extra vulnerability; finally you can see the black wire sheathing exiting the flash light housing and leaving the photo to the left, which extends to the Coil Puck.
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All that stuff ^^ is this stuff:
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When the unit is correctly wirelessly Fast Charging the LEDs illuminate:
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And here is the happy magic thing: Fast Wireless Charging!
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OKAY! Lets Go!
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Thanks for looking!
-Steve
 
So THIS is what you were babbling about at Burger Univ in geotown. ;-)

Love it. When do you launch the kickstarter for it?
 
Possible to pry open the charger, hardwire it, and seal it back together? For less of a ghetto look? Or are they that sensitive to weather and require the puck? Just not enough room inside the case or case itself isn't weather proof?

Do you use a case on your phone? Will it charge through the case?


I looked at chargers about a month ago with a similar thought process. Didn't know enough about them to make a semi-informed purchase. Thanks for doing the leg work.
 
Nice job getting it all working, and waterproof! Don't have any great ideas for improvements, but if something pops, I'll post it up.
 
I would consider using a different supply for the 5VDC power.

These buck convertors are cheap and a ton more efficient than the linear regulator that is in the cig lighter (probably a LM7805 variant).

Also, they are easier to waterproof with heat shrink tubing and you have a more reliable hard wired connection. Just drop a dab of super glue on the adjustment knob after you set the proper DC voltage.

Take a look at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GJ0SC2C/?tag=twowhetex-20
 
Very cool idea. Never thought of that. I wish more phones had NFC than are out there.

My only input is be very careful of any product from Aukey on Amazon. I've been fighting with them over their crappy adapters blowing up my Moto G4. It's not my first bad experience with them, thankfully the others did not result in a brand new phone being basically bricked.
 
Very cool idea. Never thought of that. I wish more phones had NFC than are out there.

My only input is be very careful of any product from Aukey on Amazon. I've been fighting with them over their crappy adapters blowing up my Moto G4. It's not my first bad experience with them, thankfully the others did not result in a brand new phone being basically bricked.

This Auckly charger is my most recent.... I've had several fail for whatever reason. It's not yet been well tested, but it is very well reviewed on Amazon. I'm hoping that having the wireless stuff between the charger and my phone will help serve as a buffer....
 
Awesome work! I'm probably too dumb to jiggle that many electrons and would start an electrical fire.
 
I thought they were 1 in the same? I guess I'm confused.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
I was wondering if anyone has tried using Flexseal for waterproofing? I've tried it on a few things and, if you let it cure, it seems like it would work.
 
Doc:

NFC stands for Near Field Communication. This is the method used when you present a credit card like device to your office or hotel door and it unlocks. In cell phones NFC is commonly used as a communication to credit card readers; think Apple Pay, etc. The energy transfer on NFC is short range, low power, and actually transfers data through a set protocol.

Inductive charging, in this case, transfers higher amounts of energy into the phone for charging. There is no transfer of data or set protocol like used in unlocking a door or credit card transaction. It is primarily a wireless transfer of energy.

For example, here is a quickie vid I did using an inductive coil to heat a screw red hot. Instead of the energy going to getting the screw hot an inductive charging phone has circuitry to allow this energy to charge the battery.

See: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfMaW_-8pbU"]12VDC Induction Heater from Amazon - YouTube[/ame]

I thought they were 1 in the same? I guess I'm confused.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
So would my Moto G4 work with this type of contraption? :shrug:
 
Drfood, You can do it, but you need a QI charger pad. attaches and sits near the battery. Also, for that model you can buy a second battery and keep it in your tank bag all charged up.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX8r2I5YZvw"]Wireless Charging on the Moto G4 Plus?? - YouTube[/ame]
 
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