cell phone recharging

[wolcott]

If I ever get the 1001 details sorted out that I need to do in order to organize a motorcycle trip I will be a happy camper. If I do without a tank bag (I'm on a budget) can I just get a powerlet adapter and plug in my cell phone at night while bike is off and charge it- or will that run the battery down? I was thinking of enclosing it in some sort of little nylon bag maybe encased by a zipped freezer bag or something. 2) How do you folks with tank bags charge your phones? Do you poke a hole in the side of the bag to lead out the charging cable that goes to the BMW power outlet? Any suggestions appreciated.

[ednap]

An electrified tank bag fits the powerlet adapter to one outside face of the bag. Then a short lead from the BMW power socket (I added one by the ingnition switch) to the powerlet adapter on the tank bag. The phone sits inside the tankbag and is charged.

 

Check out the pics at http://www.powerletproducts.com/products/ptb.php

 

I tend to charge as I ride not overnight from the bike battery.

[KDeline]

If charging a cell phone discharges your cycle battery, then you have some battery issues. I charge 4 AA batterys, mp3 player, and cell phone while the bike is parked for the night with no starting problems.

[Mainuh]

I used the powerlet stuff that Ed mentioned to electrify my tank bag. I can charge my phone or run my vest or other accessories from the plugs inside the tankbag. To see photos of how I did mine, you can visit my R12RT page link in my signature. There was a thread on here a couple months ago where someone had found an RV place selling the powerlet type plugs for only a few dollars compared to the $30 or so Powerlet gets for them.

 

I would not charge a cell overnight. It shouldn't kill your bike's battery, but you never know.... and out on a long trip is not the place to find out.

[Aluminum_Butt]

If charging a cell phone discharges your cycle battery, then you have some battery issues

 

It shouldn't kill your bike's battery, but you never know....

 

Kevin's is the correct response on this issue. Charging a cell phone will *not* have a significant impact on your battery. For example, my Nokia charger operaters at 160mA (that's milli-amps). It takes about an hour to fully charge the phone from dead. So the total drain on the battery is 160mAH (milli amp hours).

 

The low beam headlight is 55W, I think - but let's say it's 100W for the sake of argument. That means it draws just over 8 amps. It then takes 0.02 hours (or 1.2 seconds) for the low beam to draw 160 mAH (same as the cell phone charge).

 

So, charging my cell phone is the same as leaving my headlight on for 1.2 seconds.

[RichEdwards]

Some questions:

1) Are you camping? If not, why can't the motel room outlet be used to charge your phone.

2) Even if you are camping, do you keep the phone on all the time? If it is just turned on to check messages or make short calls, a good phone battery should last a week without recharging.

I do a lot of traveling and I find that charging the phone once a week is sufficient.

[wolcott]

Yes, I will be camping. I keep the phone off all the time- it is just for emergency use. In fact, it's almost fully charged after not using it for a month. Thats what makes me think I could just charge it up from my battery (new Odyssey PC 680) once a week with the bike off. I also could maybe find a cheap motel room once every 10 days or so and use my ac adapter. I agree a tank bag is a lot better. This will be my last ride- have terminal cancer- and the amounts of money I am shelling out of the bank account is a concern- need to have money left for gas, camping fees, food, emergency repairs, etc. Just seen Madawg (sp?) post on charging cell phone = low beam for 1.2 seconds, so with a new battery, I should be ok. Thanks, folks.

[FlyingFinn]

Michael,

 

If Phoenix is on your route, skip the tent and motels.

You are welcome to stay with us.

 

--

Mikko

[Redbrick]

My solution...Take an AC charger and while you are sitting in the hot tub at the Best Western let it charge up in your room....My new cell has a lithum battery that lasts a lo o o o ng time...Sorry for the smart answer..

What I'll do if necessary is just plug it into the 1200RT's outlet on the faring and throw the cell in the tank bag if I need to charge it on the road...I don't have any powered accessories however; radar detector, GPS, MP3; just the sweet feel and sound of the 2 cylinder boxer.........

 

Phil.......Redbrick

[SCOTTinNJ]

I take a regular charger and plug that in to a restaurant as I'm eating. Even if you are camping, I'm sure there will be some time that you're at a place long enough to charge the phone. Just ask the staff. They are usually very accomodating.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

I keep my cell phone in my 1100RT's glovebox. When it needs charging, I plug the charger into the dashboard accessory outlet (with an adapter) and run the cord into the glovebox, forcing the lid to flex a little bit to admit the cord. I typically let the phone charge while I'm riding, though I have also charged it without the motor running and had no battery issues.

[steveknapp]

So the total drain on the battery is 160mAH (milli amp hours).

 

Usual phone batteries are about 600-1000mAh. And even with perfect energy conversion (160mA @ 12V to ~4V to charge a single cell Li), you're still a bit short.

 

Even with that, I wouldn't expect the bike not to start. But the truly paranoid would follow Mitch's lead and charge it while riding.

 

I wouldn't get a hotel just to charge your phone.

 

Curious, what sort of phone, and who's carrier?

[Aluminum_Butt]

So the total drain on the battery is 160mAH (milli amp hours).

 

Usual phone batteries are about 600-1000mAh. And even with perfect energy conversion (160mA @ 12V to ~4V to charge a single cell Li), you're still a bit short.

 

Geez, and just when I thought I had come up with a really great, technically-accurate post!

 

I looked at the battery rating on my phone, and it is 1000mAH (or roughly six times the 160 I claimed). I also double-checked, and I have a 55W low beam, not 100W. So, taking my previous analysis, multiplying by six, and adding a 20% (hopefully adequate or even high?) loss factor for the voltage conversion, and considering the wattage correction, I'm still at:

 

Charging my phone = leaving my low beam on for just under 5 seconds.

 

I still stand by my original assertion - it's fine to charge the phone with the engine off. But, thanks for helping me be more accurate. I love this place!

[wolcott]

Mikko: Thanks for the invitation if I pass through Phoenix, check your PM mailbox. Steven: I have a Nokia 3587I cell phone with Alltel being the carrier. I just found out while looking at the manual that the 3587I has a GPS feature while the 3587 does not. It says that the GPS antenna is internal and is activated when placing emergency calls or when Location on is selected from the Location info sharing feature. 1) Does this mean if you go off the road and into a ravine, and the cell phone manages to survive (including yourself) you can call 911 and the cell phone sends out the GPS coordinates to the 911 center so that EMS can find you?

[KDeline]

[quote

But the truly paranoid would follow Mitch's lead and charge it while riding.

 

 

So you charge while riding?

[JR356]

 

Any where you have sun access,try this:

 

http://www.solio.com/v2/

 

 

It also has a wall charger in case you have access to an electrical source,or give it an initial charge at home before your trip.

 

 

They have a lot of adapters for cell phones,ipod,etc

 

The unit fully charged holds about 2 full charges for my cell(motorola razr)

 

 

 

JR356

[steveknapp]

1) Does this mean if you go off the road and into a ravine, and the cell phone manages to survive (including yourself) you can call 911 and the cell phone sends out the GPS coordinates to the 911 center so that EMS can find you?

 

That is the idea. I can't speak for the details of Nokia's CDMA chipsets, but most other makes use Qualcomm solutions.

 

http://www.cdmatech.com/download_library/pdf/gpsone_factsheet.pdf

 

Pretty impressive stuff.

[axabmw]

Get a standard car charger and an adaptor to reduce the cigarette lighter sized plug to the BMW accessory size.

Plug the phone in and place it under your seat. There is enough clearance for the cable. Your phone is dry and secure. I think Wunderlich do the adaptors

[ruok]

Some questions:

1) Are you camping? If not, why can't the motel room outlet be used to charge your phone.

2) Even if you are camping, do you keep the phone on all the time? If it is just turned on to check messages or make short calls, a good phone battery should last a week without recharging.

I do a lot of traveling and I find that charging the phone once a week is sufficient.

If you use a tri-band phone while traveling in very rural or desolate areas where there's no digital capability, there's a good chance it will switch to analog mode. In analog mode it uses 5 to 10 times as much current as the digital mode. A good charge on my tri-band phone will last quite a few days around town. However, on my recent trip to Torrey, my early in-the-morning fully charged cell phone was almost dead by nightfall. Unless you're expecting an important call, I'd suggest turning your phone off while riding in desolate areas (i.e., where gas stations are 75-100 miles apart).

[MotoBoy]

Sent you a p.m.

 

The only advice I have about a cycle camping trip, is to lash down the least gear you can imagine you can get away with, throw the leg over, flip up kickstand, hit the starter, and ride off. All the rest is details, and it sorts itself out along the way. I hope you enjoy the trip.