I was looking for ways to charge my Android mobile phone and other devices whilst out on my bicycle, and began researching hub dynamos, bottle dynamos, and the selection of devices which could perform the relatively straightforward task of taking the AC current produced by dynamos and converting it to DC.
You can purchase the DC14 directly from Amazon for under £25, £40: Nokia DC-14 Bike Charger Incl CR-124 Holder
As my research progressed, the prices involved for all the gear initially started to escalate. A complete hub dynamo wheel starts at a minimum of £80, and compatible bicycle USB charging devices such as the Reecharge costing another £65. That’s a lot of money to charge a battery.
However, my research also led me onto another discovery, the Nokia DC-14 Bicycle Charger. For £25 this kit contains a small bottle dynamo with mounting bracket, a charging device, and a handlebar phone holder. Pretty good value right? This kit is perfect, except for the fact that all that power is being sent to a 2mm Nokia plug. (Unless you have a Nokia of course, but then you’re limited to only being able to charge your phone)
So, in order to put this right it’s time to get busy with a pair of scissors, a soldering iron, some electrical tape and an old USB extension cable!
For anyone that’s is interested, this is the spec of the USB bicycle charger setup I’ll be making:
Charging starts at 3.5mph (6 kph) and maximum charging output is achieved at 15.5mph (25 kph). Charging stops when the speed reaches 31mph (50 kph).
Output is 5.0 V -450 mA at 9mph (15kph), similar to typical USB power. The maximum current is 700 mA (the same as your average mains charger), and this is reached at just 15.5 mph.
Nokia DC14 Bicycle Charger Bottle Dynamo, included in the kit
It was very simply really:
Step 1: Chop off the Nokia 2mm plug and discard, then expose the red and white wires at the end of the wire.
Step 2: Take an old USB extension cable and chop the female end off, then expose the red and black wires inside, ignoring the white and green data wires.
Both wires stripped and ready for soldering
Step 3: Solder the wires on the Nokia cable and the female USB together, and tape the whole lot up. I’ve marked the positive and negative wires; Red (Positive) and White (Negative) on the Nokia cable, Red (Positive) & Black (Negative) on the USB cable. N.B. My USB cable had a white data cable, obviously you don’t want to solder that to the white Nokia cable! My donor USB extension was see through, so it was fairly obvious which was which…
Wires soldered together
Taped up and ready to charge things
Step 4: You’ve just successfully invalidated the warranty of the Nokia bicycle charger, but you’ve got yourself a female USB port which you can use to charge any* USB device right on your bicycle.
*Apple USB chargers are wired up differently (just to be awkward) so correct me if I’m wrong but this setup won’t work with your apple device, but then if you have an iPhone chances are you can afford to spend several hundred bucks on a fancy charger.
My bicycle USB charger, shown tucked up in the Nokia handle bar phone mount.
I’ve given this a quick test and it supplied a charge to my Android phone, and I’ll be giving it a full road test this weekend on a trip around the Llyn Peninsula. (Update 10th March: I’ve now fully tested this setup and it works exactly like it should! A bicycle mounted USB charger for £25, that’s good value in my book.)
Update 6th April:
A couple of people have requested additional photo’s of the setup, so here they are:
Nokia DC14 Handlebar Mount
DC14 with Android Handset
Disclaimer: Please note, if you try and copy this setup you do so at your own risk.
I’ve just updated this post with more pics, hope someone finds it useful.
Hi Matt, thanks for your site.. did you make any measurements about voltage at different speeds? Most likely I will go and buy this set, I just need to figure way to mount it to fullcarbon frame and so that roller is at top of the wheel, not at side (road tyres are not very durable at side).
I’ve been testing this USB bicycle charger setup some more with the mapmyride application on my Android handset, an Orange San Francisco, and so far results are good.
On my 10 mile commute to work I averaged 14mph and charging was continuous, although I did remove the dynamo on some of the uphill sections to see what kind of a difference it was making. Not very much at all as it happens!
I had mapmyride running continuously with the GPS, assisted GPS & wifi activated, and screen brightness on full. The battery life dropped by only 15% over 45 minutes, which for my cheap Android handset with awful battery life isn’t bad going.
I think with assisted GPS & Wi-Fi off, screen brightness set to auto, and all other apps shut down I can maintain battery life. Of course, for longer travels it won’t be neccesary to have the GPS on continously, so this setup will keep my phone brimming with energy.
I’ll be testing it again on a longer ride in the near future, and my next project will be shortening my micro USB charging cable. At the minute I have 1 metre micro USB cable and bundling it up on the handlebars is a bit of a hassle!
Hi Matt – thanks for taking a punt and trying this out – it’s just what I’ve been considering for a soon to be updated handset for myself! – Its a bit late for you now as you’ve already taken a knife to the cable but I see eBay has readily available Nokia 2mm – Micro USB adaptors that should enable use with just about all phones. Would it be possible to see more photos of your handlebar arrangement to get a feel for how much room the bits take up please?
Hi Adam,
Thanks for the comment. I think you must be referring to the Nokia Charger Adapter CA-146C, probably something I should have mentioned.
I went with a female USB port because it’s fairly standard and I can plug other things into if if I need to. For the most part I’ll only use the Micro USB, in which case the adapter you talk about would be a much less invasive solution!
One reason for the female USB was the discovery of this device for charging AA batteries from USB: http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-battery-charger-353678
I don’t actually own this, but I might get one for keeping torch batteries topped up whilst on the road.
Unfortunately my Canon S95 digital camera won’t charge from USB, that’s the one let down really. Cameras these days all have mains chargers with no USB charge option. It really sucks! Spare batteries are cheap enough though, I’ll just have to carry a couple with me.
I’ll try and get a couple more photo’s up for you of the handlebar setup, shouldn’t be a problem.
Additional pics will be up tonight!
Nice to see someone else with a DC14. I only use Nokia phones (Ovi maps allows you to download maps of the entire country for offline use) so it works great with those and Nokias run for days on one charge unlike iPhones or Android.
However, instead of hacking the 2mm end off, I bought a few CA-146C adaptors off of eBay for a a few quid. One I’ve left as is so I can charge a Nokia N900 (my secondary phone/computer) which has a MicroUSB connection and the other has been given the same kind of female USB connection as you’ve made here Matt.
I’ve a USB charger that charges AA/AAA batteries but also a PowerGen Rapid Smart Mains/USB Charger that has movable pins to charge almost any kind of phone or camera battery. I’m using the DC14 and the PowerGen charger to keep a supply of spare batteries running.
Here’s a link to amazon.com for the charger – http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Battery-Charger-Output-PowerGen/dp/B00369EREC/trainset-21
I got mine from amazon.co.uk but it doesn’t appear to be for sale now there.
Thanks for taking the time to update the page – your set up looks really tidy! I was thinking of getting this bracket (http://www.holdersandmounts.co.uk/motorola-defy-bike-mounts-bicycle-handlebar-mount/) with the Moto Defy to give a water-resistant and secure finish but looks like the Nokia mount should be pretty robust as is (not that I’m thinking of doing any crazy off-road mountain biking with it. At least – I wasn’t till just now!).
Good idea on the full usb port as well – I hadn’t considered all the things you could trick the bike out with that plugs into USBs! – fans, lights, weapons, xmas trees! How fast do you need to be riding to power a 5-port hub?
Thanks again for sharing and all the best! Adam
Hi Matt:
Here is a similar product that suits any type of phone. I got one for my husband who likes to bicycle and runs stats and gps apps on his HTC incredible. Unfortunately, the phone battery used to run out 45 minutes into the ride.
Here is the product. Check it out if you want. My husband is super happy with it. http://www.bike2power.com/smartphone-bicycle-charger-kit.html
Hi,
Have you seen the NOKIA MICRO-USB ADAPTER CABLE CA-146C that converts a Nokia 2mm charger plug to micro USB (the new European standard for phone chargers)?
Hi,
Sorry if I have missed this at any point but have you any ideas if this unit will work with a dynamo hub? I have an LX dynamo hub which is currently requiring such a device for when I am on tours!
Any help with this would be great!
Cheers
Hi Darren:
Wanted to reply to your question in case you were asking about the SpinPower I recommended. I am not familiar with Nokia’s charger because I do not have Nokia and neither does my husband.
The spinpower kit includes a bicycle phone holder and mount, usb charger, and bottle dynamo. The charger connects to the dynamo which uses your pedal power to charge your phone. You do not need any additional parts. It charges any smart phone which can be charged by USB. I imagine it is also compatible with Nokia.
So far, it has kept my husband’s HTC battery topped off, and he uses the phone very actively for GPS and and various stats apps. He may ride for anywhere between 2 and 8 hours. It also works with my iphone. It has been almost two months since I got it for my husband, and he is very happy with it.
If you need more information, the seller has a very nice interactive installation manual. I read it in entirety before purchasing. http://www.bike2power.com/installation.html
Hope it helps.
Happy Riding!
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks for the reply. I have just had a look at this kit and the postage is nearly as much as the kit its self! I am in the UK and they would charge me nearly $46 for shipping alone. For that reason I will have to give it a miss.
I have a Smasung Galaxy S, and I think that I am going to try a Nokia DC 14 as used here – it is only about £25 to my door! I have spent the extra money on a good ‘Momax’ extended battery to help with long battery life.
I suppose all thats left is to report back in the future on its functionality with my phone, and I am also going to try charging my garmin 705 with it.
Thanks
Darren
Any insights if the Nokia charger can be modified in some other way for iPhone?
Hi Matt,
thanks a lot for sharing your experiences in so great detail. I just wonder what happens if the bike charger is powered by a hub dynamo at greater speed, say at 20mph upward. In one online review I have read that the DC-14 sighed out its soul due to a missing overvoltage protection. Contrary to this other online sources claim charging would stop at about 30mph. Could somebody please share his/her experiences in this matter?
I should have added the DC-14 died at the speed of about 20mph without connected electrical consumer. The info that charging stops at higher speed originates from a Nokia website, e.g. http://www.nokia.co.uk/find-products/accessories/all-accessories/power/chargers/nokia-bicycle-charger-kit/specifications
I’ve not noticed the unit cutting out, but then I haven’t done any testing at high speed. The unit does have over-voltage protection according to the literature, and I’d guess this kicks in at roughly 30mph.
pretty genius of you sir. you’re a bonafide macguyver. anyhow, it looks like that’s a full sized usb port. would this work with a micro usb plug? i’m very interested in doing this too. you get like a 100 bonus points for creativity and ingenuity.
I chose a full sized USB port so that it would be compatible with any USB device.
If you only require a male micro USB plug, you could of course just solder this on instead of a female USB port.
thanks man. have you considered starting a side business doing custom bike add-on/gadgets?
Just to confirm what other people have experienced in regards to the DC-14 and hub dynamos. The Nokia DC-14 does not have any over-voltage protection as far as I can tell. I blew mine up on a fast descent with it attached directly to a Shimano 3n80 dynamo hub which does not have overvoltage protection built in.
Maybe there’s over-voltage protection in the supplied bottle dynamo?
My 3n80 came with an external overvoltage protection circuit for a rear lamp as it came from Germany where it’s the law that overvoltage protection has to be included. That’s a Shimano SM-DH10 which is kind of like a heatsink that you attach to the rear rack and then to the rear lamp to protect the bulbs in that. I’ve not been able to ascertain exactly what it does though. Presumably it limits output to 6v and 0.6W maximum that rear lights are supposed to use. If the Nokia DC-14 can take more than 0.6W then the SM-DH10 would be limiting the output. Then again, the cheap bottle charger that comes with the DC-14 probably has a 0.6W limiter also.
The second problem I came across is that my Nokia C7 will stop charging if I stop or slow down and then not start charging again unless I pick up speed and unplug/replug the cable in while moving. I can see why some of the more expensive USB charging solutions have buffer or cache batteries so that your gadgets don’t have the start/stop charging thing.
For about £25 I’ll probably get another one but I’ll have to work out the overvoltage thing. It did quite well keeping a phone charged for a weekend tour up until the descent from Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales at 30mph+.
I have bought us a Samsung camera each as their cameras do charge off a USB. We’ve been really pleased with the cameras and also carry a spare battery.
I also have a USB charging devise to run off a Schmitt hub dynamo – bought on Ebay and very simple.
Hi, this is also my first post here. One modification I would suggest is to add a voltage regulator after the dynamo and before the charger. This way, the regulator (provided the use of a good heat sink),will be the one that will dissipate the excess power coming from the dynamo. We would need the max output voltage from the dynamo on a descent similar to the one that fried the charger, for the proper regulator & heatsink selection. The output of this circuit then goes to the charger. There are some caveats to this approach, but it would be fun to try!
Hi,
Just thought I would update and comment.
1) My DC-14 got fried on my Shimano LX hub dynamo on a big decent, so be warned that we need to find a way of regulating the power to the unit. If there is any form of internal power buffering it is just not working!
2) I sent my product back to nokia and they have sent me a nice new replacement. Go to their website and follow the instructions for returning the product. UPQS picked mine up, returned it to the repair factory, and brought it back to me for free. They really have great customer service as this took about 7 working days!
3) I will link up my dynamo hub to a multimeter soon. I will then go for a ride down a local hill of which I know that I will get 40+mph upon. It will be good exercise anyway. I will post the findings and see if people have a sugestion upon a voltage regulater – as Gabriel suggests. I am useless with electronics so I will need help with this! Please post if you feel you can help.
4) Has anybody got a link to the German heatsink idea for voltage regulation? Do people think that this will work????
Any help with these comments will be great, and help us to solve this problem.
Thanks
Darren
There’s lots of ideas and circuits at instructables.com Search for Bike USB and have a browse. It’s worth signing up so you can view everything on one page (it’s free). You can also waste lots of time looking at things you’d love to make but never will!!
For iphone mod go here: http://www.ifans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69294
For over voltage protection add a 7805, isolate the 7805 electrically and use a suitable cooling finger. TO-220 version is easiest to work with. All components for this mod should be less than 5 GBP if you avoid the shop chains. You need to be able to solder. You may also want to cast it in silicone gel or epoxy so it is rain proof.
oh for pinout of the 7805 go here, all mods at own risk…. http://www.ti.com/general/docs/lit/getliterature.tsp?genericPartNumber=lm340-n®=en&fileType=pdf