Guest Jknodell Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hello everyone. This is my first post here, but surely not my last.I am in the process of buying 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook for my girlfriend as a gift.We love classic cars but we also love modern electronics.Is there any way to charge a newer device like this in an old 6volt system??? I would like to avoid buying a new phone because I blew up my current one!Thanks!!Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Welcome to the AACA forum Jonathan. I believe there are some converters out there that would work, however I've never used one. I usually just charge my phone before I go, then carry a wall charger with me when I get to my destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I cobbled together a pretty simple circuit, basically identical to the one on the datasheet for the voltage regulator, to provide 5v USB power from my car's 6v electrical system. I used an isolated ground to deal with the fact the car is positive ground while new electronics assume negative ground. I use it for keeping my Android cellphone charged and it provides enough power that I can run the map and GPS functions on the phone with worrying about running down the battery. Everything is tucked away under the dash so it is not visible. Plymouth: First Decade - Cell Phone Charger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Nice. I'm curious, though. Why does it make a difference whether it's positive ground or negative, as long as you connect ground to ground and power to power, wouldn't it be okay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jknodell Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Nice work! Thanks for sharing. I'm by no means an electrician, but that seems doable...Anyone ever found an off-the-shelf item that works?I also use my devices for music a lot so that is why I need something to keep the device charged on a longer drive.I have considered a solar charger...but don't know how successful that would be. I drive a lot at night to...so..slight issue there! :-)Thanks again.Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jknodell Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Found this...www.powerstream.com/dcdc.htmSeems it could work. Not cheap though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jknodell Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Also this:Classic car 6V to 12V voltage converter power power | eBayseems much better, and mentions cell phones and GPS. but i would have to hardwire a cigarette lighter to this or something to then plug a standard car charger into?...I better update my insurance policy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DagoRed Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) Stanley and maybe others offer a combination jump starter, air compressor that also has both a recharging outlet for USB devices as well as a cigearette lighter recepticle. It sells at Sam's for $50. I have one and found it very handy to start boats, garden tractors, etc. as well as pump up the occasional tire. I take it with me in my classic were it is right at home with a fire extinguisher, tool kit, flashlights and other safety/repair equipment. It is small and fairly light. It is charged off of wall outlet, then it is your standby mobile battery charger/small device recharging station. It goes were my antique cars go now. Edited January 27, 2012 by DagoRed (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) Nice. I'm curious, though. Why does it make a difference whether it's positive ground or negative, as long as you connect ground to ground and power to power, wouldn't it be okay?Solid state electronics are usually pretty critical about having correct polarity on their power.It is possible to design a solid state circuit that can take either, witness the power converter at http://www.powerstream.com/dcdc.htm linked to by Jknodell. But I don't think anything that is running off of USB power will be designed that way for two reasons: 1) It costs more and nearly all the devices that work on USB are designed to be as inexpensive to manufacture as possible. 2) USB plugs are polarized and you can't plug them in wrong, so the chance of a typical end user applying power backwards is pretty low.By the way, that converter linked to by Jknodell looks like it would work fine. Overkill for me and it costs more than I'd like and I don't have a place to permanently mount it in a hidden spot on my car. But it could well work for others.The little converter that Jknodell also linked to on ePay (Classic car 6V to 12V voltage converter power power | eBay) is priced well and if I had known about it I might have used that instead of building one from scratch. Edited January 27, 2012 by ply33 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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