Hi All,
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[An observation...
Our discussions of battery-charging systems are a bit scattered among topic headings. As discussions naturally do, they grow and diverge in wondrous ways and pretty soon take a course that makes it hard to find a particular sub-topic. Given the growing interest in dynamo battery-charging, it seems a good idea to clearly label fresh sub-topics with a prefix, like "Battery-charging" for easy future searching.]
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There are many commercial solutions for charging a battery or battery-operated device from a dynohub, but they can be expensive. If you're handy, it is possible to build your own device to power your appliances while on-tour.
Most DIY accounts are lacking in some way, but the idea of making one's own just took a huge leap forward, thanks to Trevor Luker at oddbikes (
http://http://oddbikes.com/ ), who has very generously released the schematics and PCB layouts of the OddPower charger for general use under a Creative Commons license (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ ). Under this provision you are free to share, remix, or adapt the work under the conditions you attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor and if you alter, transform, or build upon the work, you may distribute the result under the same or similar license to this one. The idea is to give back to the wider cycling community any improvements you make.
By any standard, this is a gift to the cycling community, and we all owe Mr. Luker a hearty "thanks and well done". A Technical Architect and Project Manager by profession, Trevor's avocation is cycling the world on a bike equipped similarly to a Thorn.
The charger connects to most modern hub-dynamos (SON recommended) to deliver a clean & steady 5V output at up to 1A in accordance with USB specifications. The other end connects to your USB device via a standard charging cable and can readily be used with external batteries including a buffer battery. The final product generally resembles a B&M e-Werk in appearance, but does not offer user-selectable output. Final appearance and weather-resistance is up to the DIY builder and will depend on packaging.
Everything you will need to know is contained in a .zip file available here:
http://oddbikes.com/downloads/OddPowerV1.zipThis file contains the complete schematics & PCB design of OddBikes' OddPower V1 charger.
Mr. Luker indicates release of v. 1.0 will allow him to concentrate on the complete schematics and board design design for the version 2
smart charger. I can hardly wait.
Best,
Dan.
