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Photo by Brad-Houghton, of Parque Nacional Eduardo Avaroa, Bolivia

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Photo by Brad-Houghton,
The Stone Tree,
Reserva Nacional de
Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa
(Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna
National Reserve)
Bolivia



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  #1  
Old 6 Jul 2010
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mobile phone charger
I want to convert a mobile charger from an old blackberry phone to be able to power my gps on the bike. My problem is I dont know which is the positive wire for the fuse attachemnt.

The power cable on the charger is a single cable with insulation. Inside the insulating sheath there is wire (obviously), this wire surrounds an inner insulated wire (Insulation white in colour, no stripes or any other colours).

Of those 2 wires, is the inner or outer wire the positive ?

Anyone ? - thanks

:confused1:
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  #2  
Old 6 Jul 2010
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You're immensely overcomplicating this. wire a 12V cigarette lighter up directly to your battery with an inline fuse, and install the lighter plug wherever you feel like it will be most useful. two wires, probably 45 minutes or so depending on the bike, and BAM DONE. plus you then have a power supply to produce electric for additional items as well, like a heated vest, or perhaps an air compressor if need be.
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  #3  
Old 7 Jul 2010
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I fitted a power socket a few weeks back and, fingers crossed, all appears ok on that front.

I bought a cigarette socket charger for the GPS with the intention of powering it through this socket, however the adaptor is a bit of a clumsy shape and this causes the connection to vibrate on and off as I ride.

I was hoping to have a permanent power supply directly from the battery to the GPS and leave the power socket for other things.
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  #4  
Old 8 Jul 2010
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For a start I would make absolutely sure that the GPS is using 12V. In my experience, the car chargers convert the 12V down to around 4.5V or something like that, depending on brand. That is not universal and maybe yours does accept straight 12V.

So, if I am correct, that means you will not be able to use the phone charger without a converter or it will blow up the power supply inside the GPS.

The other thing to think about is what actual voltage AND current the Blackberry charger can supply. I had to make up a charger for my TomTom and although I had the correct voltage, the current supplied by the convertor was only 400mA and this was not enough to keep it charged, I needed a minimum of 800mA before it started to charge.


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  #5  
Old 8 Jul 2010
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Which GPS?
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  #6  
Old 8 Jul 2010
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Ive got the Garmin Oregon 400t - use it for hiking, mountain biking and the motorcycle....fairly diverse unit, got some good functions.

Really didnt think it was going to be so complicated.....hmmmm
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