Use ipaq/Co-pilot sleeve on bicycle

BlueJay · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 20, 2004 Posts: 15

I have the mount the "only" concern I have is battery time, Has anyone used some form of external battery pack/solar cells/other things

I would really like to use this during cycle rides, navigation software currently not the issue, first want to see if I can maintain power during an 8hr cycle ride.

thnx
RJ

lbendlin · Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 3:34 pm Post subject:

I have slightly modified a RAM mount. It is designed to also house very deep jackets, so when you put the CoPilot jacket in there is enough space left behind the jacket for a four-pack of AA batteries. You can see the wire come out from the top and go back in at the bottom

So I put the iPAQ with the Jacket into the mount, and then connect the battery pack. I also make sure that the backlight is off permanently, since it is the single most important power drain.

I also carry a solar panel (iSUN) that is used during breaks to recharge the iPAQ. It does also work during the ride but then who wants to ride in the sun all the time...
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BlueJay · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 20, 2004 Posts: 15

I have a similar mount, which is quite deep, so the GPS-sleeve fits in just fine.

Do you have some more info on the battery charger (iSun)? Am I correct that you have some sort of external battery pack?

Regards
Robert

lbendlin · Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2004 5:15 pm Post subject:

The battery pack is just a standard small plastic case that holds four AA batteries. I soldered a cable onto it that then can be plugged into the iPAQ. The plastic case with the batteries sits inside the mount, behind the jacket.

The iSUN can be found in numerous places, for example here
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BlueJay · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 20, 2004 Posts: 15

Seen the iSun (and it's battery pack), and am very tempted to buy.

What batteries would be better, NiCa or Lithium?

Robert

lbendlin · Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:41 pm Post subject:

I am not talking rechargeables... they tend to deliver only 4.8 V whereas the Alkaline cells give you 6V. I use the Solar Panel for recharging the iPAQ, not for the battery pack.
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BlueJay · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 20, 2004 Posts: 15

The Battpack contains up to 10batteries, which would be handy (I think) for those "rainy" days!

BTW how long does your iPAQ last with out re-charging using the GPS? Do you manage a whole day?

RJ

lbendlin · Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2004 2:24 pm Post subject:

Oh, you talk the iSUNs batt pack. I have no experience with that.

In Trickle mode and with the backlight switched off I managed to get 6.5 hrs per day out of the setup. I do rarely sit on the bike more than 5 hrs per day, so that's good enough for me. And, the sun is pretty abundant over here, so there is plenty of refill time available.
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hogbreath · Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 11:21 pm Post subject:

bren · Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 9:12 pm Post subject:

Has anybody got any experience of powering/charging the IPAQ from hub dynamo such as the Schmidt ?
My next major bike based purchase will be a Schmidt and I would like it to enable me to use sat nav on extended (5 days +) trips in UK/Europe where we don't get the same amount of sun that Lutz does in Texas.

Regards,

Bren

IPAQ5555/Syson CF +/Dual CF card expansion pack/Copilot 4

lbendlin · Posted: Mon May 09, 2005 10:39 pm Post subject:

You would definitely need a buffer circuit with a large capacitor to even out the voltage you get from the dynamo. Maybe there are prefabricated charging circuits available that can handle wildly varying input voltage. Other than that this should work nicely.
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