Power to the Top Box

There's an app I like on my Droid X phone called Instamapper (www.instamapper.com) that is like a poor man's Spot (free app), but running the GPS constantly drains the battery, so I needed a way to power the phone (and whatever else) in my top box.

Here's what I did:

First, I ordered the Powerlet (Electrex) Luggage Adapter:
http://www.powerlet....x-connector/286

And a 36" SAE power cord:
http://www.powerlet....nsion-cables/36

...and the, yet to arrive, cigarette power socket / sae adapter:
http://www.powerlet....cket-cables/319

Then I had to decide how to mount this to the trunk. I prefer as low profile as possible, and since I haul my gigantic DSLR camera around in my top box (and it takes up a lot of space) I wanted it out near the edge.

I chose the right-bottom of the trunk as close to the "front" foot as I could get to make the cable run short coming from the bike, and as out of the way as possible.

Using the interior mounting place as a template, I drilled some holes:
[image: Posted Image]

And smeared the connector with a helping of silicon sealant:
[image: Posted Image]

I also put silicon on the interior mounting plate to ensure no water could get driven up into the top box in even the worst rain. Mounted, it looks like this from the outside:
[image: Posted Image]

...and with the cover off:
[image: Posted Image]

Here's the plug inside the top box:
[image: Posted Image]

When the silicon is dry, the excess will wipe away easily:
[image: Posted Image]

Mounted on the bottom, with the cover over the outlet, there's still clearance to the feet:
[image: Posted Image]

Mounting location:
[image: Posted Image]

BlueSea fusebox and the SAE power cord stashed under the seat:
[image: Posted Image]

And it's very clean to snake the cord out under the seat, under the carrier, and plug it in:
[image: Posted Image]

...just stash the excess under the seat and, viola', power to the top box. When the cigarette socket arrives I'll be able to plug that in inside the top box and use my standard car charger for the phone. ...they also make adapters that add USB charging slots, as well as a host of accessories that can be run off the SAE power connector.

One more shot of the connector inside the top box:
[image: Posted Image]

And that's it. :biggrin:

Nice! I like any poor man's solution as an alternative to more expensive gear. Well done! Does that app work to your satisfaction? Meaning enough features?
C

[image: View Post]PolarBear, on 28 April 2011 - 10:49 PM, said:

Nice! I like amy pooan's solution as an alternative to more expansive gear. Well done! Does that app work to your satisfaction? Meanimg enough features?
C


Yeah, it works fine for what it is (now that I have power for my phone). ...of course, if you're out where there's no coverage it won't do anyone tracking you much good, but Verizon has pretty good coverage and you can adjust the reporting interval to longer time frames and have a reporting buffer of 100 reports, so you can cover a fair amount of ground between cell towers and still get semi-live tracking.

I've only had it for a couple weeks, but my wife and daughter love to look on the computer and watch as I get closer and closer to home (of course I have the option to shut it off and surprise them too). :biggrin:

Another app I like, is called Open GPS which records your route and speed data to the phone (no reporting) and you can export that as .gpx files and drop it into other programs (GPS mapping, or Google Earth. etc.).

Nicely done, neat and tidy.

FYI, of course I can't find any good links right now, but I know you can buy bulkhead-type SAE connectors like that from caravan/trailer parts places for a lot less than Powerlet® sells it for. For that matter, just about everything they sell is available somewhere else for a lot less...convenience has a price!

Ciao,

[image: View Post]JZH, on 29 April 2011 - 01:50 PM, said:

FYI, of course I can't find any good links right now, but I know you can buy bulkhead-type SAE connectors like that from caravan/trailer parts places for a lot less than Powerlet® sells it for. For that matter, just about everything they sell is available somewhere else for a lot less...convenience has a price!

Ciao,


I didn't actually buy these direct from Powerlet, but wanted to show which components I used. ...I think I'm in for about $25 total on my install. :fing02:

I like it! I went the even cheaper route and used Cat5 cable...just for LED brake light, so not a big draw. Just be careful taking the box off...can't count the number of times I forgot it was there and yanked good on it.

instamapper? I will have to check that out! I have a droid x too, my company makes the touch screen controller chip so I got it for a discount (Atmel).

Another fun Android app is MyTracks, which is for mountain biking, but it records more data than the other programs (stuff like elevation, speed, elevation/speed, time spent moving, time not moving, etc.)

They make the app for BlackBerry too, very useful and very dataplan friendly as well.

[image: View Post]ZenMoto, on 29 April 2011 - 03:39 PM, said:

[image: View Post]JZH, on 29 April 2011 - 01:50 PM, said:

FYI, of course I can't find any good links right now, but I know you can buy bulkhead-type SAE connectors like that from caravan/trailer parts places for a lot less than Powerlet® sells it for. For that matter, just about everything they sell is available somewhere else for a lot less...convenience has a price!

Ciao,


I didn't actually buy these direct from Powerlet, but wanted to show which components I used. ...I think I'm in for about $25 total on my install. :fing02:

Well, where DID you get them from?!? :happy:

Ciao,

[image: View Post]JZH, on 02 May 2011 - 05:25 AM, said:

Well, where DID you get them from?!? :happy:

Ciao,


Sorry, I thought I had responded to this a while ago. I actually already had the extension cable (came with a compact compressor I got a while ago). ...but the other parts I got here:
Journey Rider ...unimpressive website, but good prices.

I'm more impressed with the phone!
I'm going to have to get one of those some day..

:fing02: Great job!