babyhog wrote on 06/18/10 at 10:40:52:spacepirates wrote on 06/18/10 at 10:30:37:USB has a power specification of +5V DC and no more than .5 Amps, so wiring it directly to +12V would be a bad idea.
A while ago I turned a bicycle's headlight generator into a USB charger. wasn't hard at all. Only took maybe $5 worth of parts from radio shack and an old USB extension cable.
With an existing DC power source (the dynamo was AC) all you'd need is a voltage regulator.
Seriously though, it'd be four wires and two extra parts (regulator and USB connector) plus some electrical tape. If I had any devices that regularly need charging via USB I'd fab one of these things up...
Again, I'm illiterate with AC/DC (except the band!) This thing was made for a motorcycle stereo system. I can't find any info on how to wire it in, or how they recommend it be set up for the actual stereo system. So you are saying directly to the battery would not be good. Headlight would be better. But it shouldn't cause any issues with anything else working correctly drawing that little amps, right?
And its not anything major to me, I just ran across it today and thought 'hmmmm'. When I saw the retail price (which seems totally crazy!) I thought having a way to charge the cell phone would be nice. But most likely, if I'm going to be gone long enough for it to die, I'll probably have a wall charger and electric available somewhere!
BUT, alot of people like to ride with mp3 players and I don't know how long those last on batteries, so thought someone else might be interested too.
And spacepirates -- Your signature line is my all-time favorite. I've tried to find that saying on a helmet sticker for a couple years now.... no success!
haha, yeah, I like my sig too. I guess it is why it's there!
So don't worry about AC and DC too much, if it runs off the battery, it is DC. Just know that AC and DC don't mix.
I don't have a detailed understanding of the electrics on our bikes (yet), but it shouldn't matter where you wire it in, as I'd imagine the voltage to be the same everywhere, but again, i'm not sure.
It looks like that thing has a voltage regulator tucked in it already, so you should be fine linking it in. I think the savage/s40 has an accessory plug on the right side of the seat, or that is what it looks like to me. That is where i'd look into plugging it in. from there, you find the positive wire and the negative, plug them into the right sockets and you're golden.
You've peaked my interest. I'm going to swing by radioshack on my way home from work and see what I can dig up... maybe in a week or so I'll be able to tell you a $5 answer to 2 Wheel Tune's $160 product...