Asked this on STW, knew I should have come here first.
I have an Exposure Revo and the SP Dynamo hub. I have just borrowed a joystick from a mate a noticed that the charging port is the same as the one on the Revo that the dynamo plugs into.
Any one know if you can charge the Joystick using the same cable directly from the dynamo without a USB interface?
There's a twin-female adaptor that you use fir charging the external battery packs that would do it. It's whether the output is suitable for the device you hope to charge.
OK to clarify the wire that I would normally plug stright into the Revo, I was asking if that could be plugged straight into the Joystick to charge it during the day time?
NOT running a wire from the back of the Revo into the joystick.
Additionally when I say without a UBS interface I'm talking about the sort of kit like the plugII/kemo etc. I know that if I had one of those then I could charge the joystick that way but I haven't got one yet.
I'm guessing though that "Warning, do not attempt to power any other Exposure Lights directly from the hub as the unregulated current will cause damage to the circuitry." means just don't do it at all.
I've got a Revo and have played around with lots of ways of charging
As i understand it you can't charge a joystick directly unfortunately.
you need a device to convert to 5V USB standard.
I have the Sinewave cycles ( brightbikes ) revolution for this task and it's excellent being both light and compact.
I use it to charge a smartphone ( running viewranger GPS ) and i have charged my Exposure Joystick too.
a few observations
The Revo is really good and bright whilst you are riding but.....
but i did a section where i had to walk alongside a river for about 2 miles in the dark recently and i couldn't see owt !
so a back up light such as the Joystick is a good idea and you can use it in camp too.
The Revolution usb charger like many similar devices i've seen has a 1m set of leads to connect to the dynamo output. They tell you to twist them together with the Revo wires and then into the same connector to the SP dynamo. I thought this was a bit vulnerable so i bought a female socket that fits the male plug on the Revo lead, I cut the wire short on the Revolution usb charger and soldered it on. If anyone wants one of the female sockets let me know i had to buy 10. They are a very unusual size and hard to source.
So i have just the standard Revo lead from the dynamo hub up to the handlebars
During the day i plug the Revo lead straight into the Revolution USB charger and charge the smartphone. At the end of the day when it gets dark i unplug the lead and plug it into the Revo light. It's a very simple system and i hope more reliable because of it.
in the winter my set up is the SP hub, Revolution usb charger, Revo light and Joystick backup/camp light.
in the summer i will probably leave the Revo light itself at home and just use the Joystick.
Last edited by mtbmarkymark on Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hi,
female jacks to suit Exposure 4mm / 1.7mm plug
if you do a search on ebay for " 10 Pcs DC Power Plug 4.0mm x 1.7mm x 15mm Female Jack Connector Adapter "
it should bring up a picture of some identical ones from Hong Kong
i tidied it up after soldering with some heatshrink.
If you want one send me a PM and you can have one and some suitable heatshrink for the price of the postage
Just for clarity, don't ever be tempted to plug the output from the dynamo into any other of the exposure lights except the Revo. Any dynamo output is Alternating Current AC (like house sockets) not direct current DC (like battery) and at speed can get up to some quite high voltages.
Any device you buy will convert the AC to DC and regulate it to 5 volts for USB use. This will not be true DC as it difficult to smooth entirely, (especially in a small space) especially as your hubs AC frequency alters with wheel speed.
For this reason personally I'm reluctant to plug expensive electronic devices in direct from a USB and have always used a small USB battery pack between the dynamo/USB convertor and a phone or GPS. Several around can give a supply out at the same time as taking a charge in and have handy charge level LEDs.
The Kemo regulators are quite neat for the price as they are well sealed and have an integral light or USB switch, the later versions allow a higher current output. As an example of the worries about high voltages, the Kemo switches off the USB at wheel speeds over about 20mph.
