440: For those wanting to add legit USB.

[solecollector]

I'm really trying to keep my 440 as original looking as possible inside... outside - some changes on the way... but - for the inside - if you are looking to add USB to your staterooms that look factory installed there is a pretty easy way to do it.



Find a Vimar dealer online. I went with Imtra.com

Make sure you are looking at the right switches.... there are two different styles - Idea and Eikon. I screwed up and bought Eikon USB modules and they sure the heck didn't fit my Vimar Idea frame... thought they all were the same - they aren't.

To do this you have to down step the voltage from 12v to 5v. Get on amazon and you'll find a number of these that are highly rated. Make sure you get the 3A version as the new iPads and iPhone (and I assume other big phones / tabs) need more amps to charge quickly....

Make sure you jumper the two data leads together. There is a D+ and a D-... they need to be jumped for the iPhone to actually charge.

I replaced one of my two module frames with a 4 module. Unfortunately the 4 module isn't big enough to cover the two 2 modules that I have...

Make sure you text the voltage coming out of the step down before plugging in you phone.... 12Vs sure isn't good for your phone....

[MBWhite]

You did a good job, it looks very nice!

[socaldmax]

Those seem to take up a lot of space. They could have put 2 or 3 USB sockets in one segment.

I have a 4 amp 4 port USB adapter (110v - 5v) and it only takes up one outlet.

[travellerw]

You might want to do some digging on the Apple charging protocol.. Although simply jumping the data pins will allow an Apple device to charge, it will charge at a very slow speed (I haven't tested this since the last gen of apple products). With just the data pins jumped, i believe it will only draw 500ma.

Here is an article on the subject.
Modify a cheap USB charger to feed an iPod, iPhone or Samsung Galaxy

P.S. Simply jumping the data pins works fine for MOST Android devices.

[solecollector]

socaldmax - I could have went a lot more dense but man... I love the look of this and we have the space.

travellerw - Some say you have to put a little resistor in there if it charges slow... I put in my iPhone and it was crazy fast so I think this is going to work fine for the products that I have. Of course until something new comes out - !

[travellerw]

More research shows that Apple devices going all the way back to gen 3 conform to this standard. You need a certain voltage on the data pins (a resistor divider network).

Unless you have a device that is older then gen 3, you are only getting 500ma charge rate. Even if it seems "crazy fast". UNLESS, you have a 3rd party high speed cable (which has the divider network in the cable).

I have a little device called a USB Charge Doctor that I bought on e-bay for a $5 or so. It goes inline with the USB cable and shows what the device is pulling. I use it all the time to figure out which of my USB adapters are high speed. I keep the high speed ones and toss the low speed ones out...

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by solecollector

socaldmax - I could have went a lot more dense but man... I love the look of this and we have the space.

travellerw - Some say you have to put a little resistor in there if it charges slow... I put in my iPhone and it was crazy fast so I think this is going to work fine for the products that I have. Of course until something new comes out - !

You sure did a great job, it does look beautiful!

[solecollector]

Originally Posted by travellerw

More research shows that Apple devices going all the way back to gen 3 conform to this standard. You need a certain voltage on the data pins (a resistor divider network).

Unless you have a device that is older then gen 3, you are only getting 500ma charge rate. Even if it seems "crazy fast". UNLESS, you have a 3rd party high speed cable (which has the divider network in the cable).

I have a little device called a USB Charge Doctor that I bought on e-bay for a $5 or so. It goes inline with the USB cable and shows what the device is pulling. I use it all the time to figure out which of my USB adapters are high speed. I keep the high speed ones and toss the low speed ones out...

Ahhhh.... that is why it worked. I have an aftermarket cord. When I put in my iPad Air it actually charges (about a percentage every minute which is pretty damn fast for that dude)- when I plug it into 500ma socket it says device not supported. But.... to do this right I need to correct this as who knows what the next gen will be doing or heck.. probably most people just have their OG iPhone cable and will have issues charging.

I also found this - more info the better...! Those little step downs produce 5.2 volts so at least in that area we are good.


A general observation with the Apple products is that they will attempt to draw the maximum current if and only if the voltage level on Pin 1 with respect to the current draw remains constant between 5 and 5.25 volts. Often, if a charger is unable to supply the proper amount of current the voltage output will drop. For instance, a 5.25V 1A power supply may only output to 4.5V when under a 2A load. For Apple products, when a device is presented with any one of the voltage configurations (500mA, 1A, or 2A) and then presented with a range of Pin 1 voltage levels from 4.5V to 5.25V, the actual current drawn by the device varies. In our tests, we found that when the voltage sent to the iPad 2 was 4.5V, the iPad 2 drew only about 1A, but steadily scaled up the current to 2A as the voltage was incrementally increased to 5V. Additionally, we noted Apple devices will not accept charge from power supplies with Pin 1 voltages of less than 4.5V or greater than 5.5V.

http://www.voltaicsystems.com/blog/c...nes-and-ipads/

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by solecollector

Ahhhh.... that is why it worked. I have an aftermarket cord. When I put in my iPad Air it actually charges (about a percentage every minute which is pretty damn fast for that dude)- when I plug it into 500ma socket it says device not supported. But.... to do this right I need to correct this as who knows what the next gen will be doing or heck.. probably most people just have their OG iPhone cable and will have issues charging.

I also found this - more info the better...! Those little step downs produce 5.2 volts so at least in that area we are good.


A general observation with the Apple products is that they will attempt to draw the maximum current if and only if the voltage level on Pin 1 with respect to the current draw remains constant between 5 and 5.25 volts. Often, if a charger is unable to supply the proper amount of current the voltage output will drop. For instance, a 5.25V 1A power supply may only output to 4.5V when under a 2A load. For Apple products, when a device is presented with any one of the voltage configurations (500mA, 1A, or 2A) and then presented with a range of Pin 1 voltage levels from 4.5V to 5.25V, the actual current drawn by the device varies. In our tests, we found that when the voltage sent to the iPad 2 was 4.5V, the iPad 2 drew only about 1A, but steadily scaled up the current to 2A as the voltage was incrementally increased to 5V. Additionally, we noted Apple devices will not accept charge from power supplies with Pin 1 voltages of less than 4.5V or greater than 5.5V.

Choosing USB Pin Voltages for iPhones and iPads – Update for iPhone 5 | Voltaic Systems Blog – Solar DIY and Device Charging

Yup, that matches my previous testing %100. You just need to make sure you do a resister divider network on the data pins and put 2.75v on D+ and 2.0v on D-. That way the IPAD will be able to pull 2.0a if required. Although, this will limit non-apple devices to 1a chargine.

The other thing to note is relying on the IPAD display is very unreliable. It not uncommon to see a device continue to pull high amps for up to 45 min after the display reads %100. Mainsail has an article that describes this phenomenon.

[cashgar]

Originally Posted by solecollector

I'm really trying to keep my 440 as original looking as possible inside... outside - some changes on the way... but - for the inside - if you are looking to add USB to your staterooms that look factory installed there is a pretty easy way to do it.



Find a Vimar dealer online. I went with Imtra.com

Make sure you are looking at the right switches.... there are two different styles - Idea and Eikon. I screwed up and bought Eikon USB modules and they sure the heck didn't fit my Vimar Idea frame... thought they all were the same - they aren't.

To do this you have to down step the voltage from 12v to 5v. Get on amazon and you'll find a number of these that are highly rated. Make sure you get the 3A version as the new iPads and iPhone (and I assume other big phones / tabs) need more amps to charge quickly....

Make sure you jumper the two data leads together. There is a D+ and a D-... they need to be jumped for the iPhone to actually charge.

I replaced one of my two module frames with a 4 module. Unfortunately the 4 module isn't big enough to cover the two 2 modules that I have...

Make sure you text the voltage coming out of the step down before plugging in you phone.... 12Vs sure isn't good for your phone....

Hi solecollector

Nice look I am starting to buy the part to do a 2 plug module for my boat can you tell if it is the good part number from vimar

Idea USB Connector, Multimedia
Item:VM16368

Thanks C

[solecollector]

Yes - that is it!

Devices Detail - Idea USB Connector, Multimedia

Originally Posted by cashgar

Hi solecollector

Nice look I am starting to buy the part to do a 2 plug module for my boat can you tell if it is the good part number from vimar

Idea USB Connector, Multimedia
Item:VM16368

Thanks C

[cashgar]

Thanks again !!


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