Weatherproof USB Power Ports

[meat popsicle]

I should be interested in the TAPP w/CAPP and dielectric grease. I'll likely be using a Aqua Box w/ RAM surface mount to use my Droid 2 for navigation etc.

Website up and running?

[Shov3BR]

Yup, the USB Cables web page is up.
http://www.3brpowersports.com/products_usb_cables.htm

It has a couple of warts that she's working on but all the cables are there. If you want a TAPP Lite with a TAPP CAPPed cable send an email to sales@3brpowersports.com and we can put a kit together for you that includes a small tube of dielectric grease. We will give you an Inmates price and free shipping.

[meat popsicle]

Thank you for the info and offer - I should be taking you up on that, but now I need to figure out how to plan the installation. I'll look into the power requirements of my Motorola Droid 2, but I am guessing its similar to all other USB devices, just have to remember the microUSB connector.

I plan on mounting the RAM to my dashboard, which is removed occasionally so I need to be able to unplug the circuit. Since your power port would come through the dash (so the USB power cable could be fed into the Aqua Box) I'll need to figure out how to do this. I'll probably order another Deutsch connector and splice it int the power port wiring - or can you think of another way?

Beyond that I am trying to figure out how to mount the power port. I am guessing it would be fine to attach it to the back of the RAM mount (flat surface mount bolted to my dash), but any tips appreciated.

And thank you for making this product. It reminds me of the kits from Eastern Beaver - nice fit and finish! I could just go with an adapter kit he sells, but I don't want the cable flapping on my dashboard while riding; I would rather splice in a kit like yours - which reminds me I need to select a circuit for splicing.

[Shov3BR]

No problem with the Duetsch connector, we stock the 4-pin for Harley touring bikes so we have the proper Deutsch crimp tools. We would be happy to get a 2-pin connector from our supplier to make the connection.

Another option would be to use one of our Baryl plug/jack sets. This would be more compact and still weatherproof and a little lower cost. As with the Duetsch, we would make up the assembly for you.
We are currently making a special TAPP Lite for the Milwaukee BMW dealer that has a short pigtail with the DIN 4165 BMW plug on the end (see pic). Your application would be similar except weatherproof and more compact.


A really cool setup for your Katoom would be a Baryl Panel Mount. It's not on the website yet so here's a pic. This would allow you to remove the TAPP Lite easily without removing the panel. Only downside is that it would have two connections, the TAPP Lite to Baryl Jack and then the Panel mount connection below the dash.



As for mounting, you will probably want to look at all the options. We've have feedback from customers who say the biggest problem with mounting TAPP Lite is deciding on which of the many possibilities is the one to use!

As for cables we would definitely recommend a right angle on the USB-Micro end that plugs into your Droid 2. I think the power port is in the same location as my older Droid - left side near the top. If you plan to use the Aquabox, the RA will give you plenty of side clearance to the box. We have TAPP CAPPed USB cables with RA Micro in stock.

We recommend going all the way to the battery for power. If you decide to go with the Baryl Jack/Plug setup the cable is smaller in diameter than the stock TAPP Lite so it is easier to route. It is very robust with a polyurethane jacket co-molded over UL 1015 wire.

I second your comments on Eastern Beaver. Our goal is to establish a reputation as good as theirs. Top notch stuff built by a guy who knows the technical as well as the sales and service. Jim Davis is definitely our hero.

[meat popsicle]

Originally Posted by Shov3BR

No problem with the Duetsch connector, we stock the 4-pin for Harley touring bikes so we have the proper Deutsch crimp tools. We would be happy to get a 2-pin connector from our supplier to make the connection.

The offers just don't stop! Thank you very much; that sounds better than me performing the quad crimp manually...

Originally Posted by Shov3BR

Another option would be to use one of our Baryl plug/jack sets. This would be more compact and still weatherproof and a little lower cost. As with the Duetsch, we would make up the assembly for you.
We are currently making a special TAPP Lite for the Milwaukee BMW dealer that has a short pigtail with the DIN 4165 BMW plug on the end (see pic). Your application would be similar except weatherproof and more compact.

I'm not sure I follow this option, but your TAPP Lite (why "lite"?) with a Deutsch disconnect seem more than adequate.

Originally Posted by Shov3BR

As for cables we would definitely recommend a right angle on the USB-Micro end that plugs into your Droid 2. I think the power port is in the same location as my older Droid - left side near the top. If you plan to use the Aquabox, the RA will give you plenty of side clearance to the box. We have TAPP CAPPed USB cables with RA Micro in stock.

You are correct, and with the medium Aquabox I have 1/2" of clearance - enough?

Originally Posted by Shov3BR

We recommend going all the way to the battery for power. If you decide to go with the Baryl Jack/Plug setup the cable is smaller in diameter than the stock TAPP Lite so it is easier to route. It is very robust with a polyurethane jacket co-molded over UL 1015 wire.

Your recommendation is probably a good one, since I've been using Jim's products to adequately feed the headlights and horns. I'm slowly getting a new wiring harness, but I think the TAPP Lite should work.

Christmas is a'comin! I hope to get the AquaBox w/RAM Surface Mount, so I'll be ordering your products soon

[Shov3BR]

[Christmas is a'comin! I hope to get the AquaBox w/RAM Surface Mount, so I'll be ordering your products soon [/QUOTE]
Sounds as though you have your Christmas list priorities right

After Christmas when you know what you have send us an email [address on the website support page] or give me a call & we can discuss options.

Why TAPP Lite?

TAPP Lite follows our own original design that we called TAPP that was 1.5A output. Just about the time we were ready to go to market a lot of low cost USB power ports became available. Being an all-USA made product, we couldn't compete on price. In order to get something to market we decided to take an off-the-shelf USB regulator do some value added stuff to an to make it suitable for powersports applications. It is 1.0A thus TAPP Lite.

Meanwhile we are redesigning the circuit for TAPP to make it a full 3A. This is way more than is necessary for the USB standard so it will charge an iPAD with plenty of power left over. We hope to have prototype circuit boards in house before Christmas and production underway in late January.

Long answer to a short question.

[Shov3BR]

We now have the USB Cable web page up and active. Thanks to all the patient imates who have been purchasing cables the hard way - by email and phone calls.

http://www.3brpowersports.com/products_usb_cables.htm

-Shov

[meat popsicle]

Originally Posted by meat popsicle

... You are correct, and with the medium Aquabox I have 1/2" of clearance - enough?
...

I got the Medium Aqua Box with surface mount, but will have to return it for the Medium-Wide model. The Droid2 does indeed fit inside the box, but it is too wide for the Flex Screen by a smidgen... I wish RAM had mentioned that on their website; its the Flex Screen LxH and the box Depth that matter.

Ah well, so I am getting ready to order this and your wiring kit. Let's make sure I've got this straight still (lots of merriment between above and now ):

a) TAPP-Lite w/ Deutsch two-pin connector - how far from the usb-end... at least a few inches eh? I think running the TAPP up and then pointing it down would make it more weatherproof, or is the cap on the USB connector cable?

b) RA-Left micro USB cable with TAPP CAPP & tube of dielectric grease

I think that would do it. Oh, you recommended the kit direct to the battery too, but many power their GPS units from the unused connectors under the dash of my KTM model. I would rather do that, particularly since my headlights will no longer be on those circuits thanks to EB.

[Shov3BR]

We had the same problem with the Aqua Box. My Droid fits OK but the RA connector won't clear the side of the flex screen. I even tried trimming the RA connector body right down to the wire but it still wouldn't fit. Bummer.

You mentioned connecting to unused connectors under the dash. Do you know the type and mfg of the connectors? If we can match one of them it would save adding another connector in line. The fewer the connectors the better - and it saves some $$; Deutsch connectors are expensive.

All that aside - here's where we are right now. TAPP Lite with TAPP CAPPed USB right angle micro cable for Droid. Pics below show the TAPP Lite with its protective cap in place and then with USB cable plugged in. Notice that the TAPP CAPP on the cable does the same job as the protective cap on the power port, i.e. provide weather protection to the USB port.

I have laid a Deutsch connector housing set next to the cable to give you an idea what it's going to look like. This is a 4-pin set which is all we stock but we can get the 2-pin if you want to go with the Deutsch. As for connector location, we can put it anywhere so let me know what works best for you.

My Droid and the Aqua Box gives you an idea about overall size.




If that's not enough to totally confuse the issue how about this: We have just finished the design of a weatherproof panel mount USB port. As you are probably aware, the panel mount USB port that we currently sell is only dust resistant, not true weatherproof.

I don't know how anxious you are to get your USB port set up but if you can wait a few weeks we will have our first production parts for you to consider. Here's a picture of the prototype. The production part will look a little different. We are going with a plug (innie) rather than a cap (outie) for the protective seal. As you can see, the cable uses the same crimp/shrink bullet connectors as the current USB panel mount.

We just ordered the injection molding tooling today and it usually takes four to six weeks to get the tools made and first article parts run. The material is the same Brulloy super-rubber that we use on our other proprietary products. And yes, we will have a TAPP CAPP II for this USB port as well.

[meat popsicle]

Doing some work on the wiring I grabbed a pic of my free connectors up front. I have two that are free and look about right for this application:


EDIT: added some chicken scratches to the connectors.

They are both 2-wire connectors, but have slightly different locking mechanisms. If not obvious they are pulled out of the "holder" (where a 4-wire for my tach) and a 5-wire (also unused) sit).

Let me know if you need help with these (I think they are Molex); there has been some discussion in Thumpers about them. If they are too much trouble you can put one-half of a Deutsch on the end of your kit and I will cut one of these off and put the other end on.

ps - you may also notice a couple of relays, some stout wiring, and unused wiring connectors - one of Jim's headlight wiring upgrade kits that I am about to wire in, now that I have my headlights aimed properly and can do a good comparison.

[Shov3BR]

I think you are correct on the Molex part. Especially with that angled end of the housing. Have a look at this drawing to see if the Center-Center distance is correct and if the pin diameter is .093".

http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/sd/003092021_sd.pdf

Our terminal supplier doesn't carry this type but I checked Digi-Key and they do have them in reasonable quatities (sometimes Molex connector pin minimum order qty is in the tens of thousands!). Let me know what you find out.
We are going to be placing a Digi-Key order for some PCBA parts so I could tack these on.
-Shov

[GoosePilot]

Definitely interested in this one.....

[meat popsicle]

Originally Posted by Shov3BR

I think you are correct on the Molex part. Especially with that angled end of the housing. Have a look at this drawing to see if the Center-Center distance is correct and if the pin diameter is .093".

http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/sd/003092021_sd.pdf

Our terminal supplier doesn't carry this type but I checked Digi-Key and they do have them in reasonable quatities (sometimes Molex connector pin minimum order qty is in the tens of thousands!). Let me know what you find out.
We are going to be placing a Digi-Key order for some PCBA parts so I could tack these on.
-Shov

Hmmm, here is a close-up of the connectors:



As I recall, one end of the "rectangular" face of the connectors is square and one is round - the drawing in the PDF you linked to shows something more triangular... or maybe one of them was like the PDF - I'll have a look tomorrow when I button her up from the headlight work.

[Digger45]

The one on the left looks like the drawing especially with the panel mounting that look like a robots legs with feet. The connector on the right doesn't look familiar at all.
Is the connector on the left in a fused circuit? If so, that's probaly the one to use. Also, is it part of the orginial wiring or part of the add-on stuff? If it is factory wiring we may want to add a version of the TAPP Lite with this connector to our product line.
I'm up for giving it a try.

[meat popsicle]

I went and had a look, and you're right, it does look like the diagram in the PDF. Before you order a bunch and start offering a kit, let me confirm that we are correct and I think you should confirm this connector is commonly available on KTMs.

It was available on the 640 Adventures, which ceased production in 2007. Those two connectors are switched power for the roadbook and rally GPS. I checked a couple of threads, one of which included "Luke" who is an LC4 owner and electrical engineer (as I recall):

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60606
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288568
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491163

Oh, yes, both connectors are OEM, fused & switched power. Maybe KTM is still using such a connector on their LC8s or other bikes?