USB Charge Station

**kevin8er** · 08-08-2011, 02:03 PM

I hope this is the proper forum. If not let me know where and i will move the post.

I am the Quartermaster adviser for a Boy Scout Troop. I would like to construct a charging station for phones and iPod's to take on camp outs. I would like it to run on a 12v deep cycle marine battery. I would like there to be multiple USB ports as well as wall plugs for those with ac chargers. I could build the box to hold the battery as well as a tray to hold devices as they are charging. What I need is a list of the parts and HOW I would need to do it. I can do some research on my own, but would like ideas on how it would be wired and the parts necessary. I need to do it as cheap as I can as there is no budget for it and it will probably come out of my pocket.
Help!!!

**nivanov** · 08-08-2011, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by kevin8er

I hope this is the proper forum. If not let me know where and i will move the post.

I am the Quartermaster adviser for a Boy Scout Troop. I would like to construct a charging station for phones and iPod's to take on camp outs. I would like it to run on a 12v deep cycle marine battery. I would like there to be multiple USB ports as well as wall plugs for those with ac chargers. I could build the box to hold the battery as well as a tray to hold devices as they are charging. What I need is a list of the parts and HOW I would need to do it. I can do some research on my own, but would like ideas on how it would be wired and the parts necessary. I need to do it as cheap as I can as there is no budget for it and it will probably come out of my pocket.
Help!!!

I'm really not sure why you thought "mp3car" forum would be the right place to ask

I think the absolute cheapest way for you to do this would be to get a battery, a 12V inverted (the one you would use in a car to get a 120V socket), then buy a powered hub and a power strip. Hook up the inverter to the battery, thus getting 120V, then plug in the power strip to the inverter so you get a bunch of 120V outlets, then plug in USB hub AC adapter to one of those outlets. The end result: powered USB ports and powered 120V outlets.

**Blankstar85** · 08-08-2011, 03:38 PM

AC and DC now this sounds like fun, You could Use a DC -AC inverter maybe something similar to this http://cgi.ebay.com/150-Watt-DC-AC-C...#ht_3398wt_952, and then powerstrip plugged in for the ac, as far as the USB outlets you could just plug powered hub like this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182174, i think most hubs would give 500mAh at 5v the standard max USB 2.0 power output so be careful when looking as most smartphones have a wall charger that charges around 800mAh, they would charge off the 500mAh as long as they aren't dead, they would just take longer.

I think this is an easy implementation, but someone else might have some better ideas.

**JKrepps** · 08-08-2011, 04:16 PM

Given the weight, might be better to get a battery isolator, and drop a box in your trunk with a decent battery/dc-ac inverter/powered usb hub/power strip setup. Unless you are parking a ways from the campsite, this would allow you to leave the charging station in the vehicle and recharge it when needed without the risk of killing your car battery.

**soundman98** · 08-08-2011, 05:15 PM

isn't the whole point of camp outs to get away from technology?

at least, that was one of the things that were enforced when i was involved in cadets a couple years ago..

**kevin8er** · 08-08-2011, 10:15 PM

Originally Posted by soundman98

isn't the whole point of camp outs to get away from technology?

at least, that was one of the things that were enforced when i was involved in cadets a couple years ago..

Very good point. This is primarily for Adult leaders and mainly during summer camp. I thought about the inverter and power strip. I was imagining a box with outlets "built-in" but, it may be better to just go the simpler route.