Custom power lead for both Tomtom BT and XDA

StewR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 13, 2005 Posts: 4

Hi all,

Has anyone already done this, or does anyone know if it is possible... to power both the XDA IIs and the Tomtom Bluetooth GPS receiver from a single cigarette lighter plug?

I have a cigarette lighter power lead for both the XDA and BT Tomtom and I'm thinking about cutting the leads in half and joining the wires so that they are connected to just the Tomtom BT GPS cigarette power cable.

e.g.

lbendlin · Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 2:27 am Post subject:

You better be careful here. Maybe you can find a friend who has more experience.

Although only two wires are required on each side, they must have a reason to provide more.

Also, the converter needs to deliver enough umph (Ampere) to feed both devices. If it's just 1A then this may be tight. 2A is better, but not as common.
_________________
Lutz

Report Map Errors here:
TomTom/TeleAtlas NAVTEQ

StewR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 13, 2005 Posts: 4

Thanks for the reply.

The Tomtom cigarette adapter is actually 2A, so I'm hoping there will be plenty of power.

Just need to know about the wires :-)

~S

Crocodile · Regular Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2004 Posts: 196

I may have exactly what you need. XDA2s "Y" cable to power the XDA & a serial GPS (RJ11 socket) together with an RJ11 (plug) cable to DC jack to power the bluetooth GPS.

Let me know if you're interested & I'll think about a price.

StewR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 13, 2005 Posts: 4

Thanks for the offer, however myTomtom is Bluetooth which has a 5V power plug (possibly 2.5mm jack although I'm not too sure) and not a RJ11 socket, so I don't think your cable will work :-(

Crocodile · Regular Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2004 Posts: 196

mikealder · Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:56 am Post subject:

I would not recommend doing this for a number of reasons, firstly this type of cable does not readily lend itself to soldering, the insulation tends to melt, causing short circuits. The cable does not easily terminate in the screw terminal blocks (it’s too fine). If you manage to join the wires (inline splice - crimp type termination), this junction will always be a weak point on the harness assembly, probably letting you down at the most inopportune time.
What I would recommend is a cig lighter "Y" adaptor, that way two independent chargers can be used at the same time from a single power point - Mike

Crocodile · Regular Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2004 Posts: 196

The additional charging cable I have is this one.

I also have an unused Tom Tom style car cradle for the XDA2s which would also work with the bluetooth charge cable.[/url]

StewR · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 13, 2005 Posts: 4

Hi Mikealder,

I was thinking of using a mono 3.5mm audio socket on the cigarette lighter cable, an audio splitter and then two 3.5mm audio plugs to connect to the cables to the XDA and Tomtom. Clearly it is not audio being carried, but I'm simply using the plug+socket combination to securely fix the wires (as this type of connector is designed for fine wire). I'm thinking that this should work.

I really want to avoid the Y adapter in the cigarette socket as it looks so unsightly and requires two wires to be dressed in around the dash.

So, does anyone think the audio splitter solution would work. We're only talking 5v and <2A right?

	PocketGPS
	Web