Custom USB splitter solution for M3

[hugh_jassol]

I am picking up my first Tesla tomorrow. I'm very much looking forward to it and want to quickly get it all set up.

So, I'm seeking recommendations on wireless pads, dashcams, etc. I've read this entire thread and am not sure which direction I should go in for the items.

I definitely want to use wireless charging and sentry mode. I do not require super fast phone charging. And, I don't anticipate playing games in my car much. So, I do not need a ton of USB ports for game controllers. I just want to be able to charge 3-4 devices (two phones and two apple watches) wirelessly (thinking Nomad) + have a dashcam and storage for sentry.

Any recommendations are much appreciated!

This should probably be a separate thread, but it depends if you are planning on having a passenger a lot or it will be just you in the car mostly.

If you only wont to worry about 1 phone, you can get a wireless pad, but only plug in one side of it, then use the other USB port for the USB drive for Sentry/dashcam.

If you want to have both sides of the charging pad active, then you will need a splitter or a hub. The Tapes wireless pad comes with two splitters, but the down side of that (and most others) is you will not get full speed out of the wirless pad (even if you plug the pad directly into the car's usb, it will not give you full charging speed. The nice thing about the Novak splitter is it's actually a "smart" splitter which has a chip in to allow the faster charging speeds

 

[mchas]

This should probably be a separate thread, but it depends if you are planning on having a passenger a lot or it will be just you in the car mostly.

If you only wont to worry about 1 phone, you can get a wireless pad, but only plug in one side of it, then use the other USB port for the USB drive for Sentry/dashcam.

If you want to have both sides of the charging pad active, then you will need a splitter or a hub. The Tapes wireless pad comes with two splitters, but the down side of that (and most others) is you will not get full speed out of the wirless pad (even if you plug the pad directly into the car's usb, it will not give you full charging speed. The nice thing about the Novak splitter is it's actually a "smart" splitter which has a chip in to allow the faster charging speeds

I am trying to understand this better - are you saying if the TapTes pad (which I have) is plugged directly into one of the front USB ports without a splitter, it will charge slower than if it is plugged into one of these Novak splitters? If so, how does that work?

I would also like some opinions on the best way to have the following plugged in:
- TapTes pad
- DashCam USB
- Two controllers

If these splitters will help me I am happy to support a forum member!

 

[dmurphy]

I am trying to understand this better - are you saying if the TapTes pad (which I have) is plugged directly into one of the front USB ports without a splitter, it will charge slower than if it is plugged into one of these Novak splitters? If so, how does that work?

I would also like some opinions on the best way to have the following plugged in:
- TapTes pad
- DashCam USB
- Two controllers

If these splitters will help me I am happy to support a forum member!

The Navak splitter is “smart” and diverts power where it’s needed. So what you’d do is toss away the splitters that comes with the wireless charger. Those will limit the Taptes to 1A per port; with the Navak, you’ll get 2.1A.

Plug a Navak into both USB ports. The Taptes would go into the “charger” port on each.

Then the USB stick into the Data port on one Navak, and the USB controller into the other.

When you want to use the second USB controller, just unplug the USB stick. That’d be my simplest recommendation.

 

[mchas]

If I plug the TapTes directly into the USB port (without their included splitter, or the Navak splitter) will I get the full 2.1A?

 

[hugh_jassol]

If I plug the TapTes directly into the USB port (without their included splitter, or the Navak splitter) will I get the full 2.1A?

No. Because the default "dumb" power default is 1A max. The chip in the Navak one can negotiate via the USB protocol to allow higher currents.

 

[CyranoBleu]

This should probably be a separate thread, but it depends if you are planning on having a passenger a lot or it will be just you in the car mostly.

If you only wont to worry about 1 phone, you can get a wireless pad, but only plug in one side of it, then use the other USB port for the USB drive for Sentry/dashcam.

If you want to have both sides of the charging pad active, then you will need a splitter or a hub. The Tapes wireless pad comes with two splitters, but the down side of that (and most others) is you will not get full speed out of the wirless pad (even if you plug the pad directly into the car's usb, it will not give you full charging speed. The nice thing about the Novak splitter is it's actually a "smart" splitter which has a chip in to allow the faster charging speeds

Thank you. Very helpful!

I will often have a passenger, so I need two charging ports.

What do you think about the Nomad wireless pad?

I may just get two Novak splitters. Seems I would need two of those in order to have two fast charging ports.

 

[dmurphy]

Thank you. Very helpful!

I will often have a passenger, so I need two charging ports.

What do you think about the Nomad wireless pad?

I may just get two Novak splitters. Seems I would need two of those in order to have two fast charging ports.

I'm not @hugh_jassol, but I do have a Nomad pad and two Novaks.... spectacular combination. Works perfectly every time. I like the Nomad a lot - it's good, solid, high quality. Zero issues.

 

[CyranoBleu]

I'm not @hugh_jassol, but I do have a Nomad pad and two Novaks.... spectacular combination. Works perfectly every time. I like the Nomad a lot - it's good, solid, high quality. Zero issues.

Awesome. Regarding the Nomad, what about it justifies its price over the TapTes or Jeda? Why'd you choose Nomad?

 

[dmurphy]

Awesome. Regarding the Nomad, what about it justifies its price over the TapTes or Jeda? Why'd you choose Nomad?

It was extremely high quality. I felt the Taptes wasn't as well made - at least the early rounds weren't well put together - some gluing coming apart and such. The Jeda, when I ordered, was backordered and was having delivery issues. I suspect those are mostly a non-entity now, but at the time, was a big deal.

Still a fan of the Nomad device - it's been a solid performer.

 

[turns2stone]

Thank you. Very helpful!

I will often have a passenger, so I need two charging ports.

What do you think about the Nomad wireless pad?

I may just get two Novak splitters. Seems I would need two of those in order to have two fast charging ports.

Both sides of the Nomad will fast charge. You would only need two Novaks if you want fast charging on the Nomad pad plus 2 lower-amperage USB-A ports.

I just run the Noman + one Novak. The "data" port on my Novak goes to my SSD.

 

[CyranoBleu]

It was extremely high quality. I felt the Taptes wasn't as well made - at least the early rounds weren't well put together - some gluing coming apart and such. The Jeda, when I ordered, was backordered and was having delivery issues. I suspect those are mostly a non-entity now, but at the time, was a big deal.

Still a fan of the Nomad device - it's been a solid performer.

Gotcha. Good to know. Thanks.
So, if I get only one Novak, then only one phone can charge fast while the other will charge more slowly. That'll probably be sufficient for my purposes. It's rare that both my phone and my passenger's phone needs rapid charging.

Let's see if I can get some more opinions on the TapTes. I pick up my Tesla today and want to outfit it with the best accessories!

 

[CyranoBleu]

Both sides of the Nomad will fast charge. You would only need two Novaks if you want fast charging on the Nomad pad plus 2 lower-amperage USB-A ports.

I just run the Noman + one Novak. The "data" port on my Novak goes to my SSD.

Got it! That's the basic set up I think I'll need.
Do both phones charge fast using just one Novak?

 

[turns2stone]

Got it! That's the basic set up I think I'll need.
Do both phones charge fast using just one Nomad?

Yes. Although I think you mean Novak ^^

You can only fit one Nomad in the car

 

[CyranoBleu]

Yes. Although I think you mean Novak ^^

You can only fit one Nomad in the car

hah...yes! That's what I meant. Thanks!

 

[dmurphy]

Gotcha. Good to know. Thanks.
So, if I get only one Novak, then only one phone can charge fast while the other will charge more slowly. That'll probably be sufficient for my purposes. It's rare that both my phone and my passenger's phone needs rapid charging.

Let's see if I can get some more opinions on the TapTes. I pick up my Tesla today and want to outfit it with the best accessories!

To be fair, if we want real RAPID charging, you get a 12V adapter + some USB-C-to-lightning cables.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerIQ-PowerDrive-Delivery/dp/B07RL2N8YY

 

[mchas]

To be fair, if we want real RAPID charging, you get a 12V adapter + some USB-C-to-lightning cables.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-PowerIQ-PowerDrive-Delivery/dp/B07RL2N8YY

So what would be the different wireless charging speeds for these setups?
- Charging pad plugged directly into USB
- Charging pad plugged into Navak
- Charging pad plugged into 12V

 

[Atreyu]

Still boggles my mind that we're using our cars as an external battery to charge our cars, as opposed to burning gas to use a generator to create electricity....

 

[mchas]

@Navak - tried every single promo code and looks like they have all been used? Any chance you could generate some more? Thanks!

 

[Navak]

@Navak - tried every single promo code and looks like they have all been used? Any chance you could generate some more? Thanks!

Sure, here you go:

NDQD-DKKUHG-LGAXAM
NDXP-UPQC5H-9GVKAF
NDLP-UCAG76-MVAJAL
NDZ4-UUHRLC-FFZAAR
NDPM-99HRF9-P8WDAV
NDLV-XTZ7Y3-BLJYA3
NDSG-XLQE7D-GGL4AG
NDGV-VCP32E-UFX8A7
ND5N-ZZJQNE-34WDAE
NDPL-C5U9D7-DRW3A9

 

[Petrlol]

Any thought of doing one that uses both USB ports for power?

Ideally I'd think we'd want to plug into both ports and have 2 phone chargers, 1 data port for sentry, 1 data port of music (I know the drive could be dual purpose, but some people can't do that easily), and 2 ports for game controllers.

So basically converts the 2 usb ports into a bar that has 6 USB A ports. 2 charging ports, and 4 data ports. The Jedi hub with storage sort of does this, but it's 5 ports, and 2 ports are USB C for some reason...