This solved my dilemma. Just bought all the items for this setup from Amazon. Thank you.
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Splitter Cable for both USB Dashcam and Charge Phone
- Thread starter aSlowOldGUy
- Start date
That's good news! Are you charging your iPhone X via wireless or wired? I have an iPhone 7, so I want to make sure it works with wired charging.
SgtLou02
Member
SWEET! That's great news - thank you!
Just ordered the 3-port USB 3.0 version. I'll report back in a few days when it arrives.
VTElectricCo
Member
I have the Nomad wireless charger and got a "Anker Ultra Slim 4-port USB 3.0 Data Hub" off of Amazon. It was around $15, and I am a bit of a fan of the Anker product line. I use a "Sandisk Ultra Fit 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive" for the Dash Cam. I haven't actually measured the performance, but we regularly charge two iPhone 8 Plus on the daily commute. I had all kinds of trouble with the Dash Cam corrupting the USB flash drive (which I tried both with and without the Hub with no difference), until I finally installed VMWare Player with an Ubuntu 18.04 guest OS onto my Windows 10 PC. I managed to successfully use "fdisk" to create a primary DOS partition on the flash drive, then format as VFAT with the mkfs command-line. Haven't had the Dash Cam "X" in the few days since then. And as a matter of superstition at this point, I am only using the Ubuntu VM to view and cleanup saved videos on the flash drive.
Software version 9.0 (39.7)
Software version 9.0 (39.7)
smorgasbord
Active Member
I was just about to post my failed attempts at this using the 3 different power banks I already own. Two of them required a switch to operate, and the one that didn't require a switch (it auto-sensed and turned itself on) didn't support pass-through charging. So, thanks for finding this solution.
Got the hub yesterday, installed it when I got home from work. I can confirm that the hub has supported simultaneous wired charging of my iPhone 7 and recording to the dashcam!
buddhra
Member
It would, but it's certainly pricey at $45. The one in the video is less than $15.
SgtLou02
Member
This looks like a good idea. Does anybody know if this power bank works with the Nomad Wireless charger?
Curious as to the long term experience here. Was looking through reviews on amazon, and one specifically mentions that it stopped working after a month of use in a Model 3 for USB/Phone charging purposes. Others complain of fried devices with its use... not super keen on it anymore
buddhra
Member
I used it for 4 months with no issues up until a few weeks ago when I switched to the Zendure X6 and its integrated USB hub. The IntoCircuit one isn't actually available anymore, but I didn't have any negative comments on that YouTube video either so *shrug*.
The Zendure is definitely pricier, but the integrated hub keeps everything tidy and it's capable of even faster charging rates. Here's my new setup:
The Zendure is definitely pricier, but the integrated hub keeps everything tidy and it's capable of even faster charging rates. Here's my new setup:
Thanks man...it's working for me. My other option was to find a thin usb extension so that I can run it along the side trim to the 12v socket...which may still be an option. This method is great for fast charging because of the power output of the 12v socket. The problem is finding a "thin" usb wire that can snake through the side trims.
Ellsworth
Member
The Zendure X6 I purchased (using the link from the Living Tesla YouTube video description) would NOT automatically recognize and charge ANY of my tested iOS devices (iPhone 6, X or iPad Pro) when connecting via USB-A to Lightning cable, requiring a press of the X6 Power button to initiate charging.
Connecting a Qi inductive charger also did not initiate current flow. If the X6's Power button was pressed, the empty Qi charger would maintain a power connection indefinitely until disconnected. However, leaving the Qi charging pad connected drained the X6's 20,100mAh battery by ~5% per day.
Connecting an ASUS MeMO Android tablet _always_ started charging automatically.
After elaborate testing, I have concluded that the Zendure X6 is NOT APPROPRIATE in this application for Lightning-connected iOS devices.
I am now using another USB battery pack (which I already owned) which requires no button press to charge iOS devices. At this point, I'm not using a separate USB drive for music data, so I have no immediate need for the X6's data hub functionality.
Read more of my Zendure X6/iOS testing results here.
Connecting a Qi inductive charger also did not initiate current flow. If the X6's Power button was pressed, the empty Qi charger would maintain a power connection indefinitely until disconnected. However, leaving the Qi charging pad connected drained the X6's 20,100mAh battery by ~5% per day.
Connecting an ASUS MeMO Android tablet _always_ started charging automatically.
After elaborate testing, I have concluded that the Zendure X6 is NOT APPROPRIATE in this application for Lightning-connected iOS devices.
I am now using another USB battery pack (which I already owned) which requires no button press to charge iOS devices. At this point, I'm not using a separate USB drive for music data, so I have no immediate need for the X6's data hub functionality.
Read more of my Zendure X6/iOS testing results here.
The "Chris Cunningham" YouTube video described an arrangement by which one could connect a datastick and an iphone and read the data from the stick without removing it -- I think. He didn't show the wiring, however, just mentioning a Nomad splitter. I'm not sure that one leg of a "Y" can read data from the other leg of the "Y". Can it? I'd like to know the cabling configuration. With 2 USB ports in my "3", wouldn't I just need a "Y" or hub that enabled one leg (the one with the geekgo adapter) to read from the datastick connected to the other leg? Is the "Y" needed, or do the two ports in the car accomplish the same thing?
Roger
Roger
Ellsworth
Member
Roger,
Cunningham is _not_ transferring data via cable connection.
The SD card reader he is using (I use a similar strategy) behaves as a typical “Mass Storage USB device” when connected to devices such as personal computers with its USB-A connector (the largest rectangular connector common to the first generations of USB ports on computers), and with a “TeslaCam” directory at the root level of the inserted SD card, serves as a suitable DashCam storage device for Teslas.
In order to read/write to an inserted SD card, the reader must be _removed_ from the Tesla (be SURE to stop TeslaCam by pressing on its icon until its red recording indicator turns off), and then connected to an Android device via USB On-The-Go (OTG) cable, or by plugging its Lightning connector into an iOS device (this requires running a free iOS app downloaded from the App Store).
The USB communication standard doesn’t allow multiple data devices to share the same electrical data connections concurrently. Inside those USB “hubs” which allow users to plug multiple printers/scanners/phones/etc., those multiple concurrent devices are independently moderated with their own controlling circuits, and are NOT sharing the same electrical connections. The somewhat unorthodox “USB splitter” cables we’re encountering now in the Tesla community reflect the unique use-case of: 1) needing additional USB ports for charging, but 2) not necessarily for data. These “Y cables” feed power to the appropriate pins of both of their female USB-A jacks, but only have data wiring to one of the jacks (again, because two USB data devices can’t coexist on the same physical wire). For us Tesla owners, this allows us to connect one USB data (and powered) device _and_ one USB-powered device to each of our two available USB data/power ports (the USB ports at the rear of the Model 3 console are power-only, with no data connection).
While USB hubs can provide charging power, most require an additional power source independent of the host computing device. This is why an AC power supply is often connected to hubs, and why the same kind of hubs wouldn’t be appropriate in our Teslas to solve our charge/data problems without some additional modifications (providing power to the hub from the car’s 12-volt power).
NOTE: While both jacks of these USB splitters can be used for power concurrently, a USB host circuit provides a fixed limit of current, (measured in amps or amperes). Most USB host devices (i.e., computers) will issue warning prompts if the current limit is exceeded. I don’t know how Teslas handle excessive current notifications.
Regards,
Ellsworth 2018 TM3 LR RWD
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