USB Splitter for Dash Cam & charging dock

[jombolo]

I purchased this splitter from Amazon and it seems to work for simultaneous charging of your phone from the console dock and USB recording of dash cam footage. I actually didn't think it would work to do both but it does. Using my USB multimeter charging my iPhone 7: Plugged directly into M3 USB 5v, 1.48a, plugged into the pass through charger of this splitter, 5v, 1.35a. Next step I'd like to see if i can play music, record dash cam and charge.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W9FLKTY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Nikola M3]

One leg of the "Y" is USB power only, the other is USB power and data, the data side is where the USB drive goes.
Use one of these on each built in USB port and you can have dash cam and phone charge on one side and USB music and phone charger on the other side.

 

[Wahbash]

Keep us posted on results. If it works for music and dashcam too I will likely order one tomorrow if it can get here in a week.

 

[jombolo]

One leg of the "Y" is USB power only, the other is USB power and data, the data side is where the USB drive goes.
Use one of these on each built in USB port and you can have dash cam and phone charge on one side and USB music and phone charger on the other side.

2 of these seem unnecessary!

Keep us posted on results. If it works for music and dashcam too I will likely order one tomorrow if it can get here in a week.

Success!
I used 1 32gb usb flash drive for dashcam and another usb 64gb flash drive for music and formatted to fat32 with a 3rd party program. (I'm sure you can partition 1 flash drive for dash cam and music as shown here [V9] How to Format USB into 2 Partitions for DashCam and Music [Windows] however i didn't have time to get into this.) Some of my songs didn't work, i'm sure that is a format issue, the ones that did not play are m4a's.

Anyway, i tested this by charging my iPhone, playing music from the usb drive simultaneously while driving and at the end of the drive (while still playing music and charging phone) downloading the dash cam footage to my usb drive. footage plays on my laptop. I'd say it works. we'll see if there are any bugs with continued use.

 

[Nikola M3]

One leg of the "Y" is USB power only, the other is USB power and data, the data side is where the USB drive goes.
Use one of these on each built in USB port and you can have dash cam and phone charge on one side and USB music and phone charger on the other side.

This (2 "Y" cables) DOES work, it is what i use.

I am not sure on partitioning a single drive and have one USB port read music and write dash video simultaneously. Seems to me like a recipe for errors.

 

[Wahbash]

Thank you Judy. The more we test these setups the more we learn. Gonna order splitter tomorrow.

 

[Nikola M3]

This is the one I use, it does not require a power supply to work.
USB 2.0 A Male To 2 Dual USB Female Jack Y Splitter Hub Power Cord Adapter Cable 801361865464 | eBay
You just have to know only one of the legs has data, I didn't a marking so you have to test.

 

[jombolo]

This is the one I use, it does not require a power supply to work.
USB 2.0 A Male To 2 Dual USB Female Jack Y Splitter Hub Power Cord Adapter Cable 801361865464 | eBay
You just have to know only one of the legs has data, I didn't a marking so you have to test.

I originally considered a Y similar to what you are using, but didn't think it would work. glad to see that it does. Just to clarify, the one i ordered off Amazon and provided a link to above also does not require a power supply.

 

[Nikola M3]

it has a place for a 5V adapter, the instructions say "With AC power adapter applied, it provides up to 2.4Amps, ideal for iPads, iPhones, and other devices"

I suspect that without the adapter is will only charge slow.

 

[jombolo]

it has a place for a 5V adapter, the instructions say "With AC power adapter applied, it provides up to 2.4Amps, ideal for iPads, iPhones, and other devices"

I suspect that without the adapter is will only charge slow.

I posted the charging specs in my OP. It's not terribly different from stock charging capabilities.

 

[Nikola M3]

Good find Judyjetson,
I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GKK4C52/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It works as you describe.
I put 2 USB sticks with songs,the dash cam USB, and a phone charger into this hub. The phone charges fine the camera works and the songs now show both USB sources for the songs. I took out the phone and added a third music USB, they all display and play, Notice a "change" button showed up with the additional music sticks to select between them.

 

[Glamisduner]

So USB3 hubs work with teslas implementation of USB2? Sometimes USB3 hubs won't power things correctly if the parent device is USB 2, despite backwards compatibility in the spec (this is the case for plugging controllers into my R Pie)

 

[jombolo]

I received the dreaded "x" camera icon for my dashcam. i know many people have had issues with their flash drive when plugged directly into the usb port, so i am not sure if this is a flash drive issue, or an issue with the splitter. Would like to know if @Nikola M3 or @Wahbash encounter similar issues.

 

[jombolo]

Good find Judyjetson,
I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GKK4C52/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It works as you describe.
I put 2 USB sticks with songs,the dash cam USB, and a phone charger into this hub. The phone charges fine the camera works and the songs now show both USB sources for the songs. I took out the phone and added a third music USB, they all display and play, Notice a "change" button showed up with the additional music sticks to select between them.

View attachment 347935

NiKola, why does it show "0 MB" on your flash drives, obviously, you have music on there, is it reading incorrectly?

 

[zhu-]

What USB drives is everyone using? I'm looking at a few options and it seems they have temperature limits. 50°F to 158°F (-10°C to 70°C) on this 64gb sandisk I'm looking at. The 50°F doesn't seem too cold at all, it usually reaches 10-20°F every winter here. Will this actually be a problem or are these overly cautious temperature ranges?

 

[Nikola M3]

NiKola, why does it show "0 MB" on your flash drives, obviously, you have music on there, is it reading incorrectly?

I can't answer that. It reads "0" even if I use only one drive in the original port, either side. I have tried all different drives same "0". The song count is correct and they all play.

 

[Nikola M3]

I received the dreaded "x" camera icon for my dashcam. i know many people have had issues with their flash drive when plugged directly into the usb port, so i am not sure if this is a flash drive issue, or an issue with the splitter. Would like to know if @Nikola M3 or @Wahbash encounter similar issues.

I have never seen this problem and I have done a lot of hot swapping with music and cam drives.
The only issue I have had is when testing a large music drive < 2100 files, in the hub and not letting it load all the way where the % numbers are still moving then pulling it to replace with a smaller drive the USB music part will hang and not report any of the drives are active. That requires a reboot to clear. I never felt that was a problem, kinda expected it.

 

[SR22pilot]

I tried the Y adapter but it didn’t work. Vendor says it won’t charge an iPhone but will Android. I got the small 3 port plug in hub and it works great. Charging isn’t fast but it works as does the USB stick for the camera.

 

[jombolo]

I tried the Y adapter but it didn’t work. Vendor says it won’t charge an iPhone but will Android. I got the small 3 port plug in hub and it works great. Charging isn’t fast but it works as does the USB stick for the camera.

Good to know the Y doesn't work with iphone. @Nikola M3 are you using iphone or android with your Y?

Also, I only had the "x" camera icon the one time, perhaps it was a fluke.

 

[Nikola M3]

iPhone 6 and 6S