Inductive charger, has anyone done it?

[Bizzyboy904]

In the center console right above the ashtray is a small area where I put my cell phone. It seems to me this is the perfect place for a wireless phone charger to be. Considering the fact that my cigarette lighter phone charger only works if I hold it at an angle, which is not possible when changing gears. Has anyone tried to put something like this in an e30? If not I am going to do some experimenting to find one that fits well.

[AndrewBird]

Cool idea, go for it.

How do you plan on keeping the phone in place though? Magnets maybe?

[Bizzyboy904]

The wireless charger for the nexus 5 (my phone) has magnets built in to hold the phone to the charger. I dont know if other chargers come with magnets.

[Tuanies]

I put one in my Mazda5, was really easy

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mazda5-technology-project,3795-3.html

[atldohc]

well im sure plenty of people have wireless chargers in their car by now, but thought i'd share mine in case people wanted to get ideas. here's my old phone holder:


then i put together a wireless charger with magnets:



but i didn't like how tall it was and that i wanted to center my phone all the time while driving. (the magnets work but maybe im slightly ocd). so i reassigned it to bedside duty:


and lastly i made one i was satisfied with without magnets. for the location i'm using they're completely unnecessary and the phone is very stable. you can see it's still plugged into the usb charger in front as i didn't want to permanently hard wire it to the car. i may do so in the future but for now i like being able to quickly unplug it if i want to. i also got a bluetooth head unit recently so i no longer need to use an aux cable:

[StereoInstaller1]

So how well does it charge?

[george graves]

This is very much a DIY kinda of project - that you can have a lot of fun with trying new things, and you won't blow up anything if you're careful

Main issue would be the thickness of the center console.

Just spit-ballin' ideas here, but....Maybe use a hot knife? or a coat hanger bent and heated by something to melt some of the foam in a controlled way without breaking through or damaging the outside/topside finish to slim it down?

You might want to watch this for some inspiration. Not exactly what you want to do, but damn close to it.

Replace "PURSE" with "center console"....and you're 3/4 of the way there.

[_JohnnyD_]

So how well does it charge?

My co-worker has been working on an inductive charging system for a major auto maker for almost 2 years. The rate for charge really depends on the distance and alignment of the coils. His studies show that a 5mm misalignment of the coils can impact the rate of charging between 27 - 43% (depending on the phone).

That means its easy to make a charger for a specific brand and model of phone. You need to make a frame or pocket that locates the phone in the exact same spot every time and the charging will be very good. The difficulty is making a charger that fits multiple sizes and shapes of phones. This is the main reason why very few new cars have this option or they charge a fortune.

[StereoInstaller1]

My co-worker has been working on an inductive charging system for a major auto maker for almost 2 years. The rate for charge really depends on the distance and alignment of the coils. His studies show that a 5mm misalignment of the coils can impact the rate of charging between 27 - 43% (depending on the phone).

That means its easy to make a charger for a specific brand and model of phone. You need to make a frame or pocket that locates the phone in the exact same spot every time and the charging will be very good. The difficulty is making a charger that fits multiple sizes and shapes of phones. This is the main reason why very few new cars have this option or they charge a fortune.

Hmmm...sounds like time to make an inductive mount for my Note 2.

The issue for me is I have a crazy-ass aluminum case, it is heavier than the phone, and I would guess there is 5mm of plastic on the back of the phone. I don't think the materials of the phone would have much to do with slowing down the charge, but simply the distance from the inductor.

Here is the case BTW: http://www.lovemeicases.com/love-mei...galaxy-note-2/

Its a huge heavy thing, but it protects the phone very well, I love this case...but trying to charge the thing inductively will be tough, especially with a 3100ma battery.

I would not consider taking the case off, thats not an option.

I am wondering if I could put two of the Qi modules in the phone, see if I can double the efficiency, but have not even looked at the math yet. I have looked, cannot seem to find much discussion on the subject at all, and certainly nothing really technical.

For example, I cannot seem to find any of the inductance values for the Qi modules anywhere. I want to make a seriously powerful one, but don't know what the baseline is.

The whole "inductance charge" is, in my opinion, the centerpiece of the new device Justin and I are developing, the bluetooth module/24 Bit DAC/high volt "balanced differential" "deckless" phone controller thing.

My thought is this: unlock your car, sit down, start it, place your phone in the cradle. Bluetooth syncs up, the amplifiers power up and you are right back where you were last time you sat there. 5 or 6 buttons and 2 knobs, maybe an AUX input, but that's it.

To me, that is the goal, to simplify the use of a phone in a car so I can use it as a "front end" for playing full 24 bit audio in my car. Currently, using it through the aux cable sucks ass, standard BT is more convenient, but sound quality suffers. I want high-performance BT and an inductive charger!: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=335638

[george graves]

The problem with using phones, is that people get a new phone ever year or so. It's hard to commit to a set up that isn't future proofed - charging, or otherwise.

[atldohc]

I would say it charges slightly slower than the regular home charger I took the internals out of:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/QI-Wireless-Charging-Charger-Pad-For-iPhone-Samsung-Galaxy-S5-LG-Nexus-Nokia-/111424148317?pt=US_Cell_Phone_PDA_Chargers&var=&hash=item19f165935d

I bought two of these, one to take apart and one to use normally at home. But sorry I have never actually timed the rate of charge. I tried to make the wood as thin as possible to get the coil as close as I could to the phone. My bluetooth always stays on and I just drop my phone into its cradle every time I get in the car. The music actually starts playing itself from my playerpro app when I start the car. As far as the aluminum cases, I was curious about that issue as well and when searching online most people seem to say it wont work with a wireless charger, but I've never had to deal with that since my nexus 5 of course has a plastic shell and I don't use a phone case. btw thanks again for the lukebox! I've been using it a good while now and can't imagine my car without it.

[mironfs]

guys i integrated qi charger into my peugeot but had problems with placing phone in my tray so i used one of these pads:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5PCS-Black-Anti-Slip-Car-Dashboard-Sticky-Pad-Non-Slip-Mat-GPS-Phone-Key-Holder-/351164761811?pt=AU_MobilePhoneAccessories&hash=item51c30d06d3

now my phone holds in place and is charging