In my previous post I talked about my idea and now I have some progress updates
Design
I think have finalized the design of the housing, with the option to easily switch what side the cable sticks out from. I initially thought to use some 3D brass inserts to connect the two pieces
I soon realized that this would be cumbersome to do for each build and would not always align correctly. I then decided to create a triangle notch in both pieces that I could screw them together. Initially started with one on each side, but having two notches made it feel more firm. It fits like a glove and I’m so glad it worked on the first try.
Linked / Stand Alone
I naturally assumed the current would be distributed as each charger needed so the wiring for each was in parallel so each charger would get the same voltage and the current draw would be fine, something like this
What I discovered was not so easy, since current flows like water, and it will go through the easiest path it can find, the first vector to get on a charger would always get all the current while the other chargers would fail to charge. I’m sure there’s a reason for this but I thinking about it like water flowing, it always goes to the easiest path and wont distribute evenly across multiple identical paths. The only way to overcome this was to use a DC-DC booster to boost the output voltage/current going to the next charger when connecting more multiple chargers.
This fixed the current issue and allowed each charger to draw enough current to charge their Vector. The challenge is the DC-DC booster needs to be configured to only boost an output of ~ 5V for each input, so each group of chargers will need their resistance tuned to output something close to 5V when given something close to 5V – this will need to be done for each linked charger created – more work, more time, adds to cost.
The other alternative would be to ditch the linked charger design and go with the traditional single charger design. This would be an option I could make available for those that don’t need to link their chargers and just need one.
The next thing I need to figure out is the light auto switching off when Vector is docked. I will continue my progress on that in my next post.
