Tout Terrain Plug 2

[stevemb]

I finally got round to installing my Plug 2 at the weekend . Was apprehensive as I had to drill out the star fangled nut during installation - not something I was looking forward to! However, that was the least of my problems. I changed my Thorn stem to a Thomson one some time ago and haven't adjusted it since. When loosening the bolts with the Allen key one of the bolts rounded off completely - disaster! My only option was to drill out the bolt which took about 40 mins and ruined the stem - made removing the SFN seem simple though.
Once the SFN was removed (and a new stem fitted) the installation of the Plug 2 was a straightforward affair.

My setup is with a Son 20 dynamo with an Edelux front light and B&M rear Toplight also powered by the dynamo.
I first tried the Plug 2 with my Garmin 800. With the light turned off, I plugged the Garmin into the USB on top of the stem - it really is a neat solution with no wires - and began to pedal. At about 12km/hr the green Led on the Plug came on and the Garmin started charging. When the speed dropped to below abot 11km/hr the Garmin showed the message "External power lost". So as long as your speed is above 11 the unit will be charging. I next tried it with both front and rear lights being charged from the dynamo. This time the green light only came on at about 27km/hr and charged the Garmin and lights. Didn't notice a drop off in the performance of the lights while charging but difficult to tell from the saddle. Will try tomorrow to do the same but with an IPhone 4 s attached instead.

My first thoughts are that it really is an either / or with regard to running lights AND charging. I could keep my average speed at 27km/hr ! (maybe downhill!). However, it really is a neat solution to charging items whilst touring / camping. I also have a B&M e-werk which works very well and use it with a cache battery for I-phone but there is a cable always on the downtube and taking it on and off the bike can be a bit of a hassle. I'll move it onto the wife's bike when we go camping. A cache battery is quite useful though as you can charge whilst off the bike but there is no reason why it can't be used with the Plug

[stewartpratt]

I'd be interested to know how the 800 copes with the power source changing between USB and battery whilst navigating a route - my Vista C doesn't like it.

[stevemb]

I'll give it a go on way home this evening. My guess is that if you keep above 11 km/hr there's no problem - below that ie. at lights, I expect to see the MSG "external power lost" That MSG disappears once you get up to speed or press ok on the Garmin. I'll set a route and check this is so

[hultmark]

Hello Stevemb
What was the outcome of your Tout Terrain charging the iPhone 4s? Any good?

[stevemb]

Because there is no cache battery between the Tout Terrain and my Garmin (as I had with the e-Werk) when you stop and you are not generating any power the Edge 800 flashes the message 'external power lost'. You can either press ok and it returns to the screen you were on (map in my case) or if you start cycling and the power kicks in the message disappears. It would be nice if it didn't show this each time I stopped but I couldn't find anywhere in the manual to do so. It was nice to see my % of battery remaining going up whilst riding though !
I have the Tout Terrain with the blue additional power bit. The power kicks in at not much more than a brisk walking pace so in reality will supply power at all times you are moving. The exception to this was when I tried to use the dynamo Edelux with rear light and charge at the same time. The speed needed to do this was faster than I could easily manage on the flat - about 27km/hr - although downhill - no problem. Unless you wanted the lights on in daylight the only time this would be an issue would be at night. In that case I would use the Garmin on battery power - it lasts over 12 hrs - and charge it the next day during daylight. Not sure if having the rear dynamo light makes a difference. It was probably the same with the eWerk but as I had a cache battery I couldn't tell

[PhilWhitehurst]

I quite like the look of this.

I have a bike with the same Dynamo / front light setup as you. I'm planning on entering the next Paris-Brest-Paris in 2015 so am looking for something to keep my gps charged during the 1200km audax and the qualifying events etc.

How do you have you dynamo connections setup. Do you just have one connector at a time attached to the dynamo. How do you get a second connector to attach to the dynamo at the same time as the light connector?

[vernon]

You can buy piggyback connectors from Maplins. They are only a couple of quid for a pack of half a dozen or so.

[PhilWhitehurst]

Well I've ordered mine now. From Germany as it is 20% cheaper....

[ersakus]

In my case (Son deluxe hub @ 700C wheel) Tout Terrain Plug 2 was unable to charge Iphone 4s, irrespective of speed. I don't know if I had a faulty unit, I did return it. I had a nice surprise when I connected my old ewerk. It charges the iphone at very low speeds (contrary to what I read on the internet). Only annoyance is occasional compatibility warning on the phone. But this is an acceptable compromise IMO. Both lights and Iphone can operate at the same time.

Unless I got a faulty unit, Tout Terrain Plug 2 was a very inefficient / non-effective unit.

[mrbodly]

Hi All

For those of you considering 'The Plug II PLUS', here is my experience.

I have a Son 28 hub on 26" wheels. I use it to charge my iPhone 4, which I use for navigating.
It does this very well indeed. I'd say averaging 14-15mph with the iPhone screen on full brightness with the GPS running it charges it up by approx 20% after an hours cycling. (with the phone switched off it would charge up significantly more)

I bought the PLUS version which comes with a choice of 2 wires to connect 'The Plug' to the hub. One cable has a pod of electronics in the middle of it (PAT cable) and the other is standard piece of wire.

The PAT cable reduces the speed at which 'The Plug' starts charging, designed with smartphones in mind. I found using this cable my iPhone would start charging at 6-7mph but would stop charging at anything above 16-17mph. I've contacted Tout Terrain regarding the 17mph cut-off and they've said this isn't normal. They are looking into it and will come back to me. I've spoken to SJS Cycles and they are also on the case!

Using the standard cable works well with no issues. Phone starts charging around 10-11 mph and keeps going. Flying down a hill at 30mph, it continues charging.

Its a neat, tidy set-up and deeply pleases my inner geek!! Hopefully the issue with the PAT cable will be sorted.
Overall very pleased. It does a grand job of keeping my iPhone charged up, which is why I bought it.

Hope this may be of some use to someone.

Cheers
Myles

[honesty]

Would be interested to see how this works with a tablet as they generally require a higher amp output at the same voltage to charge on USB.

[stewartpratt]

FWIW my iPad charges fine on a normal (0.5A) mains USB charger, it just obviously takes longer.

[pralston]

Hi MrBodly,
Did your issue get fixed with the PAT cable? I was on the point of buying one of these 10 days ago and I asked ToutTerrain if the problem you described below was a one off or a generic issue with this product. They quickly replied that they would invetigate and get back to me... 10days and one reminder later, no news.
I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions... but this smells fishy.
So, any news from you?
Many thanks
PaulR

Hi All

For those of you considering 'The Plug II PLUS', here is my experience.

I have a Son 28 hub on 26" wheels. I use it to charge my iPhone 4, which I use for navigating.
It does this very well indeed. I'd say averaging 14-15mph with the iPhone screen on full brightness with the GPS running it charges it up by approx 20% after an hours cycling. (with the phone switched off it would charge up significantly more)

I bought the PLUS version which comes with a choice of 2 wires to connect 'The Plug' to the hub. One cable has a pod of electronics in the middle of it (PAT cable) and the other is standard piece of wire.

The PAT cable reduces the speed at which 'The Plug' starts charging, designed with smartphones in mind. I found using this cable my iPhone would start charging at 6-7mph but would stop charging at anything above 16-17mph. I've contacted Tout Terrain regarding the 17mph cut-off and they've said this isn't normal. They are looking into it and will come back to me. I've spoken to SJS Cycles and they are also on the case!

Using the standard cable works well with no issues. Phone starts charging around 10-11 mph and keeps going. Flying down a hill at 30mph, it continues charging.

Its a neat, tidy set-up and deeply pleases my inner geek!! Hopefully the issue with the PAT cable will be sorted.
Overall very pleased. It does a grand job of keeping my iPhone charged up, which is why I bought it.

Hope this may be of some use to someone.

Cheers
Myles

[ratherbeintobago]

The above makes interesting reading. Anyone tried a Plug 3, or the Sinewave Reactor yet?