[Whooshka]

Damn, it was supposed to be to you Saturday.

There is no battery. I have mine hardwired to the battery. But there is also a cable that you could plug into a USB port.

 

[Griff557]

Gotta love USPS I just had a Priority package take 2-1/2 weeks to be delivered. According to USPS tracking it should’ve taken 4 days….no explanation or apology

 

[DesertBike]

Damn, it was supposed to be to you Saturday.

There is no battery. I have mine hardwired to the battery. But there is also a cable that you could plug into a USB port.

No biggie...and totally USPS' fault.

Got it today, thanks!

It's raining a lot this week, but that's OK, give me plenty of time to set the thing up and get all my gear situated. I'm using the USB power supply cable while indoors.

An aspect I didn't see covered elsewhere: Carpuride's mounting hardware is a perfect match for a RAM 1" ball system. So if you have that already, which I did, it'll mount right up.

 

[DesertBike]

In the process of wiring up the power supply. Going to use my Denali Powerhub2, need at least 1 Mini ATM fuse, needed some spares for that to carry on the bike anyway.

Details of the DC connector for the Carpuride W502:

"Female" plug, attached to W502.

"Male" plug from bike-side or USB power cable.

The spacing of the pins is about 4mm.

In case you wanted to make your own wire harness(es), so as to mount your W502/W702 on various bikes/vehicles, I suspect this plug on Amazon is compatible:

Amazon.com

I can't find any pin spacing dimension, but it looks right. Chances are, Carpuride are using a commodity waterproof DC connector.

Yes, you could order extra power harnesses from Carpuride, but you'll probably come out ahead DIY'ing your cables (if you're into that sort of thing), for more than a couple vehicles/spares. Official harness is $10 ea + shipping.

That official Carpuride bike harness has an inline 3A fuse. That's not really needed, for those who are going to feed the Carpuride from a power distro box, like my Denali Powerhub2.

Caveat: those Amazon DC connectors only come with 22 AWG wire, which won't handle a lot of current. Only ones I could find with the correct plug shape.

The Carpuride harness seems to be 20 AWG, and is fused at 3A, but I have no idea what normal power consumption is. 3A suggests it will blow at ca. 36W (@ nominal 12V) so normal draw of the W502 is likely less than that. So 22 AWG supply line is "probably" fine, but would need some simple testing with a multimeter to confirm.

 

[DesertBike]

Got the W502 installed on my FJR.

Haven't gone for a ride with it yet, but messed around with it in the garage some. Paired phone to W502, played with Android Auto.

Power consumption was only around 4.5W (350 mA @ 13.0V) without the engine even running, not bad.

With the W502 in "off"/standby mode, it drew a little under 1 mA, not too shabby. Won't run your battery down in the short term, if you connect direct-to-battery. I think I'll still go back in there and put it on a switched (vs. always-on) circuit of the Powerhub2.

I think I'll use the included "bike" harness vs. the USB harness. Only one more cable running back to the Powerhub2, and not a big one.

While I do have a USB charger on my handlebars, so I could use the USB harness included with the W502 if I wanted, said USB charger isn't actually weatherproof. It's one of the common type that are only sealed with a plastic cover in place, in which case you can't use it to power anything.

Neat little device, this W502 I think the 5" screen will be OK.

Since I had to remove my RAM QuickGrip XL to make room for the W502, not sure where I'll put my phone so it can charge while riding. Don't use a tank bag, and it's too big to fit in the front left locking compartment.

However, phone should use less battery if it's stowed somewhere, only supplying data to the W502 via WiFi/BT. So maybe less need to have it on a charger while on the road. We'll see.

Pics eventually.

In the meantime, some questions I have to figure out:

1) If I want to get audio from the Carpuride to my helmet headset (phone -> W502 -> Lexin B4FM helmet set) I suppose I have to first unpair my B4FM from my phone. Otherwise, the B4FM grabs the phone's BT shortly after power-on.

2) Or else, manually disconnect and then connect things within the BT menus of respective devices, which seems like a hassle to do every ride.

3) Since I only have the one W502, do I want to swap it back and forth between bikes? Dunno yet. Keeping it on the FJR for now. Only thing to get in the way: only have one "Bike" harness, so I'd have to use USB power harness (with shortcoming mentioned above) on the other bike.

 

[Griff557]

Right now I am running the 502 using the USB harness hooked straight to my battery via the tender lead. For giggles today I tried hooking the 502 to the 12v power outlet in the glove box using a USB adapter evidently the power outlet doesn’t supply enough juice for the 502 it wouldn’t even turn on but it will charge my phone.

I have a new phone so the battery is good and I’ve ridden 4-5 hrs listening to music the whole time and navigation just a little and it used about 40% battery life with the phone on standby in the tank bag. I don’t know that the phone would last all day not being plugged in.

I also tried using the REVER app and very few of the features would work on the app with the 502. I contacted REVER and they are aware the app doesn’t work well using Car play and they are in the process of upgrading the app

I am going to be swapping the 502 between a couple bikes so I bought an extra hardwire power cord from Carpuride. I have the Tenere hardwired but haven’t found a convenient spot to hardwire the FJR yet.

For the techies in the group is there a way I can get the 502/phone to somehow connect to my Electra Glides speakers ?

 

[Whooshka]

The speakers are wired to the stereo on the bike I assume. Unless the speakers on your Glide are blue tooth I don't see how.

Thank goodness.

 

[Griff557]

The speakers are wired to the stereo on the bike I assume. Unless the speakers on your Glide are blue tooth I don't see how.

Thank goodness.

Huh…thought maybe there was some magic way of making it work-guess I’ll just run it through my helmet speakers than.

The Glide is what it is and you have to be smart enough to realize that. I bought it new and have put 140k miles on it. I always said “I wanted an old Harley…..now I have one 😳😉”

 

[DesertBike]

Right now I am running the 502 using the USB harness hooked straight to my battery via the tender lead. For giggles today I tried hooking the 502 to the 12v power outlet in the glove box using a USB adapter evidently the power outlet doesn’t supply enough juice for the 502 it wouldn’t even turn on but it will charge my phone.

Tried this on my 2015. The locking compartment outlet is rated for up to 2.5A @ 12V, or 30W. This should be more than enough to run a Carpuride, seeing as my W502 only drew around 4W while active.

I tried powering it from there with the USB cable, drawing on a cheap single-slot USB 12V socket charger I've had forever. No dice, the W502 constantly rebooted.

Tried the (much more powerful) USB charger mounted on my handlebars. Worked great. That USB charger can supply around 30W, so I'm not surprised.

The problem is likely the low-capacity USB 12V charger I mentioned using in the locking compartment. It's supposed to supply up to 0.5A @ 5V, or 10W. That should be more than enough power for the W502, but something else must be going on.

I have a new phone so the battery is good and I’ve ridden 4-5 hrs listening to music the whole time and navigation just a little and it used about 40% battery life with the phone on standby in the tank bag. I don’t know that the phone would last all day not being plugged in.

Where to keep my phone is proving a bit of a struggle.

It won't fit in the locking compartment - too large.

No tank bag.

Pocket, I can't keep it charged, unless I run a cable there from my USB charger (which I'd rather not).

Battery pack in pocket only creates another thing to keep charged.

I'm sure I'll come up with something.

I don't want to go on a long ride, and arrive with an almost-dead phone.

For the techies in the group is there a way I can get the 502/phone to somehow connect to my Electra Glides speakers ?

If that bike's sound system has Bluetooth input, should be simple. Pair it to the Carpuride.

If not, but the system does have an aux input (3.5mm jack), possible but not super simple.

 

[Griff557]

Edit

 

[Griff557]

The problem is likely the low-capacity USB 12V charger I mentioned using in the locking compartment. It's supposed to supply up to 0.5A @ 5V, or 10W. That should be more than enough power for the W502, but something else must be going on.

Iam not a techie or an electrician but it sounds like what your saying is the issue is the cheap USB plug in Iam using with the 12v plug in ??? My plan was to disconnect the 12v port and use that as the power source to hard wire the 502. I know guys are adding additional fuse blocks and fancy dodad/relays and stuff to power accessories but I don’t understand how that that all works so it’s KISS (keep it simple stupid) for me 😉

It sounds like you don’t want to run a tank bag? I’ve been using a small SW MOTECH mounted bag with a “tank ring” so the bag doesn’t touch the tank. It was pricey and not very big but I find it very convenient to carry my phone and assorted junk and it was easy to run a power cord to. The only complaint I have with the one I have is it doesn’t have a clear map pouch on the top

 

[DesertBike]

Iam not a techie or an electrician but it sounds like what your saying is the issue is the cheap USB plug in Iam using with the 12v plug in ??? My plan was to disconnect the 12v port and use that as the power source to hard wire the 502. I know guys are adding additional fuse blocks and fancy dodad/relays and stuff to power accessories but I don’t understand how that that all works so it’s KISS (keep it simple stupid) for me 😉

Your plan should work.

Yes, the 12V USB charger used does seem to matter. Yours may not be supplying enough power to run your Carpuride.

This is the first USB charger I tried in the locking compartment:

Trackside 12 Volt USB Charger Adapter

Supposedly puts out up to 1 A @ 12V (12W), but that's fiction. Best I ever got out of it when trying to charge a phone was about half that, which makes for slow charging. Was not enough to power my W502 (kept rebooting).

I tried again with a different 12V USB charger ("cigarette lighter" style). This one:

AILKIN 30W PD USB C Car Charger

It's inexpensive as well, but does does supply about 30W (full capability of the locking compartment socket).

In practice I found this to be true. It will charge my phone fast, and can power my W502.

It sounds like you don’t want to run a tank bag? I’ve been using a small SW MOTECH mounted bag with a “tank ring” so the bag doesn’t touch the tank. It was pricey and not very big but I find it very convenient to carry my phone and assorted junk and it was easy to run a power cord to. The only complaint I have with the one I have is it doesn’t have a clear map pouch on the top

I do not. A tank bag would be a last resort.

I had a Givi Tanklock bag on a previous bike (Vstrom). Worked great, but as you note, the locking system ones are not cheap. Trying to stay away from a tank bag on the FJR for now.

 

[DesertBike]

My setup:

Did a test ride this morning. Used OSMAnd+ on the way out, Google Maps on the way back, to feed the Android Auto map.

Display brightness was fantastic. For the first time, I can easily read a display in full sunlight, through my darkest Shoei helmet shield. Large improvement over my phone in that regard.

Directions were...Not good with OSMAnd+. Route was depicted on-screen, but the directions box merely said "Keep right, XX.x miles" the entire time. Zero hints for upcoming turns, no exit numbers, nothing helpful.

I got all that stuff when using Google Maps to drive the unit, so maybe that's something to keep in mind, or else there are hidden options I need to adjust for OSMAnd+.

More to say but that's all for now.

 

[DesertBike]

I had a weird thing happening that first ride with the sound.

If I had on-screen text notifications on, when the notification sound played, after that the music stream reverted to a very tinny, low-quality type sound. Only way to fix it was by turning the Carpuride off and back on again, letting things reconnect.


Turned off the notifications. Didn't want text popping up and taking over the screen anyway, any time someone messaged me.

After that, messages came in the background, the counter at lower right (for new messages) would go up but no sound malfunctions.

 

[DesertBike]

OK, one major gripe so far. Fixed, see below!

If I'm playing music using Poweramp on my phone, directed through the Carpuride to my helmet headset, the helmet headset play/pause button doesn't work. At all.

I can turn volume up and down using the headset's built-in buttons, but I'm supposed to be able to pause and resume playback using a third button. Works fine, with phone directly to headset (no Carpuride). Instead it does nothing, connected through the Carpuride.

This is a problem. I'm not going to dig through the touchscreen controls on the Carpuride to control music playback. It's much, much less effort and far safer (because far less distracting) to control playback with the button on my helmet headset.

Need to see if skipping (next track) function is also broken.

Meanwhile, it seems like play/pause using headset button DOES work if I'm listening to a downloaded podcast via the Spotify app, or a podcast using the Podcast Addict app. That's weird.

I don't want to use a different player app. Maybe there's a setting buried somewhere in PowerAmp that I need to change. TBD.

update: Fixes in the video of the first page of this thread might work for me, too.

I haven't tried a phone call yet, but I suspect I would have the same audio quality problems as the guy who made the video. So I'll try his fix.

There's no real reason to have audio piped from phone through Carpuride to headset and vice versa. Headset to phone should work better.

Update update: Helmet headset (Lexin B4-FM) is no longer paired with the Carpuride. Things now work as shown in the video, which is way better.


Unlike in the video, my W502 does not register screen touches via gloves, mostly. Tried it with my Racer Guide or Alpinestars SPX Air gloves. Worked occasionally at best, usually didn't.

Must be one of those "your mileage will vary" things. I operate the touchscreen with a stylus, same thing I was used to doing with phones before I got the Carpuride.

 

[DesertBike]

FWIW, did some research and it seems that the "unhelpful directions" thing with OSMAnd+ is indeed a known OSMAnd+ bug:

Is it possible to configure OsmAnd to show useful directions on Android Auto? : OsmAnd (reddit.com)

 

[DesertBike]

A tip for the weirdos with networking knowledge: If you routinely connect through a VPN on your phone, as I do, don't forget to add a split tunnel, so Android Auto on the phone can talk to your Carpuride.

I was using a different VPN client today and forgot to do that, and wondered why my phone wouldn't connect to the Carpuride on the ride to work.

D'oh. About to experiment with the split tunnel setting on the Wireguard client for Android.

 

[DesertBike]

Did a test on today's ride to work, to see what phone battery drain is like.

Due to traffic conditions, my commute took an unusually long time. About 27 minutes from first Android Auto connection, to shutdown at the office.

Phone went from 83% to 76% in that time.

I was listening to music via Bluetooth most of that time, but not actively navigating, but did have the moving map display up on the Carpuride.

14% an hour (asuming it scales proportionally) is not terrible, but will prove a problem for any longer rides.

I'll likely carry a pair of battery packs, using one to top off the phone in-pocket, while the other charges in the locking compartment. Already have a few battery banks anyway.

 

[Carbide]

Gotta be honest. I've never even seen that word before 🤣

 

[Barsinister]

I ended up getting a clutch reservoir mount for my phone. It's not as in your face as the pic suggests. Just due to camera angle. 502 on a threaded ball mount in the riser and the phone mount next to it.