mecsw500
Well-known member
There has been quite a lot of discussion about current draw from iPhones whilst running Apple Maps and Apple Music. So I thought I would experiment a little.
I bought a USB Voltage/Current/Power meter from Amazon for $13:
I plugged the device between my iPhone and a USB C power supply to see how much current draw there was whilst running all the apps I am likely to be using on my iPhone whilst traveling. I ran an experiment with a USB C power supply to a less than 80% charged iPhone.
I plugged the device into the iPhone and the power supply and watched the current draw over time as I played with various apps. I selected the second screen on the device which shows the voltage/current/power consumption as instantaneous values and as a peak value.
In my experiment I was running the iPhone with output to USB speakers to simulate any Bluetooth connection you might have running in conjunction with the iPhone transmitting to a remote system like the Spyder display.
My iPhone is an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 512GB of memory.
During my playing around with maps and music, the highest current draw I could place as a load on the USB C power supply was 1.5 Amps at 5 volts. Over time the average was about 900 mA to 1.1 A (1100 mA).
So, if you are worried about power consumption of your USB devices this is a cheap device at $13 that can monitor things if you just plug it into your phone whilst riding. You can use this with a phone, a tablet, or even a Garmin type device to see if your devices are consuming more power than the bike can provide.
I'm going to run it on my 2026 S2S to see what I'm trying to draw on the bike, and if the phone isn't charging, I'll be able to tell what the current limit is from the Spyder's USB A port. I'll do this when the temperature gets back down into double digits from where it is at 107F today (with it feeling like 112F)..
The great thing about this device is it seems fairly accurate and produces both instantaneous and peak data. It can even draw a graph of voltage and current over time periods you can choose from as well.
It's easy to use. There is one button on the back that can flip between the 3 display types, simple V/A/W, a comprehensive set of data, and a graph of the data. You can even reset the start time so you can measure or mAh over a time period you select. The comprehensive screen shows Volts/Amps/Watts, mAh, time since reset and peak Volts/Amps/Watts.
A brilliant little device for debugging USB cables in terms of power delivery. You can put it at either end of your USB cable to determine what the cable's losses are. Therefor you can look at the data at your glove box end and phone end of the cable you use. It works on USB C and USB A with a USB C to USB A adapter. You certainly don't have to be an electronics engineer to use it.
I'd like to hear back if anyone uses this marvelous little device and what your experience is with USB devices on a Spyder and for which year of Spyder you took measurements. For $13 it removes all sorts of questions about USB device current draw.
I bought a USB Voltage/Current/Power meter from Amazon for $13:
USB C Tester Power Meter, 4-30V 0-12A Type-C PD Tester Digital Multimeter, Voltage and Current Tester Meter Voltmeter, Power Bank Capacity USB Cable Charger Detector (KWS-2303C)
I plugged the device between my iPhone and a USB C power supply to see how much current draw there was whilst running all the apps I am likely to be using on my iPhone whilst traveling. I ran an experiment with a USB C power supply to a less than 80% charged iPhone.
I plugged the device into the iPhone and the power supply and watched the current draw over time as I played with various apps. I selected the second screen on the device which shows the voltage/current/power consumption as instantaneous values and as a peak value.
In my experiment I was running the iPhone with output to USB speakers to simulate any Bluetooth connection you might have running in conjunction with the iPhone transmitting to a remote system like the Spyder display.
My iPhone is an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 512GB of memory.
During my playing around with maps and music, the highest current draw I could place as a load on the USB C power supply was 1.5 Amps at 5 volts. Over time the average was about 900 mA to 1.1 A (1100 mA).
So, if you are worried about power consumption of your USB devices this is a cheap device at $13 that can monitor things if you just plug it into your phone whilst riding. You can use this with a phone, a tablet, or even a Garmin type device to see if your devices are consuming more power than the bike can provide.
I'm going to run it on my 2026 S2S to see what I'm trying to draw on the bike, and if the phone isn't charging, I'll be able to tell what the current limit is from the Spyder's USB A port. I'll do this when the temperature gets back down into double digits from where it is at 107F today (with it feeling like 112F)..
The great thing about this device is it seems fairly accurate and produces both instantaneous and peak data. It can even draw a graph of voltage and current over time periods you can choose from as well.
It's easy to use. There is one button on the back that can flip between the 3 display types, simple V/A/W, a comprehensive set of data, and a graph of the data. You can even reset the start time so you can measure or mAh over a time period you select. The comprehensive screen shows Volts/Amps/Watts, mAh, time since reset and peak Volts/Amps/Watts.
A brilliant little device for debugging USB cables in terms of power delivery. You can put it at either end of your USB cable to determine what the cable's losses are. Therefor you can look at the data at your glove box end and phone end of the cable you use. It works on USB C and USB A with a USB C to USB A adapter. You certainly don't have to be an electronics engineer to use it.
I'd like to hear back if anyone uses this marvelous little device and what your experience is with USB devices on a Spyder and for which year of Spyder you took measurements. For $13 it removes all sorts of questions about USB device current draw.
