Qi Charging Cell Phone Mount

Background - I have a 2010 DCLB with the heavy duty Tech Deck installed. I had a Ram Mount magnetic base (

$45 RAM-B-202-339U 2.5" Round Base with The Amps Hole Pattern, 1" Ball and Triple Magnetic Base Adapter

RAM-B-202-339U) attached to the 3" composite arm, which connected to the 1" ball attached to the Tech Deck. I then had a 2" thin metal adhesive plate stuck to the back of my iPhone 6s, which allowed me to just stick my phone to the mag holder and go about my day. The only time I had issues was when I was offroading or on washboard roads where the bumps would eventually overpower the magnets and cause the phone to fall. Minor inconvenience during about the 5% of offroad driving that I do in my Tacoma.

I upgraded to the iPhone X in December, which has created a mounting issue for me. The iPhone X charges wirelessly using Qi. That means that I need to leave the center of the back of the phone free of obstructions to allow charging, and I no longer had a mounting option for my phone.

I looked at a few options on Amazon, but they all had really bad reviews and didn't seem like they would last for more than a day or so. I also needed something that I could mount to connect to the 1" Ram mount to connect to the Tech Deck. I have lived with this issue until I finally got pissed off today and decided to do something about it.



Since I couldn't put one magnetic plate in the center of the back of the phone, I decided to put 2 smaller ones on. One above the Qi charging zone, and one below. I knew I wanted to have a small ledge at the bottom of the phone holder to keep it from dropping, even when offroading, and I wanted to integrate a Qi charger so that I don't have to plug in for charging.



Here is the router work to drop in the magnets (rare earth, pulled out of the triple magnetic base adapter described above). I used MDF because it's easy to work with and I have a bunch around. I gave space on the sides so that I could see charging status on the left, and connect the USB charger on the right.



Epoxying the magnets and glueing the small top/bottom ledges. This should prevent anything from moving, even during pretty serious vibration.



Epoxying the Qi charger (Anker AK-A2511011).



Here it is installed. I don't have good images of the rear, but I scavenged the back of the magnetic Ram base (RAM-B-202-339U) and connected it directly to the back.

Overall, it's not super polished, but it's a very functional and heavy duty mount which solves my mounting issue. I have some ideas for how to slim it down and improve it, but it's a very good first revision, or proof of concept.

Now I just need to get a bluetooth stereo receiver...

 

Damn, that looks cool. I would buy if you get it 3D printed. Still running my stock radio but QI charging for my X would be nice.

 

Thanks! That was my first inclination, and my next step.

I am a better woodworker than a digital designer, so I thought I would POC it with MDF first. Already have a 3D printer lined up when I get motivated enough to sketch it all up.

 

Cool, count me in if you start to mass produce. I’ve already got a custom phone mount, but I bet I could make something to bolt your design on to include wireless charging. Also, is the wire too short to wrap around the mount or are you just testing like that with the wire sticking out. I’m just guessing it would look more clean with the wire wrapped around the mount.

 

The issue (not insurmountable) is that there are 2 little indicator lights exactly 180 degrees from where the USB cord connects to the charging puck, so if I wanted to be able to see those, I didn't have an option to embed the connector into the mount to hide it. If I purchased a less commercial Qi solution, I could run the wires and indicator lights wherever I want to. I think that will be a good route for V2. It would certainly be cleaner.

Good suggestion.

 

Maybe something to look at as well, I use this charger for my X.
(10W Fast)Wireless Charger iPhone X/8/8 Plus Slim Qi Wireless Charger Samsung Galaxy S9/9+/S8/S8+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075CL1C8Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZD2OAbCNPPQC2
Has 2 C shaped led lights that change color when the phone is charging, shines red when there’s no device, blue when it’s charging. Quite bright even during the day. The LED’s are actually on the pad and face towards you so you can place the phone down on it.
I could get you exact sizing off of mine and maybe you could tweak your design for that one instead since I would guess you would want to see it when you place the phone on.

 

@PapaBear That might be a little large. I am thinking that it's probably worth starting from bare electronics if I am going to go through the process of 3D printing.

Something like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-10W-Qi...446236?hash=item44159de81c:g:l2AAAOSw3q5aZp-g

 

Awesome idea, love it

 

or you can save all the trouble and get one of these which looks better https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Car...&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=qi+charger+mount&psc=1

I'm all for do it yourself projects. I actually didn't know they sold the QI bare boards like that which gave me a idea!!!!!

 

@airrage That one isn’t magnetic, and it mounts to a vent. Doesn’t meet the same requirements.

I want quick in, quick out, and compatible with my Tech Deck.

As noted above, there are a few really wimpy magnetic Qi chargers on Amazon, but they get poor reviews. I wanted something more heavy duty and reliable. Especially when off-road, etc.

 

I am looking for something exactly like this! Hell, I don't even care that it charges! I haven't had a lot of luck finding a good case/magnetic mount option for my iPhone X yet. Im scared to rock it without a case. lol

 

I added some thin felt to protect my phone and make the setup look better. It's worked pretty well, but I already want to make some improvements. Getting a new sound system put in this week (2x 10" subs, new wireless carplay deck, etc.), so I will post updates when I get back around to making improvements.

Overall, this has worked really well. I should have taken the time and done this years ago instead of being constantly annoyed by having to plug my phone in.

Product Backlog:

• Reduce bulk
• Replace the micro-usb connector on the side and run power direct to Qi charger
• Add some ventilation - phone can get hot when charging a lot

 

I sorta went in this direction for myself with a vent mount phone holder.
I have a mophie battery case so I bought the mophie vent mount charging case.

$35 mophie Wireless Charging Car Vent Mount for mophie cases with Charge Force wireless power – Black

mophie Wireless Charging Car Vent Mount for mophie cases with Charge Force wireless power – Black
I bought it in the summer and all was good. However when winter Rived I started using heat in the truck. I never used the dash vents, but even using the defrost setting "some" air comes through the dash vents. This caused my phone to over heat and stop charging.
I bought the basic tech deck and have the phone slid onto that.

The phone now does not overheat, is easily reachable and useable as a GPS. It uses magnets to hold the phone in place and charges wirelessly.

 

I have the same problem. Are you just using an A size ram mount? How do you connect it to the tech deck? I do not have any ram mounts, so I’m just basing the ball not fitting in the charger based on the specs of the ram mount balls. 9/16” for a A size. It looks like the ball that comes with the mophie charger is about 3/4”.

 

No ram mount at all. The mophie charger has rubber "teeth" that are supposed to grip your air vent slats. I have them instead gripping the tech deck.

 

Nice job with the mount. I dont need my phone on a mount like that so I am thinking about giving a charger like this a shot and just placing it on the center console next to the cup holder.

$23 Wireless Charger,POLMXS 10W Wireless car Charger Charging pad Fast Wireless Phone Charger pad Andriod Cell Phone Wireless Charging mat Galaxy Note10/S21/S10/S9/S22(C3)

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Cha...17&keywords=mophie+car+mount+wireless+charger

 

@Rob94

 

I stuck my charger under the console for full stealth mode

 

ugh you beat me to it was going to do that!

 

Just wanted to give an update on this. I have been using this mount daily for ~2yrs now. It's been really great and saved a lot of time and frustration.

I just upgraded to an iphone 11 pro which is the same size as the iphone X, so I didn't even have to modify it for the upgrade.