iPhone car mount with charger

thingiverse

I designed this to hold my iPhone4 with a Speck Candyshell case in the car when using it as a GPS. I wanted a mount that could work in any car, so the lighter socket was an obvious choice. It also eliminates the need to carry a separate charger and cable. It holds the phone quite firmly without blocking access to any of the connectors, switches or buttons on the phone. All of the SCAD files are included, so it shouldn't be hard to adapt the design to different phone cases, or for no case at all. NOTE: The design calls for a switching regulator available from Gravitech. While this part is a pin-compatible replacement for the LM7805, it is a switching regulator and this is very important. The iPhone can draw up to 1A, and the 7805 linear regulator would be dissipating close to 8W, so it is important to use a switching regulator. Instructions Print the 3 pieces of the mount Cut off the outlet portion of the dual outlet adapter right where it ceases to be round. I saved the dual outlets and added some wires to use on my workbench with a bench power supply. Extend the wires on the plug by about 6in/150mm. Solvent weld the extension piece into the lighter plug with the wires through the middle. Solvent weld the extension piece into the mount base. You might want to experiment with the orientation in your car at this point to take best advantage of the tilt feature. Install the circuitry in the mount base. Space is tight so I decided to not use a circuit board. The circular depression in the base is for the inductor on the Gravitech switching regulator Mount the base assembly to the phone mount using 3 M3x16mm screws.