<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf8" /> <title>Charging your light & phone</title> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href=/css/main2.css /> </head> <body> <h2 id="tophead">CUCC Expedition Handbook</h2> <h1>Charging your light (and phone)</h1> <h2>Top camp</h2> <p>Top camp has no mains 230V electricity. <p>Top camp does have solar-powered car batteries, so you need to bring a <b>12V car-type charger</b> for your caving light and phones. <p>The solar/battery system provides various connectors:.</p> <ul> <li>Unit 1:</li> <ul> <li>2off cigarette 12V, 10A max each</li> <li>1off cigarette 12V, 20A max</li> <li>3off 4mm Jack's 12V, 10A max each</li> <li>2off USB-A (5V)</li> </ul> <li>Unit2:</li> <ul> <li>6 cigarette 12V, 10A max each</li> <li>2off USB-A 5V, 1A and 2.1A</li> </ul> </ul> <!-->Updated for status at end 2023<--> <p>At top camp there is one expo-supplied 'cigarette' plug providing a pair of USB sockets. Since 2 USB sockets is not enough for everyone's phones and lights, you need to <b>bring your own</b> 12V-to-USB plug-in. (Providing proper permanently-wired USB charging is on our to-do list.) <p>USB to multiple-USB (e.g. 1:4) hubs don't work for charging lights or drill batteries. Even for charging phones they are very, very slow. So if you are using USB to charge your caving light <b>you must</b> bring a light charger which <b>plugs directly into the 12V sockets.</b>. <h2>Base camp</h2> <p>Base camp has mains power and UK-style 230V mains sockets as well as a few EU-style mains sockets. So your usual UK chargers will work and you don't need to bring any converter plugs. <p>We have one expo USB charging unit (labelled with purple gear-tape: the expo colour): it has 6 powered USB-A sockets and we have 2 microUSB cables and 2 USB-C cables. People also bring their own mains-to-USB chargers but there may not be enough. So to be sure, <b>bring your own</b> (and label it with your gear tape). <h2>USB cables</h2> You need to bring your own USB charger cable for your phone (typically USB-A to USB-C or micro-USB). Yes, there are a lot of them about, but they are nearly all personal gear. So <b>bring your own</b> (and a spare) and label it with your gear-tape colour. <h2>Phone recharging battery</h2> If you are doing a lot of surface prospecting, and especially if you are using your phone for GPS location, you will want to bring a spare battery which re-charges your phone, e.g. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Cell-Phones-Accessories-Portable-Phone-Power-Banks/zgbs/wireless/7073960011">one of these</a>. <h2>Recharging drill batteries</h2> This is much more complicated and has a <a href="charging.html">webpage dedicated to the several different chargers</a> that should be used. <hr /></body> </html>