I wish this was a joke. Bosch used USB Micro-A on some of their e-bike motors to connect to a phone, which is USB C. The only one I’ve been able to find is the one Bosch made that’s like 3 inches long and basically useless.
Would a USB-C extender work with the Bosch made cable?
It appears that either this or making my own cable are my options. Although, the person who wants it really does not want a “janky” looking cable. Im trying to figure this out as a favor to the local bike shop to pacify a problematic customer of theirs.
does not want a “janky” looking cable
I’m wondering… could you use a USB-C female-to-female adapter, hook the Bosch cable into it, and hide the whole contraption somewhere, so that it would look like the bike came with a USB-C port?
Not really, could maybe camouflage it in with the brake/shifter cables, but not truly hide it anywhere. Also, when I say the Bosch cable is short, it’s like 3 or 4 inches long, at that length I dont think I could get the joint anywhere good to hide.
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So not this? Sorry if I’m misunderstanding, I’m more of a visual person.
https://www.amazon.com/Smays-2-Pack-Transfer-Charging-Android/dp/B0DZ6QRRHJ
The C end is correct, the B end physically fits, but I can’t get anything to happen. The port on the Ebike is Micro A for some insane reason.
Edit: Bottom left of this picture.
A to C is a standard cable, should be able to find them online.
Quick Charge works over A to C.
Edit: Just realized you meant USB Micro A to USB C. Wow, I haven’t seen a Micro A in years.
Would an extension cable work for you?
That was my suggestion too, single cable would be preferred.
To help with the extension idea, they could glue together the connection (I use Goop adhesive, super strong, but removable). You could also heat shrink the connection.
Heat shrink is the way I would go, but man, Im not sure how well that’s going to work with the end coming off the short cable being a 90° connector.
I assume you mean micro-b? If so, Infinite Cables has options.
That’s the insane part, I actually mean A.
AFAIK There’s not a Micro-A exclusive receptacle. There’s Micro-B and Micro-AB (which accepts both) receptacles though.
Given that, see if you have a Micro B cable laying around and see if it physically fits in the port, if so just use a Micro-B to Usb-C.
Holy shit, it actually fits, no clue if the connection is good, I’ll need to find an adapter to go with my test cord.
Edit: Well, with the A to C adapter I have I cant get the cord to make a connection.
I think you’ll probably have a difficult time getting an adapter to work–possibly even a Micro-B to type-C cable.
Here’s where it gets annoying.
USB is traditionally directed; you have a host and a client. This was codified in the physical standard until type-C. Type-A ports (and the respective jacks) are intended for hosts while type-B was intended for clients. A usb-C to micro-B cable therefore will be intended to provide power/data from the C side to the B side and in almost every case this will not work in the other direction.
In your case the battery bank is intended as a host to provide power. You might find a Micro-B to C that works, but it’ll probably be out of spec.
So why does the Micro-AB port exist? Well the micro part implies your device is mobile. Being mobile might mean you have a battery, and having a battery means you might want to charge it. That means your device can likely operate as a host (to charge your phone) OR a client (to charge your battery) through the same port.
Since type-C is intended to be fully reversible the type-C port and cable will have wiring to facilitate that. However a Micro-B is intended to be directional and with a fixed orientation so the wiring, even from a type-C jack will facilitate that.
I wish I’d remembered that before the false hope, but it completely slipped my mind.
You will probably be able to use a USB-C extender if the only problem is that the original cable is too short. They have some at Walmart for $2 USD.
All micro USB-A ports can be used with a micro USB-B cable so you either have a bad cable, adapter, or port.
Edit: This is very incorrect and my degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering should be revoked any minute now lol. I was confusing micro USB-A with micro USB 3.0 (which definitely doesn’t make the mistake any better). Leaving it up though bc deleting it feels like an attempt to hide my imperfections so if anyone happens to somehow stumble across this in the future, THIS IS NOT THE WAY
A micro USB-AB port has an extra electrical contact which is shorted together with another pin (probably with ground, but I don’t remember) when a USB-A connector is inserted, but left unconnected when a USB-A connector is inserted. Some USB driver chips require this extra pin to be shorted to enter host/master mode.
This is done because to have USB communication one device needs to be the master, and the other the slave. Micro and mini USB cables handle this by having an A type connector on one side and a B type on the other side, and whichever device sees the A side will act as the master.
In OP’s case the firmware is probably expecting the device to act as the master, but with a B type connector inserted it’s unable to do so.
I wonder if I could make a micro B appear as an A if I could find what pins to short…
I know that you can make a USB mini B connection appear as an USB mini A, because I have seen someone do that. He just made a small ball of aluminium foil and shoved it into the connector. The pins that need to be shorted are next to eachother and at the side (but I don’t remember if it was the left or right side), so it was still doable to get it in the right place. Micro USB is internally very similar, so it should be possible there too, but the inside is quite a bit smaller so it’ll be a lot harder.
In your case it might be easier to solder 2 cables together. It is a bit annoying to solder USB cables together because the cables are shielded, but there are only 4 internal wires and the data rates are low enough that it doesn’t really matter if the shielding is imperfect. USB OTG cables should have an A type connector, and they are generally relatively cheap and easy to obtain. To get the USB-C connector, use a cable that has a USB 2 type of connector on the other side (regular, mini or micro), to make sure that the cable only has the USB 2 wires (USB 3 cables have extra wires in them, which aren’t really feasible to extend).
I didn’t even know that was a thing! I understand your frustration now
