[tubman]

My partner and I have developed a device that supplies 12 volt negative ground and USB power from 6 volts positive ground. It is quite a sophisticated device, because the 6 volt and 12 volt power have a common ground and it effectively filters the power so that the 12 volt devices are not blown up by voltage spikes and inadvertent grounding. That way, I can leave the device in the car.

However, the internal batteries in this "hands-free" device have many hours of life, so when you leave the car you can take it with you once in a while and recharge it on a regular USB charger.

We are still in the final testing stages with our power converter and expect to release it shortly. I have been running one in my '51 coupe for several weeks now. I have a backup camera, a Garmin GPS, a CD player and speakers, and this device running on the car. The beauty of this new stuff (admittedly from China) is their low current requirements. The current draw required on the 6 volt side by all of these devices simultaneously is less than 1 amp, which does not overly tax the charging system in the car.

Here is a picture of the unit. This is our prototype which has a monitoring device on it so I can see how much what uses. It can be hardwired into the car or plugged into the cigar lighter (if the car has one).