power bank when parked up...

bronze84

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Dash Cam
Thinkware F750, K1S, Marcus3, Mobius, Xiaomi Yi, Sony AS100v
Straight to the point... Is there any reason why I can't just plug my dash cam into a large power bank (c.20k mah) via usb when parking up and let it just continuously record?

Thanks in advance
 
Thanks Rick
 
So finally I find out that's his name.

I have a new 12,000 mAh power bank with full intentions to run the new dual cam.............. Dashmallow has been using a couple of 20,000 mAh power banks for 3 years with no issues.
 
So finally I find out that's his name.

I have a new 12,000 mAh power bank with full intentions to run the new dual cam.............. Dashmallow has been using a couple of 20,000 mAh power banks for 3 years with no issues.

Yeah, March marks three years for one of them and two years for the second one which is identical. I've been meaning to do a little three year write up about my experience with those two generic Chinese banks and hope to do so soon.

Bottom line is that a decent 10,000 mAh to 20,ooo mAh lithium battery bank will run one or two dash cams for many, many hours a day and will last a good long time if you care for them properly and engage in good charging practices.
 
...a decent 10,000 mAh to 20,ooo mAh lithium battery bank will run one or two dash cams for many, many hours a day....
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I used one as the sole power source. Used a PowerAdd Pilot E2 12,000 mAh pack to run 2 SG9665GCs (both with GPS if that makes a difference). Ran them for about 5.5 to 6 hours and it still showed above 50% capacity. ThumbsUp.jpg
 
Just have to remember that all cams are not created equal ;) Some will shut down, lock up, or do other strange things when recording continuously for extended periods of time :rolleyes: And a few seem to not mind such usage at all :cool:

I've had both kinds and still do; for normal usage those 'lesser' cams still work fine in the roles I use them in so they're not bad, only different :D

Phil
 
Yeah, March marks three years for one

This is my third year and 6 thousand clicks on an electric bike with a dolphin style 36 volt 10 amp pack which has a USB outlet.

Would I buy another one when this one gets slack............ You betcha with latest technology and 15 amp is available now.
 
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I used one as the sole power source. Used a PowerAdd Pilot E2 12,000 mAh pack to run 2 SG9665GCs (both with GPS if that makes a difference). Ran them for about 5.5 to 6 hours and it still showed above 50% capacity. View attachment 30032

One of the things that has come as a bit of a surprise is how durable these power banks have turned out to be with some proper care and feeding. At this rate of usage the two and three year banks I've got have a couple of years usable life left in them. And these are no-name inexpensive generic Chinese banks. I also have a 20,0000 mAh PowerAdd Pilot Plus with a nice warranty (a big honkin' lithium-polymer) and I expect that will be around for a long time to come.
 
something that's hard to predict really, when they do start to go bad they generally start to decline very rapidly

I own a small collection of banks at this point including a sort of cheapo one from eBay that hasn't held up well and that only gives a couple of hours of service with a dash cam at this point. I use it for short term surveillance work around my property with a Mobius. I expected it to fully crap out on me long ago but no matter how much I use and abuse it it just keeps on going and going as they say. It seems to be on a very long downhill glide path. I do know what you mean though. I've seen graphs of battery tests where lithium cells usually tend to reach a plateau and then the graph drops off precipitously.
 
BTW, if anyone is in the market for a name brand high quality 20,000 mAh lithium-polymer power bank I just noticed that the PowerAdd Pilot Plus I mentioned a couple of posts back is currently offered on Amazon for $15.99 in white and $16.99 in black! That is a remarkable price and it comes with a 24 month warranty and unconditional 90 day refund policy. I paid about 23 bucks for mine quite some time ago.

The one thing to know about this power bank is that it has a weird design quirk. It feels like the top is the bottom and the bottom is the top, so that it can be a little confusing to get used to the orientation of the ports until you've used it a while. The "top" has a basket weave texture and the "bottom" is smooth and has the kind of printing on it you would expect to see on the back of a power bank. If you look at the photo though, you'll notice the USB ports and writing over them seems like they are upside down and in a way I guess they are. It feels like it should be the other way around but just ignore this if you buy one, you'll get used to plugging in your cables "upside down".

This is an amazing, powerful and very durable and long lasting power bank and it is safer than typical lithium-ion power banks that use 18650 cells since it is a lithium-polymer battery that has a big one cell battery similar to those used in quadcopters. For 16-17 dollars it is a true bargain which is why I'm posting about it.

poweradd.jpg


https://www.ipoweradd.com/collectio...ne-ipad-samsung-galaxy-note-and-tablets-white

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00NGJK6NI
 
Last edited:
BTW, if anyone is in the market for a name brand high quality 20,000 mAh lithium-polymer power bank I just noticed that the PowerAdd Pilot Plus I mentioned a couple of posts back is currently offered on Amazon for $15.99 in white and $16.99 in black! That is a remarkable price and it comes with a 24 month warranty and unconditional 90 refund policy. I paid about 23 bucks for mine quite some time ago.

The one thing to know about this power bank is that it has a weird design quirk. It feels like the top is the bottom and the bottom is the top, so that it can be a little confusing to get used to the orientation of the ports until you've used it a while.
The "top" has a basket weave texture and the "bottom" is smooth and has the kind of printing on it you would expect to see on the back of a power bank. If you look at the photo, you'll notice the plugs and writing over them seems like they are upside down and in a way I guess they are. It feels like it should be the other way around but just ignore this if you buy one. This is an amazing, powerful and very durable and long lasting power bank and it is safer than typical lithium-ion power banks that use 18650 cells since it is a lithium-polymer battery that has one big cell type battery inside like those used in quadcopters. For 16-17 dollars it is a true bargain which is why I'm posting about it.

View attachment 30033


https://www.ipoweradd.com/collectio...ne-ipad-samsung-galaxy-note-and-tablets-white

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00NGJK6NI
I'm about to buy a new 20000mah battery so this is timely info. I wasn't looking for lithium polymer.

I can't find that model on Amazon UK. Nearest I have found are these:

Poweradd Pilot 4GS 12,000mAh (3.0A output) Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank with Auto Detect Technology for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung, most other Phones and Tablets-Black (with 8-pin lightning cable) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01K79UHL0
Poweradd Pilot Pro 3 30,000mAh 3-Port USB Output (4.2A output) Portable USB Charger External Battery Pack Power Bank for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung Galaxy series, most other Phones and Tablets- White https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01M65K1Y3
 
^^^Thanks for the heads up. Just ordered.
 
I'm about to buy a new 20000mah battery so this is timely info. I wasn't looking for lithium polymer.

I can't find that model on Amazon UK. Nearest I have found are these:

Poweradd Pilot 4GS 12,000mAh (3.0A output) Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank with Auto Detect Technology for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung, most other Phones and Tablets-Black (with 8-pin lightning cable) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01K79UHL0
Poweradd Pilot Pro 3 30,000mAh 3-Port USB Output (4.2A output) Portable USB Charger External Battery Pack Power Bank for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung Galaxy series, most other Phones and Tablets- White https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01M65K1Y3

PowerAdd makes good products and stands behind them. They are every bit as good as Anker but at much lower prices. I don't think you'd go wrong with anything you buy from them.
 
^^^Thanks for the heads up. Just ordered.

When you get it, drain it down virtually all the way. Then fully charge. Slow, low amp charging is best (I usually use a 1 amp charger at first - later a 2 amp) Do that for the first two or three charges and you will find that the device will give you much better performance in the long run. I think that technique was in the manual that came with it but I've read that elsewhere too. I am convinced at this point after trying it with more than one new power bank that this technique is worthwhile. Sometimes I see customer reviews on Amazon where people complain that they don't get the performance, charge or claimed amperage from this or that power bank but when I've gone to the trouble of doing this I don't have that experience. One of the original generic banks I bought had what seemed like poor performance when I first started using it but after I did a full drain and charge two times in a row it improved things dramatically and that has been sustained ever since.
 
I'm about to buy a new 20000mah battery so this is timely info. I wasn't looking for lithium polymer.

I can't find that model on Amazon UK. Nearest I have found are these:

Poweradd Pilot 4GS 12,000mAh (3.0A output) Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank with Auto Detect Technology for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung, most other Phones and Tablets-Black (with 8-pin lightning cable) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01K79UHL0
Poweradd Pilot Pro 3 30,000mAh 3-Port USB Output (4.2A output) Portable USB Charger External Battery Pack Power Bank for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Samsung Galaxy series, most other Phones and Tablets- White https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01M65K1Y3

@TonyM, I think it might be worthwhile to check out the PowerAdd X7 20,000mAh pack I see on AmazonUK. It is closer to the ones we've been discussing here in price and well as performance.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B00P1WQHQ8
poweradd.png
 
PowerAdd makes good products and stands behind them. They are every bit as good as Anker but at much lower prices. I don't think you'd go wrong with anything you buy from them.
Need to watch the ports. That 12,000mAh one was apple lightning input only.

This one looks decent

Portable Charger RAVPower 22000mAh Power Bank 5.8A Output 3-Port External Battery Pack (2.4A Input, Triple iSmart 2.0 USB Ports, High-density Li-polymer Battery, Ace Series) For Phones Tablets and More - Black https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B01GJFNQYG
 
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