Connecting a Cellink Neo 9 with a Cellink B (v2)

SiriusGen

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Hey. New user here. Used BlackVue cameras for several years, and battery back-up for the last two. I have a couple of tech questions I'm hoping the forum might be able to help with.

TL DR
I've upgraded to a Cellink Neo 9000mAh, which seems to have rendered my original Cellink B 6000mAh defunct. Can I use the Cellink B as an Expansion battery?

Full story. I have a BlackVue DR900S-2CH, dual camera system, 4K for the front, 1080p for the back. The Cellink B is a 6000mAh battery that has been excellent for keeping the system running in Parking mode (time lapse feature) for anything between 12-16 hours. However, there's no way to tell how much the battery is holding, other than the "full" light that comes on after the car has been running for a while.

So. I upgraded to the Cellink Neo 9. A 9000mAh capacity with bluetooth connectivity, where their app will tell you how much is left in the battery as a percentage, and works out roughly how many hours the cameras will run for. It also tells you how much it should take to charge whilst the engine is running.

The question here is that the Neo 9 has a yellow IN/OUT connector, to allow an Extension battery to be connected and used to add more capacity. The originally installed Cellink B also has an Extender IN/OUT connector for the B model add-on. According to an online chat I had somewhere (can't remember) they told me the IN/OUT of both models is 14.8v 5A.

So, my very old physics knowledge tells me that I should be able to use an extension cable and connect the IN/OUT of the Neo 9 to the IN/OUT of the Model B standard (NOT the Extension battery, and also NOT the main IN as that obviously doesn't output power).

If that's all gobbledygook, then here's a mock-up image of what I mean.

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Without proper documentation, can anyone tell me if this wouldn't work? And if not, why not?

Does anyone have official specifications for the IN/OUT connectors of both these batteries?

Also, the Cellink B has an OFF/5A/7A switch. Would this have to be set to anything other than OFF to be used as an extension?

With Extension batteries, is the battery smart in that it charges itself first and then once fully charged pushes power to the extension, or do they both charge at the same time?

And with that, does it drain the extension first and then drain the main battery, or the main then the extension, or both batteries at the same time?!

Seems crazy to a Cellink B owner that upgrading to the Neo just to get the bluetooth sensor information potentially renders your first battery redundant. No?
 
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I've so far answered my own question; YES, you can connect these two batteries this way. I've significantly increased my record time to OVER TWO DAYS.

I basically did a realtime test. I connected them up as above, changed the app to calculate for a 15'000mAh battery (it defaults to 9000mAh for the Neo 9) and had the car running til the app told me the system was charged (just over an hour). I then monitored usage via bluetooth and the app at hourly intervals, screen grabbed the details, checked the cameras were actually recording, and then created a graph with a trend line to project how long it might last. I turned the engine off at 16:15hrs on Monday, and 48hrs later the test is still ongoing. It's 17:20 on Wednesday, and the app tells me there is 9% capacity left. So 91% capacity used in just over 49hrs. The BlackVue 900S-2CH seems to use less power when it's running in time-lapse Parking mode. Between 300-360mAh. I have wi-fi turned off, and I'm guessing GPS disables automatically until the internal sensors detect the vehicle is on the move.

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x-axis = hours y-axis = capacity​

So an average use of 300mAh for 48hrs is 14'400mAh. Which is spot on to the combined capacity of the 9'000mAh for the Cellink Neo 9 and 6'000mAh of the Cellink Model B, with a couple of hours spare.
I can now also monitor charging of the Model B (now my Extension battery) using an in-line Power Analyzer. The image below shows the output of the Neo 9 pushing power out of the Ext Out to charge the Model B battery. Roughly 4.6A 13.7v. This is slightly lower than I was told via chat on a supplier page of 5A 14.8v.

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When I have charged the system again, I will switch the analyser the other way, to monitor the flow FROM the Extension battery back INTO the Neo 9.

So, to answer my own questions! I still haven't found any official documentation that shows the usage of these Extension sockets. However, YES, you can combine these batteries in this fashion. I have the Cellink B switch set to OFF. Both batteries charge at the same time, and both batteries appear to discharge at the same time, and not one after the other (it isn't that smart a system).

Works a treat. Hope this helps someone. Disclaimer. Just because I said my system works this way, I take no responsibility to any damage you might do to yourself or your equipment. Do this at your own risk.
 
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how are the 9000 mAh Cellink Neo on their own, do they last 50% more than the Cellink B , the reason i am asking because i have the 4X 6000 mAh Cellink Neo .
two as primary and two expansions. they last almost 50 Hrs, too.

 
On the first couple of tests I did with just the Neo 9 on it's own, I was getting over 28hrs on one full charge. It's hard wired and charges to a full state (according to the app) in under 45 minutes. In real life scenario, I was finding it fully charged in less than that, coming in at around 32-35 minutes.

In your set-up, with 4x 6000mAh batteries and the DR900S drawing roughly 320mAh, that's 24000/320 which should give you roughly 75 hours of record time. Bear in mind I'm averaging 320mAh with the DR900S in Parking Mode "Time Lapse", with wi-fi and GPS off.

If you're getting 50-52hrs from your set-up on the link you gave, then something isn't right somewhere as 52x320mAh is 16'600mAh. So either there's a huge loss somewhere (31%) of the 24000mAh capacity you should have of 4x6000mAh batteries, or you're cameras are drawing much more power than they should be. 24000mAh/52hrs is 460mAh.

Are you running in time lapse parking mode, or fully recorded video?

It could be that you have some loss of capacity due to the life of the batteries (say 15%) and your cameras are running full power with wi-fi, GPS and full recording on. That would work out to be 20400/52 = 392mAh.
 
That is impressive for the Cellink 9, now i am debating upgrade all 4 to that version.

almost all of the time the consumption on each of the dual channel DR900S showing 0.4 amp., so i think its the GPS and parking mode recording as you said .
will try different settings trying to minimize the consumption.
As the car is always plugged in to a battery minder while at home, and while on the road very unlikely to drive it for 48 hrs. that is why i did not bother with saving the battery charge that much.

on a different issue, tried to look for a solar battery charger that maybe extend the duration of the Cellink while parked away from home like in the airport while i am away. but sadly i could not find any
oah well maybe advancement in this field is coming up with a solution soon
 
I personally suspect that the battery capacity of the Neo 9 may actually be higher than the advertised 9000mAh. This would allow degradation of the battery over time, and yet still hold hold the high value as advertised after a year. Similar to how SSD hard drives actually hold more storage than advertised, but the system uses the non-accessible space to move files around on. So when the SSD degrades, it starts to use the swap space and keeps the original stated space (until it does eventually completely die, which I haven't heard of happening yet!).

The only drawback I can see of your plan to upgrade to the Neo9 would be the very high cost. They are at time of writing £269 for 9000mAh the main battery, and £199 for the 6600 mAh extension. For the cost of almost £1000, you could buy a high end CCTV system that covers your car from your home!
 
One thing to note on consumption and "time lapse" parking mode. It will stop recording a time lapse and record any incidents if the camera detects motion or any bumps from the 3-axis sensor. So you can save power by running the parking mode in time lapse, and still have the whole video clip if your car was bumped. After a minute it goes back into time lapse mode, and your file will be marked as "E" for an "event".
 
Thank you for the information , truly appreciated , Maybe i just upgrade the main Cellink and leave the expansion .

i think that is what i am setting up camera while in parking mode. will have to double check as i need to change to Day saving time .
will lower all sensors to minimum sensitivity and check the parking mode in time lapse.
 
Did you wire the Neo9 to both permanent and switched lives as per the manual? Do you know why the permanent live connection is required?
 
I delved in and wired it the way I thought it should be wired, and realised it just wasn't charging. The inside lid of the box it comes in has a wiring diagram. There was one wire I hadn't connected, and once that was linked into the system it started charging.

My advice is to follow the wiring instruction as per the diagram sticker on the inside of the box (or the manual, it should be the same!).

System is still running fine, holding in excess of 48hrs overall with a 1.15hr charge.
 
When you connected your old battery as an extender did you need to purchase the cable to connect the two together? I'm considering the same setup but I don't seem to have the cable to connect the two batteries.
 
When you connected your old battery as an extender did you need to purchase the cable to connect the two together? I'm considering the same setup but I don't seem to have the cable to connect the two batteries.
I had to buy the extension cable for £8 from here. It is a simple cable with XT60 connectors on either end, so could be bought from elsewhere cheaper or make one up.
 
Thanks for the info, that's just what I needed. I didn't know that the connectors are a standard type!
 
Hi.
I saw your posting in regards to Cellink neo and cellink B. I;m thinking of doing the same thing. I have a couple of questions and hopefully you will be able to answer them. I would like to first thank you for taking the time answering my questions.
1. Since connecting the Neo and B have you had any issues with either batteries or software?

2. Does the software recognize Cellink B even though you are using it as a second battery and not the primary?

3. Did you made setting or changes within the app so it can recognize and detect the cellink B?

4. You stated the Neo was 9000 mA but I thought it was 6000 mA, the same as Cellink B, did you make a mistake in your post?

5. Any issues when it comes to the batteries ?

6. How do you like the Dr900S?

7. Which dash cam you had before installing Dr900s?

8. Do you think is worth 500 dollars it costs the Dr900s?


I currently have Thinkware F770 connecting to cellink B and expansion. But got the Neo with the expansion. I was thinking of upgrading to the Thinkware 800 pro or Q800 pro or DR900s. I like the Dr900s because its very clear during the day and you can read the plates and cloud service. But the thinkware handles better during the night then DR900s. At CES 2019 thinkware introduce the a new dash cam that is going to 4k in the front and 2k in the rear. It will come with LTE capability so it will send notification when the car is off. I got in contact with thinkware and they are saying they are going to make it available at the end of july or august. I will wait the 3-4 months to find out how it is before deciding. There are rumors that Blackvue is going to come with an upgrade the DR900s which will also have LTE capability and 60 fps, hopefully the higher fps will allow it to capture better video at night as the DR750 does. I have not heard anything about blackvue coming out with a rear 2k dash cam.
 
Does anyone know how i can get the Neo 9 if I live in the United Sates?
 
Hi.
I saw your posting in regards to Cellink neo and cellink B. I;m thinking of doing the same thing. I have a couple of questions and hopefully you will be able to answer them. I would like to first thank you for taking the time answering my questions.
1. Since connecting the Neo and B have you had any issues with either batteries or software?

2. Does the software recognize Cellink B even though you are using it as a second battery and not the primary?

3. Did you made setting or changes within the app so it can recognize and detect the cellink B?

4. You stated the Neo was 9000 mA but I thought it was 6000 mA, the same as Cellink B, did you make a mistake in your post?

5. Any issues when it comes to the batteries ?

6. How do you like the Dr900S?

7. Which dash cam you had before installing Dr900s?

8. Do you think is worth 500 dollars it costs the Dr900s?


I currently have Thinkware F770 connecting to cellink B and expansion. But got the Neo with the expansion. I was thinking of upgrading to the Thinkware 800 pro or Q800 pro or DR900s. I like the Dr900s because its very clear during the day and you can read the plates and cloud service. But the thinkware handles better during the night then DR900s. At CES 2019 thinkware introduce the a new dash cam that is going to 4k in the front and 2k in the rear. It will come with LTE capability so it will send notification when the car is off. I got in contact with thinkware and they are saying they are going to make it available at the end of july or august. I will wait the 3-4 months to find out how it is before deciding. There are rumors that Blackvue is going to come with an upgrade the DR900s which will also have LTE capability and 60 fps, hopefully the higher fps will allow it to capture better video at night as the DR750 does. I have not heard anything about blackvue coming out with a rear 2k dash cam.

1. I've had no problems with either battery so far. They are charging and discharging at the rates they are supposed to. They both have cut-off temperature sensors, so I expected any issues to arise with a fault would result in that system kicking in. The app shows the Neo9 to be running between 6-12 degrees c whilst discharging (though I only check when I first get in the car, and after the drive). It has reached 34 degrees c before, which was when it was charged for the first time.

neo9_cellinkB.jpg

2. The app does not recognise the Cellink B directly. This means you do not know how much it is charged or discharged. However, the app has an option to change the value of the "Battery Capacity". The app recognises the Neo9 and it automatically shows 9000mAh for a second, and then jumps to the value I have set it (15'000mAh).

3. The settings I changed were; the capacity of the battery, and turned the beep sound off.

4. There is a Neo6 version which is 6000mAh, and a Neo9 version which is 9000mAh. I chose the Neo9 to install.

5.a Three issues; One was the size of the Neo9! My original Cellink B was in the glove box. The Neo9 is slightly thinner, but much longer and in a metal case. Both would take up my entire glove box space. I chose to slide the passenger seat forward and install both batteries mounted vertically to an area behind the seat (it's a two seater sports car). Both batteries did come with velcro mounting strips. Though after a few days, the sticky side had come away from the plastic material I had stuck them to. I switched to different mounting velcro that I had from a different product.

5.b The second issue was that I couldn't initially find the cable I needed to connect the batteries together. I had to email a supplier and they sent me a link to their page. But for some reason I couldn't find it when I searched. Perhaps their keywords aren't ideal. Also, from their front page, it's impossible to navigate to the cable page!

5.c The cable connectors for the Cellink B are NOT the same connectors for the Neo9. This meant I had to uninstall the hard-wired cables out out of the fusebox that I had installed for the Cellink B, and install new cables for the Neo9. One of them had male connectors, the other one had female (I can't remember which). It was a nuisance that the manufacturer changed the wiring connectors, and meant the installation took longer.

6. The DR900S-2CH is ideal for me. I did compare a bunch of others, but I stuck with the BlackVue mainly because I already had the cabling wired into the car before I upgraded.

7. I had a DR650 and a DR750 before the upgraded to the 900. I haven't tried any other cameras yet.

8. The batteries and cameras are a lot of money. I was able to justify the cost because I had some additional work come along that paid for it. If I hadn't been offered that work, I would not have upgraded to the DR900S. Also, we had some local problems with certain individuals, and the police were able to identify those involved. This has happened several times now, where I've supplied a screen grab of activities on the street, and the police have been able to act on it.

There were some unofficial firmwares that others had created. It allowed the BlackVue sensor for the 650 to be much more sensitive than the BlackVue firmware. This makes me think that BlackVue can help with more night time detail. The 900S is excellent in day light. But I do find that after dark, number plates are blurred, as are peoples faces who may walk by. I agree a higher frame rate would be an excellent idea (I did suggest this to them previously when I emailed questions about their BlackVue Viewer computer software).

Hope this helps!

Edited for spelling and updated the image.
 
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I tried numerous european sellers to see if they would sell me the Neo9 but all of them told me they can't ship to the United States.
 
I tried numerous european sellers to see if they would sell me the Neo9 but all of them told me they can't ship to the United States.

shipping batteries internationally is a problem, they need MSDS reports etc to be able to do it, not worth the hassle I would think
 
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