Old G1W camera, convert to capacitor version?

[Genki]

My G1w which I got from estore007 on eBay is showing age and the internal battery only lasts for a couple minutes. Which is fine for finishing up video before shutting off but when I first got it I used to get almost 15 minutes out. I predict the battery is going to die before summer comes back. Replacing the battery is one option.

But can I just replace it with a capacitor? Won't be as cheap AFAIK but less chance of dodgy battery or fire with lipo from unknown source. Or would the internal charger throw a fit because it is not lipo?

 

[Dashmellow]

Having experimented with replacing batteries with super-capacitors and having many weeks and even months of success, in the long run it will fail. Unless your camera's firmware is designed to accommodate super-capacitors in the first place the caps will eventually become stressed and you will end up with random corrupted files and likely problems saving files at shutdown.

See THIS thread for more info and this post for some further concluding commentary.

 

[Genki]

Bummer. So where's a safe place to get a battery? estore does not have spare battery and eBay's full of fakes and junk like one claiming to be 10,000 mah when it is only 100. Or selling very old lipo, they do age from the second they are made and will be weak or useless in a few years even if they were never used.

 

[Dashmellow]

Many of the LiPo replacement batteries found on eBay are fine and probably little different than the ones that come in a budget camera like a G1w in the first place. Just buy from a seller that does a lot of volume so the stock is relatively fresh. Perhaps the best replacement Lithium Polymer batteries are made by Turnigy. You can find them at places like HobbyKing and also on eBay but it can be hard to find them small enough for dash cams as most are more for RC aircraft and similar high capacity uses.
They do exist however, such as this example.

 

[jokiin]

Unless your camera's firmware is designed to accommodate super-capacitors in the first place the caps will eventually become stressed and you will end up with random corrupted files and likely problems saving files at shutdown.
.

I've never tried it but he may be able to run G1W-C firmware, not sure but maybe worth looking into

 

[Dashmellow]

I've never tried it but he may be able to run G1W-C firmware, not sure but maybe worth looking into

That's an interesting idea.

 

[jokiin]

I think they're essentially the same as there wasn't much rework went into making the capacitor version, it doesn't have an RTC cell, it only relies on the caps to keep the time

 

[Dashmellow]

I wonder if the GT680W might accept the G1W firmware?

 

[jokiin]

not sure the design is close enough for that to work, button mapping is possibly different, the LCD might be a bigger issue if not compatible

 

[Dashmellow]

Hmm....might have to try it anyway. If it #%^*s up it's all your fault!

 

[jokiin]

if it's a sacrificial camera you have spare there's no harm in trying

 

[Dashmellow]

if it's a sacrificial camera you have spare there's no harm in trying

The camera actually works well most of the time despite a random corrupted file here and there and is still in occasional service, hence those comparison images I sent you. I've thought about putting a battery back in the camera and re-purposing it for something one day but it's seen better days and I'm intrigued by the idea of flashing it with different firmware. I'll have to hunt down the firmware, try it and see what happens.

 

[chris-s]

I'm also interested in converting my G1W (from estore009 as well) into a G1W-C.
My battery is dead, and when the driving time is too short to recharge the battery, the camera keeps continuously rebooting after stopping the engine.
Can someone gives me a link for what to buy as a capacitor for this G1W ?

I have read some tuto (from Niko probably) about replacing battery with a capacitor on G1W.
But I can't find it again....

I think I will try first the 2014.0813.11 G1W-C firmware on my G1W with battery.

And I have also the same battery issue on my G1WH.
Is there something that I can do for the G1WH as well ?