Battery power

old4570

old4570

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Dash Cam
Front: 70MAI , Ausdom A261, Mini 0826 , Rear: A118c
2r61bex.jpg


Pictured
1) Dash cam
2) 10xAA battery holder/pack ( that's 10x 1.5v )
3) 12 to 24volt to 5v adapter

I think a 12xAA battery adapter may be better , those few extra volts will help drain every last drop of power from the batteries ..
 
It's not quite energy friendly because you'll loose some energy during the conversion 15 to 5 V :p
You should build something like: 4X1.5 V batteries in series and many sets in parallel to increase the AH, plus a little circuit to make sure you'll have 5V.
 
Wouldn't it be cheaper to just use a portable USB battery bank?
 
reverend said:
Wouldn't it be cheaper to just use a portable USB battery bank?
Click to expand...
????????

I dont know ?
I ordered a 12xAA battery holder ..
I suppose if you use rechargeable batteries , its going to be relatively cheap , especially if you have 12 Nimh to spare .
I would imagine , a lipo battery to be an option as well .. ( 4s )

I just did this for an experiment and straight away realized my mistake with 10xAA ..
It just makes for mobile video surveillance ... And if you have a dash cam to spare ..
Not sure what the current demands are , but I do have 12xAA nimh to spare to see how long it will record .

Its just a bit of fun , and gives me the option of putting a camera almost anywhere I want .
 
Old 4570, I like the concept and I can see where this could be a useful gadget. You're off to a good start on this path but I think battery capacity / recording time will be disappointing. A careful selection of a AGM battery will get you good power at good prices without the troubles of LIon management. I know from BLF that you understand LIon's, but to others who may not I'd like to post a warning: Don't try something similar with LIons until you understand what that entails; you can't just "pop' those in to a holder and go like Old 4570 has here without the risk of a lithium fire.

My solution to cheap portable 12V power is AGM pulls from emergency exit signs, wheelchair batteries, UPS's for computers, etc. No critical safety issues with them and while far from new around half of them will have useful low-drain capacity left in them, plus they can be charged (with care) from a large wall-wart (sourced for free from a dead electronic device) or a small car battery charger. The right sizes are both cheap and good capacity when bought new too- my local Battery Store has 7A versions for just under $18US which would get you around 6+ hours of recording time. And many form-factors to choose from there as well.

Looking forward to seeing the runtimes you're getting!

Phil
 
I recently used this usb power bank. It's 3000mah, and was on sale for USD5.00 on Amazon (including free Prime 2-day shipping). I used it to power one of my 0806 cameras for nearly two hours (with the camera screen on the entire time) as I went on my daily jog with my kids in their jogging stroller. It has a 4-led capacity indicator. By the time I got home, all four LEDS were still on, and the camera was still recording.

I would investigate this option, as the cost (in my case) was cheaper than what I'd pay for 10 standard alkaline AA batteries.
 
Hmmm , Chinese mAh ... ( Not sure I would trust capacity until after a discharge test )
A 4s Lipo pack for RC electric was my thought , rather than individual lipo cells .
But I have a 12xAA holder (2) on order . That should be about 18v depending on battery used and should allow for the AA batteries to be drained well .
I will see how it goes , I also think I have a 4x 18650 battery holder some where - parallel or series I dont remember ..

As for power needs , ????
I may need some sort of rig to test for current ( Amps ) , and just as I typed that I realized I purchased a mains current measuring gadget ... ( Doh! )
0.022A from the mains to the 5v USB power adapter to power the camera ...
This really means ??? Because the efficiency of the USB power adapter is a part of the equation ...
I need to splice a Amp meter into a USB cable to see what the camera draws ... ( more fun )
I do know that the power adapter 12-24v stops working when the voltage drops too much bellow 12v ( Maybe 11.5v )

Its all good fun for sure ...
 
mlj97l.jpg

12xAA battery , lots more voltage now ..
Also got one of those USB power meters , camera draws 0.3A from my USB port ( not recording ) , I need an adapter ( mini female to female USB ) to be able to use it with the battery pack ( power meter ) .
Always waiting for stuff off ebay ...
 
you can get a much more efficient power supply than that converter you're using now and you'll get a lot more out of your battery pack
 
Most certainly - But I just want to play ...
A 5v powerBank , something with half a dozen 18650 might be better ( might )
But since I have a large number of rechargeable AA
 
old4570 said:
Most certainly - But I just want to play ...
A 5v powerBank , something with half a dozen 18650 might be better ( might )
But since I have a large number of rechargeable AA
Click to expand...

not meaning the power supply, the converter you have is not very efficient, you can get much more efficient models that will draw less power from your supply to provide your 5V output, like this one
http://www.hobbywing.com/product_show.asp?id=209
 
OK , UBEC from RC model aircraft ..
I would imagine it would be better , hmmm .
I will have to try and work out the loss from this one ( 12xAA ) , and see if its that bad ..
Camera pulls 0.3A recording ( 0.27A actually @ 5v ) , so will have to see whats at the other end ( current / power )
Just have to splice the wire and put my Multimeter in there ..
 
the type you use now aren't generally very efficient, 30% to 40% maybe, with the UBEC it's a switchmode supply that is close to 90% efficient
 
Ok , camera pulls 1.4Watt , voltage converter pulls 2Watt to 2.17Watt ...

Current from batteries varied from 0.136A to 0.146A @ 14.85v under load .

Ok its not efficient as such , but should be more than enough for a nights recording as a mobile power source that's quick and easy .

Oh well , it works , provides more than enough power to feed a dash cam , so I can now play with the Focus , set the menu functions etc ,

Obviously it could be better , and one way to bye pass a lot of stuffing around would be with a USB Power Bank , and considering the price of such ( around $10 shipped ) , why would you stuff around with this rig ..

Well , I did it because this voltage converter was meant to go on my car ( for back facing cam ) ..

But so far I have failed to find a constant 12v power source when the ignition is turned on ... ( was going to pull power from Tail lights )
So the rear cam is powered VIA sig lighter socket , since I no longer need it for my front cam (s)
Again just a bit of fun ... Not sure I want to spend more $$ on this , especially since ( $$ ) there are more financially viable options
But in the near future I see a USB Power Bank making its way here .
 
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