BlackVue Power Magic Ultra Battery B-130X

[Vortex Radar]

k, all 3 batteries are in and I'm running parking mode tests.

I've got the U1000 on the iVolt Xtra, the A139 Pro on the Powercell 8, and the DR900X Plus on the B-130X.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Is that an official IKEA test bench?
I think I have the same ones. lol
I'm tapping my foot on the DHL delivery guy.
My B-130X & DR900X Plus are out for delivery right now.
So excited.

 

[Lothar]

k, all 3 batteries are in and I'm running parking mode tests.

I've got the U1000 on the iVolt Xtra, the A139 Pro on the Powercell 8, and the DR900X Plus on the B-130X.

View attachment 63084

I see that you have them hooked up by the manufacturer (Blackvue on Blackvue; and Thinkware on Thinkware)
Testing them on different dashcams can lead to variability in the results as different dashcams have different power usage requirements and it may not be enough for us to deduce which is the actual better backup battery solution (ex: parking mode results, which is more power efficient, which provides the most accurate estimated time remaining, which provides the most accurate estimated time to charge in a car)...

Or is your goal to test each of them on all the different dashcams? (test Blackvue battery on Thinkware, test Thinkware battery on Blackvue)...That seems like a lot of work.

Or maybe to save you time, the alternative here is to use "Power Cell 8" as a control of some sort by also testing it on both Thinkware and Blackvue dashcam since that one is platform agnostic and we will be able to infer from the result of your "Blackvue on Blackvue" vs "Thinkware on Thinkware" test.

Are there any "special" integration benefits (besides not having to install an additional app) of using ex: "Blackvue battery on Blackvue dashcam" vs "Blackvue battery on Thinkware dashcam"?

Any negatives/consequences (ex: an extra feature or benefit present in a battery that will not be available if you hooked it up to a non-branded dashcam) for doing mix & match besides having to install an additional app?
This sometimes happens with phones when you use a non-branded charger vs an official OEM charger as the charge rate maybe slower.

I hope your review plans to touch up on all these points.

 

[Vortex Radar]

I see that you have them hooked up by the manufacturer (Blackvue on Blackvue; and Thinkware on Thinkware)
Testing them on different dashcams can lead to variability in the results as different dashcams have different power usage requirements and it may not be enough for us to deduce which is the actual better backup battery solution (ex: parking mode results, which is more power efficient, which provides the most accurate estimated time remaining, which provides the most accurate estimated time to charge in a car)...

Or is your goal to test each of them on all the different dashcams? (test Blackvue battery on Thinkware, test Thinkware battery on Blackvue)...That seems like a lot of work.

Or maybe to save you time, the alternative here is to use "Power Cell 8" as a control of some sort by also testing it on both Thinkware and Blackvue dashcam since that one is platform agnostic and we will be able to infer from the result of your "Blackvue on Blackvue" vs "Thinkware on Thinkware" test.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Starting off I'm going with native(ish) options since I plan on doing individual reviews of each dashcam and I want to get as much testing done simultaneously as possible.

For a head-to-head comparison with all the dashcams, it makes more sense to pick one dashcam to use for all of them. Realistically I think they'll all produce comparable results, but it's still necessary to keep things as constant as possible.

Are there any "special" integration benefits (besides not having to install an additional app) of using ex: "Blackvue battery on Blackvue dashcam" vs "Blackvue battery on Thinkware dashcam"?

Somewhat, yes. Things like native power cable options to simplify installation, plus the Thinkware battery has an extra output data cable that's designed to plug directly into future dashcams and add additional functionality. The Blackvue app also integrates dashcam functionality and battery monitoring into a single app which can be a plus too. So there will be some reasons to pick a native brand battery, besides just parking record times and battery recharge speeds.

Any negatives/consequences (ex: an extra feature or benefit present in a battery that will not be available if you hooked it up to a non-branded dashcam) for doing mix & match besides having to install an additional app?
This sometimes happens with phones when you use a non-branded charger vs an official OEM charger as the charge rate maybe slower.

Yep. I still need to doublecheck, but it looks like the Blackvue and Thinkware both support 24v vehicles. @BlackboxMyCar, does the Powercell 8 support 24v vehicles? Blackvue's battery officially supports it. Thinkwares does too, but it's not mentioned in the documentation.

Update: According to BBMC, the PC8 is 12v only.

Thinkware also has a more limited availability of input and output power cables. Blackvue has more and the BBMC option has the most. Ironically the Powercell 8 has an optional Thinkware output cable, for example, while the Thinkware battery only has an unspliced hardwire cable output.

I hope your review plans to touch up on all these points.

lol yeah, diving into all these nuances is the fun part.

 

[BlackboxMyCar]

Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Starting off I'm going with native(ish) options since I plan on doing individual reviews of each dashcam and I want to get as much testing done simultaneously as possible.

For a head-to-head comparison with all the dashcams, it makes more sense to pick one dashcam to use for all of them. Realistically I think they'll all produce comparable results, but it's still necessary to keep things as constant as possible.

Somewhat, yes. Things like native power cable options to simplify installation, plus the Thinkware battery has an extra output data cable that's designed to plug directly into future dashcams and add additional functionality. The Blackvue app also integrates dashcam functionality and battery monitoring into a single app which can be a plus too. So there will be some reasons to pick a native brand battery, besides just parking record times and battery recharge speeds.

Yep. I still need to doublecheck, but it looks like the Blackvue and Thinkware both support 24v vehicles. @BlackboxMyCar, does the Powercell 8 support 24v vehicles? Blackvue's battery officially supports it. Thinkwares does too, but it's not mentioned in the documentation.

Update: According to BBMC, the PC8 is 12v only.

Thinkware also has a more limited availability of input and output power cables. Blackvue has more and the BBMC option has the most. Ironically the Powercell 8 has an optional Thinkware output cable, for example, while the Thinkware battery only has an unspliced hardwire cable output.

lol yeah, diving into all these nuances is the fun part.

Hey guys, diving in here. That's correct, the PowerCell 8 doesn't support 24V. We double-checked with EGEN

 

[Vortex Radar]

Hey guys, diving in here. That's correct, the PowerCell 8 doesn't support 24V. We double-checked with EGEN

Thanks for confirming! Do you guys plan on carrying the BV and TW batteries?

 

[Panzer Platform]

Hey guys, diving in here. That's correct, the PowerCell 8 doesn't support 24V. We double-checked with EGEN

Yo BBMC,
The dash cam battery pack wars are heating up. lol
I'm testing the BlackVue B-130X, and so far it's making the PC8 look a little long in the tooth.
The BMS (battery management system) seems to be a little more advanced / sophisticated.
But it's nothing that can't be fixed with a good firmware update on the PC8.
The PC8 still has some tricks up it's sleeve like selectable charging rates from 4.5A to 9A when hardwired, (the B-130X is fixed at 9A).
Let's get the PC8 firmware updated, or hurry up with a Gen 2 model so it can compete at it's highest level.
-Chuck

 

[BlackboxMyCar]

Yo BBMC,
The dash cam battery pack wars are heating up. lol
I'm testing the BlackVue B-130X, and so far it's making the PC8 look a little long in the tooth.
The BMS (battery management system) seems to be a little more advanced / sophisticated.
But it's nothing that can't be fixed with a good firmware update on the PC8.
The PC8 still has some tricks up it's sleeve like selectable charging rates from 4.5A to 9A when hardwired, (the B-130X is fixed at 9A).
Let's get the PC8 firmware updated, or hurry up with a Gen 2 model so it can compete at it's highest level.
-Chuck

Haha noted, we'll pass this on to EGEN, yes sir!

Thanks for confirming! Do you guys plan on carrying the BV and TW batteries?

Yep, we're already carrying the BlackVue B-130X (listed it for preorder yesterday on our website), but no plans for the TW battery at the moment.

 

[rcg530]

Today, I performed a charging test of the BlackboxMyCar PowerCell 8 (PC8). The PC8 was in "High" charging mode and the 16 awg (it would be better at 14 awg) hardwiring cable was connected to a DC power supply. The DC power supply was configured to provide 14.6 volts with a maximum of 15 amps. The 14.6 volt setting was used since this is the same voltage level the BlackboxMyCar DC power supply for low (cigarette charger cable) charging mode provides and it's a fairly typical voltage level for the charging system to provide in a vehicle with a 12-volt electrical system.

It took 59 minutes to go from a 0% charge level to a 100% charge level. I had a VIOFO A229 Duo as the load on the PC8 while it was charging. This was to simulate having the PC8 in a car connected to a dash camera. The driver starts the car and drives off after the dash camera had fully exhausted the dash camera battery pack charge level. The PC8 reached a 99% charge level after 50 minutes. It took another nine minutes for the PC8 to reach a 100% charge level. During that nine minutes, it reached the max amp draw of 9.19 amps. The PC8 started to ramp down the amp draw from the max of 9.19 amp to zero when it was 100% charged.

Once the PC8 is 100% charged, it stops drawing power. When the dash camera that is being powered by the PC8 reduces the charge level slightly under 100%, the PC8 will start drawing power again. In less than one second, the amp draw goes from 0 to a max value of 9.09 to 9.13 amps. The PC8 starts to ramp down the power draw over a 10 second period back to zero amps. This pattern repeated about every 20 seconds and the frequency at which it repeats is very likely load dependent.

 

[Panzer Platform]

(it would be better at 14 awg)

You mean 12AWG right? lol
Do you have 10ft of 12AWG wire, and an XT60 connector to compare with the included 10ft 16AWG hardwire charge cable?
Based on my testing using a thicker gauge charge cable brings down the Amperage while charging, and of course the temperature of the wire.
I have spare XT60 connectors but I'm fresh out of 12AWG wire.

 

[rcg530]

You mean 12AWG right? lol
Do you have 10ft of 12AWG wire, and an XT60 connector to compare with the included 10ft 14AWG hardwire charge cable?
Based on my testing using a thicker gauge charge cable brings down the Amperage while charging, and of course the temperature of the wire.
I have spare XT60 connectors but I'm fresh out of 12AWG wire.

I just checked and I don't have any 12 awg wire. I'll have to order some. I also don't have any XT60 connectors. Where did you source your connectors from (Mouser)?

While I totally agree a 12 awg wire would be better than a 14 awg (lower wire temps using 12 awg based on your testing), a 14 awg wire should be able to support a 10 amp load up to at least 12 feet. If you're going to use a 4-terminal relay to supply the power to a dash camera battery pack as I mention in my initial review of the PowerCell 8 (Nov 2021), the load wires for most 4-terminal relays (terminals 30 & 87) are usually 14 awg wires (some are 16 awg which I avoid using).

The "high" charging mode for these EGEN produced battery packs having an amp draw of up to 9+ amps, would suggest the 16 awg hardwiring cable supplied with the PowerCell 8 is a bit undersized for installations which need to use the full length (3 meters / 9.8 feet) of the hardwiring cable.



Using a fuse tap to place an additional load of up to nearly 10 amps (a dash camera battery pack in this example) is not necessarily a good idea. The wiring/circuit providing the power to the fuse box fuse socket may not be able to support the additional 10 amp load. Some will say the original fuse in the fuse box fuse socket must be at least the same amp rating or higher. While I understand they're trying to make sure the wiring/circuit can provide that number of amps, but the big glaring problem with that is the original load plus the new additional load of around 10 amps could overload the wiring/circuit providing the power to that fuse box fuse socket. If both the new device and the original load/device pull a full amp load at the same time, you can run into problems. That's why I recommend running a wire directly from the vehicle's battery with an inline fuse which feeds terminal 30 of a 4-terminal relay. Terminal 87 is connected to the positive wire (load) of the new device and terminals 85/86 are the control circuit for the relay. The power to control the control circuit of the relay can be very safely obtained using a fuse tap because the control circuit of the relay usually draws 100 mA or less.

 

[Panzer Platform]

I just checked and I don't have any 12 awg wire. I'll have to order some. I also don't have any XT60 connectors. Where did you source your connectors from (Mouser)?

I bought the same brand name that both the PC8, and B-130X use. The brand name is called Amass. I bought a 10 pack of for $10. I used 3, I have 7 sitting here that I would gladly trade you for a 10ft piece of 12 AWG wire. Lol

However, given how thorough you are, you may want to also order the XT60 with “signal” pin so you can make a 12AWG charge cable to test the 5 AMP charge protocol.

Here is the XT60 connectors I bought;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B074PN6N4K
Here is the 12AWG wire I would buy, (best value) $18 / 50ft;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00HZWYKF2
You’re preaching to the choir about not charging these battery packs through the fuse box. I made an 8 minute private video for Broseph (BBMC) demonstrating that a 50,000 Lumen LED Light Bar draws less current than the PC8. And the Light Bar comes with a 12AWG wire harness that connects directly to the battery.
Between me, you, and the fence post I would never run more than 1 Amp off a fuse tap through the fuse box, and even that is pushing it. lol

 

[rcg530]

I bought the same brand name that both the PC8, and B-130X use. The brand name is called Amass. I bought a 10 pack of for $10. I used 3, I have 7 sitting here that I would gladly trade you for a 10ft piece of 12 AWG wire. Lol

However, given how thorough you are, you may want to also order the XT60 with “signal” pin so you can make a 12AWG charge cable to test the 5 AMP charge protocol.

Here is the XT60 connectors I bought;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B074PN6N4K
Here is the 12AWG wire I would buy, (best value) $18 / 50ft;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00HZWYKF2

I reviewed my previous Amazon orders and I found that I purchased 25ft of 12 awg full copper wire last August. I just located it in my garage after searching for about 10 minutes. This wire is all copper and not copper clad aluminum like the one your link pointed to on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/B0796L85CD I prefer to use solid copper rather than copper clad aluminum wire with higher amp loads.

Finding the XT60I-F connector with the third signal pin seems to be a bit more difficult. Since the XT60I-F connector is used only with the low amp (5 amp) charging with the cigarette lighter power adapter, I don't see how beneficial it would be to test a 5 amp load through a 12 awg wire.

So, it looks like all I need is the XT60 connectors, so I'll purchase the ones you pointed out on Amazon. Thanks!

 

[Panzer Platform]

This wire is all copper and not copper clad aluminum

I looked, and looked for pure 100% oxygen free copper wire, and could not find it.
Thank you. Lol
I really hate the CCA, and tinned copper wire.