Powerbank Battery for a Dashcam

[reverend]

Ah I knew there was another reason I went for the Anker - it supports up to to 2A on the input for faster charging times (around 6.5 hours) - from what I can see these 50000mAh ones are just 1A charging.

That's something I meant to ask you both - if they're discharging overnight in constant use and you only do an hour or two of driving a day don't they discharge quicker than they charge?

Or is that why you both have more than one - maybe one per camera?

It's something I thought about even with this Anker job if I'm only doing an hours drive a day and it's discharging 23 hours.

 

[Dionic90]

When you have more than one of these you always have one on charge/ready to go,so charge times don't bother me.

To make my setup more clear: the camera that's attached to this brick runs all day long. 24/7. I turn the cam off to swap SD cards then power it right back up.

In this setup, the battery runs for over two days. I swap the brick out on the start of the third day regardless of the state of battery charge. Usually there is the second to the last led lamp blinking which to me is a pretty robust power pack.

 

[reverend]

Yeah you're not kidding - it's fully charged an iPhone from empty to full, and has been running the A118 since last night and it's still showing 3 bars! I'll let it run until it stops to get an idea of how long I've got - I'm not used to batteries lasting this long

 

[reverend]

I did some quick testing yesterday and the GT680W wouldn't run while the pack was charging!

I need to do some more testing to see if it was the Anker 2nd gen E4 battery pack not doing pass through or the card causing this

 

[Dashmellow]

I did some quick testing yesterday and the GT680W wouldn't run while the pack was charging!

I need to do some more testing to see if it was the Anker 2nd gen E4 battery pack not doing pass through or the card causing this

It is an unwise idea to charge and discharge a battery pack simultaneously. Devices you intend to run off the battery should be turned off while charging. This allows the battery to reach the threshold charge voltage unhindered and reflects the correct saturation current responsible to terminate the charge. A parasitic load confuses the charger throughout the entire charging process but especially when the voltage hovers near the charge termination point. While certain brands such as Anker claim to have "pass-through" charging, this may be more of a marketing thing. Even on Anker's web site where they say the E4 battery can simultaneously charge and discharge, they go on to say, "However, constant pass-through charging may affect the battery’s lifespan." I see this as a disclaimer and an admission that they know this practice is not a good idea.

As for the GT680W not running, I think this may be unrelated to the battery pack.

 

[dirtymoney]

What about one of those jump-start boxes that have a car cigarette lighter outlet in it?

You have an emergency jump-start source and a long time continuous power source for your dashcam? Depending on where you store it you may need a long power cord for the dashcam.

 

[Dashmellow]

Well, those would do the trick but they are rather big. It would be similar to carrying an extra car battery in your vehicle.

Another option might be one of the very small jump starter packs like the 6.5 x 2.9 x 1.2 inch PowerAll. These can be used as general USB chargers the same way as these battery banks we've been discussing but they can also jump start a 12V vehicle. One of the differences here is that the 12V chargers are vastly more expensive than a USB battery bank. The point of these USB battery banks is mainly that they are inexpensive and convenient. For the cost and hassle involved with a jump starter it may well be better to hardwire the cameras or modify the 12V socket in one's vehicle to full time power with a voltage cut-off device to protect the car's battery from dropping too low.


The PowerAll

 

[reverend]

Sorry I'd assumed that with these battery packs you were just plugging them in and then leaving them while driving and parked - I'll try with the A118 but what I was finding was that with the battery pack fully charged whenever the car was started it would cut power to the outputs - if I unplugged the camera and reconnected it was ok

I need the Lukas to hurry up - the Anker is coming with me to the horse races tomorrow instead for now to charge my phone

 

[Dashmellow]

Sorry I'd assumed that with these battery packs you were just plugging them in and then leaving them while driving and parked - I'll try with the A118 but what I was finding was that with the battery pack fully charged whenever the car was started it would cut power to the outputs - if I unplugged the camera and reconnected it was ok

I need the Lukas to hurry up - the Anker is coming with me to the horse races tomorrow instead for now to charge my phone

That's interesting information. This question has come up elsewhere (I believe jokiin mentioned it) that some of these chargers "might" shut-down if they think whatever device they are charging has reached its fully charged state. They are after all, primarily sold as chargers rather than power sources. Anker touts its Power-IQ technology and I wonder if that might be the culprit with shutting down after you start the car and that pass-through charging keeps the battery hovering at the termination point after replugging in the A118? On the other hand I just purchased an Anker 24W Dual-Port USB Car Charger that has Power-IQ. I've only been using it a few days but so far there have been no issues starting up and running two dash cams with it.

My only experience with USB battery banks has been with the cheap generic Chinese one from Amazon. Although it definitely has numerous "smart" features maybe it isn't quite so smart as the Anker and thus works for this purpose. If so, then that's my new motto! "Smart but not too smart!"

 

[Dionic90]

If one is using these portable power packs, they should not be charging and powering devices at the same time? They are not designed that way.

Same for the jump start. I have a jump start thingy but it's for engine emergencies. It does have USB ports and cigar ports so it can be used for this if needed.

Brand name or not, don't charge and use at the same time. You can cause a cell or two to short, rendering the pack useless.

Again I have multiples of these packs and I just swap out every couple days. I suggest getting a generic pack and doing the same. You have two cats on here who have experience with them. They are cheap.

 

[reverend]

To be honest I'd assumed that's how you guys were running them and due to the stress on the battery is why I went for one with longer warranty. I've left the charger cable for the Anker at home so I'll do some more testing when I'm back to see what happens.

I've just been checking the SD card and it's as clean as a whistle, so no idea what message kept popping up on the camera screen - strange one though.

The A118 ran for 22 hours and 4 mins when I tried it, and that was after giving the iPhone a full charge too.

 

[dino]

I change vehicle every day at work, sometimes even during the day, therefore I can't make any modifications or fancy installations - this is my survival kit:

a mobius with suction mount
a 10.000 mAh powerbank picked up at my local electronics dealer (it has a 2,1A output and enough juice to last 3 or 4 working days)
the 3m cable mobius came with
a micro usb-cable for charging my phone or bluetooth headset if needed



You can see the size of everything. It goes perfectly in my company bag (but not that perfect in the pockets of my jacket, still that's an option too), and hooking it all up is just a matter of seconds... just as taking it down again.

// D

 

[sofaspud]

Here's a link to the generic lithium-polymer 50,000 mAh battery bank in question. For around twenty USD shipped from Amazon it is hard to go wrong. Despite the 50,000 mAh claim it is likely to be about half that or less but the device has plenty of juice for your needs. It has short-circuit and over current protection; the device will automatically shutdown if it detects an overload and it will also shut off automatically when it detects there is no longer a load on the battery such as when a dash cam is disconnected by unplugging.

Does this also auto switch on when a load is plugged in? or do you have to press the power button?
Just thinking of a way to 'automate' the supply to a device

 

[Dashmellow]

I addressed this question earlier in this thread back in post #18. (fourth paragraph) When you plug in a device it will detect the load and power on the camera, however there will a pulsating buzzing sound in the video unless you press the power button to engage the filtering circuitry in the battery bank. On some of these banks the blue indicator LEDs will illuminate when you plug in a device but the power button still needs to be pressed to avoid the noise. Basically, these battery banks are really designed to charge mobile devices rather than run cameras with audio. I don't know how more costly battery banks compare.

 

[sofaspud]

Sorry, missed that info. Thanks for pointing it out though.
Looks like I might have to look into (my) option2

 

[Dashmellow]

Sorry, missed that info. Thanks for pointing it out though.
Looks like I might have to look into (my) option2

As I mentioned in my last post, it's possible that more expensive battery banks may not have the noise issue if they auto start after detecting a load. Perhaps people with other banks such as the Anker can share their experiences or do a little testing to see if this happens with their units?

 

[reverend]

I haven't heard any noise on the Anker to be honest - which camera was that with though?

It was ok with my A118 and GT680W but I'll try again tomorrow

 

[Dashmellow]

I haven't heard any noise on the Anker to be honest - which camera was that with though?

It was ok with my A118 and GT680W but I'll try again tomorrow

The noise was heard with a Mobius and an Innovv C3. Again, as long as you press the power button there is no noise. Only if you plug the cameras in and run them without pressing the power button will you hear a pulsating buzzing in the audio. Does the Anker power on automatically when detecting a load?

 

[reverend]

Yeah it does mate, I'm not sure if I've got the powerbar with me but I'll try the Mobius on it tomorrow and see how it fares - like that article we saw a while back a lot of powerbars do put out a pretty noisy signal as like you say they're probably designed more for charging phones but they make great little additions to the tiny batteries in dashcams

 

[Dashmellow]

I'm not quite sure what @sofaspud means by "automating" the power supply to the camera but for my purposes I have no problem pressing the power button if that's what it takes to get a clean audio signal. I mean, I'm already holding the bank in my hand when I'm plugging in the cameras.