Powerbank Battery for a Dashcam

[sofaspud]

Just thinking of using a relay to auto switch the camera feed between power brick & car ign/acc supply.
eg when car on then relay picked & puts the car supply to the camera, the power brick meanwhile is also connected to the ign cct so it is charged without any load on it. when car switched off then relay drops & switches camera supply to power brick. Camera is thus powered for 'parking mode' without loading the car batteries.
Obviously would still need a switch to shut camera off for if/when parking mode not required (car is garaged at home)

 

[Dashmellow]

This is an interesting idea but I'm not sure that these types of battery banks are really suited to this sort of thing. They are really most useful for conveniently powering a camera or two for several hours or so. For one thing, they should never be allowed to freeze and definitely should not be charged if they are frozen. Of course, this makes leaving them in your vehicle during the winter a bad idea and in the summer they shouldn't be left in a hot car all the time either. There may also be battery charging issues over time with the scheme you propose. My view is that if you are willing to go to the trouble of wiring in a relay to your car ignition, why not simply install one of the available battery discharge protection devices and wire your camera to your car using a 12v to 5v step down converter? This would give you a superior set it and forget-it set-up and you would never have to concern yourself with lithium-ion battery issues.

See: Charging at High and Low Temperatures - Battery University

 

[Zuntax]

Battery pack that can be used as DC 12v-20v via eUSB port.
Made by Romoss:
eUSB Sofun 4 10400mah (up to 45W)
eUSB Sofun 6 15600mah (up to 65W)
eUSB Sofun 9 23400mah (up to 65W)
http://www.romoss.com/powerbank.php?SortID=4

 

[Dionic90]

That eusb sofun 9 model looks interesting. Can't find it online for purchase...

 

[Zuntax]

That eusb sofun 9 model looks interesting. Can't find it online for purchase...

Try contact Romoss directly, as I understand some connectors for eUSB sold separately.
Battery pack comes with 15 chargers tips, but no info on what charging tips are in box.

 

[mcaf123]

Just been reading this thread with interest.....I had the idea to have 2 cams (with capacitors hopefully) connected to a powerbank, which in turn would be connected to the cigarette lighter so it would charge when the car was on and provide power to the cams when the car is off so I can record in car parks etc. (people seem to like keying my car). Based on what you guys have been saying above, that's not a good idea for the lifespan of the powerbank.

With regards to hardwiring the cam to the car's battery, how long will the camera realistically be powered by the car's battery before it gets cut off when the voltage runs low? I've got a 2007 car with a year old battery, which I believe is pretty beefy.

 

[Zuntax]

Try contact Romoss directly, as I understand some connectors for eUSB sold separately.
Battery pack comes with 15 chargers tips, but no info on what charging tips are in box.

Update from Rommos
eUSB Sofun 9 include 15 different laptop charging tips, but for now this model is NOT Available in USA.
Connector types / charging tips:
3011A, 3011S, 4012A, 4529D, 4017R, 4817R, 5517R, 5521R, 5525R x2, 6330R,6544R, 7450D, 7450H, 7955R
*At present time we don't provide other tips except the above tips.

You can pay attention to the American amazon, and if it is posted there, you can buy it.

FYI
As of now, only available via Amazon is eUSB sofun 4

 

[reverend]

Just been reading this thread with interest.....I had the idea to have 2 cams (with capacitors hopefully) connected to a powerbank, which in turn would be connected to the cigarette lighter so it would charge when the car was on and provide power to the cams when the car is off so I can record in car parks etc. (people seem to like keying my car). Based on what you guys have been saying above, that's not a good idea for the lifespan of the powerbank.

With regards to hardwiring the cam to the car's battery, how long will the camera realistically be powered by the car's battery before it gets cut off when the voltage runs low? I've got a 2007 car with a year old battery, which I believe is pretty beefy.

From what Dashmellow is saying there as we're just hitting winter it may not be a great idea to go down the power bank route at the moment.

Have you thought about hooking up a BDP device such as the Lukas LK-290 and using that? It's really easy and the Lukas has a high cutoff at 12.4V which you can configure for winter. I had it set at 12.2V and at one point the camera in the car (Panorama series) ran for over three days in mine without stopping.

I misunderstood how they worked and thought I could just hook a power bank up in series and that it would run while the car was running and charge and then it would run the camera while the car was off. I might actually send the Anker back as it doesn't do passthrough any more to protect itself - in a way that's a good thing as it improves the longevity but at the time I bought it they said it did. I keep find uses for it in the house though as it means I don't have to go and sit next to a wall charger to test cameras

 

[mcaf123]

From what Dashmellow is saying there as we're just hitting winter it may not be a great idea to go down the power bank route at the moment.

Have you thought about hooking up a BDP device such as the Lukas LK-290 and using that? It's really easy and the Lukas has a high cutoff at 12.4V which you can configure for winter. I had it set at 12.2V and at one point the camera in the car (Panorama series) ran for over three days in mine without stopping.

I misunderstood how they worked and thought I could just hook a power bank up in series and that it would run while the car was running and charge and then it would run the camera while the car was off. I might actually send the Anker back as it doesn't do passthrough any more to protect itself - in a way that's a good thing as it improves the longevity but at the time I bought it they said it did. I keep find uses for it in the house though as it means I don't have to go and sit next to a wall charger to test cameras

Thnx for the advice Rev! That LK 290 looks pretty handy actually. Do all versions come with 2 cigar sockets attached and where can I buy it for a good price in the UK? Amazon have one for £38 but it's coming from Korea

 

[reverend]

I got mine from Dream Seller on eBay for about £21 - they're just under £25 now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/321423806765
Green-Sum are actually the official seller as I found out afterwards and they have it here for the same sort of price:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140996179067
Either one of those would work for you - shipping took about two weeks from Dream Seller which wasn't bad as it got lost in Korea for a week after a mix up!

The Type C has the two sockets - the Type A is one socket and the Type B has a tiny pin connection for use directly with cameras like the Lukas or Panorama.

 

[mcaf123]

Thanks for the links! Does this just get connected to an always on fuse?

 

[reverend]

It has three connections - one to an always on source, one to a switched source and one to ground. I just used a multimeter to work out which were suitable and used add a circuits crimped on the end to make it nice and easy. I had a fair few empty fuse sockets and they were perfect as all the larger size fuses were permanent and the mini fuses were all switched

They were all rated 10 and 20a so just used a 5a fuse in the add a circuits as they were the smallest I had.

 

[mcaf123]

It has three connections - one to an always on source, one to a switched source and one to ground. I just used a multimeter to work out which were suitable and used add a circuits crimped on the end to make it nice and easy. I had a fair few empty fuse sockets and they were perfect as all the larger size fuses were permanent and the mini fuses were all switched

They were all rated 10 and 20a so just used a 5a fuse in the add a circuits as they were the smallest I had.

That sort of stuff is well over my head lol. Was gonna get someone more qualified than me to fit it. I like the lukas solution coz it will allow me to use other cameras in the future. I was gonna buy 2 hardwire kits from Joovuu which have a mini/micro USB on the end but this is much more future proof

 

[mcaf123]

What do all the buttons on the 290 do btw?

 

[reverend]

It's probably best taking a look at this to get your head around the Lukas:

http://www.lukashd.com/gnuboard4/bbs/board.php?bo_table=eng_automanual&wr_id=10

As for battery banks I've just gone through some footage recorded while connected to the Anker here and there's no noise at all that I can hear on the clips

 

[mcaf123]

It's probably best taking a look at this to get your head around the Lukas:

http://www.lukashd.com/gnuboard4/bbs/board.php?bo_table=eng_automanual&wr_id=10

As for battery banks I've just gone through some footage recorded while connected to the Anker here and there's no noise at all that I can hear on the clips

Thanks.
So if you have the lukas installed, what dyu use the power bank for?

 

[reverend]

At the moment I stick it in my coat pocket with a charger for when my phone goes flat

 

[mcaf123]

At the moment I stick it in my coat pocket with a charger for when my phone goes flat

Hehe. I'm thinking of getting that Anker Pro 2 anyway coz Amazon are offering me £10 (20%) off and it can't harm having a beast of a battery pack around for holidays etc.
I used to carry around a little battery pack when I had my Nexus 4 phone - that would run out of battery by early afternoon it was that bad! Now I've got an LG G3 with a whopping great battery

 

[reverend]

Is it the first or second gen they're offering the discount on?

The Pro series seem to charge everything though including your laptop!

 

[mcaf123]

Second gen