Powerbank Battery for a Dashcam

[chris-s]

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've just received my power bank, ordered berfore reading this thread
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/291292309892 (ordered from a china seller)

The fact is that it is not suitable for the use I expected because, as reverend says, I can't charge the power bank and run the dashcam at the same time (tested with a G1WH).

Is there any way to find a power bank which allows to charge and discharge simultaneously and can be connected to the cigaret lighter plug which is ON when car is running, and OFF when car is parking ?

 

[chris-s]

Considering my previous post, I thought about using 2 diodes to allow charging power bank and run dashcam at the same time when car is running.

DIODE A : Allows powering dashcam from power bank source during car parking and blocks car battery power on the OUT plug of the power bank when car is running.

DIODE B : Allows powering dashcam when car is running and avoid power bank IN to be powered from power bank OUT when car is parking.

What do you think about this ?
I'm just a noob with electronic circuits

 

[Dashmellow]

I've just received my power bank, ordered berfore reading this thread
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/291292309892 (ordered from a china seller)

The fact is that it is not suitable for the use I expected because, as reverend says, I can't charge the power bank and run the dashcam at the same time (tested with a G1WH).

Is there any way to find a power bank which allows to charge and discharge simultaneously and can be connected to the cigaret lighter plug which is ON when car is running, and OFF when car is parking ?

It had been mentioned over and over in this thread HERE and HERE (and elsewhere) how and why it is a bad idea to charge and discharge lithium-ion battery packs simultaneously even if you can get the pack to do it.

I find that these kind of packs run cameras for many, many hours at a time and it is no big deal to bring them inside and charge them overnight. It is also not much effort to spend a moment plugging in my cameras when I park my vehicle.

 

[chris-s]

Sorry, I admit that I had not read all this thread (very long for me to read an understand all english terms)

The problem is that for my work, I park more than 10 times by day, to I need something automatic to do the job.

Couldn't my electronic scheme be a solution to avoid charging and discharging at the same time ?

 

[reverend]

It's not recommended but some of the older Anker units (Gen 1) do it. It looks like they've stopped allowing it in all Gen 2 units I've seen so far though.

 

[petepete]

Considering my previous post, I thought about using 2 diodes to allow charging power bank and run dashcam at the same time when car is running.

DIODE A : Allows powering dashcam from power bank source during car parking and blocks car battery power on the OUT plug of the power bank when car is running.

DIODE B : Allows powering dashcam when car is running and avoid power bank IN to be powered from power bank OUT when car is parking.

What do you think about this ?
I'm just a noob with electronic circuits

a relay is the way to go ...

you would still be charging with your circuit as A diode would let the power out !

 

[chris-s]

"A" diode will let power out but my power bank does not allow OUT when IN is used.

A relay is probably a better idea but I don't know how to wire this.
Any help with scheme ?

I guess you mean 5V relay ?

 

[petepete]

A 12v relay will do..

when the ignition is on it is used to break the supply circuit from the power bank out and when the ignition is off the relay drops out and makes the circuit from the power bank out ...

 

[Nigel]

Couldn't my electronic scheme be a solution to avoid charging and discharging at the same time ?

Looks good to me, except:

1. My powerbank doesn't switch the output back on when the input power is removed - I have to press the on button.

2. Most diodes with sufficient current capacity will drop the voltage by 0.8volts at the sort of currents used by a dashcam, the result may be too low for some dashcams, no problem for an 0806 though.

3. presumably your "car battery" is 5volts and turns off when parked, otherwise it won't work.

I think I would use the diodes rather than a relay if the above issues aren't a problem.

 

[Dashmellow]

Sorry, I admit that I had not read all this thread (very long for me to read an understand all english terms)

The problem is that for my work, I park more than 10 times by day, to I need something automatic to do the job.

Couldn't my electronic scheme be a solution to avoid charging and discharging at the same time ?

It sounds like a hardwired set-up to run your cameras off the 12V circuit in your car would really be a better solution for your particular needs.

 

[chris-s]

By using some relays, the setup will be much more complicated.

5V relay needs less wires as it could be placed near the power bank :

 

[kuoh]

You've got it more complicated than it needs to be. Flip the relay around so it's output pole is connected to the dashcam. Then the NO pole connects to the same 5V charger going to the power bank and the NC goes to the power bank output. That gets rid of the extra 5V adapter and extra wires.

KuoH

By using some relays, the setup will be much more complicated.

5V relay needs less wires as it could be placed near the power bank :

 

[chris-s]

Hmm sorry I do not understand what you mean...
Are you able to make a scheme for me ?

 

[kuoh]

Just a quick cut and paste, but you should get the idea.

KuoH

 

[chris-s]

Everything is clear now ! thanks !

 

[Olli]

I just tried my Xiaomi (10400 mAh) and G1WH. The camera was able to record for 12 hours. I also tested charging & discharging same time, it seems to be working, but according to this thread, not recommended.

 

[DashBoat]

So has any progress been made? Would love to hear if anyone has this figured out.

I've seen various UPS circuits, but none that can rely on a USB battery pack.

 

[MiiHere]

Hey, would any power bank do the trick to simply power the Mobius w/ capacitor? Not trying to charge power bank and use at the same time. Just plug and play.

 

[Dashmellow]

Hey, would any power bank do the trick to simply power the Mobius w/ capacitor? Not trying to charge power bank and use at the same time. Just plug and play.

It depends.

Some "smart" power banks will see the Mobius as a "computer mass storage volume" (and vice versa) and so the camera will go into standby mode instead of starting to record. Most of the time you can "fix" this problem by cutting the green and white data wires in a standard Mobius 5-pin USB-A to mini-B cable leaving only the red and black wires to power the camera. This way you can avoid having the camera think it is plugged into a computer rather than just a battery.

 

[MiiHere]

I reckon this is the reason I haven't dug deeper into the power bank. I do remember the Mobius USB's have to be one way or the other depending on what you want to use it for. Perhaps you can enlighten me a bit more. Let's say I didn't get a smart power bank, I'd need a 5 ft USB cable, but know the pins have to be a certain way. How would I obtain or jimmy rig one to work?