Problems with using a higher voltage?

[SawMaster]

Tagging @jokiin @viofo @estore009 @Mobius @RockThinking in hopes of getting some official answers

I've found some bargain-priced 6VDC rechargeable SLA and AGM batteries which might make for a more economical way to power dashcams in parking mode for extended periods of time without the need for a PS to drop voltage from 12VDC to the 5VDC most cams require. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this, or of the cam manufacturers here could tell me whether this exceeds the ability of their cam's internal voltage regulation circuits?

Not looking to discuss other powering methods or the pros and cons of such a system, only wanting to know if this will safely work without the likelihood of destroying cams

Phil

 

[jokiin]

I would think it would be a problem once the batteries got done to 5v, it's not regulated like the power supply output is

 

[Nigel]

Charging a 6 volt battery will require about 7 volts.
Some dashcams have a 5.4 volt super capacitor across the supply which will burst if you go above 5.4 volts, so you should stick to USB 2 voltage specifications.
I'm sure some dashcams will be OK since they will have internal voltage regulation before anything critical, but there is no way to know which.

 

[Dashmellow]

Using the Mobius as an example, earlier versions of the camera could be damaged by over-voltages above 5V. All Mobius boards stamped with 2014-08-19 or later offer over-voltage protection up to 24 Volt. If the external voltage exceeds 5V the camera will not start or charge.

I don't know if other dash cams feature such over-voltage protection circuitry.

 

[SawMaster]

Thanks for the replies Just trying to keep things as simple as possible, or cheap if you will. I don't think low voltage is an issue for anything other than the powering battery but I wasn't sure what to expect with this level of over-voltage. Better to ask questions than to let the magic smoke out of the cams!

Phil

 

[Nigel]

We do know that 12 volts kills most USB powered dashcams, I wouldn't be very confident with 7 volts either. 6 volts probably should be OK, but I have heard one manufacturer mention less than 6 volts still being a problem, so stick to USB spec unless you actually have a specification for the camera.

Might still be a slight efficiency advantage since some voltage regulators work more efficiently with output voltages close to the input voltage, but you are not going to be able to use a standard hardwire kit, even the ones that don't have voltage protection tend to stop working below 9 volts.

 

[SawMaster]

What I'll probably do in the end is use 2 powerful 5VDC buck/boost converters instead of the messy multiple PS's and HWK's I'm using now. That would allow me to run heavy-guage wire to multiple USB sockets near the cams avoiding voltage drop, and to have one system in use only while driving with the other doing parking too. Quite the lash-up I have now and it's beginning to get trouble-prone, plus I'm sometimes forgetting to turn my driving cams on when I'm tired so a bit of automation there will also help immensely. I don't want to build the system twice and I do want a separate battery for the parking cams and it's looking like a good time to get this done.

Phil