Using power pack for parking mode

[nary]

I wondered if I can connect the A129 to a power Pack instead of the fuse wiring. that is to say that the cable that goes from the lighter goes to the input of the power pack and the output from the pack goes into the dash cam?

 

[Dashmellow]

I wondered if I can connect the A129 to a power Pack instead of the fuse wiring. that is to say that the cable that goes from the lighter goes to the input of the power pack and the output from the pack goes into the dash cam?

What you are describing is called "pass-through-charging" and for a variety of reasons it is generally an unwise practice because it can stress the power bank causing potential safety issues, a shorter lifespan and possibly even damage the camera.

Most power banks on the market are not designed for pass-through-charging but a few are such as the Zendure brand which have the appropriate circuitry on many of their products and are therefore suitable for doing what you have in mind. Note that the descriptions on the Zendure web site specifically state which of their power banks are capable of pass-through charging. Unless a manufacturer specifically states that their power banks are capable of doing this you should assume that they don't have this feature. Power banks that include this feature usually cost more than typical power banks.

 

[nary]

Do you think that the Zendure A5 will do the job without harming the camera?

 

[Dashmellow]

Do you think that the Zendure A5 will do the job without harming the camera?

Yes! As I mentioned, if the manufacturer specifically states that their power bank will allow for pass-thorough-charging, it will.

Here is a screen shot from Zendure's A5 page.



BTW, I have no personal experience with Zendure power banks but I see that they also mention that it will turn itself off if it thinks the device it is charging is full. It would be a good idea to clarify with Zendure whether it might turn off unexpectedly if running a dash cam.

 

[jokiin]

they're good power banks with pass through charging, they also auto turn on and off depending on load, the turn on is good, the auto turn off is something that can cause a problem with some cameras, if the power bank thinks it's dealing with a fully charged device it can shutoff, something you'd have to test and see if it works ok or not for this camera

 

[marcinsu]

Interesting. When you connect the charger to the power bank, you use the power from the charger, and when you disconnect from the charger it uses power cells (similar to UPS).
I need to make a power socket depending on the car's ignition.

A8 QC will be a better choice - it has a larger capacity. The PD version is only for laptops.
This option is better than 3 wires kit.

@Dashmellow
Do you think that such a power bank can be charged by the solar panel (for parking mode)? I have this one -> BlitzWolf BW-L3
I want to put behind the rear window in the car (hatchback).

BTW, I have no personal experience with Zendure power banks but I see that they also mention that it will turn itself off if it thinks the device it is charging is full. It would be a good idea to clarify with Zendure whether it might turn off unexpectedly if running a dash cam.

I asked Zendure support about this.

 

[Dashmellow]

Interesting. When you connect the charger to the power bank, you use the power from the charger, and when you disconnect from the charger it uses power cells (similar to UPS).
I need to make a power socket depending on the car's ignition.

A8 QC will be a better choice - it has a larger capacity. The PD version is only for laptops.
This option is better than 3 wires kit.

@Dashmellow
Do you think that such a power bank can be charged by the solar panel (for parking mode)? I have this one -> Blitz Wolf BW-L3
I want to put behind the rear window in the car (hatchback).


I asked Zendure support about this.

I would probably opt for the A8 at 26,800 mAh too but the A5 at 16,750 mAh should be fine as well for most dash cam users. You'll get tens of hours of run-time for a dash cam out of either of them. In one test I did, I ran a Street Guardian dash cam for over 50 hours on a fully charged 20,000 mAh power bank.

Yes, that solar panel should do the job of charging a power bank at 5V/3.8A. It could take awhile though, especially inside the back of a hatchback without direct sunlight on it at all times. The thing to consider is that even with pass-through-charging it's not a great idea to leave power banks in your vehicle full time. They should not be allowed to sit in a very hot car for extended periods of time and they should never be charged when the temperature is below zero degrees C (32º F). Constant shock and vibration inside a car is also a problem for power banks and is something they are usually not designed for.

I use two 20,000 mAh or greater power banks to run four cameras and they will run my cameras for more than a whole day. I bring them in when I return home, let them rest for a while and then charge them overnight. Personally, I don't find it to be too much of a hassle and it has just become a simple routine I do every day or two.

 

[nary]

Thanx every body for their replays. Has anyone that you know has been using the Zendure's power pack parking solution if so what is his experience?
I sent Zendure a q. and waiting for their answer.

 

[borik]

I wondered if I can connect the A129 to a power Pack instead of the fuse wiring. that is to say that the cable that goes from the lighter goes to the input of the power pack and the output from the pack goes into the dash cam?

and don't forget to check my setup!
and the description of it!

 

[LMJ]

What you are describing is called "pass-through-charging" and for a variety of reasons it is generally an unwise practice because it can stress the power bank causing potential safety issues, a shorter lifespan and possibly even damage the camera.

Most power banks on the market are not designed for pass-through-charging but a few are such as the Zendure brand which have the appropriate circuitry on many of their products and are therefore suitable for doing what you have in mind. Note that the descriptions on the Zendure web site specifically state which of their power banks are capable of pass-through charging. Unless a manufacturer specifically states that their power banks are capable of doing this you should assume that they don't have this feature. Power banks that include this feature usually cost more than typical power banks.

RAVPPOWER makes powerbanks which seem to be designed that way. At least if I recall correctly the instructions say its OK. You might want to contact them, I do pass through charging for my smartphones and tablets without problem. Their powerbanks have been durable for me. The caveat is I don't use them in a car, espesially they do not sit in a hot unventilated car where it could explode and set your whole car on fire.

 

[marcinsu]

RAVPPOWER makes powerbanks which seem to be designed that way. At least if I recall correctly the instructions say its OK. You might want to contact them, I do pass through charging for my smartphones and tablets without problem. Their powerbanks have been durable for me. The caveat is I don't use them in a car, espesially they do not sit in a hot unventilated car where it could explode and set your whole car on fire.

From user manual:

Charging will start automatically and stop when your device is at full battery (press the power button once if charging does not start).

No charging?
If after connecting, your battery pack is not charging your device:
1. Charge the battery pack to full capacity

 

[Dashmellow]

RAVPPOWER makes powerbanks which seem to be designed that way. At least if I recall correctly the instructions say its OK. You might want to contact them, I do pass through charging for my smartphones and tablets without problem. Their powerbanks have been durable for me. The caveat is I don't use them in a car, espesially they do not sit in a hot unventilated car where it could explode and set your whole car on fire.

"Seem to be designed that way" doesn't really cut it. Unless a manufacturer specifically states that a power bank can safely do pass-through-charging you should assume that it doesn't. Just because you can get away with pass-through-charging and it doesn't "seem" to be a problem doesn't make it an OK or safe practice. It won't "seem" to be a problem until all of a sudden it is one day. Not only is it potentially unsafe because it stresses the lithium-ion cells that were not designed for it (electro-chemically) but the practice can also potentially damage your devices because the charging circuitry in a power bank that isn't specifically designed for this gets confused and can start switching the charge to your device on and off very rapidly, thus damaging it.

 

[borik]

RAVPower power banks allow (officially support) a pass-through-charging which means if a power bank connected to a power source like car's electricity and a camera, for example, connected to a power bank, the power bank passes through itself a charge required by a camera. it doesn't charge itself at the same time while providing a charge for a camera. that's why I use switches in a car and one of the switches I use to turn the charging On or Off for my power banks. I don't use a "pass-through" - not practical. I either charge the power banks during driving or use the power banks to power the cameras during parking.

 

[Dashmellow]

RAVPower power banks allow (officially support) a pass-through-charging which means if a power bank connected to a power source like car's electricity and a camera, for example, connected to a power bank, the power bank passes through itself a charge required by a camera. it doesn't charge itself at the same time while providing a charge for a camera. that's why I use switches in a car and one of the switches I use to turn the charging On or Off for my power banks. I don't use a "pass-through" - not practical. I either charge the power banks during driving or use the power banks to power the cameras during parking.

Well, that would be great if it really does that. Please provide a link with the documentation to support what you are describing.

 

[borik]

Well, that would be great if it really does that. Please provide a link with the documentation to support what you are describing.

here we go:
RAVPower devices with pass through technology

 

[Dashmellow]

here we go:
RAVPower devices with pass through technology

Thanks for the link! That's good news to see that RAVpower has gone to the trouble of actually including circuitry that addresses pass-through-charging. Sounds like it's available on some banks and not others. Glad to see a company address the issue head-on.

Interesting to see the caveats they provide however.

"Pass through charging is not entirely without risk to your devices."

"If you’re only passing through for a few hours, our products are built well enough to take it. Longer than that, though, and you’re risking doing some damage to even top-tier products, regardless of the manufacturer." (This statement makes it sound like running dash cams all day with pass-through-charging could be problematic. At least they acknowledge that it is risky.)

Anker for example originally used to offer pass-through-charging with their power banks but gave up on the idea.

Here are some screen grabs from their support forum for example.

 

[borik]

Thanks for the link! That's good news to see that RAVpower has gone to the trouble of actually including circuitry that addresses pass-through-charging. Sounds like it's available on some banks and not others. Glad to see a company address the issue head-on.

Interesting to see the caveats they provide however.

"Pass through charging is not entirely without risk to your devices."

"If you’re only passing through for a few hours, our products are built well enough to take it. Longer than that, though, and you’re risking doing some damage to even top-tier products, regardless of the manufacturer." (This statement makes it sound like running dash cams all day with pass-through-charging could be problematic. At least they acknowledge that it is risky.)

Anker for example originally used to offer pass-through-charging with their power banks but gave up on the idea.

Here are some screen grabs from their support forum for example.

View attachment 42990

View attachment 42991

originally my idea was to have a power bank always connected to car's electricity and a camera powered by a power bank. in a real world it's not practical at all.
the risk is a big part of our life.

driving a car is

very dangerous, filling it up with gas

is a potential

disaster but we've got used to it. some of us

even smile while driving their babies.

 

[SawMaster]

I'm sure it's possible to design a safe "pass-through" system but it would be quite complicated if it were to cover all possible problems. Complicated = costly and I'm sure that is why it hasn't happened with powerbanks. Such a thing would also require a "system" approach where you would not be able to change any part of the system including the load (which here is dashcams) without adjusting the system parameters to meet the change. So it would be impractical at a consumer level anyway. Ravpower is probably as close to this as we will ever get. For those wishing to design and use a system to keep cams going when parked from other than the car battery then also charging while driving, it wil be safer and easier to use a different battery technology that has less critical charging and usage parameters. The only real advantage of powerbanks here are that for a given energy level they are smaller and lighter, and already have the needed ports, regulators, and charging systems built in. They are not always the best or only choice, just the easiest one.

Still waiting for someone to build us a cam with a miniature nuclear power plant built in so we can do away with all the cabling and wiring problems. Could probably eliminate the need for IR illumination at night then too

Phil

 

[borik]

there are devices on the market that allow to share one printer, for example, between 2 (or 4) computers. in our case such a device would work if it has:
1. a "primary" power source (car's electricity, for example) selection or preset - when / if it's available the power should be switched to it automatically.
2. when the "primary" power source is in use provide the power at the same time to charge the power bank, if the power bank load is under 0.15A (for example) turn the charging off.
3. when the "primary" power source becomes unavailable (you turn the engine off) automatically turn off the power bank charge and switch the power source to a power bank to power the camera.
it could have 2-4-6 "double" (one port for a camera + 1 for a power bank) usb ports for cameras and provide ~5.2v.

 

[Dashmellow]

originally my idea was to have a power bank always connected to car's electricity and a camera powered by a power bank. in a real world it's not practical at all.
the risk is a big part of our life.

driving a car is

very dangerous, filling it up with gas

is a potential

disaster but we've got used to it. some of us

even smile while driving their babies.

I have to disagree with the logic of your analogies. Sure, driving a gasoline powered car can be dangerous but as with many things in life these things involve “inherent risk” otherwise known as “residual risk” and we accept these risks because we also use forms of “risk management” such as traffic laws, vehicle regulations and safety inspections.

However, if you intentionally operate a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner in which it is not intended to be driven, ignore common safety procedures such as wearing seat belts or driving at the posted speed limits; if you ignore required vehicle maintenance or make unsafe alterations to your vehicle, you dramatically increase your risks and raise the likelihood of harm.

Much like the gasoline in a car, lithium-ion batteries are very energy dense and potentially volatile and so common sense dictates that they be handled accordingly. Using lithium-ion battery banks in a manner they were never designed for invites the possibility of a mishap. Just like driving a car in a reckless manner is a risky practice, using (especially charging) a power bank improperly changes the vector from “inherent, residual risk” to “specific risk”. And "specific risks" that arise from intentionally chancy choices we make are avoidable.