Using power pack for parking mode

IMO the power bank option will work. Just plug the cam into the powerbank with a cig lighter to USB adapter when you need to be in parking mode. Have 2 power banks and charge them in your home and rotate. You charge your smartphone each day so whats the big deal. The real issue is the wear and tear on the cig lighter end of the dash cam cable. Doing this daily is not practical and you would probably have to rewire when it wears out.
 
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.
you disagree with my "logic" because you completely ignore 5 (five) smiles I put in just one sentence and I put them there for a specific reason - smile!
smile3.gif

if I'm serious I don't use smiles.
 
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you disagree with my "logic" because you completely ignore 5 (five) smiles I put in just one sentence and I put them there for a specific reason - smile!
smile3.gif

So, goofy emoticons are somehow supposed to completely void your actual statements such as "risk is a big part of our life"? :rolleyes: Oh, that's hilarious! :sour:
 
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 :ROFLMAO:

Phil

It's not all that complicated really. For example, Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads and laptops have been using a battery management technique for years that allows for safe pass-through-charging. While your device might show a 100% charge to your battery, actually behind the scenes, unbeknownst to the user, a battery management process is going on that senses when the battery has achieved full charge. At that point, it stops charging and allows the battery to run down for a period of time while the device is still in use. Then it starts charging again until the battery is again fully charged, at which time it stops charging once again until the battery drains down again. This technique avoids the stresses on the charger that occur during unmanaged pass-through-charging when a fully charged battery with a parasitic load on it will hover at the charge saturation point, thus causing confusion to the charging circuitry and stress to both the battery bank and the device it is running. When pass-through-charging is used on a battery bank that is not designed for it, this issue of the charge hovering at the saturation point is the thing that causes the charger to produce "micro-cycles" which is the very rapid turning on and off the charger that can damage the power bank as well as the device it is charging.
 
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So, goofy emoticons are somehow supposed to completely void your actual statements such as "risk is a big part of our life"? :rolleyes: Oh, that's hilarious! :sour:
finally!
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good.gif
biggrin.gif
 
IMO the power bank option will work. Just plug the cam into the powerbank with a cig lighter to USB adapter when you need to be in parking mode. Have 2 power banks and charge them in your home and rotate. You charge your smartphone each day so whats the big deal. The real issue is the wear and tear on the cig lighter end of the dash cam cable. Doing this daily is not practical and you would probably have to rewire when it wears out.

For more than four years now I've been using two power banks to run four cameras in my vehicle when parked and at other times while driving. I use two dual port USB cigar lighter adapters with USB-A to mini-B cables. There have been virtually no issues with repeated plugging and unplugging of the cables into the adapters. And yes, I agree, charging the power banks every other day or so is no big deal.
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01J67JIOQ
Are you referring to the above? The revews are mixed. Some say great with dash cam. Others say shorted something out.

No, I am not referring to the item in your link.

I don't use the power supplies that comes with the dash cams. Instead, as I said in my previous post, I use dual port 5V USB car chargers that plug into the two adjacent 12V cigarette lighter ports in my vehicle. I use Monoprice 5 pin - 28/24 AWG and 28/28 AWG USB-A to mini-B cables. This way I can plug the cameras directly into either the power banks or to the USB car chargers.

These are not the exact chargers I currently use but they are quite similar:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B00VH84L5E
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B01B182976


I use these cables. (I order them direct from Monoprice however.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/B001UJE7FO
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B002KL8N6A[/QUOTE]
 
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How do you run parking mode then? Wheres the constant source of power when you are not driving the car?
 
How do you run parking mode then? Wheres the constant source of power when you are not driving the car?

Umm....the power banks, as I've already mentioned twice in this thread.
 
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Ok. Which powerbank will be better with "Pass Through"?
* RAVPower 32000mAh - model RP-PB064
* ZENDURE 20000mAh - model X6
 
For A129 can be interesting if is possible to combine the HK3 hardwire kit with the default power. Some solution which will force dashcam to record when engine is running from default power and in parking mode from a power bank. When engine is running the power bank to not offer power to the camera but it to be charged in that time.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
For A129 can be interesting if is possible to combine the HK3 hardwire kit with the default power. Some solution which will force dashcam to record when engine is running from default power and in parking mode from a power bank. When engine is running the power bank to not offer power to the camera but it to be charged in that time.

enjoy,
Mtz

I'm thinking about making a switching module. But for now I do not know which devices to use (eg logic gates).
https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/a129-3-wire-kit.35898/page-3#post-436962

If I don't do it, I will use the powerbank with UPS mode (Pass Through).
 
Yes, the idea is to have it full auto, to not press some button when starting or stopping the car engine.

enjoy,
Mtz
 
Yes, the idea is to have it full auto, to not press some button when starting or stopping the car engine.

enjoy,
Mtz

I use this for about 3 weeks now. 65-80000-136-1.jpg
RavPower RP-PB19

It has pass through charging with no button. I have connected it to the car socket and the camera to power bank and that's it. I have never charged in house. The camera is working continuously.
The price was about 30 dollars and it was the only brand i could find in Romania.
 
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It is a good news that you never charged in the house. I consider the biggest disadvantage for a power bank is if you need to take it in the home for charging.
But maybe you are lucky because you are driving so much so the power bank have the time to recharge. On its specs I read that 7-8 hours are needed to be fully charged with a 2.4A charger and 9-10 hours with a 2A charger. So if you will use the official Viofo charger your powerbank will need 10 hours to be charged. If you will drive 10 hours will not affect your car battery at all.
My question is if the power bank is fully charged at some moment, will it stop taking power from the charger? If yes, how much time?

enjoy,
Mtz
 
RAVPower doesn't fully explain what technique they use to manage their pass through charging but the more I read their blog entries about the subject the more they seem to offer caveats, precautionary remarks and what I might call "rationalizations" about why the practice, at least with "their" pass-through-charging technique may not be a good practice except in certain temporary situations. Clearly, they are recommending that you NOT use their power banks permanently connected to a power source in your car to run dash cameras all day, full time.

Below is the final paragraph from RAVPower's blog article "Is Pass Through Tech Dangerous to Your Power Bank’s Health?".

"In the end, to avoid damaging your device or power bank, follow two simple rules. First, make sure your power bank is equipped with the right circuitry to support pass through. Second, if you need to use it, don’t do it for very long – think emergency rations situations. By limiting pass through to a few hours at most, you should be able to reduce heat and the potential for battery damage."
 
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I have 2 of those. When fully charged, the light goes off. Not sure if that means the unit is actually charging (overcharging) but when it is not fully charged there is a blue meter light running.
 
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My question is if the power bank is fully charged at some moment, will it stop taking power from the charger? If yes, how much time?

enjoy,
Mtz

I think it does stop taking power, because every time i check it, at the end of a day, it is fully charged.
And my driving is from 5 to 7 hours + 10 to 20 stops between 5 an 20 minutes. Sometimes i let the engine running, sometimes i don't...

For my work car i use this
image84.jpeg
Anker PowerDrive 2
2x2.4A or 1x4.8A, 24W.

The Viofo charger is in my personal car.
 
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I have 2 of those. When fully charged, the light goes off. Not sure if that means the unit is actually charging (overcharging) but when it is not fully charged there is a blue meter light running.

The device has built-in over-voltage and over-charging protection. This is a requirement of ALL lithium-ion power banks because lithium-ion cells become dangerous when charged beyond their maximum voltage of 4.2 volts (Vmax). When the light goes out it has stopped charging.
 
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