Portable field power

Anthony Viscomi · Feb 6, 2017

spiderpig said:
Interesting. The amazon pictures had it mounted like I did. But can try that next time.

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See this pic

spiderpig · Feb 6, 2017

Here what it looked like on amazon:

I like your version better though.

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joet · Feb 6, 2017

spiderpig said:
Interesting concept. Is there some instructions to building something like this? I haven't used solar before, but with the summer days a couple month in the future would be a nice project.

Pretty simple, actually.. 12v solar panel, the larger the bigger. Connect that to a 12v solar charge controller. Connect that to the 12v battery of your choice. Also connect the battery to 3 cig lighter plugs, and plug the car chargers into them. Use fused leads to everything.

spiderpig · Feb 6, 2017

joet said:
Pretty simple, actually.. 12v solar panel, the larger the bigger. Connect that to a 12v solar charge controller. Connect that to the 12v battery of your choice. Also connect the battery to 3 cig lighter plugs, and plug the car chargers into them. Use fused leads to everything.

So looking at amazon I found a battery, a regulator to keep the solar from over charging, and a meter for 28. Looking at solar panels now. What kind of wattage should I look for? If we want to keep this build under 50 or maybe 100? Given that we're at the field about 2-3 each time.

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chippie · Feb 6, 2017

spiderpig said:
Here what it looked like on amazon:
I like your version better though.

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They are 2 different shades, not sure if Anthony realized that initially. However the DJI branded one has not had great feedback either tbh, it provides a little shade but not enough to be effective (from what I have read anyway) I think the only way to go if you want a descent hood is to raise the device (phone or tablet) above the controller with a MavMount or similar and get proper full sized hood. Saying that I use a Mavmount and a simple anti-glare screen protectors on my iPad Mini and Tab S2 so never had the need to even consider a shade.

joet · Feb 7, 2017

spiderpig said:
So looking at amazon I found a battery, a regulator to keep the solar from over charging, and a meter for 28. Looking at solar panels now. What kind of wattage should I look for? If we want to keep this build under 50 or maybe 100? Given that we're at the field about 2-3 each time.

The largest size you can afford and want to carry. You can never have too much output capacity. Just make sure that the charge controller will handle it's max output.

What battery did you find?

spiderpig · Feb 7, 2017

Was looking at this one:
Amazon.com: ExpertPower EXP12180 12 Volt 18 Ah Rechargeable Battery with Nuts and Bolts: Automotive

Highly rated. Was going to hook it up to this:
Amazon.com : Docooler 20A 12V/24V Solar Charge Controller Solar Panel Battery Regulator Safe Protection : Patio, Lawn & Garden

To regulate it. Use this to monitor it:
Amazon.com: GEREE Waterproof LED Digital Voltmeter 0.40'' DC 3-30V Voltage Meter Gauge Panel 12V/24V Volt Tester Power Monitor with 2 Wires Blue Digital Display for Solar Panel Car Auto Battery Monitoring: Musical Instruments

Still trying to find a suitable solar power now. Most 100watt ones are way too expensive. Trying to keep the whole project under 100 to compare it with the current system I have now. Although the current system, while heavy, still has AC and DC. This will really only have DC unless we add an inverter to it. Also would like to make this all fit in a small bag I could hook up to my camera bag via hook.

joet · Feb 7, 2017

spiderpig said:
Was looking at this one:
Amazon.com: ExpertPower EXP12180 12 Volt 18 Ah Rechargeable Battery with Nuts and Bolts: Automotive

Highly rated. Was going to hook it up to this:
Amazon.com : Docooler 20A 12V/24V Solar Charge Controller Solar Panel Battery Regulator Safe Protection : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Those both look good.

spiderpig said:
Use this to monitor it:
Amazon.com: GEREE Waterproof LED Digital Voltmeter 0.40'' DC 3-30V Voltage Meter Gauge Panel 12V/24V Volt Tester Power Monitor with 2 Wires Blue Digital Display for Solar Panel Car Auto Battery Monitoring: Musical Instruments

I'd go with this:

Amazon.com: DROK Digital Current Tester Multimeter DC 100V Volt 2A Ampere Battery Monitor Gauge 2in1 Red/Blue 2-color LED Display Car Automotive 12V 24V Built-in Shunt: Industrial & Scientific

You want to see how many amps are being put back into the battery. That is more telling than the voltage alone.

If you get serious about this, I'll point you towards what I do - along with the connectors, crimper, power distribution, etc. More of an investment, but perhaps a wise one.

spiderpig said:
Still trying to find a suitable solar power now. Most 100watt ones are way too expensive. Trying to keep the whole project under 100 to compare it with the current system I have now. Although the current system, while heavy, still has AC and DC. This will really only have DC unless we add an inverter to it. Also would like to make this all fit in a small bag I could hook up to my camera bag via hook.

Well, the good news is that you can always wire multiple panels in parallel as your needs grow and you buy more.

spiderpig · Feb 8, 2017

joet said:
Those both look good.

I'd go with this:

Amazon.com: DROK Digital Current Tester Multimeter DC 100V Volt 2A Ampere Battery Monitor Gauge 2in1 Red/Blue 2-color LED Display Car Automotive 12V 24V Built-in Shunt: Industrial & Scientific

You want to see how many amps are being put back into the battery. That is more telling than the voltage alone.

If you get serious about this, I'll point you towards what I do - along with the connectors, crimper, power distribution, etc. More of an investment, but perhaps a wise one.

Well, the good news is that you can always wire multiple panels in parallel as your needs grow and you buy more.

Would like to see what you do, and how portable is it, since the point is to be able to bring something to the field to use on flight days.

joet · Feb 8, 2017

spiderpig said:
Would like to see what you do, and how portable is it, since the point is to be able to bring something to the field to use on flight days.

OK. Will take a while for me to post it as I am out of town for the week.

jerry2032 · Feb 8, 2017

What about this: SunJack 45000mAh Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank (5V/12V/16V/20V) for Laptops, Tablets, Smartphones Amazon.com: SunJack 45000mAh Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank (5V/12V/16V/20V) for Laptops, Tablets, Smartphones: Cell Phones & Accessories

With this: ARECORD USB A Male to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Female Converter Amazon.com: ARECORD USB A Male to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Female Converter: Car Electronics

and the use your DJI car adapter cord.

I read that the Mavic battery is around 3800 mAh which would give you around 10 charges.

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joet · Feb 8, 2017

jerry2032 said:
What about this: SunJack 45000mAh Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank (5V/12V/16V/20V) for Laptops, Tablets, Smartphones Amazon.com: SunJack 45000mAh Portable Charger External Battery Power Bank (5V/12V/16V/20V) for Laptops, Tablets, Smartphones: Cell Phones & Accessories

With this: ARECORD USB A Male to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Female Converter Amazon.com: ARECORD USB A Male to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket Female Converter: Car Electronics

and the use your DJI car adapter cord.

I read that the Mavic battery is around 3800 mAh which would give you around 10 charges.

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It's not that simple. To upconvert 5V to 12V, you'll lose a lot in the transfer (so less charges) and you'll assuredly draw way more power than the 2.1a it is rated to provide at 12v. Even at 12v, it only provides 3a - which is insufficient as well.

And - just saying - $79 buys you a LOT of 12v gel-cell capacity.

Next, the USB to 12v adapter you cite is rated for 0.8a output at 12V - definitely not going to get you there. If you didn't blow a fuse, it would charge so slowly that you might as well order a Mavic battery and have it shipped to you.

jerry2032 · Feb 8, 2017

joet said:
It's not that simple. To upconvert 5V to 12V, you'll lose a lot in the transfer (so less charges) and you'll assuredly draw way more power than the 2.1a it is rated to provide at 12v. Even at 12v, it only provides 3a - which is insufficient as well.

And - just saying - $79 buys you a LOT of 12v gel-cell capacity.

Next, the USB to 12v adapter you cite is rated for 0.8a output at 12V - definitely not going to get you there. If you didn't blow a fuse, it would charge so slowly that you might as well order a Mavic battery and have it shipped to you.

Well transporting a heavy battery from Utah to Hawaii is impractical so back to the drawing board.

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joet · Feb 8, 2017

jerry2032 said:
Well transporting a heavy battery from Utah to Hawaii is impractical so back to the drawing board.

Flying? If so, you're limited anyway to a 12v 8AH lithium battery by FAA regs. Even a 5v battery can only be 20AH, and the one you proposed is apparently 45AH. Some airlines will allow up to 1 or 2 160WH batteries - 13.3AH at 12v and 32A at 5v.

Pack Safe – Lithium ion and lithium metal batteries, spare (uninstalled)

jerry2032 · Feb 8, 2017

joet said:
Flying? If so, you're limited anyway to a 12v 8AH lithium battery by FAA regs. Even a 5v battery can only be 20AH, and the one you proposed is apparently 45AH. Some airlines will allow up to 1 or 2 160WH batteries - 13.3AH at 12v and 32A at 5v.

Pack Safe – Lithium ion and lithium metal batteries, spare (uninstalled)

I just grabbed the highest mAh power bank I found on the first search page off of Amazon and since it didn't have a car socket grabbed the adapter. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into the exact components but was hoping it would spur some thought. I own a nice GoalZero that would provide a view charges but I'm hoping to find a portable battery bank that would meet the output capability of the car charger cable and be reasonably portable.

Are you saying the FAA limits you to an 8000 mAh battery even in checked luggage?

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joet · Feb 8, 2017

jerry2032 said:
Are you saying the FAA limits you to an 8000 mAh battery even in checked luggage?

Spare lithium batteries cannot be in checked bags whatsoever.

I recommend a read of the link I posted above.

jerry2032 · Feb 8, 2017

joet said:
Spare lithium batteries cannot be in checked bags whatsoever.

I recommend a read of the link I posted above.

I read the link. The maximum battery size is 160 (of which you can carry 2) watt-hour batteries which calculates to just over 13000 mAh at 12vdc.

AVsupport · Feb 24, 2017

has anyone of you gent yet successfully overcome the 12V low voltage cutoff? seems to be the biggest hurdle when wanting to use standalone 12V lead-acid based high capacity batts... looked in some other threads,..