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DIY: Battery for long shots
  • 104 Replies sorted by
  • tommyptommyp

    @flaschus Huh yeah I guess voltage spikes like @feha said. I dunno. Again I am the farthest thing from an electrician. I just have wired up some RC stuff in the past. Did the camera die right on a fresh battery? Because the lipos usually have higher voltage when just charged then settle down after a little bit.

  • flaschusflaschus

    @tommyp @feha

    yeah plugged that rig up and nothing, no lights no nothing, then when i tryed to put original pana. battery back in; nothing...$375 for the fix from panasonic

  • yeehaanowyeehaanow

    @flascgus Looks like you have the right voltage. Nimh or Nicad are 1.2v/cell and you have 7 there, making 8.4v. The only thing I can think of is if it was reversed polarity. Did you check it with a meter?

    I've built these before and always use the Castle Creations 20a bec. Had one plugged into the wall (via wall wart 12 v AC-DC converter) for 3-4 weeks straight doing timelapse shots. They also work well from any battery with a voltage above the target voltage. You do have to have a little usb device to set the voltage though. (castle link software for PC only)

    Caution should be taken with Lipos. They have been known to burn houses down. If you accidentally puncture it, it will pretty much become a fireball. Same thing if you charge it the wrong way. You need a balance charger. Care also needs to be taken to not discharge them below 80% of their mAh capacity, or about 3.8v per cell or they will have a very short life.
    For this application it would be good to get ones that come in a hard case, meant for RC cars.

  • fehafeha

    Here comes my tutorial about building your power system before connecting to any battery.

  • ChainsawFilmsChainsawFilms

    @feha thanks for getting the tutorial sorted :)

  • chrimsbroomechrimsbroome

    @feha, very interesting- How much does all this cost, It would be interesting to use a 12v nimh battery pack to power the camera. Allowing longer use out of it.

  • fehafeha

    @chrimsbroome

    The list of links is on youtube video description ... The cost depends from what components you want to buy ... minimum: Step Up Step Down Voltage Module - about 8 GBP , 10pcs 5.5mm X 2.5mm DC Power Supply Metal Jack Socket - about 10 GBP and some wires , the alu box - about 12 GBP For the more advanced version the cost is a bit more, but still affordable ...

  • chrimsbroomechrimsbroome

    @feha, its an intersting idea were you could have a big battery and drop the voltage so its par with the camera.

  • tommyptommyp

    Just received my 9v UBEC and wired it up. I have a voltage display somewhere I have to wire in but the UBEC puts out a super stable 9v and the camera works perfectly.

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  • itimjimitimjim

    @tommyp I bet that was a twitchy arse moment :-D

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    Would this battery be a good possibility? I like the size...

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/6400mAh-Rechargeable-8-4V-Battery-P7-XM-L-T6-LED-Bicycle-bike-HeadLight-Headlamp-/250907264154?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC.NPJS%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D170710221252%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7690970456910103103#ht_4297wt_952

  • tommyptommyp

    @itimjim yeah I was somewhat worried until I tested the output from the UBEC and it didn't waver even the slightest bit. Real solid little part.

  • tommyptommyp

    Ran that setup today for about 3 hours. Worked well but the only thing that was interesting was that if the battery was plugged in but the camera not on the UBEC got pretty warm. So I am thinking it needs a switch or something to keep current from the UBEC when the camera is off but the battery is plugged it.

  • chrimsbroomechrimsbroome

    @rockroadpix, this an interesting battery that I have come across before. I might look into it to see if its a good stable voltage for the GH2. Might be the best battery yet.

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    It doesn't suck that it has or can have the little velcro bag ...might be good for putting on the rods.

  • fehafeha

    @rockroadpix just to let you know the 8.4v can be to little for GH2, count with voltage drop, than it may show the message powering error, when you press record. I practice to use 8.6 v ...

  • rockroadpixrockroadpix

    @feha , thanks for the tip!

  • chrimsbroomechrimsbroome

    @feha, thats sounds about right, long live the battery packs of dry cell lol

  • Mike_CMike_C

    So shall we dismiss such alluring battery pack?

  • tommyptommyp

    I would try for something with slightly higher voltage and then use some sort of stabilizer to get the 9v you need. I am thinking about this one for my next battery http://www.hobbypartz.com/77p-sl4000-3s1p-40c-3333-hardcase.html and using a 9v ubec to step the voltage down. Trying to find a cheap battery buzzer/light so that I can mount it to keep track of the voltage. I have a cheap one that goes on the balance tap but it is kinda annoying and don't think I want it on my rig permanently.

  • Mike_CMike_C

    But if I want to use the 8.4v 6400 mA battery and the 3.5-28V to 1.25-26V DC-DC Converter Boost Buck Step Up Step Down Voltage Module, shouldn't such module guarantee that the voltage does NOT drop?

  • tommyptommyp

    Yeah that should work I don't really know enough about Boost Bucks. I was under the impression that it is more efficient to just step down voltage than step up. But I really don't know enough about it to know if it even makes any difference in real world battery performance.

  • Mike_CMike_C

    Well I took the plunge and ordered both. It'll take almost a month to get them, but I'll report as soon as I test them.

  • NURBSNURBS

    I'm just did modding for my "Lilliput" monitor battery (it have LED indication). And now I have long life battery on GH2.

    GH2_Rig_powering.jpg
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  • SangyeSangye

    @NURBS Nice setup. What cage arm is that? And where did you get the battery? When I bought my Lilliput, it came with a smaller battery, which didn't have any 1/8" mounting options.

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