Long lasting batteries

Andreas Winkler · August 17th, 2004, 09:53 PM

OK, I will. Let's see when I find enough time to build this thing and test it sufficiently.

Allan Rejoso · August 17th, 2004, 10:06 PM

Use the supplied DC cord. Convert the connector on the DIY pack to fit the plug of the DC cord

But if I were you Andreas, I'd save all the trouble and just buy those equivalent batts from HK or Malaysia (sabahoceanic.com) or ebay. They're priced half that of genuine Pany batt. and supposed to have cells that are made in Japan (case is probably from Timbuktu - but at least they look like the real thing). Buying 2 of those equivalent 2040mAh plus the genuine 1360 mAH that comes with the cam should be more than sufficient for most of your applications.

But even assuming the voltage output of the DIY pack can actually meet the tolerance required, I can't imagine myself carrying that COOLEST looking cam in the world with cords dangling from a DIY battery pack? No offense meant ok...just my 20 yen. Good luck to you anyway :-)

Andreas Winkler · August 17th, 2004, 10:41 PM

I just took a look at sabahoceanic.com. 63US$ (plus shipping) for a 2040mAh battery!? Did I see this right?? This is the half price of an original Panasonic battery? Wow... In my local shop I pay something like 40US$ for a 2040-Battery.
I ordered one pack already and will probably get it today.
A DIY pack with 12 Panasonic 2100mAh AA cells (so total 4200mAh) would cost me about the same. I think I'll try to build it anyway if I find some time. And as I got a cute small backpack for my GS400 I can hide the ugly self made pack there! ;)

Andreas Winkler · August 17th, 2004, 10:53 PM

Btw. another advantage of the DIY pack is that I could replace the cells with normal AA (non-rechargable) batteries if I go to travel on my scooter with my tent for some days and have no place to recharge. 7eleven is almost everywhere! :)
Or is this not such a good idea, because the voltage would be higher (1.2V -> 1.5V)!? Maybe just "short-circuit" one cell compartment with a wire in that case to get 7.5V (5x1.5V)?! Hm...

Allan Rejoso · August 17th, 2004, 11:33 PM

Yes Andreas, the VBD210 (2040 mAh) costs JPY14,280 (list price JPY17,000) in Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, Sakuraya and in most big retailers in Japan. Crazy ne to think these batts travelled only inland from the factory to the stores. Apparently, batts are cheaper in N.A. than Japan. But you can get a 2040 mAH batt for $40 in Taiwan ? WOW!!!!

Tony Leung · August 17th, 2004, 11:56 PM

US$40 for 2040mA lithium battery is really cheap. I guess the price of 3rd party battery in HK still require around US$60-70.

Andreas Winkler · August 18th, 2004, 12:29 AM

Hm, I even saw some 3rd party 2040mAh packs on Yahoo Taiwan auctions for around 1100NT$, that's equal to 32US$ or about 3500Yen. But I don't know if they are really comparable quality to the original.

John Uchida · August 18th, 2004, 11:21 PM

Quote:

5500mAH : 3 hours 20 mins

Is that the waistpack battery? That doesn't seem like a very long life :-(. Doesn't Sony have some that are rated 8 or 10+ hours?

I've been attending an event every year where there are 7+ hours of events and no electrical outlets available.

Andreas Winkler · August 19th, 2004, 03:47 AM

Well guys, I've built it last night! ...and that was a hell of a night!! But the result seems quite satisfying!

OK, let's see what I bought...
- 12 pieces 2200mAh rechargable NIMH batteries (although not Panasonic as I said earlier) - 810NT$
- 4 battery compartments, each for 3 pieces - 40NT$
- a power socket, where I had to replace the inner 2.1mm stick with a 2.0 stick, because the Panasonic power adaptor uses a strange format (2.1mm did fit, but got no contact) - 17NT$
...so that's a total of 867NT$

I also bought a voltage meter which I don't use so far - 120NT$. Should have bought a digital one, that's much smaller... hmm

Here is a picture of this stuff.

First I dismantled the small ON/OFF switches from the four incredibly cheap compartments. Then I made the compartments stick together with my soldering iron (brutal way, I know), connected the needed wires and... ended up with a short-circuit. I was confused and disassembled some parts. After a while I found a squeezed wire with broken isolation. I fixed this and tried to plug in the original power adaptor's camera connector cable, but it hardly fit into my pack's outlet and got no electric contact. So I exchanged the inner stick of the outlet. Then it was ok. ...meanwhile it was 3:30AM! Hmm, still 3 and a half hours to sleep... wow, I must have looked terrible this morning at work, but a double-dose-caffeine coffee kept me awake.

Now check the result here, here and here.

The camcorder works without any problems with the new pack. I'm just curious what will happen when the pack runs out of power!? Will the cam suddenly turn off without warning, or indicate low battery power on the LCD top left? Actually that's why I bought the voltage meter. The power cord from the original AC/DC adapter seems to have only two pins connected, instead of all four like a normal battery pack. I think the two additional pins are for the cam to check the voltage, right!?

So I'll do some testing about the possible operating time, probably on the weekend.

Oh and I also got my other 3rd party battery pack. It's 2100mAh and shows "Made in Japan". See the photos here and here. I paid 1500NT$ (44US$) for this one at my local store.

btw. all photos were taken with my PV-GS400 ;)

Andreas Winkler · August 26th, 2004, 02:19 AM

FYI, yesterday the "big block" ran out of power. The GS400 indicated "Battery low" just like using a normal on-cam battery and turned off smoothly after several blinking action, not totally abrupt. Anyway, if I remember right, the battery indicator on the LCD display did not go down step by step.
I had no time so far to test the battery life continously.

Tony Leung · August 26th, 2004, 02:43 AM

Hi Andreas,

You bought battery compartment for 6AA or 3AA? If it is 6AA, it should be 7.2V just fit for GS400. And then you connected 4 of them together, then the utlimate power should be 2200mAH@7.2V*4 i.e. 8800mAH, a very long lasting battery!

Have you count the operating time can be used for your big pack?

Andreas Winkler · August 26th, 2004, 09:24 AM

No Tony, I have bought 4 battery compartments, each for 3 batteries. Yes, 6 batteries (or 2 compartments) deliver 7.2V. So it's 2 x 2200mAh ...12 batteries ...4400mAh total. This system is quite modular, so I still can extend it to 24 batteries with 8800mAh later! ;) But for now it's also running well when only 6 batteries are inserted in 2 compartments.
I had not much time to test the maximum operating time yet, but I'll try to do this soon when these stupid typhoons here are gone!

Allan Rejoso · August 26th, 2004, 06:07 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by John Uchida : Is that the waistpack battery? That doesn't seem like a very long life :-(. Doesn't Sony have some that are rated 8 or 10+ hours?

Given ratings of VDB7 (5500 mAh) when used on a GS400:

Continuous shooting w/o LCD: 8 hours 15 mins
Continuous shooting w/ LCD: 6 hours 35 mins
Intermittent shooting w/o LCD: 4 hours 10 mins
Intermittent shootingw/LCD: 3 hours 20 mins

Perhaps the Sony 8-hours packs will have similar ratings.

Phil Diaz · August 30th, 2004, 04:58 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by John Uchida : Is that the waistpack battery? That doesn't seem like a very long life :-(. Doesn't Sony have some that are rated 8 or 10+ hours?
-->>>

Is it true that the waistpack battery will not work on US bought GS400 model?

I'm quite interested on the GS400. I do like the black, only Japan release model. I would like to know my options.

-Philip

Leigh Wanstead · October 1st, 2004, 01:57 PM

Has anyone use motorcycle battery 12v with a voltage converter i.e. 7805 to convert voltage from 12v to 7v? Will flash current damage to camcord? How to prevent it?

I know the battery is really heavy and I got one. But it is really powerful.

Regards
Leigh

August 17th, 2004, 11:56 PM	#21
Tony Leung Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 46	US$40 for 2040mA lithium battery is really cheap. I guess the price of 3rd party battery in HK still require around US$60-70. __________________ Travel Photos - http://www.fotop.net/hktraveller Traveller Diary - http://hktraveller.blogspot.com

August 19th, 2004, 03:47 AM	#24
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	self made 7.2V-4400mAh battery pack - 867NT$ (about 25US$) Well guys, I've built it last night! ...and that was a hell of a night!! But the result seems quite satisfying! OK, let's see what I bought... - 12 pieces 2200mAh rechargable NIMH batteries (although not Panasonic as I said earlier) - 810NT$ - 4 battery compartments, each for 3 pieces - 40NT$ - a power socket, where I had to replace the inner 2.1mm stick with a 2.0 stick, because the Panasonic power adaptor uses a strange format (2.1mm did fit, but got no contact) - 17NT$ ...so that's a total of 867NT$ I also bought a voltage meter which I don't use so far - 120NT$. Should have bought a digital one, that's much smaller... hmm Here is a picture of this stuff. First I dismantled the small ON/OFF switches from the four incredibly cheap compartments. Then I made the compartments stick together with my soldering iron (brutal way, I know), connected the needed wires and... ended up with a short-circuit. I was confused and disassembled some parts. After a while I found a squeezed wire with broken isolation. I fixed this and tried to plug in the original power adaptor's camera connector cable, but it hardly fit into my pack's outlet and got no electric contact. So I exchanged the inner stick of the outlet. Then it was ok. ...meanwhile it was 3:30AM! Hmm, still 3 and a half hours to sleep... wow, I must have looked terrible this morning at work, but a double-dose-caffeine coffee kept me awake. Now check the result here, here and here. The camcorder works without any problems with the new pack. I'm just curious what will happen when the pack runs out of power!? Will the cam suddenly turn off without warning, or indicate low battery power on the LCD top left? Actually that's why I bought the voltage meter. The power cord from the original AC/DC adapter seems to have only two pins connected, instead of all four like a normal battery pack. I think the two additional pins are for the cam to check the voltage, right!? So I'll do some testing about the possible operating time, probably on the weekend. Oh and I also got my other 3rd party battery pack. It's 2100mAh and shows "Made in Japan". See the photos here and here. I paid 1500NT$ (44US$) for this one at my local store. btw. all photos were taken with my PV-GS400 ;)

August 26th, 2004, 02:43 AM	#26
Tony Leung Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 46	Hi Andreas, You bought battery compartment for 6AA or 3AA? If it is 6AA, it should be 7.2V just fit for GS400. And then you connected 4 of them together, then the utlimate power should be 2200mAH@7.2V*4 i.e. 8800mAH, a very long lasting battery! Have you count the operating time can be used for your big pack? __________________ Travel Photos - http://www.fotop.net/hktraveller Traveller Diary - http://hktraveller.blogspot.com

August 17th, 2004, 09:53 PM	#16
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	OK, I will. Let's see when I find enough time to build this thing and test it sufficiently.

August 17th, 2004, 10:06 PM	#17
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	Use the supplied DC cord. Convert the connector on the DIY pack to fit the plug of the DC cord But if I were you Andreas, I'd save all the trouble and just buy those equivalent batts from HK or Malaysia (sabahoceanic.com) or ebay. They're priced half that of genuine Pany batt. and supposed to have cells that are made in Japan (case is probably from Timbuktu - but at least they look like the real thing). Buying 2 of those equivalent 2040mAh plus the genuine 1360 mAH that comes with the cam should be more than sufficient for most of your applications. But even assuming the voltage output of the DIY pack can actually meet the tolerance required, I can't imagine myself carrying that COOLEST looking cam in the world with cords dangling from a DIY battery pack? No offense meant ok...just my 20 yen. Good luck to you anyway :-)

August 17th, 2004, 10:41 PM	#18
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	I just took a look at sabahoceanic.com. 63US$ (plus shipping) for a 2040mAh battery!? Did I see this right?? This is the half price of an original Panasonic battery? Wow... In my local shop I pay something like 40US$ for a 2040-Battery. I ordered one pack already and will probably get it today. A DIY pack with 12 Panasonic 2100mAh AA cells (so total 4200mAh) would cost me about the same. I think I'll try to build it anyway if I find some time. And as I got a cute small backpack for my GS400 I can hide the ugly self made pack there! ;)

August 17th, 2004, 10:53 PM	#19
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Btw. another advantage of the DIY pack is that I could replace the cells with normal AA (non-rechargable) batteries if I go to travel on my scooter with my tent for some days and have no place to recharge. 7eleven is almost everywhere! :) Or is this not such a good idea, because the voltage would be higher (1.2V -> 1.5V)!? Maybe just "short-circuit" one cell compartment with a wire in that case to get 7.5V (5x1.5V)?! Hm...

August 17th, 2004, 11:33 PM	#20
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	Yes Andreas, the VBD210 (2040 mAh) costs JPY14,280 (list price JPY17,000) in Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, Sakuraya and in most big retailers in Japan. Crazy ne to think these batts travelled only inland from the factory to the stores. Apparently, batts are cheaper in N.A. than Japan. But you can get a 2040 mAH batt for $40 in Taiwan ? WOW!!!!

August 18th, 2004, 12:29 AM	#22
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	Hm, I even saw some 3rd party 2040mAh packs on Yahoo Taiwan auctions for around 1100NT$, that's equal to 32US$ or about 3500Yen. But I don't know if they are really comparable quality to the original.

August 26th, 2004, 02:19 AM	#25
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	FYI, yesterday the "big block" ran out of power. The GS400 indicated "Battery low" just like using a normal on-cam battery and turned off smoothly after several blinking action, not totally abrupt. Anyway, if I remember right, the battery indicator on the LCD display did not go down step by step. I had no time so far to test the battery life continously.

August 26th, 2004, 09:24 AM	#27
Andreas Winkler Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kaohsiung, Taiwan Posts: 125	No Tony, I have bought 4 battery compartments, each for 3 batteries. Yes, 6 batteries (or 2 compartments) deliver 7.2V. So it's 2 x 2200mAh ...12 batteries ...4400mAh total. This system is quite modular, so I still can extend it to 24 batteries with 8800mAh later! ;) But for now it's also running well when only 6 batteries are inserted in 2 compartments. I had not much time to test the maximum operating time yet, but I'll try to do this soon when these stupid typhoons here are gone!

August 26th, 2004, 06:07 PM	#28
Allan Rejoso Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 569	<<<-- Originally posted by John Uchida : Is that the waistpack battery? That doesn't seem like a very long life :-(. Doesn't Sony have some that are rated 8 or 10+ hours? Given ratings of VDB7 (5500 mAh) when used on a GS400: Continuous shooting w/o LCD: 8 hours 15 mins Continuous shooting w/ LCD: 6 hours 35 mins Intermittent shooting w/o LCD: 4 hours 10 mins Intermittent shootingw/LCD: 3 hours 20 mins Perhaps the Sony 8-hours packs will have similar ratings.

August 30th, 2004, 04:58 PM	#29
Phil Diaz Tourist Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 1	<<<-- Originally posted by John Uchida : Is that the waistpack battery? That doesn't seem like a very long life :-(. Doesn't Sony have some that are rated 8 or 10+ hours? -->>> Is it true that the waistpack battery will not work on US bought GS400 model? I'm quite interested on the GS400. I do like the black, only Japan release model. I would like to know my options. -Philip

October 1st, 2004, 01:57 PM	#30
Leigh Wanstead Trustee Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NZ Posts: 1,276	Has anyone use motorcycle battery 12v with a voltage converter i.e. 7805 to convert voltage from 12v to 7v? Will flash current damage to camcord? How to prevent it? I know the battery is really heavy and I got one. But it is really powerful. Regards Leigh