Remote Power Source for GL-2

Don Palomaki · October 28th, 2006, 05:25 AM

Their posted prices seem remarkable. Who all has bought from them? With what results?

Dan Keaton · October 28th, 2006, 07:56 AM

I have some of the Power101 chargers, some for Canon BP-945 type batteries, and some for the Sony batteries.

The all work fine.

The seem to have a smart charger electronics chip in them to ensure that they charge the Lithium-Ion batteries properly.

I have not run any exhaustive
tests, but they seem to charge the batteries properly.

I do trust the Canon chargers more than the Power101's, but this is pure prejedice against something that only costs $10 or less without any basis for the prejedice. So, whenever I have the time to charge the batteries using my Canon chargers, I do. I use the the low cost chargers when I have to charge a lot of batteries in a limited amount of time.

With the Canon chargers, the battery locks into place in the charger. In the Power101 chargers, the battery slides into place, but there is no locking mechanism. This has not been a problem.

The top of the battery charger does get warm, but this is not a problem either. This heat does not seem to be transferred to the battery as the heat is not under the battery area.

The LED on the charger flashes while charging, and turns solid green when finished.

The specifications state that the charging current is 500 +- 50ma.

Alex Dolgin · October 28th, 2006, 09:00 AM

There are 2 most important parameters in a Li-Ion battery charger. Charge current and voltage accuracy. This chemistry requires the charge voltage to be within 0.5% of the target of 4.2V per cell. Even slight overvoltage of 1-2% damages the cells, reducing their cycle life. Undervoltage does not charge them fully. -1% causes -10% undercharge. Without testing it is hard to say how accurate the above mentioned charger is.
Small charge current results in slow charge time. As a point of reference, most brand name chargers send about 1-1.2A into a battery, so a 3,000 maH battery would be charged in about 3-4 hours. Obviously, if a charger is capable of only 500ma, the time to charge would double.

Rob Anderson · October 30th, 2006, 12:11 PM

Thanks for all the discussion, guys.
The SIMA SUP-2 seems to be discontinued, but I also noticed it lacks a 7.2v output setting which the GL2 requires. (Has 6.5v, 8.4v plus others). Not sure if I could use 6.5 and it would just take longer to charge.

I tried to e-mail Alex and message was returnedunsent, plus I can't get into his website from this computer for some reason.

I will be in a wilderness setting with no car access, just a 12-v battery. Sounds like Alex' charger would do it. I guess a 12-v car battery would last a while since I would not be filming a lot. Would use it just for charging BP-945 batteries.

Dan Keaton · October 30th, 2006, 12:18 PM

I have tried the Dolgin website and it works for me.

His units seem to be very well designed. A lot better than the under $10 units that I mentioned.

The only advantage of the under $10 units is that they are very light.

If you are just going to have a car battery to charge your Canon batteries, consider getting a solar panel kit to keep you car battery charged. This is easy to find.

Rob Anderson · October 30th, 2006, 12:29 PM

Dan,
I keep striking out trying to find a solar charging panel. Although I
recently ran into a wildlife videographer who has used one. But he didn't
tell me where he got it - a custom job for him apparently.

Rob Anderson · October 30th, 2006, 12:33 PM

Sorry, I have seen the car battery solar panels. My concern remains
charging the 945s from the battery. Looks like the Dolgin product or something from Radio Shack will do it.

Alex Dolgin · October 30th, 2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Anderson

Thanks for all the discussion, guys.
The SIMA SUP-2 seems to be discontinued, but I also noticed it lacks a 7.2v output setting which the GL2 requires. (Has 6.5v, 8.4v plus others). Not sure if I could use 6.5 and it would just take longer to charge.

I tried to e-mail Alex and message was returnedunsent, plus I can't get into his website from this computer for some reason.

I will be in a wilderness setting with no car access, just a 12-v battery. Sounds like Alex' charger would do it. I guess a 12-v car battery would last a while since I would not be filming a lot. Would use it just for charging BP-945 batteries.

Rob, try a different address if need to reach us dolgin_eng@yahoo.com
We just introduced a smaller portable 2 position charger, it also takes 12V in in addition to AC. There is a DVXuser member who recently reported using our charger with a solar panel power source, he was in the wilderness for 30 days. His name is Gary Tompkins. If you need to get his advise on solar power, I can ask for his permission to share his email.
Alex Dolgin

Dan Keaton · October 30th, 2006, 02:53 PM

Here is one source for a rollable (can be rolled up to minimize space) solar cell for charging batteries.

http://store.sundancesolar.com/poror110waso.html

Harbor Freight also has some solar cells.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94543

If you are going to be in the wilderness for some time, I would buy items of a known quality.

Also, I would check out various battery technologies. In our Top Alcohol Drag boat, we used some high technology lead acid batteries which were very light but extremely rugged and powerful. I assume that weight may be an issue for you. These batteries keep their charge for a long time.

If you are interested, I will research the brand name. If I remember correctly, they cost about $100 apiece. We used 4 of them to power a DC-9 Jet Engine starter, which we used to start our 3,000 hp hemi blown alcohol engine.

Is someone going to drive you to the wilderness location and then leave you?
Or will you have to backpack in?

Rob Anderson · October 30th, 2006, 03:32 PM

I'll be traveling by kayak/canoe to a remote base camp for two weeks. I'm planning to simply carry a car battery with me for recharging. I don't believe the high end kind you mention, Dan, is necessary. I'll not be taping constantly, just waiting for rare events, so I've planned 4-5 batteries for extended shooting if necessary. Just need a way to recharge. Sounds like Alex's unit or something similar will do. Would be nice to be able to recharge directly from a foldable (lightweight) solar panel - that would be first choice and avoid the 12-v battery weight.

Rob

Dan Keaton · October 30th, 2006, 04:03 PM

If I was going by Kayak or Canon, I would want to minimize my weight.

I would take 5 fully charged batteries. The Canon BP-950g and BP-970g batteries are great, but expensive. Other Canon type batteries also work.

I would take two or three of the power101 chargers and a rollup solar charger. The Power101 charger can take up to 24 volts for input.

Yes, you will have limited current to charge your batteries and yes it will take a while to charge them, but this will be very lightweight. These only weigh a few ounces. And you can put them in Ziplock freezer bags to keep them dry. I would double bag them.

You can easily test all of this before you leave on your trip.

I would also check on how much sunlight you can expect per day.

Once upon a time I was planning a trip to New Zealand. I was amazed to learn that they have only about 3 hours of sun per day during some months!

Harold Schreiber · October 30th, 2006, 04:37 PM

Hi Rob,

You are correct that the SIMA SUP-2 does not put out the 7.2V that the Batteries do. My Sonys all use the same 7.2V batteries also, but the Sony Electric Power Packs put out 8.4V. Hence I use the 8.4V output on the SIMA unit. Has worked fine for years now.

I'm guessing that you Canon's Electric Power Pack also puts out 8.4V ??

I seem to find the SIMA's for sale on the internet, although I haven't looked in a store lately.

I also use some small AMG 12V Batteries (2-7ah's & 1- 12ah) to power up my Cams and LCD Monitors for extended time shoots. They could also be used to charge up your Canon Batteries.

They are much easier to tote around than the car or RV batteries, although I use RV batteries to power up my VCR's if putting out tapes at Horse Shows in the field.

Harold

Dan Keaton · October 30th, 2006, 07:29 PM

The Canon CA-910A battery charger/power supply puts out 6.0 volts when the DC power adapter (cord from the power supply to the camera) is plugged in.

It puts out a higher voltage, 8.4 volts, when used as a battery charger.

The Canon CA-920 battery charger/power supply (for the XL H1) puts out 7.2 volts in power supply mode, and 8.4 volts in battery charger mode.

Rob:

I know you are not in the market for a high-tech battery, but it anyone else is interested, we used the Odyssey battery in our dragboat. These are amazing batteries and will keep a charge for 2 years and can be fully-discharged and recharged 400 times. A normal lead-acid battery can not stand up to this type of abuse. They also have very high, short term cranking power. The battery we used put out 1800 amps, at 12 volts for 5 seconds! They do require a high-tech battery charger to charge them properly.

At the end of one season, we put the boat away, and at the start of the next seaon we just started the engine without a battery recharge. Our starter motor, out of a DC-9 jet engine, requires a lot of current. A normal battery would not have done this!

I only bring this up since someone, in a remote location, may occasionally need to charge a lithium-ion battery. These would be wonderful in that situation as they are small, light, and keep a charge for a long time.

Greg Gerber · October 30th, 2006, 09:19 PM

Solar, powerfilm, PT15-300, 15.4V, 200MA, Weatherpro Series, 270mmX could be used to charge a 4 or 7 Ah 12v gel cell that could in turn be used on a 12v camcorder battery charger.

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/sto...egoryId=702040

Rob Anderson · October 31st, 2006, 02:50 PM

These folks http://store.sundancesolar.com/cabach.html tell me I can
charge the BP-945s directly from a solar panel, presumably using the Canon cigarette lighter adapter (they weren't specific about this) or perhaps Alex's adapter. This avoids the heavy 12v car battery. Fast recharge is not critical for what I'm doing.

I'm still not certain this really solves everything. I'm told to describe the batteries I'm using when buying the solar panel. Seems right question is to describe the adapter/charger holding the batteries. Sorry I don't speak electronese.
Rob

October 28th, 2006, 05:25 AM	#16
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Their posted prices seem remarkable. Who all has bought from them? With what results? __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

October 28th, 2006, 07:56 AM	#17
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	I have some of the Power101 chargers, some for Canon BP-945 type batteries, and some for the Sony batteries. The all work fine. The seem to have a smart charger electronics chip in them to ensure that they charge the Lithium-Ion batteries properly. I have not run any exhaustive tests, but they seem to charge the batteries properly. I do trust the Canon chargers more than the Power101's, but this is pure prejedice against something that only costs $10 or less without any basis for the prejedice. So, whenever I have the time to charge the batteries using my Canon chargers, I do. I use the the low cost chargers when I have to charge a lot of batteries in a limited amount of time. With the Canon chargers, the battery locks into place in the charger. In the Power101 chargers, the battery slides into place, but there is no locking mechanism. This has not been a problem. The top of the battery charger does get warm, but this is not a problem either. This heat does not seem to be transferred to the battery as the heat is not under the battery area. The LED on the charger flashes while charging, and turns solid green when finished. The specifications state that the charging current is 500 +- 50ma. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 28th, 2006, 09:00 AM	#18
Alex Dolgin Contributor Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Lexington, Ma Posts: 286	There are 2 most important parameters in a Li-Ion battery charger. Charge current and voltage accuracy. This chemistry requires the charge voltage to be within 0.5% of the target of 4.2V per cell. Even slight overvoltage of 1-2% damages the cells, reducing their cycle life. Undervoltage does not charge them fully. -1% causes -10% undercharge. Without testing it is hard to say how accurate the above mentioned charger is. Small charge current results in slow charge time. As a point of reference, most brand name chargers send about 1-1.2A into a battery, so a 3,000 maH battery would be charged in about 3-4 hours. Obviously, if a charger is capable of only 500ma, the time to charge would double. __________________ Alex Dolgin Dolgin Engineering Camera DC Power accessories, Fast 4 position Battery Charger http://www.dolgin.net

October 30th, 2006, 12:18 PM	#20
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	I have tried the Dolgin website and it works for me. His units seem to be very well designed. A lot better than the under $10 units that I mentioned. The only advantage of the under $10 units is that they are very light. If you are just going to have a car battery to charge your Canon batteries, consider getting a solar panel kit to keep you car battery charged. This is easy to find. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 30th, 2006, 02:53 PM	#24
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	Here is one source for a rollable (can be rolled up to minimize space) solar cell for charging batteries. http://store.sundancesolar.com/poror110waso.html Harbor Freight also has some solar cells. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94543 If you are going to be in the wilderness for some time, I would buy items of a known quality. Also, I would check out various battery technologies. In our Top Alcohol Drag boat, we used some high technology lead acid batteries which were very light but extremely rugged and powerful. I assume that weight may be an issue for you. These batteries keep their charge for a long time. If you are interested, I will research the brand name. If I remember correctly, they cost about $100 apiece. We used 4 of them to power a DC-9 Jet Engine starter, which we used to start our 3,000 hp hemi blown alcohol engine. Is someone going to drive you to the wilderness location and then leave you? Or will you have to backpack in? __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 30th, 2006, 12:11 PM	#19
Rob Anderson New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 7	Thanks for all the discussion, guys. The SIMA SUP-2 seems to be discontinued, but I also noticed it lacks a 7.2v output setting which the GL2 requires. (Has 6.5v, 8.4v plus others). Not sure if I could use 6.5 and it would just take longer to charge. I tried to e-mail Alex and message was returnedunsent, plus I can't get into his website from this computer for some reason. I will be in a wilderness setting with no car access, just a 12-v battery. Sounds like Alex' charger would do it. I guess a 12-v car battery would last a while since I would not be filming a lot. Would use it just for charging BP-945 batteries.

October 30th, 2006, 12:29 PM	#21
Rob Anderson New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 7	Dan, I keep striking out trying to find a solar charging panel. Although I recently ran into a wildlife videographer who has used one. But he didn't tell me where he got it - a custom job for him apparently.

October 30th, 2006, 12:33 PM	#22
Rob Anderson New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 7	Sorry, I have seen the car battery solar panels. My concern remains charging the 945s from the battery. Looks like the Dolgin product or something from Radio Shack will do it.

October 30th, 2006, 03:32 PM	#25
Rob Anderson New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 7	I'll be traveling by kayak/canoe to a remote base camp for two weeks. I'm planning to simply carry a car battery with me for recharging. I don't believe the high end kind you mention, Dan, is necessary. I'll not be taping constantly, just waiting for rare events, so I've planned 4-5 batteries for extended shooting if necessary. Just need a way to recharge. Sounds like Alex's unit or something similar will do. Would be nice to be able to recharge directly from a foldable (lightweight) solar panel - that would be first choice and avoid the 12-v battery weight. Rob

October 30th, 2006, 04:03 PM	#26
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	If I was going by Kayak or Canon, I would want to minimize my weight. I would take 5 fully charged batteries. The Canon BP-950g and BP-970g batteries are great, but expensive. Other Canon type batteries also work. I would take two or three of the power101 chargers and a rollup solar charger. The Power101 charger can take up to 24 volts for input. Yes, you will have limited current to charge your batteries and yes it will take a while to charge them, but this will be very lightweight. These only weigh a few ounces. And you can put them in Ziplock freezer bags to keep them dry. I would double bag them. You can easily test all of this before you leave on your trip. I would also check on how much sunlight you can expect per day. Once upon a time I was planning a trip to New Zealand. I was amazed to learn that they have only about 3 hours of sun per day during some months! __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia

October 30th, 2006, 04:37 PM	#27
Harold Schreiber Major Player Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Olathe, Kansas Posts: 309	Hi Rob, You are correct that the SIMA SUP-2 does not put out the 7.2V that the Batteries do. My Sonys all use the same 7.2V batteries also, but the Sony Electric Power Packs put out 8.4V. Hence I use the 8.4V output on the SIMA unit. Has worked fine for years now. I'm guessing that you Canon's Electric Power Pack also puts out 8.4V ?? I seem to find the SIMA's for sale on the internet, although I haven't looked in a store lately. I also use some small AMG 12V Batteries (2-7ah's & 1- 12ah) to power up my Cams and LCD Monitors for extended time shoots. They could also be used to charge up your Canon Batteries. They are much easier to tote around than the car or RV batteries, although I use RV batteries to power up my VCR's if putting out tapes at Horse Shows in the field. Harold

October 30th, 2006, 07:29 PM	#28
Dan Keaton Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Augusta Georgia Posts: 5,421	The Canon CA-910A battery charger/power supply puts out 6.0 volts when the DC power adapter (cord from the power supply to the camera) is plugged in. It puts out a higher voltage, 8.4 volts, when used as a battery charger. The Canon CA-920 battery charger/power supply (for the XL H1) puts out 7.2 volts in power supply mode, and 8.4 volts in battery charger mode. Rob: I know you are not in the market for a high-tech battery, but it anyone else is interested, we used the Odyssey battery in our dragboat. These are amazing batteries and will keep a charge for 2 years and can be fully-discharged and recharged 400 times. A normal lead-acid battery can not stand up to this type of abuse. They also have very high, short term cranking power. The battery we used put out 1800 amps, at 12 volts for 5 seconds! They do require a high-tech battery charger to charge them properly. At the end of one season, we put the boat away, and at the start of the next seaon we just started the engine without a battery recharge. Our starter motor, out of a DC-9 jet engine, requires a lot of current. A normal battery would not have done this! I only bring this up since someone, in a remote location, may occasionally need to charge a lithium-ion battery. These would be wonderful in that situation as they are small, light, and keep a charge for a long time. __________________ Dan Keaton Augusta Georgia Last edited by Dan Keaton; October 31st, 2006 at 06:21 AM.

October 30th, 2006, 09:19 PM	#29
Greg Gerber New Boot Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Rochester, NH Posts: 24	Jameco Electronic Solar Panels #228208 Solar, powerfilm, PT15-300, 15.4V, 200MA, Weatherpro Series, 270mmX could be used to charge a 4 or 7 Ah 12v gel cell that could in turn be used on a 12v camcorder battery charger. http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/sto...egoryId=702040

October 31st, 2006, 02:50 PM	#30
Rob Anderson New Boot Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 7	These folks http://store.sundancesolar.com/cabach.html tell me I can charge the BP-945s directly from a solar panel, presumably using the Canon cigarette lighter adapter (they weren't specific about this) or perhaps Alex's adapter. This avoids the heavy 12v car battery. Fast recharge is not critical for what I'm doing. I'm still not certain this really solves everything. I'm told to describe the batteries I'm using when buying the solar panel. Seems right question is to describe the adapter/charger holding the batteries. Sorry I don't speak electronese. Rob