Oudie Supplemental Power Pack

[Roy B.]

Friends:
I am looking for a supplemental power pack that is easily rechargeable, reasonably compact, and will run my Oudie for 5+ hours on a single charge. Any suggestions?
ROY

[Craig Funston]

On Monday, September 25, 2017 at 5:31:19 PM UTC-7, Roy B. wrote:
> Friends:
> I am looking for a supplemental power pack that is easily rechargeable, reasonably compact, and will run my Oudie for 5+ hours on a single charge. Any suggestions?
> ROY

https://www.amazon.com/Jackery-Premium-Portable-Battery-External/dp/B00EA1P8OI/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_107_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9XRXN2FNV9V9NYGRYKKQ

Less than $30 from Amazon. I've had mine for a year and have been very satisfied with it.

Craig

[[email protected]]

On Monday, September 25, 2017 at 6:31:19 PM UTC-6, Roy B. wrote:
> Friends:
> I am looking for a supplemental power pack that is easily rechargeable, reasonably compact, and will run my Oudie for 5+ hours on a single charge. Any suggestions?
> ROY

Anything over a 3,000 mAh battery will run it for the longest of flights. The one Craig suggested is perfect. Will last multiple flights probably.

[Michael Tinkler]

There are many of these on eBay, but with the addition of solar charging.

Do a search on solar power bank�

I fixed mine on top of the instrument panel using Velcro.

Excellent for your 5 hour flight.

[Michael Tinkler]

There are many of these on eBay, but with the addition of solar charging.

Do a search on solar power bank�

I fixed mine on top of the instrument panel using Velcro.

Excellent for your 5 hour flight.

[Michael Tinkler]

There are many of these on eBay, but with the addition of solar charging.

Do a search on solar power bank�

I fixed mine on top of the instrument panel using Velcro.

Excellent for your 5 hour flight.

[Jim White[_3_]]

At 07:24 26 September 2017, Michael Tinkler wrote:
>There are many of these on eBay, but with the addition of solar charging.
>
>Do a search on solar power bank�
>
>I fixed mine on top of the instrument panel using Velcro.
>
>Excellent for your 5 hour flight.
>
>
Add a ferrite to the power cable if it causes radio interference. Most do.

[Michael Tinkler]

There are many of these on eBay, but with the addition of solar charging.

Do a search on solar power bank�

I fixed mine on top of the instrument panel using Velcro.

Excellent for your 5 hour flight.

[AS]

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 2:31:19 AM UTC+2, Roy B. wrote:
> Friends:
> I am looking for a supplemental power pack that is easily rechargeable, reasonably compact, and will run my Oudie for 5+ hours on a single charge. Any suggestions?
> ROY

I am using a very generic one I bought online called 'UNIFUN'. It has 10,400mAh plus a built in LED flashlight, in case you have to land in the dark! ;-)
The size is just about the same than the Oudie and I connect the two with a short power cable and Velcro. Never ran out of juice on even the longest flights.
Uli
'AS'

[[email protected]]

If it is not a constant load then some of the "external power packs" may shut themselves off when they see no load. I don't know about the Oudie, but I've had such problems with other devices. Those battery packs that you have to start with a button push (the vast majority) are the ones to avoid. There are a few models that either have an on/off slide switch, or sense the load and automatically turn themselves on.

[Dan Marotta]

Think I'm gonna buy me one of THESE
<https://www.walmart.com/ip/300000mAh-Dual-USB-Portable-Solar-Battery-Charger-Solar-Power-Bank/577223227?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=11232&adid=22222222227082152808&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=196724236981&wl4=pla-314508929942&wl5=9030458&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=117089434&wl11=online&wl12=577223227&wl13=&veh=sem>.
When it doesn't deliver the promised 300 amp hours (300000 mAh), I'll
sue WalMart and then buy me a new ASH-31 mi.

On 9/26/2017 9:57 AM, wrote:
> If it is not a constant load then some of the "external power packs" may shut themselves off when they see no load. I don't know about the Oudie, but I've had such problems with other devices. Those battery packs that you have to start with a button push (the vast majority) are the ones to avoid. There are a few models that either have an on/off slide switch, or sense the load and automatically turn themselves on.

--
Dan, 5J

[Tom Kelley #711]

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 1:37:40 PM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Think I'm gonna buy me one of THESE.Â*
> When it doesn't deliver the promised 300 amp hours (300000 mAh),
> I'll sue WalMart and then buy me a new ASH-31 mi.
>
>
>
>
> On 9/26/2017 9:57 AM,
> wrote:
>
>
>
> If it is not a constant load then some of the "external power packs" may shut themselves off when they see no load. I don't know about the Oudie, but I've had such problems with other devices. Those battery packs that you have to start with a button push (the vast majority) are the ones to avoid. There are a few models that either have an on/off slide switch, or sense the load and automatically turn themselves on.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Dan, 5J

Go see your attorney now!

Solar Doesn't Work
9/15/2017
I bought this "cheap" solar USB charger because I wanted a way to charge my iPhone or camera batteries when camping or hiking. It is only a battery USB charger as the solar doesn't work. I've had the USB charger in direct sunlight all day and the battery is still without charge. Garbage and a waste of $.

[[email protected]]

Perhaps this?
Not sure if it emits noise for the vhf.

https://powerwerx.com/usbbuddy-powerpole-usb-converter-device-charger

[[email protected]]

On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 7:47:52 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> Perhaps this?
> Not sure if it emits noise for the vhf.
>
> https://powerwerx.com/usbbuddy-powerpole-usb-converter-device-charger

These things all have a 3.7V lithium ion battery inside, and a "switching" circuit to convert that to 5V for the output. Thus they are all potential noise makers. Put the output cable 2 or 3 times through a ferrite ring if you notice too much noise in the radio. Since the pack has no other connections, that cable is the main "antenna" for the noise, so that should fix it.

[[email protected]]

I recently bought an external pack (can't remember the brand or mAh) that is supposed to recharge cell phones and other devices. I thought it was just an external battery but the directions say that it must be disconnected once the phone (or whatever) is fully charged. There is no indication that the battery has been fully charged other than looking at the battery level on the device, so that needs to be monitored. I haven't used it other than one time to charge a cell phone. Is this a common set up?

[Dan Marotta]

Yeah, I tried one of those.Â* It was worth a shot, but what a racket it
caused in the radio!Â* It's not just the wire(s) being an antenna, but
the switching circuit creates a square wave which, using a transformer,
is reduced from ~12v to ~5v.Â* As all EEs know, a square wave is a mix of
an infinite number of sine waves (can you say RF emissions?) and
therefore the entire box should also be shielded.

Just for fun, I looked up the Fourrier Transform
<https://betterexplained.com/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-the-fourier-transform/>
and was pleasantly surprised to find a layman's description.Â* So much
easier to understand than in an electrical engineering class so many
decades ago...

Cheers!

On 9/26/2017 6:46 PM, wrote:
> On Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 7:47:52 PM UTC-4, wrote:
>> Perhaps this?
>> Not sure if it emits noise for the vhf.
>>
>> https://powerwerx.com/usbbuddy-powerpole-usb-converter-device-charger
> These things all have a 3.7V lithium ion battery inside, and a "switching" circuit to convert that to 5V for the output. Thus they are all potential noise makers. Put the output cable 2 or 3 times through a ferrite ring if you notice too much noise in the radio. Since the pack has no other connections, that cable is the main "antenna" for the noise, so that should fix it.

--
Dan, 5J

[[email protected]]

So I recently got a dashcam for my crew vehicle and am trying to find a power supply that doesn't break squelch and introduce a crapload of noise into all receptions... The one that came with the camera and a couple others I tried also made my FM radio near useless for weak stations.

I sent an email to Powerwerx about this adapter and the response was that it is a lot cleaner than most. And since these guys are in the ham radio biz, I would expect they understand RF interference. I'll order one and see if it works in my truck and report back.

5Z

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 7:34:35 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Yeah, I tried one of those.Â* It was worth a shot, but what a racket
> it caused in the radio!
....
> https://powerwerx.com/usbbuddy-powerpole-usb-converter-device-charger

[John Carlyle]

Tom,

I've been flying with a USBbuddy for 3 years - it's powering my iPhone 6. It has not interfered with my Becker AR4201 at all.

Before buying the USBbuddy I had first tried battery packs (one with an on/off switch), and found that my radio broke squelch on all frequencies.

-John, Q3

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 1:53:12 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> So I recently got a dashcam for my crew vehicle and am trying to find a power supply that doesn't break squelch and introduce a crapload of noise into all receptions... The one that came with the camera and a couple others I tried also made my FM radio near useless for weak stations.
>
> I sent an email to Powerwerx about this adapter and the response was that it is a lot cleaner than most. And since these guys are in the ham radio biz, I would expect they understand RF interference. I'll order one and see if it works in my truck and report back.
>
> 5Z

[[email protected]]

Thanks John,
I've ordered the USBuddy and we'll seee how it works.

I also use a Anker PowerCore (see link below) to run my iPhone and actioncam with no perceived noise on my radio. Went with the extra battery just to be sure I don't drain the avionics stuff with the iPhone as it seems to pull a lot when actively navigating.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z9QVE4Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



I also have a On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 11:40:05 AM UTC-7, John Carlyle wrote:
> Tom,
>
> I've been flying with a USBbuddy for 3 years - it's powering my iPhone 6. It has not interfered with my Becker AR4201 at all.
>
> Before buying the USBbuddy I had first tried battery packs (one with an on/off switch), and found that my radio broke squelch on all frequencies.
>
> -John, Q3
>
> On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 1:53:12 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> > So I recently got a dashcam for my crew vehicle and am trying to find a power supply that doesn't break squelch and introduce a crapload of noise into all receptions... The one that came with the camera and a couple others I tried also made my FM radio near useless for weak stations.
> >
> > I sent an email to Powerwerx about this adapter and the response was that it is a lot cleaner than most. And since these guys are in the ham radio biz, I would expect they understand RF interference. I'll order one and see if it works in my truck and report back.
> >
> > 5Z

[JS[_5_]]

I'd think the RigRunner 4004-USB would be best for the job. 4x fused 12v outlets plus two USB ports, in a shielded case.
Jim
https://powerwerx.com/west-mountain-radio-rigrunner-4004-usb

[Darryl Ramm]

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 2:54:49 PM UTC-7, JS wrote:
> I'd think the RigRunner 4004-USB would be best for the job. 4x fused 12v outlets plus two USB ports, in a shielded case.
> Jim
> https://powerwerx.com/west-mountain-radio-rigrunner-4004-usb

I wish they and other manufacturers would spec the USB power output. These could supply 0.5A up to 3.0A total or more and still be considered meeting a USB standard. I've seen some awful low actual power delivered from cheap USB adapters, I expect better than average quality from RigRunner but wish vendors would just clarify with specs.

And it's a reminder that modern small devices can draw significant power. As an example an iPhone 7 Plus has a 2.68 Ah battery at 3.8 V. Just charging that battery from flat, and assuming 80% charge efficiency will suck around 1 Ah of charge from a glider 12V battery. On top of whatever it takes to run the device at high screen brightness. Which reminds me I want to remeasure power use and charging of a few modern devices..... its pretty amazing the compact compute and power capacity we carry around nowadays.

I've got to replace the (not cheap/no brand) power supply in my truck, which struggles to deal with a flat iPhone 7 Plus.

[[email protected]]

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 3:43:56 PM UTC-7, Darryl Ramm wrote:
> And it's a reminder that modern small devices can draw significant power. As
> an example an iPhone 7 Plus has a 2.68 Ah battery at 3.8 V. Just charging
> that battery from flat, and assuming 80% charge efficiency will suck around
> 1 Ah of charge from a glider 12V battery. On top of whatever it takes to run
> the device at high screen brightness. Which reminds me I want to remeasure
> power use and charging of a few modern devices..... its pretty amazing the
> compact compute and power capacity we carry around nowadays.

Yep... My panel pulls around 1.7 amps sitting on the ground so assuming a couple of brand new K2 10Ah batteries I'd get a bit over 11 hours runtime. I was getting a lot less. After discovering one of my new to me, but several years old batteries was pretty much dead, I replaced with a pair of Craggy Aero LiFePO4 batteries. Still struggled to get more than 5 hours until I replaced my master switch with a high quality one.

I might be able to modify one battery compartment in my ASW-27 to take the 15Ah battery, but there's definitely no room on the other side. Would it be bad to run a big and small LiFePO4 in parallel? Let the BMS handle the taking the small battery offline after it's depleted? I also need to look into installing a tail battery since the wiring is all there so just need to find something that will fit.

Getting back on the thread, this is why I now power my iPhone with an external battery. It's easy and cheap insurance to keep my avionics going for the long flights I like to do.

5Z

[Darryl Ramm]

Tom

Got to keep reminding myself you now fly a ASW27 not the (massive battery carrying) ASH26. Sorry I don't know for for sure with running those batteries in parallel, I'd check with Richard. I've always liked to run 2 x large batteries, 2 x 10Ah in the DG-303 or 2 x 17Ah in the ASH26E. I like having a roughly known clean reserve to switch to. With 10Ah/15Ah batteries I'd just run them by themselves, but thats personal preference not based on other reasons.

Darryl



On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 4:35:43 PM UTC-7, wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 3:43:56 PM UTC-7, Darryl Ramm wrote:
> > And it's a reminder that modern small devices can draw significant power. As
> > an example an iPhone 7 Plus has a 2.68 Ah battery at 3.8 V. Just charging
> > that battery from flat, and assuming 80% charge efficiency will suck around
> > 1 Ah of charge from a glider 12V battery. On top of whatever it takes to run
> > the device at high screen brightness. Which reminds me I want to remeasure
> > power use and charging of a few modern devices..... its pretty amazing the
> > compact compute and power capacity we carry around nowadays.
>
> Yep... My panel pulls around 1.7 amps sitting on the ground so assuming a couple of brand new K2 10Ah batteries I'd get a bit over 11 hours runtime.. I was getting a lot less. After discovering one of my new to me, but several years old batteries was pretty much dead, I replaced with a pair of Craggy Aero LiFePO4 batteries. Still struggled to get more than 5 hours until I replaced my master switch with a high quality one.
>
> I might be able to modify one battery compartment in my ASW-27 to take the 15Ah battery, but there's definitely no room on the other side. Would it be bad to run a big and small LiFePO4 in parallel? Let the BMS handle the taking the small battery offline after it's depleted? I also need to look into installing a tail battery since the wiring is all there so just need to find something that will fit.
>
> Getting back on the thread, this is why I now power my iPhone with an external battery. It's easy and cheap insurance to keep my avionics going for the long flights I like to do.
>
> 5Z

[Dan Marotta]

Tom,

I used to run three SLA batteries in my LAK-17a.Â* To do that, I used TWO
SPDT switches and turned a fresh battery on before turning the depleted
battery off.Â* The charging current to the depleted battery was
insignificant during switching and was never a problem.Â* After switching
to LiFePO4 batteries, I eliminated the tail battery (replaced it with
lead ingots (in an aluminum box) and called it good.Â* Frankly, I never
had to switch batteries again after installing the lithium batteries so
I alternated batteries between flights.

But to your point - the tail battery compartment in your '27 ought to be
sized for a 9 or 10 Ah SLA battery and there are LiFePO4 batteries made
to the exact same size.Â* Of course, the weight is significantly less.

Dan

On 9/27/2017 5:50 PM, Darryl Ramm wrote:
> Tom
>
> Got to keep reminding myself you now fly a ASW27 not the (massive battery carrying) ASH26. Sorry I don't know for for sure with running those batteries in parallel, I'd check with Richard. I've always liked to run 2 x large batteries, 2 x 10Ah in the DG-303 or 2 x 17Ah in the ASH26E. I like having a roughly known clean reserve to switch to. With 10Ah/15Ah batteries I'd just run them by themselves, but thats personal preference not based on other reasons.
>
> Darryl
>
>
>
> On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 4:35:43 PM UTC-7, wrote:
>> On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 at 3:43:56 PM UTC-7, Darryl Ramm wrote:
>>> And it's a reminder that modern small devices can draw significant power. As
>>> an example an iPhone 7 Plus has a 2.68 Ah battery at 3.8 V. Just charging
>>> that battery from flat, and assuming 80% charge efficiency will suck around
>>> 1 Ah of charge from a glider 12V battery. On top of whatever it takes to run
>>> the device at high screen brightness. Which reminds me I want to remeasure
>>> power use and charging of a few modern devices..... its pretty amazing the
>>> compact compute and power capacity we carry around nowadays.
>> Yep... My panel pulls around 1.7 amps sitting on the ground so assuming a couple of brand new K2 10Ah batteries I'd get a bit over 11 hours runtime. I was getting a lot less. After discovering one of my new to me, but several years old batteries was pretty much dead, I replaced with a pair of Craggy Aero LiFePO4 batteries. Still struggled to get more than 5 hours until I replaced my master switch with a high quality one.
>>
>> I might be able to modify one battery compartment in my ASW-27 to take the 15Ah battery, but there's definitely no room on the other side. Would it be bad to run a big and small LiFePO4 in parallel? Let the BMS handle the taking the small battery offline after it's depleted? I also need to look into installing a tail battery since the wiring is all there so just need to find something that will fit.
>>
>> Getting back on the thread, this is why I now power my iPhone with an external battery. It's easy and cheap insurance to keep my avionics going for the long flights I like to do.
>>
>> 5Z

--
Dan, 5J

[Jonathan St. Cloud]

What I have done is I have a USB charing port installed on the panel. This is used to charge an iPhone or iPad in flight and is powered by the ship's batteries, of which there are two, plus solar charger.

On Monday, September 25, 2017 at 5:31:19 PM UTC-7, Roy B. wrote:
> Friends:
> I am looking for a supplemental power pack that is easily rechargeable, reasonably compact, and will run my Oudie for 5+ hours on a single charge. Any suggestions?
> ROY