Power supply when travelling away from civilisation

[puttick]

I've been thinking about how to power a 300d when away in the mountains and no mains power is available for recharging. Obviously one solution is to take lots of BP511s. But...

... a solution I am considering is to get the "DC adaptor" which allows you to run your camera off an external mains-to-DC convertor in a studio situation. It includes a dummy battery on a lead, and my idea is to make up a battery pack for this which uses rechargeable (or even ordinary) AAs in the requisite quantity to supply the voltage the camera wants: 7.4 v, so probably 6 x 1.2v should do. That could be used with rechargeable NimH AAs that can be recharged in a SOLAR charger (these are available at around £20) which would make me independent of mains power for charging, at the cost of having a power lead attached to the camera, and the batteries in my pocket. Just a thought. Anyone tried it?

An alternative to buying the DC adaptor would be to cannibalise a cheapo 3rd party BP511 by cutting it open, removing the cells, and soldering in a lead for the AA battery pack.

Or perhaps just such a thing is available commercially - I've looked but can't find one.

[SeanDempsey]

If you are backpacking and hiking... try getting a solar setup... plug the battery charger into the solar thing, then have the solar cells on the top of your pack, and the battery charging inside. I've heard of this working, people jsut let the solar charge their batteries all day while they use different batteries.

[robertwgross]

I've been down this road before.

First of all, I have the Canon charger, and I also have some alternative brand charger that works from +12VDC into the same BP-511 batteries.

Now, I have to apply +12VDC to that charger. Two alternatives. If you are going to be moving around a lot, then other batteries will work, and just get 12 volts worth with sufficient ampere-hours. I've used one sealed lead acid battery (heavy) for that, and I have also used individual AA batteries in an appropriate battery holder for +12VDC. For the individual AA batteries, you have your choice between AA alkaline (for cheapness) or AA NiMH (for rechargeability) or AA primary lithium (for light weight).

If you are not going to be moving around much, then try solar panels. If you are stuck out on a safari camp for a while, then use a solar panel to charge the NiMH (above) which feeds the charger (above) which charges the BP-511. Unfortunately, solar panels do not come cheap (figure on $5 to $10 per watt). The big ones are more efficient, but heavy and potentially breakable. The little ones are less efficient, more expensive per watt, and they will take forever to power the charger. Solar panels must be oriented correctly or else they are less efficient yet, and cloudy days can be a distinct problem.

---Bob Gross---

[puttick]

The issue is the specific battery needed by the camera. I do have a Hahnel 12v DC charger for the BP511 battery, but a 12v output solar panel charger is usually designed for a vehicle, not a backpack, and doesn't supply enough current to work the 12v charger directly, as it is a fast charger not a trickle charger. OTOH solar trickle chargers for AAs are easily obtainable, small & cheap, and you could charge up enough AAs over a couple of days.

[Conk]

http://www.brunton.com/ look here

[robertwgross]

If you are backpacking and hiking... try getting a solar setup... plug the battery charger into the solar thing, then have the solar cells on the top of your pack, and the battery charging inside. I've heard of this working, people jsut let the solar charge their batteries all day while they use different batteries.

The problem with this arrangement is that the solar panel needs to be at a certain inclined angle relative to your latitude and the angle of the sun and facing south for maximum efficiency. If you just fix it on the top of a backpack, it will work, but not so good.

---Bob Gross---

[boBquincy]

There are a number of hand cranked generators available for reasonable prices.

http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3039144&bhcd2=1087869264
http://store.pasco.com/pascostore/showdetl.cfm?&DID=9&Product_ID=53275&related=1


If you don't mind cranking for an hour (after already hiking all day) these might work.

If you are backpacking then you probably are already carrying a gas stove. Some means of generating electricity from heat would be nice but afaik none of the direct devices generate much power. I suppose a miniature steam turbine would be overkill... ;)


boB

[Osmium]

. I suppose a miniature steam turbine would be overkill... ;)


On it's way...

http://www.aerodyne.com/products/miice__generator.htm :D

[kiwimichael]

Hi,
My girlfriend and I were both discussing this issue while hiking on a vacation recently. She has a Digital Rebel and I have the 10D. It looks as if you have some ideas on how to tackle the camera battery problem so I'm intereseted in how you are going to tackle the storage problem? I shoot raw so I fill my 1GB card before the battery runs out. We have an x-drive which also runs on recahargeable batteries. Hmmm, lots of solar cells.

Cheers
Michael

[robertwgross]

If you need only a tiny amount of power, then solar cells can be practical. But then, if you need only a tiny amount of power, you can just run on multiple batteries and not fool around with anything other.

Solar cells are great if you are going to be in one fixed location out away from commercial power. For example, there is a remote hut deep in the mountains that has a clear view to the south. We put up a 50-watt panel there, which charges a marine-type storage battery. That is a nice amount of power, but it is far too heavy to carry around.

Lithium primary batteries are the lightest practical batteries around. When I had to carry everything in on a mountain expedition, I had to have a box full of AA lithiums. That much power can run a lot of cameras.

---Bob Gross---