Power chargers as power supply?

#1

Can Anker power chargers be used as a power supply. I want to use my Action cam in a remote location and create video overnight so I can’t just replace the battery every hour. the battery is 1100 mah. thanks

#2

Yeah I’m pretty sure they can be used as reliable power supplies. I use a lot of USB chargers as power supplies.

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#3

Thanks Saad, that’s what I thought, I have hooked the camera to a USB wall outlet charger many times and ran it for a full day but wasn’t sure how a portable supply would be for heat, etc. I assume I would get about 9 hours from a 10000 unit as my 1100 mah gives me an hour

#4

Look up the perpetual motion machine.

You cannot get out what you put in as there are losses all along. A rough guide is you get 2/3rds of what you think, If 1100mah in your “action cam” = 1 hour then say a 268000 Anker Powercore would work out at 26800 / 1100 x 2/3 = 16 hours.

Then you have auto shutoff.

The “action cam” will get fully charged so then stop taking power from the external USB battery, then the USB battery to conserve its own power will turn itself off, the electronics etc. So you probably end up with the “action cam” flat attached to a nearly fully charged USB battery. So you need to TEST.

#5

Thanks for the time info Nigelhealy.
That’s what I was afraid of with the charger. When I plug my cam into the wall charger it just over rides the battery in fact I don’t need the battery in the camera to operate it when plugged into the wall charger. Whether or not I have a battery installed the camera turns off when wall charger power is disconnected so if the Anker power charger times out my battery would not take over (auto shut off).
This has me thinking that if I remove the battery from my camera and plug the camera into the Anker power charger it should work…or will the power charger look for a battery to charge?? I don’t have a portable charger to test this so I was hoping someone has tried this before I purchase one.

#6

If I leave my phone connected to the power bank and it reaches 100% the power bank still stays on to maintain that 100% instead of switching off. So I would think it would work the same way with your camera.

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#7

It depends on its draw, if the powerbank detects very little current going through it would auto shut-off. Doesn’t happen with my phone like you but it shuts off once my smartwatch is fully charged. Each device is differently.

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#8

I have a Xiaomi Yi and I can run the camera without it’s battery attached with usb power. So you can test it with your wall adapter without a battery inserted and see if your camera works without it… and if it does then you can use it that way instead of having it with a battery ONLY IF the powerbank you purchase doesn’t keep applying power after your camera is “fully charged” as an alternative.

#9

@Helix, Thanks for the info. My question stems from this forum for Sony Action cam whereas several camera owners had different outcomes with different power supplies., although my camera is an SJ and I don’t know who’s power supply they tried. I guess I will just hope to review one so that I can give it a try . I hope this link isn’t breaking forum rules… https://community.sony.com/t5/Action-Cam/Sony-Action-Cam-cannot-be-powered-from-external-power-source/td-p/263299

#10

It depends on many factors.

The act of charging takes energy, so the GoPro may well turn its charging circuit off once has charged the internal battery, then the Powercore then sees a long enough time without draw then turns itself off.

What @bobbleheaderman is thinking may actually work best, remove the GoPro’s internal battery so it constantly draws from the Powercore which then keeps output.

The math will need checking with a test. The electronics in the Powercore is doing work and even if low level of work, the fact the electronics inside the Powercore is running for hours, is taking some of the energy away before the GoPro sees it.

I’m saying just don’t assume anything. Oh and a bigger battery would be more viable.

Don’t need the fastest / expensive, just lots of mah.

#11

I finally had a power bank sent to me for review, not Anker but another reputable manufacturer. I hooked up the power pack with my battery still in the action camera but at about 50% charge and the power pack at 100% of 20000 mAh. I turned on the camera and started to record. The power pack was charging the cameras battery at 350mAh and one of the two sources was allowing the camera to operate. 7 hours later when I checked the power pack was at 80% and the cameras battery was full. The amp meter I had hooked to the power bank output showed 200 mA draw. I checked and the video had no stoppages. This worked with both brands of action camera that I tried. Yippee. Now to test it with Anker!!