External DIY battery for HV20 or any other camcorder ?

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David Zeno

Active member
Hi guys,

on another board, members are talking about external power sources for camcorders like the Canon HV20 and other models.

One thought was to use an RC hobby battery, rated at 8.4 volts ( the same as the output from the AC adapter that comes with the Canon HV20 - HV40 series ) , the DIY way of doing it would be to use this 8.4 volt RC hobby battery, hooked up to the same plug that comes off the AC adapter.

You would plug this into the camcorder, thus fooling it into thinking that an AC adapter is attached.

Has anyone done a mod like this ? , what are the downfalls of this ?

In theory, it works, but what about reality ? . One thought was - > what would happen if the voltage drops on the RC hobby battery from the original 8.4 volts..,, would the camcorder burn out ? because it is expecting a CONSTANT power input from the AC adapter, which should never change ( it shall always output a constant 8.4 volts )

Anyone done anything like this ? , it sure beats buying tiny batteries, and at about $30, you can get a very powerful hobby battery ( used in RC racing cars, boats, helicopters etc ) instead of putting out $60 on a Canon battery with 1/100th the power.

Thanks for any input gentlemen.

Dave.
 
I have a $60 9V battery to power my HDC-SD1, which is rated 9.3V DC. It works. According to experimental tests, the camcorder accepts anything from 8.4V to about 10.5V. When the battery depletes, the camcorder switches to internal battery. But it is a pain, and if your camcorder accepts large batteries I suggest getting a proper large battery from the manufacturer. The VB6G battery is known to work for 7+ hours on the HMC40 and costs $140, pretty reasonable.
 
Hi Cranky,

Can you tell me how you have this connected to your camera ?

do you have this hooked up to a cable, which is going into the DC in port on yoru camcorder ?

I'd really appreciate seeing a picture of your set up. Do you know if others have tried what you have done ?

I've googled quite a ton and have found nobody who is using a DIY external power source to power a camcorder.

Thanks,

Dave


Cranky said:
I have a $60 9V battery to power my HDC-SD1, which is rated 9.3V DC. It works. According to experimental tests, the camcorder accepts anything from 8.4V to about 10.5V. When the battery depletes, the camcorder switches to internal battery. But it is a pain, and if your camcorder accepts large batteries I suggest getting a proper large battery from the manufacturer. The VB6G battery is known to work for 7+ hours on the HMC40 and costs $140, pretty reasonable.
Click to expand...
 
David Zeno said:
Hi guys,

on another board, members are talking about external power sources for camcorders like the Canon HV20 and other models.

One thought was to use an RC hobby battery, rated at 8.4 volts ( the same as the output from the AC adapter that comes with the Canon HV20 - HV40 series ) , the DIY way of doing it would be to use this 8.4 volt RC hobby battery, hooked up to the same plug that comes off the AC adapter.

You would plug this into the camcorder, thus fooling it into thinking that an AC adapter is attached.

Has anyone done a mod like this ? , what are the downfalls of this ?

In theory, it works, but what about reality ? . One thought was - > what would happen if the voltage drops on the RC hobby battery from the original 8.4 volts..,, would the camcorder burn out ? because it is expecting a CONSTANT power input from the AC adapter, which should never change ( it shall always output a constant 8.4 volts )

Anyone done anything like this ? , it sure beats buying tiny batteries, and at about $30, you can get a very powerful hobby battery ( used in RC racing cars, boats, helicopters etc ) instead of putting out $60 on a Canon battery with 1/100th the power.

Thanks for any input gentlemen.

Dave.
Click to expand...

I have made my own power cables and alternate mains-powered and portable battery powered sources for several cameras (although not for my HV30 yet).

I don't see that there is any special problem with powering a camera from the "AC adapter" connector when the battery voltage starts running down. I would expect that the camera will respond exactly the same way it does if the manufacturer-supplied battery starts sagging. You could always do the experiment at home when you aren't shooting anything important.

Indeed camera batteries (and other accessories) are priced higher than their equivalents elsewhere, simply because that is what the market will bear. I have seen other things like portable lights, etc. which use the plug-in battery packs made for power tools. The power-tool battery packs are much cheaper, generally store more power, and rechargers are readily available (and also cheaper).
 
Hi Richard,

Thanks for your input, it's nice to get some conversation going on this.

I guess I'm under the thought that the AC plug input is somehow different than the inputs coming from the battery.

The camcorder is always expecting the power of the battery to drop, and drop continually it does. No problem there. However, on that AC input, the power in theory should never drop. With the AC input, the camera is either supplied a constant and stable flow of 8.4 volts, or zero volts. There's nothing in between, and so I wonder if the camcorder would fuss and moan if it suddenly saw 8 volts, or 7 volts, as the battery slowly dies. On something so delicate like a camcorder, it's a bit scary trying this, and finding out the camcorder didn't like it, and blows something inside. I'm a bit scared to try this, - maybe somebody with an electronics background could dispel this myth I believe may exist.

On the portable battery packs for tools, are you saying you have seen DIY (do it yourself ) setups where somebody is powering lights using these portable drill batteries ? , or something along those lines ? I didn't quite understand what you meant by that.

One last thing, these batteries that power radio controlled cars ( RC ) , or "hobby" batteries as some call them, are ideal for this sitution, they are 8.4 volts, and are very powerful. Further, there are even 7.4 volt RC hobby batteries that are powerful also.

As we all know, you buy a new camcorder and that battery that once lasted 90 minutes when new, slowly dies, and before you know it, that same battery is lasting you 40 mins, and then 30 mins.

So with that in mind, having a good quality RC hobby battery seems so like the solution. So much power, and that translates into a long running time, and these batteries are relatively light also, which makes them ideal for taking on the road where you want extended battery life.

I look forward to "Cranky" posting some images and photos. I'm sure many of us would benefit from his experience with this. The DIY project is very easy also.

1 battery
1 cable that fits into the camcorder.

Solder correctly, some black electrical tape, and Bob's your uncle. I believe most of us could do this.



Thanks !

Dave.
Richard Crowley said:
I have made my own power cables and alternate mains-powered and portable battery powered sources for several cameras (although not for my HV30 yet).

I don't see that there is any special problem with powering a camera from the "AC adapter" connector when the battery voltage starts running down. I would expect that the camera will respond exactly the same way it does if the manufacturer-supplied battery starts sagging. You could always do the experiment at home when you aren't shooting anything important.

Indeed camera batteries (and other accessories) are priced higher than their equivalents elsewhere, simply because that is what the market will bear. I have seen other things like portable lights, etc. which use the plug-in battery packs made for power tools. The power-tool battery packs are much cheaper, generally store more power, and rechargers are readily available (and also cheaper).
Click to expand...
 
Hi Cranky !

yes, sorry I was talking in general terms, and yes, I'm still very interested.

I thank you much in advance, and I'm sure many others will also.

Dave.


Cranky said:
As I said, I used a 9V battery, and it is not an RC battery. Still interested?
Click to expand...
 
Save yourself the trouble. go to www.power101.com
they are really good batteries and REALLY CHEAP PRICES. Many times I made a DIY battery and blew a Sony VX1000, Canon ZR20, and numerous others, either by battery polarity or by overvoltage.Don't risk it.
 
Camera: Panasonic HDC-SD1
Battery: Lenmar DVDU9, 9V, 5400 mA
Travelpod: Culmann 3090

sd1-lenmar-01.jpg


sd1-lenmar-02.jpg
 
Hey Cranky ! thanks very much for posting those pictures !
great picture too !

wow... nice set up.

what type of battery is that ? did you get that off of eBay ?

Thanks for posting that for us all.

Dave
 
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