 Application Notes:
Portable Charging Systems For Digital Camcorders
Specifically 7.4V camcorder batteries
This note is provided as a guide to those who want to solar power their digital camcorder while outdoors & away from household power. For the purposes of this note, we will limit the discussion to camcorders that use 7.2V or 7.4V lithium battery packs. This encompasses most of the mainstream models.
Articles in this series cover cameras that use AA batteries, USB charging, 3.6V / 3.7V Lithium, 7.2V / 7.4V Lithium batteries in dSLR cameras & video camcorders.
So, let's get to your 7.4V solution...
Most manufacturers include an AC charger with their camcorders, so this is likely the charger you have been using. This is the small charger that plugs into the wall and into which you snap your small camcorder battery.
Unfortunately, this little charger will not work direct from solar panels, as solar panels are 12V DC, and that little charger wants 120V AC. We could create a portable AC power solution using solar, but it would be larger, more complicated, & costly than you really need.
So, let's look at your DC options...
Modern Outpost stocks a wide range of AC & DC combination chargers for digital camcorders. These work just like the one that came with your camcorder, but these let you charge your camcorder battery from your house power, car dashboard socket, or solar panel kit. A much better idea!
To find one for your specific camcorder, first look at the label on your camcorder's battery pack. It will tell you the model number, voltage (ie 7.2V or 7.4V) and capacity (ie 800mAH). Go to our charger page and find the charger for your particular model. If it is not listed, send us an email to find out about availability.
Now that you have the DC charger cradle for your camcorder there are two scenarios for using it:
1.
charge the battery pack directly from a solar panel
- or-
2.
use solar panel & solar power storage battery combo
Option 1 : Solar Direct
In a DC-direct configuration, we connect the solar panel directly to your new DC battery charger. This is the simplest, and least expensive method, since all you need is an appropriate solar panel to go with your battery pack & charger. The one drawback is that the charger itself requires some power to operate, and so the first 2-3 watts of your solar panel's power output will be consumed by the charger, and only power above this threshold will go into your battery pack. This simply means that it will take a little longer to charge your battery.
What panels are best for your battery pack?
In our experience, most
7.4v battery packs & chargers will usually operate well from a 5W, 6W, 6.5W, or 7W solar panel. Although as mentioned, only the sunlight from the middle of the day, when the panel output is greatest, will be available for charging your camcorder battery due to the consumption of the charger itself. If you would like to charge other equipment each day, or would like to be able to charge your battery faster, then consider the next size up in solar panel size (ie 10W, 12W, 14W). These are usually the best way to go in terms of performance when using a solar-direct system.
Option 2 : Solar Panel with Solar Storage
You might have noticed that in the solar direct option, you can only charge during daylight hours, and even then you are at the mercy of the sun. The way to improve the situation is to add a solar power stoage battery between the solar panel & your new DC camcorder charger. Doing this allows the solar panel to provide charge to it all day at whatever rate it can, while you have access to the storage battery's reserve any time you need it. This also means you can usually get away with a smaller solar panel too.
What do these solar power storage batteries look like?
Here are the most popular models that we use with the smaller solar panels... Solio Mono, Novuscell 24, Novuscell 50, Brunton Sustain.
For a look at all the models we carry, visit the Battery Pack page.
Here is a diagram that shows how this all plugs together...
Here are a few examples...
Solio Classic with
a Branded AC/DC Charger or Ansmann Vario Pro
Compact solar with power storage for use anytime, day or night.
We carry small, lightweight, AC/DC chargers for models of Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, and others.
PowerFilm 10Watt Folding Panel with
a Branded AC/DC Charger or Ansmann Vario Pro
A bigger solar power source for faster charging. No after hours performance on this combo though unless you add a power storage battery between the panel & charger (see the next example).
PowerFilm 5Watt Folding Panel with Novuscell 24
and a Branded AC/DC Charger or Ansmann Vario Pro
Plenty of solar, plus lots of storage, and the ability to power other small electronics. Only drawback is that the Voltaic battery will only power 3.6 & 3.7v battery packs... not able to cover 7.2v packs & chargers.
Outpost Power 7 power pack with Novuscell 24
and Branded AC/DC Charger or Ansmann Vario Pro
All the power you will need for on-demand charging at maximum charger rates. Choose the PowerEx if you need odd size packs charged, or higher battery pack voltages. This is also a great choice for video camcorders using larger battery packs.
NOTE:
At this point, we are still talking about a DC-only solar power system. Using a DC charger will help save some of the precious electrons your solar panel produces. By not using an inverter to create household AC power, only to convert back to DC for charging your battery, you will save approximately 15% of your power.
If you really need household AC power, then see the notes below.
When using a solar power system, it is always better to not waste any of the power provided by the solar panel. You don't want to spill any electrons when travelling through the power desert. Keeping your system operating through DC voltage will avoid the 10-15% power loss associated with the use of a standard AC inverter. However, there are times when you cannot provide a DC solution, and an inverter must be used to provide household AC power from your solar charging system.
In a digital camcorder scenario, this means storing your solar panel's power throughout the day in a battery pack, and then plugging an AC inverter into the battery pack for using your proprietary battery pack charging cradle.
The main advantage to using a complete power system is that it is usually large enough to provide power to a variety of other electronic devices, so while you are charging your camcorder battery, you can also be charging a GPS, phone, storage device, or even laptop. The solar panel can remain connected to the battery while your electronics are plugged-in, so that all power generated can be stored & used when needed. For more information on this type of complete AC & DC charger support, consult our Compact Portable Power article.
A few words about inverter technologies...
There are two types of inverter: modified sine wave and pure sine wave. Which type is for you depends on your budget and the type of equipment you plan to operate with it. The terms "modified sine" and "pure sine" refer to the smoothness of the AC waveform. A pure sine inverter most closely resembles normal household grid power, while a modified sine inverter simulates the waveform in a series of steps.
Should you care? Well, if you plan on running audio/video equipment, sensitive research equipment, or any other electronics which would be susceptible to "noise" from its power supply, then you need to consider a pure sine option such as our compact 150 Watt or 300 Watt models. If you plan to run equipment which has its own AC adaptor (like a notebook computer), or motors such as power tools or pumps, or lights, then the modified sine inverters will perform well for you and save you some money.
Articles in this series cover camcorder that use AA batteries, USB charging, 3.6V / 3.7V Lithium, 7.2V / 7.4V Lithium batteries in dSLR camcorders & video camcorders.
Visit our POWER Packages Page for more help in designing your system
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