GPS Battery - Extending charge

[DieVlieg]

I am doing a 24 hour ride soon and would like to record the entire thing as a single ride on my bike GPS. I think mine (Bryton Rider 21) is good for 10 hours or so.

 

Besides putting the back light off I would like to know how to extend the battery charge.

 

My concerns are if I use a power source to recharge will the device shut down and close the current ride.

 

Has anyone found a solution for riding longer than a single charge lasts. The other day I saw posts were guys lost sections of the trans Baviaans due to Garmins running out of battery live.

[dirtrider]

Power Monkey

[DieVlieg]

Power Monkey

 

And it does not stop the device from recording while charging?

[dirtrider]

I used it to record TB on my Iphone and used it for Desert Dash on a Garmin Quest and both times the device did not switch off when PM plugged in . I think it just extends the battery life

[DieVlieg]

Kalahari has power monkey for R250... But dispatches in 10 days... facepalm old Kala must be looking for a new job maybe thats why he is performing street magic.

[MaxUmis]

I'm not sure about Brytons, but I do know there are 1 or 2 commercially available products to charge Garmin devices.

I'm all about DIY and built myself a little mini USB charge cable that I use with my 1000mA Energizer power pack. I got all the info I needed from https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/sfrandon/--pVvyaDZWg/JTIbgxZ3LuUJ and this

 

If I remember correctly, the Garmin Edge 500 has a 700mA battery. I get about 17 or 18 hours off a single charge. So my DIY setup theoretically gives me about 40 hours (not taking charging inefficiencies into consideration).

So far the DIY cable has seen me through a Van Gaalen 24hour race as well as the 36One.

[L'Bie]

My Garmin Edge 500 lasted the entire Trans Baviaans and it had 11% remaining by the time I downloaded the trip. Race Time almost 17 hours.

My lights were an Extreme 1200 and I used it on low only. In the total darkness of the TB low beam offered more than enough light to travel as fast as I wanted to and trust me that speeds from the last CP to the finish were FAST. By the end of it all my main light indicator still showed more than 80% reserve (if the color coding of the lights is to be believed).

If the other Hubbers believe the Power monkey is the answer, use it for the GPS only. Running your light on low should get you through the night, provided the batteries are in good order.

[dirtrider]

If you first wanna test the Power Monkey you can use mine until I need it for RASA .

[Sepia]

I use a power bank which I connect prior to the depletion of the Garmin battery. Have ridden two days like this. May work for longer but I have not tested the duration. Somebody will more or less tell you how long a 20 000 mAh battery will last plus your Garmin battery. Works well for me.and the Garmin is able to run off a powerbank.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Sepia

[GingaNinja28]

My Garmin Edge 500 lasted the entire Trans Baviaans and it had 11% remaining by the time I downloaded the trip. Race Time almost 17 hours.

My lights were an Extreme 1200 and I used it on low only. In the total darkness of the TB low beam offered more than enough light to travel as fast as I wanted to and trust me that speeds from the last CP to the finish were FAST. By the end of it all my main light indicator still showed more than 80% reserve (if the color coding of the lights is to be believed).

If the other Hubbers believe the Power monkey is the answer, use it for the GPS only. Running your light on low should get you through the night, provided the batteries are in good order.

 

Your far braver than us ,in our 4 man team we had 7 lights and 11 batteries

Used them on full brightness the whole evening except on the climbs.

[DieVlieg]

If you first wanna test the Power Monkey you can use mine until I need it for RASA .

 

Maybe I'll take you up on that if I have not found a solution by Monday. I just spent my budget on cycle kit and other cycle stuff and maybe need to buy extra lighting. Burned an imported light in last years rainy season.

[dirtrider]

Ok I gotta do a ride at Groenkloof on Sunday if you in that area , else whenever .

[DieVlieg]

Ok I gotta do a ride at Groenkloof on Sunday if you in that area , else whenever .

 

I stay next to Groenkloof in Monument Park extention will send PM

[Cois]

So cross with couriers. I ordered a powerbank from China that had a solar charger build in. But they would not transport it for some reason.

So placed an order for a 5200 mah unit in SA yesterday. Hope that I will get it today...

[SGNicol]

I am from RED-E (a brand of Omnico) where we make PowerBanks that cater for Cyclists - we have a PowerBank designed to work directly with GoPro camera's and other equipment used with bikes.

 

Some comments from my side of what I've seen in the conversation so far:

 

1. Solar Panels - Solar Panels are not nearly effective enough anymore, the technology hasn't made many advances in the last 5 years, having said that, batteries have gone from 200 - 500mAh (5 years ago) for most devices to anything up to 6,000mAh for a hand-held device, so what used to be an effective technology is no longer really applicable - the amount of panels you'll need to charge your more modern devices will be a huge inconvenience.

 

2. Recording Time - the biggest issue here that I've seen with this is not the Powering of a camera, but rather the Memory Card. We hold the account for GoPro in South Africa so we can do a lot of testing with the units, with our 4,000mAh PowerBank you'll get around 7 hours recording time in total (you can add 2 hours to that if you use the BacPack), the problem is that you'll run out of memory card before anything else.

 

3. Using larger PowerBanks - The biggest issue with using PowerBanks while cycling (if you are doing this professionally, or just take it seriously) is weight. The 'weight-game' in cycling is very competitive and batteries in general are very heavy. While taking a 20,000mAh or 50,000mAh PowerBank may make sense, being a single item that can retain a large enough charge for all your devices, it just doesn't make sense have a 'brick' weighing around 1kg with you. Having smaller ones will benefit you better for 2 reasons; firstly the weight, it'll allow you to spread the weight distribution more evenly across you and your bike - secondly, heat, you lose a lot of water through sweat while pedaling, and a large capacity PowerBank will make that worse for you. They can get up 30degrees while exposed to the environment, that tightly pressed against you or even your bike can do harm to your ride.

 

On a side note - RED-E also offer mounts that allow you to use your PowerBank and GoPro etc. on your bike.

 

Those are just my thoughts, so please scroll passed this if you have already considered all of what I have mentioned. Otherwise, I can help with more insight if you'd like.

[MaxUmis]

So cross with couriers. I ordered a powerbank from China that had a solar charger build in. But they would not transport it for some reason.

So placed an order for a 5200 mah unit in SA yesterday. Hope that I will get it today...

The problem is the batteries. The couriers/post offices aren't shipping anything containing Lithium. They even had an issue with a device I ordered the other day that has an internal coin cell battery.

Best bet to get batteries here from the east is to use DHL.