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considerations for SX260 external power supply for time lapse situations

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Offline udo

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Hello,

For longer duration of time lapse situations I was considering an external battery solution.
Would my proposed setup work?

The approach is to use the 'fake battery' from the ACK-DC40 as can be bought at http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ex-Pro-Replacement-Canon-DR-40-Battery-Coupler-for-Canon-Powershot-SD-770-IS/371403849826 separately.
Question: what plug goes in there? (5.2 mm/ x mm ??)
The cable goes to Adafruit ADA-1944  https://www.kiwi-electronics.nl/powerboost-500-lader-5v-usb-boost but connects directly to the battery terminals as we need 4.2 volts max. (or can the SX260 cope with 5V?)
As a battery we connect a 4400 mAH pack https://www.kiwi-electronics.nl/lithium-ion-battery-pack-3-7V-4400mAh
This setup could last 4+ times the standard battery time.
Charging via the power supply of my Samsung phone that delivers 5V/500mA on micro-USB into the ADA-1944 which regulates the charging as well.

So:
- What type of plug goes into the fake battery of the DC40?
- Does the SX260 allow 5.2V on the battery terminals? If not: can I tweak the ADA-1944 output voltage easily? What resistor (etc) do I need to replace?
- Or would we have a better (Adafruit) part to use here?

Please let me know what you think.
« Last Edit: 04 / August / 2015, 09:19:31 by udo »

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Offline reyalp

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Move to the hardware forum.

Regarding voltage, this thread may be helpful: http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php?topic=12381.0

However, just because someone else got away with it doesn't mean you will. Any release of magic smoke is entirely your own responsibility :)
Don't forget what the H stands for.

One way to solve the plug problem is to spend a few more dollars and get a complete adapter with an AC input. Then cut off the cable at the power supply and connect to your battery and adapter.
Ported :   A1200    SD940   G10    Powershot N    G16

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Offline udo

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Simplest would be to use the ACK-DC40 fake battery and DC40-cable and connect it to a JST-PH contra plug so that it can connect to the external Li-Ion battery directly.
After using the battery we break the connection and connect the battery to the ADA-1944 for charging.
The camera will hopefully prevent discharging the external battery too deeply.
(as it does for the internal battery)
This way of operating does not require modification of the ADA-1944 and minor cabling soldering.

Would this work OK?
« Last Edit: 05 / August / 2015, 06:33:45 by udo »


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Offline udo

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As a bonus question:

Which/what timelapse script would work best for night time sky time lapse photography?
I'd set the zoom/focus/exposure time etc myself and the script takes a photo every nn minutes using these settings..
Dark frame stuff is of no real concern here.

Any pointers?

Which/what timelapse script would work best for night time sky time lapse photography?

meteor.lua
Ported :   A1200    SD940   G10    Powershot N    G16

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Offline udo

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Thanks!
Any reason not to use meteor2.lua (yet)?

considerations for SX260 external power supply for time lapse situations
« Reply #7 on: 06 / August / 2015, 10:11:32 »
Any reason not to use meteor2.lua (yet)?

None that I can think of.  But then I might be a bit biased.
Ported :   A1200    SD940   G10    Powershot N    G16


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Offline udo

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Thanks....

The plan has changed a bit after realising that the Li-Ion cells plus the ADA-1944 are essentially what is sold as a powerbank.
So we searched a bit and chose the XIAOMI 10400mAh version.
The capacity is too much but it had good reviews and appears to have a bit of room to add a direct connection to the battery using some JST plugs.
I just need to make a small opening and glue the connector to the PCB after soldering the battery connections.
This way I save some money.
I ordered the Xiaomi and the ACK-DC40.
When I receive the parts and combine them I will perhaps follow up.

What is the preferred focus choice for meteor2.lua w/ CHDK 1.3.x?
« Last Edit: 07 / August / 2015, 07:23:50 by udo »

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Offline c_joerg

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Quote
The capacity is too much but it had good reviews and appears to have a bit of room to add a
direct connection to the battery using some JST plugs.
I just need to make a small opening and glue the connector to the PCB after soldering the battery connections

So you want to open the powerbank and use directly the 3.7V from the cells? But you want to charge them with the 5V or? I thought about the same. Could you make some photos how you do this and post them?
M100 100a, M3 121a, G9x II (1.00c), 2*G1x (101a,100e), S110 (103a), SX50 (100c), SX230 (101a), S45,
Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/136329431@N06/albums
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrTH0tHy9OYTVDzWIvXEMlw/videos?shelf_id=0&view=0&sort=dd

 

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