USB power packs...

Jun 05, 2015 21 Replies

To recharge/run mobile devices 'in the field'...



EBay offers 10000 mah capacity for 20 odd quid.. eg 'Floureon' does that seem OK?



Some also have solar panels on... are the solar panels worth bothering with?



Any other experiences, guidance etc on the topic appreciated.



TIA



Jim K


no link ?

I've used one that I got from RS but it was a lower capacity. It's charged my ipod OK.

depends on the claims and whether you'll be leaving it in sunlight for most of the day and of course how much extra they 'charge' for it. is it a light charge ;-)

I'd go for RavPower for that sort of price - I had one and it was bloody excellent. Don't need it much now I have a Note 3 (the Galaxy S2 was a bitch for eating batteries) - but I did dig it out for a walking holiday.

formatting link

/I'd go for RavPower for that sort of price - I had one and it was bloody excellent. /q

Which model? They ave at least 3 I can see...

TA Jim K

// EBay offers 10000 mah capacity for 20 odd quid.. eg 'Floureon' does that seem OK?

no link ? /q

EBay 331525196190 ??

Jim K

this is the type I have ebay 111585388960

The biggest :)

They do not sell my current one now (3 years old) but I went for the biggest capacity at the time. Nice thing was that one port was high current output and it did actually charge a Samsung at a sensible rate.

Anker, available on Amazon, seem a good brand, I have had two

I'm thinking about one of these, I'll let you know if its any good when/if I buy one.

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/I'm thinking about one of these, I'll let you know if its any good when/if I buy one. /q

Ill be sure to wait ....

Jim K

Remember the good ol' days when you could simply clip a fresh battery into your phone?

/Remember the good ol' days when you could simply clip a fresh battery into your phone?/q

Er no?

Jim K

I bought a TeckNet Power Bank 12000mAh for about GBP 15 or so, and it's been fine.

They will do what they say, but IMO:

  1. The rated capacity is what they store, not what you'll get out of them (they're not 100% efficient). So 12,000mAh is probably around
10,000 mAh. Which is still plenty.
  1. They need a minimum current draw to stay on. Mine will charge a phone or tablet (obviously, because that's what it's meant for), and it will run a raspberry pi which draws about 0.5 amps. But it won't run an Arduino uno which draws about 0.05 amps: it runs for about ten seconds then switches off.
  2. Many/most of these USB power banks can't be charged at the same time as providing power. So you can't use them as a ghetto UPS for USB-powered devices.

Well, he still hasn't mastered proper quoting.

/Well, he still hasn't mastered proper quoting. /q

Hohoho

Jim K

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