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Added A Power Bank To My Manticore


BigSkyGuy

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I thought I would share my setup in case anyone else is interested in extending the battery life of the Manticore. If all goes well, I may be able to double the battery life. I have added a 10400 mAh power bank using a bicycle phone mount. The power bank that I selected is the size of a cell phone and works perfectly. I purchased the battery and mount on Amazon.

Bicycle Mount

Power Bank

I will not be able to try in the field for a couple of months, but it swings nicely. I hardy notice the weight because it is under my arm. It is very easy to put on and take off quickly and the whole setup cost only $30.

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One additional thought might be to consider a battery pack that is power delivery (PD). That type of pack would be more than capable of providing a running charge. 👍

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Very clever.

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I know this is going to come across as a Debbie Downer post, but after having owned a Nox for 5 years, I’ve never been in a situation where a fully charged Nox couldn’t get through an entire day’s worth of detecting without having to juice it up (I’m talking 8 to 10 hours of detector “power on” run time - my body battery dies before I do).  So though I have pondered it, I’ve never seen the need to deal with the minor drawbacks associated with home brewing such an external battery mod, as much as I like the thought that went into this particular one.  I have had issues, however, with wireless headphone and external wireless transmitter batteries making it through the day.

Some of the drawbacks to consider if going the power bank route: obviously having to deal with the added weight (which will be worse if you consider the fact that the main reason for doing this is that you want to keep swinging the detector for as long as possible, no matter how balanced you make it, it's still more weight on your arm), the fact that it means the detector certainly can’t then be used in water and probably can’t be used in the rain with the charging cable attached (even if the external battery pack is protected, you can’t fully protect the magnetic connector and charging bank connector from moisture intrusion while sourcing current with the ML proprietary cable), and, finally, taking care not to be charging the detector battery at or below 32F/0C air temp which would risk permanent damage the built-in battery (Li cells can be operated in temps below freezing, but cannot be be charged if they are at or below freezing without causing damage that permanently reduces battery capacity due to the chemical process that occur during charging), though since the ground is likely frozen in those conditions you likely won’t be detecting in those conditions.  Definitely make sure you don’t leave the detector in your vehicle or in a non-heated space while charging with air temps below freezing.  Note the cautions regarding charging with moisture present and at low temps on page 13 of the user manual:

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I recognize the M-core is a different beast with higher power requirements and a lower advertised run time vs. the Nox, so an external bank might be a necessary evil now, but hopefully not.  As an alternative, consider a refreshing charge when breaking for lunch or whatever, or switching to a comparable back-up detector to give the M-core a chance to recharge.

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39 minutes ago, longbow62 said:

My method I'm pretty sure can be no more half a pound. Probably even less.

It's less about the added weight (15+% more in this case> 0.5 lbs added to a 2.9 lb. detector) than the other considerations.  But on long detecting days, every oz counts in my book.  Not saying it shouldn't be done, just putting the other considerations (water, temp) out there for info because they often get overlooked.

It definitely makes sense to have as an emergency backup option or trekking to a remote location.

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I was not impressed with the Manticores run time when the info was made available, my thinking and one that I would employ if I ever decided that the Manticore was actually worth owning would be to buy a second battery, its very easy to change out, take a look at iffy signals video on the subject. 

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41 minutes ago, Chesroy said:

I was not impressed with the Manticores run time when the info was made available, my thinking and one that I would employ if I ever decided that the Manticore was actually worth owning would be to buy a second battery, its very easy to change out, take a look at iffy signals video on the subject. 

That's also an option, though it's one thing to do the changeout on your workbench vs. dealing with the screws etc. in the field and it's always a risk that you damage, get dirt on or mis-seat the o-rings while doing the changeout.  Also, the plastic mounts and brass fasteners have limited stress cycles as well, so this is not something you want to be doing on a routine basis.

Then you have to figure out how to re-charge the replaced battery external to the detector (or break down the detector yet again to charge it back up using the detector charger).

Would like to see what people are actually getting in terms of real world run times once these M-core batteries are broken-in and optimized.  I think 10+ hours of run time per full charge will be the norm and this will hopefully end up being a non-issue as it was for the Nox.

 

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1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

I know this is going to come across as a Debbie Downer post,...

That's OK, we're used to it.  :laugh:

I do see one case where it would be useful (for me) and that's when I forgot to recharge.  I agree that I wouldn't want the extra weight although balance-wise it would help a lot of detector+coil combos (don't know about the Manticore, though).  In that case I would do more of a bubble gum and tissue paper solution and just strap on the external battery pack without all the extra mounting hardware.

Is changing the internal battery on your own a potential warranty voider??

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