AA Battery Extender For Equinox?

[Chase Goldman]

34 minutes ago, MontAmmie said:

I do already have a boatload of rechargeables that I run my camera flashes on.  What would REALLY be great would be a way to use a solar panel to recharge.

Absolutely, this can be done.  There are several practical compact, efficient, and powerful solar panels that you can just hang off of a backpack while you are detecting, some even with integrated storage batteries.  They typically have usb connectors so you could plug the Minelab Equinox charge cable directly into them or just charge one of the power banks we have been talking about.  One drawback is that they need to be continuously facing bright sunlight to do their thing continuously, otherwise you will intermittently drain the Equinox battery.  Power drops off precipitously in shade and cloud cover and as panel area decreases (which makes those power banks with small integrated solar panels impractical as they would take several days of sunlight to recharge).  Also, compared to the rechargeable battery packs we've been discussing, they are quite a bit more expensive for the backpack sized, efficient panels needed to supply enough current to run the the Equinox.

[Steve Herschbach]

My V3i, ATX, Gold Racer, and Gold Monster all run off AA batteries. Due to that all my flashlights, GPS, etc are AA also. I have a couple dozen high quality NiMH AA batteries ready to go right now I am sure. I never travel without two detectors as a rule so I always have AA batteries around. Therefore my interest in a gadget that might let me have yet another use for those batteries in a pinch.

I have a small fold up solar panel that runs any charger that has a 12V cigarette type adapter. My panel has the 12V receptacle and I plug it in. I only ever used it two times I can remember though. Worked great.

[Sinclair]

+ you can get AA batteries in pretty much every shop or gas station if you have forgotten to charge your ordenary powerbank.

[dewcon4414]

So what is the proper output.......  12DCV?   I ask that because my CTX battery is 7.2 lith.   ML appears to be saying anything that has a USB can charge the battery........ is that over stated?  Dont they have to be compatible in some way?  Maybe not since we are charging the battery not running the machine with the external battery.   Looks like a trip to my local hobby shop guy who knows the ins and outs of batteries.... especially all the new lith ones.   Not sure we are going to be able to rig that for IN the water thou the way the magnetic charging system works.   BUT..... i highly doubt ill hunt that kind of hours....... plus someone already mentioned a battery upgrade that to me would be a way better solution and a lot cleaner.... no wires ect.

Can anyone give me the thread where we were talking about changing out the batteries or where i believe GEOTECH mentioned the longer mah rechargables batteries....... i want to look them up.

[Chase Goldman]

8 hours ago, Sinclair said:

+ you can get AA batteries in pretty much every shop or gas station if you have forgotten to charge your ordenary powerbank.

True, and that makes especially good sense if, as Steve points out, you are still rocking backup detectors that use AA's or have legacy AA's on hand.  The AA power bank is excellent backup power insurance.  However, I essentially left the AA cell detecting ecosystem a few years back, and as I stated earlier, these inexpensive 10000 mah  (equivalent or greater capacity to four AA cells) cell phone power banks are everywhere and cost about the same as four high quality AA cells from the convenience store.  So the solution to forgetting to charge your Equinox AND backup power bank and not remaining invested in AAs is to have a second charged power bank sitting around.  They hold their charge pretty well and you don't have to drive around finding that convenience store.

The good news is that there appears to be an unlimited number of backup power solutions for Equinox.  If the AA power bank is a success at adequately powering/charging the Equinox, then that bodes well for just about any 10000+ mah power bank using AA or Li Ion power source.

To Dewcon - the Equinox charge cable has a USB connector (USB is nominally 5 VDC), the question is what is the minimum current the power source has to provide.  Steve’s AA power bank experiment should shed some light on that question.

[tsunamiscott]

13 hours ago, MontAmmie said:

What would REALLY be great would be a way to use a solar panel to recharge.

I have been thinking the same thing.  After the Equinox specs are available, I'm going to see if making a hat like this is a viable option.

A previous attempt at something similar was unsuccessful.

[MontAmmie]

5 minutes ago, tsunamiscott said:

A previous attempt at something similar was unsuccessful.

I'm guessing that's because Steve wasn't helping you.  

[Sinclair]

@Chase Goldman

The only real downside of the integrated battery may be, if you forgot to charge the Nox and want to go waterdetecting..

There are somewhat waterproof powerbanks available, but the connectors aren't.

 

[Chase Goldman]

Steve - did you get your AA power bank gizmo and have a chance to test it yet?

[Steve Herschbach]

No, I think it will show up today.