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Obligatory first time poster disclaimer, apologies for any novice questions.
So, I’m working on an off the grid film and photo production in the coming months (well, if covid doesn’t say otherwise) and I’m brainstorming my charging setup for still cameras, motion cameras, drones, phones, and various other USB powered products. The most significant hurdle to the trip is that it’s all human powered (i.e., where we’re filming there’s no cars…or even horses) so everything must be carried on our (read: my) back. Woof...not to sound like a weight weeny but if we can trim ounces we will.
I feel pretty confident in panels I’ve settled on (either P3 of PowerFilm, 100-150W, 12-24VDC, 5-8A), as they’re the lightest on the market as far as I can tell and I’ll likely use some sort of battery bank of 100-200WH—heavy but don’t see a way around it if things have to be charged.
That all said, hypothetically, I was curious on people’s thoughts on skipping the battery on certain parts of the trip (we’ll have a bigger base camp and then likely be out for 1-2 nights in forward camps when the weather lines up, meaning it has to be clear for what we’re filming). I’m trying to figure out a system so all batteries can be charged off of USB directly from the panel (am I crazy!?). My thought here is not only trimming the weight of the battery, but also achieving better efficiency by not charging panel to battery to device, just panel to device.
From what I’ve read there’s no shortage of issues/risk with this but, again, staying hypothetical. It seems like I’d need a MPPT with several USB ports or another sort of charge controller that can distribute the incoming solar charge to several devices which will likely have slightly different voltage requirements. Worse case scenario would be damaging a battery because the charge isn’t regulated from the panel. Ideally, I’d be able to charge 3+ batteries/devices simultaneously that have modest power requirements.
I’ve found a few different MPPTs with USB options, but they’re all designed to charge some sort of battery as well (as far as I can tell), and not specifically designed to distribute the entire input from the solar panel to different ports on or near the MPPT itself. Or maybe I’m missing something?
I’ve also looked at Anker’s hubs, which could be an option, but if the connection from the solar is MC4, APP or SAE it seems like a lot to get from those interfaces to a USB C and then splitting from there…just seems like you’d lose a lot of power in the process?
Finally (and helpfully!) cost isn’t much of an issue, within reason, as I’ll be passing all expenses onto the production company. So any and all ideas, however crazy, are much appreciated.
So, I’m working on an off the grid film and photo production in the coming months (well, if covid doesn’t say otherwise) and I’m brainstorming my charging setup for still cameras, motion cameras, drones, phones, and various other USB powered products. The most significant hurdle to the trip is that it’s all human powered (i.e., where we’re filming there’s no cars…or even horses) so everything must be carried on our (read: my) back. Woof...not to sound like a weight weeny but if we can trim ounces we will.
I feel pretty confident in panels I’ve settled on (either P3 of PowerFilm, 100-150W, 12-24VDC, 5-8A), as they’re the lightest on the market as far as I can tell and I’ll likely use some sort of battery bank of 100-200WH—heavy but don’t see a way around it if things have to be charged.
That all said, hypothetically, I was curious on people’s thoughts on skipping the battery on certain parts of the trip (we’ll have a bigger base camp and then likely be out for 1-2 nights in forward camps when the weather lines up, meaning it has to be clear for what we’re filming). I’m trying to figure out a system so all batteries can be charged off of USB directly from the panel (am I crazy!?). My thought here is not only trimming the weight of the battery, but also achieving better efficiency by not charging panel to battery to device, just panel to device.
From what I’ve read there’s no shortage of issues/risk with this but, again, staying hypothetical. It seems like I’d need a MPPT with several USB ports or another sort of charge controller that can distribute the incoming solar charge to several devices which will likely have slightly different voltage requirements. Worse case scenario would be damaging a battery because the charge isn’t regulated from the panel. Ideally, I’d be able to charge 3+ batteries/devices simultaneously that have modest power requirements.
I’ve found a few different MPPTs with USB options, but they’re all designed to charge some sort of battery as well (as far as I can tell), and not specifically designed to distribute the entire input from the solar panel to different ports on or near the MPPT itself. Or maybe I’m missing something?
I’ve also looked at Anker’s hubs, which could be an option, but if the connection from the solar is MC4, APP or SAE it seems like a lot to get from those interfaces to a USB C and then splitting from there…just seems like you’d lose a lot of power in the process?
Finally (and helpfully!) cost isn’t much of an issue, within reason, as I’ll be passing all expenses onto the production company. So any and all ideas, however crazy, are much appreciated.
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