Ghetto Power

[Michael Jensen]

Anyone know if it would be possible to SAFELY power an Epic using the RED AC power adapter and one of those portable battery power units that have a built in inverter? We used one to power an EX1 in the middle of nowhere but I'm not sure it's such a good idea. I don't want to be the first one to fry an Epic!

 

[Michael Jensen]

This is the type of power source I am asking about:

 

[Alex Sutherland]

You could always charge the EX1 battery from this unit while it's not connected to the camera if you're afraid of some weird electrical abnormalities frying your Sony. My guess is there would be no problem hooking directly to it anyway. However, consider the fact that you're going through two extra layers. The inverter is converting your power to AC, then your DC cord to the camera is converting it back to DC again. You might be better off finding a way to power straight into the unit with some sort of voltage regulator to bump it from 12 to 9v or whatever your EX1 input calls for. Otherwise you're wasting a lot of juice.

 

[christopher witzke]

modified sine wave inverters ( like the one most likely in the power supple your showing ) cause most chargers to run pretty hot..... best bet is a pure sine wave inverter for such use.

There's a company out of Florida making large 12v lithium ion batteries that look very interesting! Might make a very cool quiet power source for such a use.

I'm considering changing all 4 of my large house batteries in my motorhome to one of these... will cut 600 pounds off the weight of my rig. http://www.lithionicsbattery.com/pdf/RV Deep Cycle Battery Product Line.pdf

 

[Michael Jensen]

This thing worked to charge the EX1 batteries and the camera itself. I am reluctant to do this with the Epic. I am mainly interested in using the power source with the AC adapter directly into the camera.

Since the Redvolts are still a ways off for me I am looking for a cheap solution that allows me to take the camera outside (convenient or not) without spending money on Red bricks or vlock batteries. I would rather spend my money on more Redvolts when they become available.

I also find myself in the middle of nowhere every once in a while and it would be good to know if this is a safe solution for a power source. I will look for one that has a pure sine wave inverter built in.

 

[Bérenger Brillante]

Isn't that power source a little big and overkill considering a single Red Brick last about 3h with an epic ? With the room needed for one unit, you could have more than a red brick six-pack.

EDIT: Nevermind, it must be budgetwise.