High End Research Gear And Equipment

[hiflier]

36 minutes ago, NorthWind said:

The instant disposable hand warmers require oxygen, I am almost positive.

 

Thanks, I'd be interested, too And yes, the hand warmers require oxygen. But that's the easy part.

[hiflier]

16 minutes ago, wiiawiwb said:

 I wonder if there is a portable warming device that can plug into the powerbank and thereby provide the appropriate temperature needed.

 

There are USB charge hand warmers but I don't know if they work while being charged? Not what you're probably thinking of though. Most of those devices would be over-kill since I think anything above 40F would suffice. But hey, Toss one of those 12 hour USB babies in the bottom of the bag and the heck with the audio J/K

 

I have a 16' USB extension cord and could probably use it to reach from wherever warmth to wherever cold....as long as I don't strangle myself sometime overnight in the process, LOL. Seriously though, a rechargeable USB hand warmer (set on low for longevity) inside some kind of container would work just fine. At least some are inexpensive enough to not cry over. Better than crying over that once-in-a-lifetime-howl that one missed because they were too cheap to buy one

[BlackRockBigfoot]

2 hours ago, hiflier said:

Over the weekend I found I was dealing with my Zoom H1N recorder shutting down. The low ambient temperature hit 20 degrees F and I ended up with only 30 minutes of audio. I've been researching the recorder and see that it should have no problems at 20 degrees, or even lower, as scientists use them in the Antarctic which gets way colder than 20. But I think I have zeroed (see what I did there?) in on the culprit.

 

In order to have long term recording (LTR) I've been using a Rav Power 32,000 mAh lithium-ion powerbank. I use a USB cord to connect the recorder to the Rav, but in doing so, it bypasses the two lithium AAA batteries in the recorder. I have just found out that the in-use low temperature cut for the powerbank off is only 32 degrees F and it shuts down! And since the recorder's lithium batteries were bypassed it became a no-win situation. So, I have choices: Either just run on the lithiums AAA's, which will run for a shorter time as it is because of the cold, or somehow keep the powerbank warm. That means it will either be in the sleeping bag with me or be housed inside a container with one or two of those disposable hand warmer packs with some padding to help isolate them from direct contact with the powerbank.

 

I need to check all of this out by, first, running the recorder on its own batteries and see what happens. I should get at least 5 hrs on a fresh set of lithiums. Then pop in a fresh set and plug the recorder it into the powerbank and see what happens. If the recorder shuts down prematurely on the powerpack because it's colder than 32 then I will have my answer and deal with it accordingly. Thought everyone might benefit from knowing once I'm sure of the test outcome. As it stands, I'm pretty convinced the issue is with the powerpack.

Hiflier,

 

I have several of the Ravpower power banks, and I have never experienced any temperature driven automatic cutoff.  However, you are on a much colder climate than me.  They have an override that turns the bank off when the equipment they are attached to is fully charged, but I was unaware of any automatic temperature cutoff.  I see on their website that they mentioned that 32 degrees is the recommended low range for temperature, but nothing about an auto cutoff.

 

Did you see this listed on their website?  

 

 

[hiflier]

Not really but as you said:

 

10 hours ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

 I see on their website that they mentioned that 32 degrees is the recommended low range for temperature, but nothing about an auto cutoff.

 

https://blog.ravpower.com/2018/12/power-bank-maintenance-troubleshooting/

"The recommended temperature range for power banks in use is 0°–45°C (32°–113°F), while the safe ambient temperature for devices in storage is -10°–45°C (14°–113°F)."

 

Still doing some looking around. The batteries in my recorder still say full so they weren't the problem. Could be Human error. It's supposed to get very cold this weekend and so I'll be sticking around in which case I'll have a little more control and do some testing then over a couple of nights. The trail cam of course was fine except for.........no monkey

Edited November 30, 2021 by hiflier

[BlackRockBigfoot]

5 minutes ago, hiflier said:

Not really but as you said:

 

 

https://blog.ravpower.com/2018/12/power-bank-maintenance-troubleshooting/

"The recommended temperature range for power banks in use is 0°–45°C (32°–113°F), while the safe ambient temperature for devices in storage is -10°–45°C (14°–113°F)."

 

Still doing some looking around. The batteries in my recorder still say full so they weren't the problem. Could be Human error. It's supposed to get very cold this weekend and so I'll be sticking around in which case I'll have a little more control and do some testing then over a couple of nights. The trail cam of course was fine except for.........no monkey

Let me know how it works… if this is an issue, I will have to rethink how I plan on using my Ravpower this winter.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

10 hours ago, hiflier said:

 

There are USB charge hand warmers but I don't know if they work while being charged? Not what you're probably thinking of though. Most of those devices would be over-kill since I think anything above 40F would suffice. But hey, Toss one of those 12 hour USB babies in the bottom of the bag and the heck with the audio J/K

 

I have a 16' USB extension cord and could probably use it to reach from wherever warmth to wherever cold....as long as I don't strangle myself sometime overnight in the process, LOL. Seriously though, a rechargeable USB hand warmer (set on low for longevity) inside some kind of container would work just fine. At least some are inexpensive enough to not cry over. Better than crying over that once-in-a-lifetime-howl that one missed because they were too cheap to buy one

If you go the hand warmer route, this have worked well for me.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08GQ25V7D?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

[hiflier]

I will definitely post any results here. Did some looking around and came across this website: https://www.tentlife.co.uk/power-banks-and-cold-weather/ Thy did a test on a 20,000 mAh bank. The first run was at around 70 degrees F with a LED flashlight head attached. It ran the bank down to zero in about 8 hrs. Then they recharged the bank up full and stuck it in the fridge and waited untill it cooled down to 40 degrees F and ran the test again. The bank was dead in 2 hrs! I'll keep looking around for more data and info as this could be valuable stuff to know.

 

If any members have experienced such a dynamic when doing LTR in winter then please let us know how your power bank handled the cold.

Edited November 30, 2021 by hiflier

[hiflier]

37 minutes ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

If you go the hand warmer route, this have worked well for me.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08GQ25V7D?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

I was actually looking at those and others yesterday after NorthWind mentioned his rechargeable Zippo (more money).

 

FYI, just pulled my RavPower out of the bag and it still shows a full charge. I definitely need to run this H1N recorder shutdown issue to ground.

Edited November 30, 2021 by hiflier

[BlackRockBigfoot]

41 minutes ago, hiflier said:

I will definitely post any results here. Did some looking around and came across this website: https://www.tentlife.co.uk/power-banks-and-cold-weather/ Thy did a test on a 20,000 mAh bank. The first run was at around 70 degrees F with a LED flashlight head attached. It ran the bank down to zero in about 8 hrs. Then they recharged the bank up full and stuck it in the fridge and waited untill it cooled down to 40 degrees F and ran the test again. The bank was dead in 2 hrs! I'll keep looking around for more data and info as this could be valuable stuff to know.

 

If any members have experienced such a dynamic when doing LTR in winter then please let us know how your power bank handled the cold.

I know that the bank’s internal batteries drain faster in the cold.  I wonder if a hand warmer could help with that accelerated drain.  

[hiflier]

There's no question that keeping the bank warm will maintain it's normal operational capacity, which in the case of a 32,000 mAh unit is considerable. I'm still planning on testing the unit for cold weather reduction and/or failure though. Everywhere I read says that unless the bank is designed for extreme cold then 1) do not charge it in freezing temperatures and 2) discharge, as in use, will be slower. The recorder needs 3V to operate. The Rav puts out 5V. If operating below freezing slows that rate of discharge down below 3V or less then that could be a problem.

 

On the low tech side of things, my V-Bar tire chains just arrived Let it snow, baby!

[Huntster]

16 minutes ago, BlackRockBigfoot said:

........ the bank’s internal batteries drain faster in the cold........

 

This, along with the problem of recharging, is why I prefer devices powered with D, C, AA, AAA, and 9 volt lithium or alkaline batteries. Unfortunately, the electronics industries are increasingly going toward rechargeables, probably because of environmental pressures and miniaturization. 

[hiflier]

Agreed, which is why I keep D, AA, AAA, and AA Lithium batteries on hand- especially targeted towards my research devices. But I also have invested in D, AA, and AAA rechargeables with a professional charger that takes care of 8 batteries at a whack for my what I cal my "household" devices like headlamps, radios, flashlights, penlights and other things so that I'm not having to return used ones to places like Ace Hardware. That said, nearly 100% of all batteries are completely recyclable so none of mine ever go into a trash can. Ones that have leaked, however, are not returnable as far as I know. And this ends my input on this high-end thread.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

4 hours ago, Huntster said:

 

This, along with the problem of recharging, is why I prefer devices powered with D, C, AA, AAA, and 9 volt lithium or alkaline batteries. Unfortunately, the electronics industries are increasingly going toward rechargeables, probably because of environmental pressures and miniaturization. 

not to mention that it makes the usable life of the product much shorter.  
 

Yeah, I am not a big fan of the built in rechargeable battery.  

[Catmandoo]

4 hours ago, hiflier said:

do not charge it in freezing temperatures and 2) discharge, as in use, will be slower. The recorder needs 3V to operate. The Rav puts out 5V. If operating below freezing slows that rate of discharge down below 3V or less then that could be a problem.

 

Never charge any rechargable battery when it is cold or hot.  The manufacturers will have specs on ideal temps. Usually above about 45 degrees fahrenheit.

How long is the recharge time on that Rav unit?   Have you drained the Rav unit down to nothing before recharging several times?

The recorder appears to have a micro USB input port labeled 5V.  If you are brave, buy a micro USB plug with pigtails and build a battery holder for AAA / AA/ C. However, you will be above and below the 5V value.  I have hacked devices to be supplied by battery holders for extended run times.  If the Zoom unit is out of warranty, hack the battery compartment and make a battery holder in series parrallel configuration with AAAs.  You need to be clever.

 

Looking over my Grabber brand disposable warmers, the peel n stick size claims up to 12 hours of heating and the hand warmer claims 7+ hours. There used to be a size for sleeping bags that worked with a fuzzy pouch but I have not looked for that unit in quite awhile.

 

Not a fan of internal lithium batteries.

 

Side note on USB connectors.  USB connectors are from Nintendo. They did a lot of testing to find 'plugs' that were easy to use and not easily destroyed by children on their games. The result is the USB connector. Way to go kids. 

[hiflier]

Yes, Cat, discharged and recharged the "brick" (as I call it) a bunch of times in the last year and a half. I think the answer is to simply keep the brick warm and above freezing and all should be well. I had emailed Zoom Corp asking about the Hn1's operating range and just heard back. The temperature range is -10 degrees F to 100 degrees F. Kinda expected a higher cusion of operation but it is what it is. Bottom line, the issue wasn't the recorder. That leave the brick and from what I've seen it really doesn't like sub freezing conditions. 30 degrees might not be too much of an issue but I think it ran into a wall at 20 and quit. Thanks everyone for your input on this.

Edited November 30, 2021 by hiflier