Solar power
How about an external battery pack if you can do that.
3 D cells in alkaline or rechargeable will give you 4.5 volts.
If you get reusable D cells, make sure to get real ones.
Most are just AAs.
They should be around 10,000 ma, not 2500.
I recommend duracells.
They do make very efficient voltage converters.
Some are adjustable.
Many rechargeables are lower voltage so take that into account.
Lithium batteries are very linear and long lasting, but expensive.
Sometimes duracell industrial alkalines are cheaper.
Same battery.
I pay around 80 cents per D cell.
40-50 cents for AAs.
I'll probably use a D cell pack to make a tent light kit.
I would use 1 and 3 watt luxeon LEDs on a switch to adjust brightness.
Hang the LEDs on the top.
LEDs mounted on an aluminum plate for cooling.
Battery pack stays on the floor.
I would use a voltage regulator with the pack.
I think they need 7.5 volts.
So five or six batteries with a regulator.
You could use less with an up converter.
Anything brighter should be fluorescent.
Remember the cold.
Ballasts and batteries must be rated for the night cold.
3 D cells in alkaline or rechargeable will give you 4.5 volts.
If you get reusable D cells, make sure to get real ones.
Most are just AAs.
They should be around 10,000 ma, not 2500.
I recommend duracells.
They do make very efficient voltage converters.
Some are adjustable.
Many rechargeables are lower voltage so take that into account.
Lithium batteries are very linear and long lasting, but expensive.
Sometimes duracell industrial alkalines are cheaper.
Same battery.
I pay around 80 cents per D cell.
40-50 cents for AAs.
I'll probably use a D cell pack to make a tent light kit.
I would use 1 and 3 watt luxeon LEDs on a switch to adjust brightness.
Hang the LEDs on the top.
LEDs mounted on an aluminum plate for cooling.
Battery pack stays on the floor.
I would use a voltage regulator with the pack.
I think they need 7.5 volts.
So five or six batteries with a regulator.
You could use less with an up converter.
Anything brighter should be fluorescent.
Remember the cold.
Ballasts and batteries must be rated for the night cold.
"Everything is more wonderful when you do it with a car, don't you think?"
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
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unjonharley
- Posts: 10434
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 11:05 am
- Burning Since: 2001
- Camp Name: Elliot's naked bycycel repair
- Location: Salem Or.
mdmf007 wrote:if all you are running is a cd player your car battery will run it all week with no problems.
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The converter from 12 to 4.5v eats the battery fast..
In 06 I used a cd player, a solor radio first amp and amp a little more with computer speakers plus one speaker..With the two small solor panels on a charger battery pack..This last three 6 hour days.. The sound was good to 100 ft..
It was just thrown on a shelf on the trike..The wires were a real rats nest..
This year I'm trying a mp3, solor radio for the amp and powered speakers.. Right now I'm working on using a boom box..But it uses D batteries for 9v..It eats 12watt off 110v ac..Again the converter from 12 to 9v is a battery eater..It will almost run off the solor panels (60 mA @ 9v) but will not amp even a little..The market don't seem to produce ajustable solor panel..Except for the toy ones I have now..
You can buy single panels and build the voltage you need.
A really good converter will cost more but use very little power.
Would you use less total power with a 12 volt car player possibly?
What is the total consumption?
A really good converter will cost more but use very little power.
Would you use less total power with a 12 volt car player possibly?
What is the total consumption?
"Everything is more wonderful when you do it with a car, don't you think?"
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
-girl by the fire, watching a tree moved by car bumper in the bonfire
It would be a shame if I had to resort to self-deception to preserve my faith in objective reality.
What size are the converters you are using?
That may be part of the problem.
It won't matter if they are efficient, but a cheaper large one might waste a lot.
Amps vary in efficiency.
You should pay great attention to your speaker efficiency.
I looked at amps for a walkman.
I ended up getting the sony sportswalkman yellow speakers without an amp.
Louder and cleaner than the amplified units I looked at.
$15 and better than the $90 units I looked at.
It will draw more power from the main batteries but they are AAs.
Try to get speakers over 92 db from 1 watt.
100 db is available.
That may be part of the problem.
It won't matter if they are efficient, but a cheaper large one might waste a lot.
Amps vary in efficiency.
You should pay great attention to your speaker efficiency.
I looked at amps for a walkman.
I ended up getting the sony sportswalkman yellow speakers without an amp.
Louder and cleaner than the amplified units I looked at.
$15 and better than the $90 units I looked at.
It will draw more power from the main batteries but they are AAs.
Try to get speakers over 92 db from 1 watt.
100 db is available.
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unjonharley
- Posts: 10434
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 11:05 am
- Burning Since: 2001
- Camp Name: Elliot's naked bycycel repair
- Location: Salem Or.
gyre, You ansewered my problem with 3 d cells external..Where can I find "real" rechargable batteries?
Ajustable volltage converters lose 40% in resistance..
Do you think the battery life cound be extened with a 5watt 12v panel converted to 4.5v..
While just messing around, I charged the 24v scooter off and old car battery (It was charged fair) and a inverter..It worked quite well
Ajustable volltage converters lose 40% in resistance..
Do you think the battery life cound be extened with a 5watt 12v panel converted to 4.5v..
While just messing around, I charged the 24v scooter off and old car battery (It was charged fair) and a inverter..It worked quite well
I can get you a very efficient adjustable voltage converter.
They do not use resistance.
Not inexpensive though.
I'll look around for the rechargeable batteries.
I learned about them researching electric bikes.
A good quality six volt rechargeable might be a good alternative in this case with a converter.
If you use 1.2 volt rechargeables you might need to go with four.
If the life is reasonable I would use alkalines.
They hold more power than most rechargeables.
I think 20,000 ma at 1.5 volts in D.
Reducing bass output on your rig will cut power used a lot too.
You can probably restrict at some point when recording if you are doing it yourself.
They do not use resistance.
Not inexpensive though.
I'll look around for the rechargeable batteries.
I learned about them researching electric bikes.
A good quality six volt rechargeable might be a good alternative in this case with a converter.
If you use 1.2 volt rechargeables you might need to go with four.
If the life is reasonable I would use alkalines.
They hold more power than most rechargeables.
I think 20,000 ma at 1.5 volts in D.
Reducing bass output on your rig will cut power used a lot too.
You can probably restrict at some point when recording if you are doing it yourself.
I don't see any top of the line batteries like panasonic but as a starting point-
http://www.onlybatteries.com/cat_featur ... 5&uid=1056
Lithium ion rechargeable is also available, mostly in AA.
Matching becomes important with rechargeables too.
I found 12,000 mah D cells in nimh
What about a 6 volt lead acid?
Do you need portability?
There may be 4.5 volt gel cells.
This has some interesting stuff.
http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/bott-batt.html
You should be able to use solar panels if they match voltage well enough.
http://www.onlybatteries.com/cat_featur ... 5&uid=1056
Lithium ion rechargeable is also available, mostly in AA.
Matching becomes important with rechargeables too.
I found 12,000 mah D cells in nimh
What about a 6 volt lead acid?
Do you need portability?
There may be 4.5 volt gel cells.
This has some interesting stuff.
http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/bott-batt.html
You should be able to use solar panels if they match voltage well enough.
I searched a bit under "nimh D cells" and "lithium ion D cells"
Candlepower forums is about lighting.
I found a discussion on lithium.
Note the voltage is higher.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... p?t=137182
The primary advantage to rechargeables is in very high draw applications.
This is why nicad, nimh and lion are necessary for digital cameras if flash is used.
If alkalines are large enough they have about twice the power of anything but a lithium.
18-20,000 mah alkaline duracell
10-12,000 mah for most top of the line nimh D cells
a cheap d cell is 2,000 mah
Prices run about $10-$15 up to $30 for high power D cells.
Lithium ion $25 only price so far.
It pays to shop for used or surplus.
I bought lithium ion eta brand for $10-$15 each on closeout.
Most are $30 for same battery.
Check power draw on a car deck.
Some are very efficient and cheap due to availability.
It is very handy to keep everything on 12 volts when you can.
10 watt amps built in is very common now.
Of course, the louder you turn it up, the more power used.
You should still pay attention to power efficiency of speakers.
That is the single most important thing.
Polk is a good medium efficiency driver.
At low power some cheap light speakers are good.
How loud do you want to be?
For vehicle warning on the playa, hanging bells works great.
Lite-it and thinlight make some good fluorescent ballasts if you need to add general lighting to your setup.
Lite-it is all usa last I heard.
Candlepower forums is about lighting.
I found a discussion on lithium.
Note the voltage is higher.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... p?t=137182
The primary advantage to rechargeables is in very high draw applications.
This is why nicad, nimh and lion are necessary for digital cameras if flash is used.
If alkalines are large enough they have about twice the power of anything but a lithium.
18-20,000 mah alkaline duracell
10-12,000 mah for most top of the line nimh D cells
a cheap d cell is 2,000 mah
Prices run about $10-$15 up to $30 for high power D cells.
Lithium ion $25 only price so far.
It pays to shop for used or surplus.
I bought lithium ion eta brand for $10-$15 each on closeout.
Most are $30 for same battery.
Check power draw on a car deck.
Some are very efficient and cheap due to availability.
It is very handy to keep everything on 12 volts when you can.
10 watt amps built in is very common now.
Of course, the louder you turn it up, the more power used.
You should still pay attention to power efficiency of speakers.
That is the single most important thing.
Polk is a good medium efficiency driver.
At low power some cheap light speakers are good.
How loud do you want to be?
For vehicle warning on the playa, hanging bells works great.
Lite-it and thinlight make some good fluorescent ballasts if you need to add general lighting to your setup.
Lite-it is all usa last I heard.
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unjonharley
- Posts: 10434
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 11:05 am
- Burning Since: 2001
- Camp Name: Elliot's naked bycycel repair
- Location: Salem Or.
OK, I can go with a BMW car deck and mp3 player.. mp3 play up to eight hour on a single AAA.. I do not a have a input port on the deck..It is a tape player/radio..Ican come up with 10amp 12vdc solor.. Need one of those adapters that slide into the tape slot..$24 buck seem real hi for one?? Anyone want to slip one in the mail for me? Now for speakers..
I'm retired and poor as a church mouse..
This sound go's on my ugly trike aka The Musical Moop Machine.. Only need sound for 100 feet.. The music is early 1950's (as in real music) that did not use that much base...The music come in handy for attention to get peope help me pick moop.. I have found the sound is very interactive across veryed ages..It also keeps the voices down..
I'm retired and poor as a church mouse..
This sound go's on my ugly trike aka The Musical Moop Machine.. Only need sound for 100 feet.. The music is early 1950's (as in real music) that did not use that much base...The music come in handy for attention to get peope help me pick moop.. I have found the sound is very interactive across veryed ages..It also keeps the voices down..
You can use an amp and the player you have.
It's just an idea.
A fm transmitter would probably work better.
I haven't priced them.
Your deck may have an input on it but sometimes you need a special plug to access.
If you have the time and mobility, poking around parts yard can get you very good deals on speakers and decks-depends on the yard though.
If you email me I can send you a link to someone who often has very good deals on equipment.
You should be able to find a transmitter or cassette adapter used someplace.
Your scooter is 12 volts right?
If your other stuff is on 12 volts you should be fine with an amp and the mp3 the way you were talking about.
The boombox isn't a bad idea.
I would pay most attention to the speakers and go from there.
Having a good enough cabinet for the speakers can make a difference too.
Unless you are using this rechargeable battery set year round I would stick to alkalines.
There are chargers that run on 12 volts.
If you buy one of the packaged chargers only the quick chargers are smart chargers.
Those are not 12 volts, but you can get both features.
If you use D cells just for the player, you should get good life out of them.
You might find a mp3 capable deck pretty cheap these days.
I think my ebay guy had a new one on closeout for $60.
You may find a used one cheaper.
If you don't have a small amp, you should be able to find one used for about $15.
Some of the built in ones on cars are very cheap if you take them out.
Wiring can be frustrating.
Volvos come with good ones.
The luxury models come with very good ones-80 watts in the rear.
If your speakers are efficient,you won't need a big amp.
That's where your power use will be.
Check bhphoto and jrmusic and crutchfield for adapters.
Closeouts will be cheaper though if they have them.
I get a lot of closeout catalogs but I can't lay my hands on one now.
It's just an idea.
A fm transmitter would probably work better.
I haven't priced them.
Your deck may have an input on it but sometimes you need a special plug to access.
If you have the time and mobility, poking around parts yard can get you very good deals on speakers and decks-depends on the yard though.
If you email me I can send you a link to someone who often has very good deals on equipment.
You should be able to find a transmitter or cassette adapter used someplace.
Your scooter is 12 volts right?
If your other stuff is on 12 volts you should be fine with an amp and the mp3 the way you were talking about.
The boombox isn't a bad idea.
I would pay most attention to the speakers and go from there.
Having a good enough cabinet for the speakers can make a difference too.
Unless you are using this rechargeable battery set year round I would stick to alkalines.
There are chargers that run on 12 volts.
If you buy one of the packaged chargers only the quick chargers are smart chargers.
Those are not 12 volts, but you can get both features.
If you use D cells just for the player, you should get good life out of them.
You might find a mp3 capable deck pretty cheap these days.
I think my ebay guy had a new one on closeout for $60.
You may find a used one cheaper.
If you don't have a small amp, you should be able to find one used for about $15.
Some of the built in ones on cars are very cheap if you take them out.
Wiring can be frustrating.
Volvos come with good ones.
The luxury models come with very good ones-80 watts in the rear.
If your speakers are efficient,you won't need a big amp.
That's where your power use will be.
Check bhphoto and jrmusic and crutchfield for adapters.
Closeouts will be cheaper though if they have them.
I get a lot of closeout catalogs but I can't lay my hands on one now.
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unjonharley
- Posts: 10434
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 11:05 am
- Burning Since: 2001
- Camp Name: Elliot's naked bycycel repair
- Location: Salem Or.
A simple IC voltage regulator like: http://www.st.com/stonline/books/pdf/docs/2143.pdf is very efficient. Only eats up about 6milliamps plus what ever your drawing out of it. If your tech savy then just solder it up with a heat sink and your good.
If you need more than an amp out of it then add a power transistor.
If you need more than an amp out of it then add a power transistor.