I have a topo job coming up in March on the other side of nowhere and about 7 hours from my office. A good amount of the work will be open sky GNSS. I am taking 2 crews down to knock it out in a week and hopefully avoid a return trip given the distance. To do this, I need to work some 12-15 hour days. What I will not have access to at this site is a cell network/vrs/rtn. Nor will I have access to AC Power for my base station. One set of internal batteries in the base station will not last through a 12+ hour day. I was thinking of ordering a couple more sets of internal batteries for the Rovers but was thinking I should deploy an external battery for the base. I am interested in your recommendations for external batteries for base stations. Thanks in advance.
Edit - I am also interested in the means for charging any suggested External Batteries.
We use those portable jump start batteries, you can get them at Sears or any Autostore. What kind of base do you have, are you going to need a power source for a radio as well? You can also get a power adapter to run most total stations with a portable jump battery as well.
Some people like to use a car battery, I like the jump start ones, since they are easier to carry, and can charge them with a wall plug.
You can get an inverter for the truck to charge a set of batteries, while the other set is in the equipment.
Scott Ellis, post: 414633, member: 7154 wrote: We use those portable jump start batteries, you can get them at Sears or any Autostore. What kind of base do you have, are you going to need a power source for a radio as well? You can also get a power adapter to run most total stations with a portable jump battery as well.
Some people like to use a car battery, I like the jump start ones, since they are easier to carry, and can charge them with a wall plug.
You can get an inverter for the truck to charge a set of batteries, while the other set is in the equipment.
The base is a CHC i80. It has an internal radio. The internal batteries last about 5 hours while broadcasting corrections. I have thought about swapping internal batteries in and out. But with long days like this I will likely be doing a lot of that with the internal batteries of the two Rovers. So I am thinking external battery for the base.
You can get a solar charger, to hook to the base.
They are on ebay.
N
Nate The Surveyor, post: 414636, member: 291 wrote: You can get a solar charger, to hook to the base.
They are on ebay.
N
I never thought of using a Solar Panel to charge to batteries, however if I did that I would never get my built in break time, of changing out the batteries.
I may order a set for the crews, and not one of my equipment.
A good one for the base... seems like a good idea.
If the sun were shining, maybe get 2-3 days from a single battery. Depends on what wattage you run the base at.
N
Will you be near your truck? If possible, I'd park the truck right next to the base and hook it up. Maybe start it every so often.
Get a decent power inverter and bring your battery charger for the rover batteries.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 414643, member: 291 wrote: A good one for the base... seems like a good idea.
If the sun were shining, maybe get 2-3 days from a single battery. Depends on what wattage you run the base at.
N
I'm considering this Nate.... I'm always getting those Harbor Freight ads with solar panels. Do you know if they are any good?
JPH, post: 414650, member: 6636 wrote: Will you be near your truck? If possible, I'd park the truck right next to the base and hook it up. Maybe start it every so often.
Get a decent power inverter and bring your battery charger for the rover batteries.
I can't park the truck next to the base, as the only safe and open location for the base is in the middle of an active cemetery. But I do plan to use the truck and my inverter to keep the rover batteries charged like you said.
I don't know about the ones from Harbor Freight. But, as I collect the data... the little battery tender kind probably don't have a voltage regulator. The Big kind should have a voltage regulator.
A bigger one, without a voltage regulator, in hot sun, could cause problems. Especially, if running at low power.
N
Many GPS systems say they are rated for some 10.8v to 36 volts... (I don't know how they do this) but your battery is NOT rated for more than 15.9 volts. So, it's the battery that could suffer, from over charging.
BUT
The radio... is it rated for those wild voltage ranges?
I don't know.
I would probably be comfortable, using one of the SMALLER solar chargers on it, or a larger one with a voltage regulator.
N
When you use solar panels, you generally run a charge controller between the panel and the battery. This keeps the battery from being overcharged.
It doesn't regulate the voltage (since it is changing throughout the day as the amount of sunlight changes). It stops charging when the battery is full.
I know this because I just put up a electric gate opener...marine battery and a 15 watt panel to keep it juiced up. I'm going to check today and see how it's doing. If it's over charging the battery, I'm going to shade part of the panel until I get a charge controller. Home Depot has a 7 amp one for $20, which should be plenty big.
If you have a dual or more internal battery charger, that would be the best way to go because you would not need to worry about cables to connect.
I like lawn tractor batteries because of their size and they last very long converting down to 3.7v
ALLPOWER has a variety of solar panels to select from.
As mentioned if you add some solar, DO NOT skip the charge controller. There are lots of base battery solutions that should go the distance for a day, assume you could charge each night? I have recently converted to 12V Series - LFP (LiFePO4) Batteries, can save a bunch of weight, have better performance and last much longer than SLA batteries.
SHG