GoPro Hero, External LiPo power
I recently tried my hand at making a timelapse video using the GoPro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO3IPMI9TEI) video and still image functions. I was a bit disappointed with the battery life and because I didn't have a spare battery, or access to power the device via a USB charger.
I needed a portable power supply to plug in via USB port on the side of the GoPro. To this end I took a UBEC, hooked it up to the balance tap of a 3S lipo and the output to a USB cable. In the photo below, I added the HK Wattmeter to see if I could measure any current draw by the GoPro. The lowest resolution of the Wattmeter is 100mA and didn't register.
Next to do is maybe add a voltage detector so I can leave it running and get an audible warning if the LiPo gets low however I hope a 2650mAH battery will outlast a 32GB SD card in the camera. I'll have to hook up a proper multimeter and measure the average current draw and figure out how long batteries might last. Maybe integrate a low voltage cut-off circuit as well.
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Time 5 November, 2011 at 9:09 pm
[...] I'm not sure how long the GoPro battery would last so I hooked it up to a LiPO 2650mAh battery via a uBEC. I checked the charge before and after and it had used about 40% or about 1060mA. I think the GoPro [...]