How to Get Extra Juice for your Ground Station Gear?

When testing my airplane on the flying field i have two main problems:

1.-I can't see anything on my laptop under the sun. SOLVED!
2.-Battery life less than 3 hours. SOLVED!

The way i did to solve this problem was actually pretty simple and now i can get more than 12 hours of battery life when testing and at full screen illumination! This very, very convenient specially when you can park your car near to you.

My super top secret is my new Duracell PowerPak 600. It has build in power inverter, AM/FM Radio (LOL!), Lamp, 12V car socket and car cable to start it up (just in case).

There's a few considerations you must take care of, in case you want to maximize the performance of this portable battery: You must use a 12V laptop power adapter, is more efficient than using the internal 120V inverter. I was able to find one for my Dell Studio, but not for my ThinkPad (so bad), but the ThinkPad works like a charm under the sun! Even better than the iPhone screen!

Talking about the iPhone I'm just waiting to end my contract and get the new Nexus from Google, it allows you to have internet access from your laptop (tethering for free!) by just using the normal USB, so i can stay connected without paying extra $50 bucks monthly (or just jailbreak your iPhone). ;-)

In other hand the Beta version (not alpha) of the ArduPilot Shield is about to arrive in one week, i hope is ready soon!

Cheers!

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Comments

Rana April 1, 2010 at 7:48pm

Hi Jordi !, I charge my 32Ah maintainance free battery, with separate charger, I just put it on charge in the night prior to flying in the very next morning.
Developer

Jordi Muñoz April 1, 2010 at 7:29pm

@Sqt Ric, i mean the ArduPilot Shield, also know as Oil Pan.

@Morli, Before i was able to fly close to my car, but sometimes i had to turn on the motor. Now i have to park far away from the flying field tables. :/

@Rana, is virtually the same solution as yours, the Duracell is just a "battery car" with a fancy handle. ;-) How you charge it?
Rana April 1, 2010 at 6:53pm

I am using 150W car inverter with separate 32Ah maintainance free battery, this combination is just superb.
Admin

Morli April 1, 2010 at 6:12pm

me just uses 200W car inverter for portable devices , 3 outlet power extension cord connected to inverter which takes power right of the car cigar lighter( heavy duty outlet in the rear luggage)
Jack Crossfire April 1, 2010 at 4:45pm

For just powering a laptop, a 150W inverter & golf cart battery was in the $60 range several years ago, but you're ripping off business & you need to know what you're doing. Got the setup years & years ago back when sales tax was only 8.25% & the recycling tax was only $5. Got a 90W Targus adaptor, but it's so heavy it never gets used.
Developer

John Arne Birkeland April 1, 2010 at 4:03pm

My solution to your two problems is much more efficient. Six months of winter with snow, rain, and gusting winds. It's great!!!! .. ... sigh..
Darren April 1, 2010 at 3:53pm

printer.?. oh... heck ya! But that's just for error reports and such; the real stuff is in the 3d holographic video output with time dispacement based on doppler principals.

D
Moderator

Sgt Ric April 1, 2010 at 3:04pm

Jordi, did you mean the ArduPilot Sheild, or did you mean to say the ArduPilot Mega?
Developer

Jordi Muñoz April 1, 2010 at 3:00pm

Wow it has printer too!!
Darren April 1, 2010 at 2:44pm

I love the power station... :)

This reply was deleted.