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Modular Battery Options?
  • kmoreau893
    I purchased a CAME 7500 gimbal which has the BaseCam hardware and software installed. It came with a LIPO 11.1 v 3 cell 2200 mAH battery, which works perfectly with the unit. I'm trying to make the unit a bit more professional in some ways by eliminating exposed wires, boards, and connectors, and one of the things I was thinking of doing was replacing the battery system with a more modular system that just slides into a receptacle, such as camcorder batteries. I have a lot of camcorders, lights, and monitors that use the Sony L series batteries, the larger ones are spec'd at 7.2 volts at 7200mAH. However there are other batteries I could use that are closer to 14V, such as the Sony BPU 30 or 60. I guess my question is, are the LIPOs used just because they are inexpensive and traditional for RC helicopters and aircraft, and this was just passed down, or is there a specific reason we're using these batteries for the gimbal electronics and motors. What specs do I need to pay attention to or has anybody else substituted more traditional batteries in place of the standard LIPOs? Thanks very much in advance! -Keith www.techmovepodcast.com
  • Garug
    Gimbals do not use much current, normally less than 2 A, you really need only concern voltage and capacity.
  • kmoreau893
    Thanks much Garug, do you know what the acceptable voltage range is for the basecam controller and motors? Do you think it would accept 7.2 volts like in the Sony L batteries? Or is there an upper limit as well, for example the Sony BPU batteries are 14V - too high? Thanks much. http://techmovepodcast.com
  • Garug
    For most gimbals 7.2 V would not be enough, but I have been running a GoPro gimbal with that. 14V is ok for most gimbals.
  • kmoreau893
    Is there a way I can determine from the specs of the board the correct power range that would work? I assume the board is meant to accept a range of voltages. I'm not positive of the Basecam board in the CAME 7500 but I guess it's known what it is. Thanks much. -Keith http://techmovepodcast.com
  • Garug
    The boards usually have the voltage range on specifications, defined as voltage or 4S,....6S. S is one LiPo cell voltage, nominal 3.7, max 4.2 V, but constant max could be too much for the board.

    However the correct voltage is more dependant of the gimbal and its motors. If the usable power setting at the GUI is close 50, then the voltage is too high, if it is close to 255, then the voltage is too low.

    Ps. I am very much into using other than RC batteries too (on handheld gimbals), safer and easier to charge batteries. Here is my reviews on the 32 bit boards, and some info of the gimbals I am developing, more to follow. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2178272
  • Garug
    One correction, at least some Alexmos boards seem to require 3S, so maybe they do not work from 7.2V.
  • kmoreau893
    I emailed CAME-TV and they said the acceptable voltage range is 11.1v - 12.6v. There are not too many common inexpensive camcorder batteries that fit this range so I might be out of luck. I've taken too much time already on this so I think I'll stick with the funky plug-in LIPO solution for now, at least it works. Maybe I"ll make some sort of carrier for it that is I can set into and click it closed rather than the funky velcro on the frame solution that CAME-TV provided. Do you know of a secure box that fits these 3 cell LIPOS I can attach to the gimbal frame? Thanks again for your help. -Keith http://techmovepodcast.com
  • kmoreau893
    I did a little surfing on the internets and did find some battery plates / voltage converters to convert common camcorder batteries to 12v. I just have some questions out to the sellers about how many amps their converters provide. This way I can use my numerous Sony L batteries, which I used to power camcorders and lights, on my gimbal. I'll keep you posted. - Keith http://techmovepodcast.com
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