I’m running in the Historic Monte Carlo Rally, leaving the UK this =
coming Friday.
I’m mounting a video camera on the roll-cage and last year had great =
problems with the battery running down in the middle of a sector, so =
this year I want to run a wired-in feed. The camera’s mains adaptor =
states that it puts out 1.5 amps at 6 volts DC, so I guess I need a =
dropper from 12 volts to 6 volts that’s capable of carrying that =
current. It seems to be rather tricky to find such an animal in the =
normal traders (Maplins, RS) in the UK. First question - does anyone =
know of any other source ? At this late stage it needs to be all built =
and ready to plug/wire in without any need for soldering irons, circuit =
boards or suchlike.
I spoke to one of the outfits which installs sound systems in Peugeot =
205s and Ford Fiestas for boy racers, and was told that they use a 12 V =
DC to 240 V AC inverter and can then run normal domestic 240 VAC =
equipment, so I could run the camera off the aforementioned mains =
adaptor. Second question - will that work ? Chappy said that he =
regularly draws 15 amps - and I’ve already passed the limit of my =
electrical theory; would that be a problem if the camera doesn’t call =
for that much current, will I fry the camera ?
Regards,
Bernard Northmore
'68 420, safely tucked up in its garage in Somerset, England for the =
next couple of weeks !
[Commercial use of subscribers e-mail addresses prohibited.]==============================
To remove yourself from this list, go to
I’m mounting a video camera on the roll-cage and last year had great =
problems with the battery running down in the middle of a sector, so =
this year I want to run a wired-in feed. The camera’s mains adaptor =
states that it puts out 1.5 amps at 6 volts DC, so I guess I need a =
dropper from 12 volts to 6 volts that’s capable of carrying that =
current. It seems to be rather tricky to find such an animal in the =
normal traders (Maplins, RS) in the UK. First question - does anyone =
know of any other source ? At this late stage it needs to be all built =
and ready to plug/wire in without any need for soldering irons, circuit =
boards or suchlike.
I spoke to one of the outfits which installs sound systems in Peugeot =
205s and Ford Fiestas for boy racers, and was told that they use a 12 V =
DC to 240 V AC inverter and can then run normal domestic 240 VAC =
equipment, so I could run the camera off the aforementioned mains =
adaptor. Second question - will that work ? Chappy said that he =
regularly draws 15 amps - and I’ve already passed the limit of my =
electrical theory; would that be a problem if the camera doesn’t call =
for that much current, will I fry the camera ?
Hello Bernard,
Your best bet is to get an A/C inverter and use the camera’s mains adapter.
In the US they are quite cheap and I use one in my S Type to power my laptop.
It is a 300 watt unit and they are around $30-40 here. The internal
resistance of the electrical device determines how much current is consumed.
You don’t have to worry about “too much supply,” just that the supply is
adequate for the device (load), or you fry the supply (wiring), not the
device. Your load is very small, you are just charging the battery in the
camera, sound systems have amplifiers that can draw a lot of current. Look at
your AC adapter again, if it says input=240 volts and 1.5amps, you need an
inverter that can supply 240 X 1.5= 360 watts continuos.The actual
consumption of a battery charger is probably less and the cigarette lighter
plug should be enough to power the inverter. If not, you need to connect
directly to the battery.
What car are you running?
Paul Saltwick
[Commercial use of subscribers e-mail addresses prohibited.]==============================
To remove yourself from this list, go to
Building a 12V to 6V regulator that would handle 1.5 Amps would be simple
and inexpensive, but perhaps not practical given your time constraint.
Maybe for next year.
As for the adapter/inverter, if the Volts are correct, the Amps will take
care of themselves. It’s like the fuel pump on your engine, which may be
rated for 25 gallons/hour. Will that flood the engine? No, since the
engine determines how much petrol it needs.
Mike Eck
New Jersey, USA
'51 XK120 OTS
'62 3.8 MK2 MOD
'72 SIII E-Type 2+2
I need a =
dropper from 12 volts to 6 volts that’s capable of carrying that =
current.
…they use a 12 V =
DC to 240 V AC inverter and can then run normal domestic 240 VAC =
equipment, so I could run the camera off the aforementioned mains =
adaptor.
Bernard Northmore
[Commercial use of subscribers e-mail addresses prohibited.]==============================
To remove yourself from this list, go to
if your camera runs on 6 VDC … then it will need a 6V battery to power it
… it will draw whatever current it needs from the battery … a battery
produces something like 1.2V per cell … that is the law … they don’t do
more …they don’t do less … these cells are connected in series to provide
the (approx) 12V that your car uses … this is done inside the battery case
by means of ‘straps’ … positive to negative etc… in the old days if we
needed 6V from a 12 v battery we would drill into the case at the
appropriate place for a tap … it was easier then, as the strapping was
visible … but in the long run … it will ruin the battery as charging
becomes a difficult kettle of fish depending how much current the 6V device
required … i wouldn’t recommend doing this if you care about the battery
…
the camera’s battery running down during the course of an event …indicates
the need for a battery that will sustain the load over a longer period of
time … ie: more current carrying capacity … yes, you can use inverters
…but that seems a bit overkill and certainly more expensive for such a
simple problem … i would make a battey pack that would provide the
necessary voltage …and not bother with the car’s electrical system … you
can do this by wiring standard batteries in parallel (depending on the size
of the battery that your camera uses, you might be able to just use a larger
cell size … D-cells as opposed to C or AA etc.)… that keeps the voltage
the same …but increases the current capacity …and therefore.the time that
the battery will last … wire the batteries + to + and - to - …
another thought would be to use a 6V motorcycle battery and run the camera
from that power source …
hope this helps …
junot
Folk,
I’m running in the Historic Monte Carlo Rally, leaving the UK this =
coming Friday.
I’m mounting a video camera on the roll-cage and last year had great =
problems with the battery running down in the middle of a sector, so =
this year I want to run a wired-in feed. The camera’s mains adaptor =
states that it puts out 1.5 amps at 6 volts DC, so I guess I need a =
dropper from 12 volts to 6 volts that’s capable of carrying that =
current. It seems to be rather tricky to find such an animal in the =
normal traders (Maplins, RS) in the UK. First question - does anyone =
know of any other source ? At this late stage it needs to be all built =
and ready to plug/wire in without any need for soldering irons, circuit =
boards or suchlike.
I spoke to one of the outfits which installs sound systems in Peugeot =
205s and Ford Fiestas for boy racers, and was told that they use a 12 V =
DC to 240 V AC inverter and can then run normal domestic 240 VAC =
equipment, so I could run the camera off the aforementioned mains =
adaptor. Second question - will that work ? Chappy said that he =
regularly draws 15 amps - and I’ve already passed the limit of my =
electrical theory; would that be a problem if the camera doesn’t call =
for that much current, will I fry the camera ?
Regards,
Bernard Northmore
'68 420, safely tucked up in its garage in Somerset, England for the =
next couple of weeks !
[Commercial use of subscribers e-mail addresses prohibited.]==============================
To remove yourself from this list, go to
In reply to a message from junot sent Mon 27 Jan 2003:
Bernard,
Lucas wiring is suitable for open circuit loads (i.e. the
switch is functional) or closed circuit (i.e. the switch is
normal). Don’t even bother messing with the wiring. If
your 420 has a Genny (as opposed to an alternater) I would
not suggest using an inverter/dropdown power supply. Even
with a perfectly adjusted Voltage regulator I would tend to
think that most modern devices would succumb to the voltage
fluctuation. (This is all the opinion of a Computer
Scientist who started as an Electrician and also worked
building Electonic hardware for a few years)
Drop into your local Halfords or whatever and get a
portable starting aid (Here in Switzerland they are made by
Einhell adn cost something in the order of 30GBP). This is
a 12V NiCd barttery with facilities to charge from either
mains 220 via an external adapter, or via the Cigar lighter.
The unit I have is rated at 180 Amps total charge, and has
fused outputs for 3, 6, 9 and 12 V dc, and is about 8x4x10
inches. Stored neatly in the back are a pair of clips
similar to those on a normal battery charger.
These units are great for getting just a bit more out of
the system when the car has been sitting a while and you
only notice that the coil is disconnected after nearly
flattening the battery, or for bench testing components,
they only weigh about 1/4 of what a full battery weighs,
they don’t leak, and you can plug it in in the hotel
overnight, 180 A should be more than sufficient to run the
camera all day. I take mine with me whenever I drive in the
mountains during the winter, and also to run he lights and
stereo in our Sailboat.
All you would need to do is make a cable to connect the
camera to the starting aid. You say that the Camera power
supply is 1.5 Amps… My NiCd is rated 1A on the 6v output
but I doubt that your Camera really takes 1.5A unless it is
recording and charging the internal battery at the same
time. Perhaps Halfords have a beefier model.
If you email me the make and model of your Camera I can
verify what the actual load is while recording.
Best regards–
Andrew Waugh
Zurich, Switzerland, Switzerland
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
[Commercial use of subscribers e-mail addresses prohibited.]