Gp2x Thunder Power Pack (new 3600mah Battery)

[Shirohagen]

Tripmonkey_uk: That's EXACTLY the sort of thing I meant, although you could use any kind of optimum solid battery in there.

I think I had one of those for my old GBA...

®

 

[markiej]

I can think of a better idea.

Last summer I bought a large brickish lithium battery from batterygeek.com. It plugged into the AC port on my portable DVD player, and allowed me to watch movies on my entire flight from Chicago to Tokyo (11 plus hours in the air). The cool thing was that the brick itself could be packed in the seat pocket or even in my bag on the floor.

Something like that would be better, because it would not disrupt the form factor of the '2x.

I could tell that the battery geek unit was really just a whole bunch of AA-sized Lithium batteries strung together in a case.

It seems like it would be cheaper to fabricate something that connects to the battery ports because it would negate the need for additional regulation (or whatever, this is not my chosen field), as opposed to the AC port.

 

[TomVS]

The power of the gp2x is from my point of view that it uses normal AA batteries, they are cheap you can fit an extra pair in your pocket and are available everywhere, so are chargers for these things.

Good rechargeables already give one hell of a battery life so keep the gp2x portable...

Custom made batteries for cell phone, digital cameras are expensive, hard to get and difficult to recharge and often a way for companies to make even more money on their products

 

[markiej]

The power of the gp2x is from my point of view that it uses normal AA batteries, they are cheap you can fit an extra pair in your pocket and are available everywhere, so are chargers for these things.

Good rechargeables already give one hell of a battery life so keep the gp2x portable...

Custom made batteries for cell phone, digital cameras are expensive, hard to get and difficult to recharge and often a way for companies to make even more money on their products

I agree, I was really just thinking of for those of us who take a lot of trans-oceanic flights, a superbattery (12+ hours at a charge) would be preferential to lugging 24 loose AA batteries around.

Not a substitute for AA's, but another option.

 

[goobers]

Seeing the picture again just makes me want to dance like this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=uXPHu2teN9g

 

[nubie]

If you are building your own battery pack it should really not be done with 2x 1,2V batteries, but something that gives you 3,6-3,7V in the end since the GP2X is actually most energy effective at that voltage (according to Squidge).

Fine, just put one across the back above the old battery holder, problem solved.

The power of the gp2x is from my point of view that it uses normal AA batteries, they are cheap you can fit an extra pair in your pocket and are available everywhere, so are chargers for these things.

Good rechargeables already give one hell of a battery life so keep the gp2x portable...

Custom made batteries for cell phone, digital cameras are expensive, hard to get and difficult to recharge and often a way for companies to make even more money on their products

True, and that is how I used mine the whole time I owned one.

I agree, I was really just thinking of for those of us who take a lot of trans-oceanic flights, a superbattery (12+ hours at a charge) would be preferential to lugging 24 loose AA batteries around.

Not a substitute for AA's, but another option.

Another use would be onboard USB and Wifi, if we used three 5-13,000 cells we could easily power a USB Wifi stick, and a mouse, and maybe a USB HDD. It wouldn't have to keep you from using the AA'a as markiej said, merely give the option of monstrous battery life and USB onboard. You could make a back with 3 of the super batteries and the USB hub where the old AA's were, then if you didn't feel you needed it you could use AA's by unclipping the extra pack.

Being ~3x thicker (less if you count the battery bulge), wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if it gets you a USB hub, 8-10 hours of runtime, and the ability to power peripherals over an extended time.

 

[Trip]

I think I had one of those for my old GBA...

That's what mines from
I looked about for a company stamp on it, but there's no markings except the usual stuff.
Thought they could have had some different types that might work.
Never mind!

 

[Lint]

What next?
Should we put a washing machine altogether if you need to wash your clothes and still keep playing? haha

Anyone can buy a single 6V/4.5A battery and use a 3V down-stepper(1N5333 zener diode) to get 3.6V in large quantities with cheap lead acid batteries, but that must be connected thru GP2X's ext power and carried in a bag (they may weight more than you think), with further development (non-linear power conversion) one can make 6V/4.5Ah into 3.6V/7.5Ah or 2.4V/11.2Ah instead of 3.6V/4.5Ah or 2.4V/4.5Ah (linear conversion is evil)

And if what squidge said is really what I think he said once, that's about ac-connected DC power (i.e. wall socket) and wasn't exactly about efficiency, for batteries it's definitely wiser to use 2.4V/parallel connection instead of 3.6V series connect.

 

[Yorper]

Nice idea shame its one hell of an ugly beast you'll be strapping to the back of your gp2x.

Now if only someone was to come up with a full replacement back cover for the gp2x that let you fit 3x AA batteries, then i would definatly be buying that.

 

[cowai]

Anyone have an idea of what I can buy to make a (maybe two) high capasity D-cell battery (12000mah) deliver around 3.6v? I mean a little boost circuit or something to boost 1.2v to 3.6v...

At 3.6v it will give us around 4000mah and around 8000mah with two batteries! Carrying one D-cell in your jacket with a fancy holder and plug would make a fine "portable charger" to use on long trips.

I just hate having 3 Cells cos my charger will only let me charge 4 or 2 at the same time.

 

[goob]

Adding more batteries to the gp2x is not IMO an improvement. The extra weight and bulk would just make it lose its compactness. It's little hardship carrying a couple more AA's if need be.

 

[nubie]

And if what squidge said is really what I think he said once, that's about ac-connected DC power (i.e. wall socket) and wasn't exactly about efficiency, for batteries it's definitely wiser to use 2.4V/parallel connection instead of 3.6V series connect.

NO NO NO . Squidge said that the voltage regulator works best at 3.7 volts, least inefficiency in the internal DC-DC convertor. Applied to the Battery compartment Discussion on that proceeding now here:

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showt...;p=509124&#

As for the voltage, it seems to prefer 3.7V. If you provide voltages between 1.9V and 4.5V to the battery compartment via equipment that can increase that voltage in 0.1V steps, and then measure the load, it seems the load gradually decreases very slightly as you increase to 3.7V and then tails off. Before you get confused, don't mix up current and load. The current will obviously decrease constantly with voltage increase, but the load is calculated via ohm's law.

Using 3x NiMH batteries will help immensely, I am planning to get a 1xAA holder and put it above battery bay and connect in series to the other 2 AA. I expect a good increase in play-time. If you got 3100mAh NiMH AA's you would be close enough to this pack, at an increase in size of only 1 AA above existing battery bulge.

The problem is in recharging 3 batteries, most chargers charge cells 2 at a time, so you need a schedule using at minimum 6 batteries, or a charger that charges individual batteries.

 

[Series-8]

The largest capacity AA NiMH that exist( 2700mAh Sanyos) @ 1.2V x3 =

9,720mW of Total power.


3 ~18650 Li-ION Cells (Evidently whats being used in the monster pack)
(1200mAh is NOT that great for Li-ION -- these are cheap cells) (~2000mAh is better)

13,320mW of Total power.

Notice the difference.

ALSO 3.7 Volts is what the GP2X can step down into 3.3 Volt system power.

The lower the source voltage the worse the conversion.

 

[nubie]

The largest capacity AA NiMH that exist( 2700mAh Sanyos) @ 1.2V x3 =

9,720mW of Total power.

3 ~18650 Li-ION Cells (Evidently whats being used in the monster pack)
(1200mAh is NOT that great for Li-ION -- these are cheap cells) (~2000mAh is better)

13,320mW of Total power.

I understand, but 1x AA holder costs $0.99 apiece and you likely have a spare AA laying around (who knows, maybe alkalines will run with the amp load decreased).

I bought 4 1xAA holder at Radio Shack today, all that is necessary is an "external" mod to double-foam-tape a AA pack above the bulge and place in Series with the existant AAs.

I am not suggesting that the Li-Ions aren't going to give more run-time, but anything over a certain number of hours gets ridiculous.

8 hours straight is a nice target, I don't know if 3x AA will hit that, but at the price difference (and bulk difference, I mean come on; that pack screams "circus tumor") the 3x AA may be a better choice.

I am almost sure 3100 NiMH exist (craigix was testing some, they did kind of wedge in because they are out-sized), but for sake of availability call it Duracell 2600s or the Energizer 2500s I use. That is still 9,000 total on the 2500, and 9,360 in 2600s.

With the standard 2 cells making 6,000 and increased drain due to inefficiency; I say that 9,000 and better efficiency is worth a AA hanging loose.

I don't think that this monster offers substantially more than that to get in a tizzy, especially at the size, it will NOT fit in a standard coat pocket anymore (maybe a hunting jacket with a small game pouch, I honestly didn't even see that pun, I swear).

IF they were 2,000mAh li-ions, then sure, maybe. But at what cost in $$ or Pounds or Euros to the pocketbook?

 

[Lint]

Squidge said that the voltage regulator works best at 3.7 volts at least inefficiency in the internal DC-DC convertor. Applied to the Battery compartment Discussion on that proceeding now here:

http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showt...;p=509124&#

Oh, I see... it's definitely not the topic I was thinking before

But does anybody know how more efficient it keeps?

Using 3x NiMH batteries will help immensely, I am planning to get a 1xAA holder and put it above battery bay and connect in series to the other 2 AA. I expect a good increase in play-time. If you got 3100mAh NiMH AA's you would be close enough to this pack, at an increase in size of only 1 AA above existing battery bulge.

The problem is in recharging 3 batteries, most chargers charge cells 2 at a time, so you need a schedule using at minimum 6 batteries, or a charger that charges individual batteries.

I'm not confident that using 3xAA would help *imensely* power conservation, we(i.e. you, I don't have a 2x anymore) must check what's the power saved by using 1.2 volts more, I think squidge shall already know this, so here's his chance to say it! h34r:

And I'm quite confident that using 4xAA at 2.4V would be more portable (I don't have any 3xAA batt holder here, but 4xAA you may find anywhere) and more durable than 3xAA at 3.6V, and you don't have to keep an eye on the last battery! The only 'problem' is that you have to remember to keep all batteries in same near voltage to avoid current flowing from one battery to other, anyway you shouldn't place discharged batteries in series connection with charged batteries either...

 

[nubie]

I'm not confident that using 3xAA would help *imensely* power conservation, we(i.e. you, I don't have a 2x anymore) must check what's the power saved by using 1.2 volts more, I think squidge shall already know this, so here's his chance to say it! h34r:

I am confident that it will extedn playing time, also it will extend playing time more with an overclock. It is not just an extra cell, it is a higher voltage, the GP2X will tank as you dip below a certain voltage, with three cells you will discharge the batteries more effectively and use more of the energy without leaving an unused portion in them when the 2X rolls over and plays dead.

I haven't owned a GP2X in several months, I just bought one on eBay though. I pre-ordered a FE, it got bricked and was eventually exchanged for a MK1, then I sold it and later bought a MK2. The whole time I have been waiting for Descent and some perfect (note, not DaveC perfect) emus, so I figured to buy another and see how Descent looks and SNES is coming along. Also I believe right after I sold it several Genesis releases came out I have never tried. I still want to hook up an external drive so I can try everything at once, maybe I will try to download the entire archive to my USB 120GB HDD (30GB Fat32), but it takes so much time to try everything.

And I'm quite confident that using 4xAA at 2.4V would be more portable (I don't have any 3xAA batt holder here, but 4xAA you may find anywhere) and more durable than 3xAA at 3.6V, and you don't have to keep an eye on the last battery! The only 'problem' is that you have to remember to keep all batteries in same near voltage to avoid current flowing from one battery to other, anyway you shouldn't place discharged batteries in series connection with charged batteries either...

I don't know about that, I am thinking now that 6xAAA would be most portable. And 3xAA and AAA holders are sold nearly everywhere 4-cell holders are. I bet a simple diode as was mentioned before will keep current from crossing over. If your choice was an odd combination of batteries you can get a charger that has a readout on each cells charge rate and then match them up to the specific Cell health.

I know 3 is a strange number, but the benefits in reducing wasted energy (free longer play-time), only 1 more AA, and the ability to properly discharge the batteries to a lower voltage at a lower rate of current draw will also extend the life of the batteries themselves.

I don't know why you would get a 3xAA pack anyway, 'you' have a 2-cell pack already in the GP2X. Adding another single cell is as simple as opening the circuit somewhere in the external battery compartmant area and adding another cell, to be attached to the back in a convenient location. I will be attempting this and running some tests.

here is the current setup 2x 1.2 volt:

[Negative Terminal - ]--[AA Battery]--[Metal strip]--[AA Battery]--[Positive terminal + ]

I propose a simple redirecting 3x 1.2 volt:

[Negative Terminal - ]--[AA Battery]--[AA Battery]--[AA Battery]--[Positive terminal + ]

 

[sephiroth111]

I can think of a better idea.

Last summer I bought a large brickish lithium battery from batterygeek.com. It plugged into the AC port on my portable DVD player, and allowed me to watch movies on my entire flight from Chicago to Tokyo (11 plus hours in the air). The cool thing was that the brick itself could be packed in the seat pocket or even in my bag on the floor.

Something like that would be better, because it would not disrupt the form factor of the '2x.

I could tell that the battery geek unit was really just a whole bunch of AA-sized Lithium batteries strung together in a case.

It seems like it would be cheaper to fabricate something that connects to the battery ports because it would negate the need for additional regulation (or whatever, this is not my chosen field), as opposed to the AC port.

thinking about it, your on to something there, you could just make a slot like those two "blank" AAs that lead to a plug, that plug could be wired to your pocket, that pocket could have 2 D cells strapped to a holding connector. something from radiosnizzle (like this: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...entPage=family)

that should provide 2.4v and enough mAh that you have SOMETHING to work with.

 

[nubie]

that should provide 2.4v and enough mAh that you have SOMETHING to work with.

Sweet, I just need to connect it to a weather station, plug it into the D-cells, mount them inside the box and then let it Wifi the stats in, clocked @50mhz with the screen off the D-cells could power it through the nights and storms till a solar panel could charge it up.

Trick is finding the real 9,000mAh and up D- Cells, stores mostly carry a AA in a D-cell size case, seems reasonable to them, after all it is as much juice as an average D-cell alkaline.

Hmm, maybe you could sell the 2x D-cell pack as an "alkaline adaptor" and make a few bucks :lol:.

 

[Lint]

I am confident that it will extedn playing time, also it will extend playing time more with an overclock. It is not just an extra cell, it is a higher voltage, the GP2X will tank as you dip below a certain voltage, with three cells you will discharge the batteries more effectively and use more of the energy without leaving an unused portion in them when the 2X rolls over and plays dead.

I totally agree that 3 cells will do more than 2 cells, but 3 cells in series connection got higher voltage but same overall current rating (I suppose that you'll try with 3 equal batteries), so it's just an extra battery... I mean: 3x1.2v/2.5Ah is 3.6v/2.5Ah NOT 3.6V/5Ah

When you connect batteries in parallel, the load is divided between each cell (supposing that they have the same internal resistance), so we have a lower discharge rate for each cell, thus leading it to deeper usage of batteries the same way as series-connection does, so in both cases you'll have that advantage just by different approaches, and don't think that having to discharge the battery until it gets to 0.6v each is far away from 0.9v/cell, it's not. Batteries don't drop voltage in a linear fashion.

I haven't owned a GP2X in several months, I just bought one on eBay though. I pre-ordered a FE, it got bricked and was eventually exchanged for a MK1, then I sold it and later bought a MK2. The whole time I have been waiting for Descent and some perfect (note, not DaveC perfect) emus, so I figured to buy another and see how Descent looks and SNES is coming along. Also I believe right after I sold it several Genesis releases came out I have never tried. I still want to hook up an external drive so I can try everything at once, maybe I will try to download the entire archive to my USB 120GB HDD (30GB Fat32), but it takes so much time to try everything.

As you wish
I think that running a hard drive in a gp2x will kill power and portability, but that's just in my case... I'm quite satisfied with cheap SD cards, don't even need a external thumbdrive or so... It would be good to have a hd in case of someone using gp2x with his living room television... Add an wifi stick and solve all the video-related problems in gp2x and you've got a killer app!
I have a 2.5' drive with case here, so perhaps someday I'll try that out (they day I buy a new gp2x, I'm not sure if this day will actually come... I freakin' hate when left don't register in gp2x)

I don't know about that, I am thinking now that 6xAAA would be most portable. And 3xAA and AAA holders are sold nearly everywhere 4-cell holders are. I bet a simple diode as was mentioned before will keep current from crossing over. If your choice was an odd combination of batteries you can get a charger that has a readout on each cells charge rate and then match them up to the specific Cell health.

I know 3 is a strange number, but the benefits in reducing wasted energy (free longer play-time), only 1 more AA, and the ability to properly discharge the batteries to a lower voltage at a lower rate of current draw will also extend the life of the batteries themselves.

I don't know why you would get a 3xAA pack anyway, 'you' have a 2-cell pack already in the GP2X. Adding another single cell is as simple as opening the circuit somewhere in the external battery compartmant area and adding another cell, to be attached to the back in a convenient location. I will be attempting this and running some tests.

here is the current setup 2x 1.2 volt:

[Negative Terminal - ]--[AA Battery]--[Metal strip]--[AA Battery]--[Positive terminal + ]

I propose a simple redirecting 3x 1.2 volt:

[Negative Terminal - ]--[AA Battery]--[AA Battery]--[AA Battery]--[Positive terminal + ]

You can't use a diode to avoid current flowing between batteries... I mean, you can, but you'll just waste 0.7 out of 1.2v the battery will add, so it's really a better deal to just use close rated batteries or using small resistor (like 0.01ohm or less) which will avoid any discharge between cells but waste some 0.00nothing1 power

Here in Brazil is not easy to find 3-cell holders, but if it's so there then okay, at least one less problem to go
6xAAA will be more portable than 3xAA, but will give you less power than 3xAA (but at least I may find 6xAAA here!)
The charger itself its a bad option from people who got a normal 2-cells-each-time charger, as for me, I already got a single-cell charger so no problem at all.. But then it comes to the comparsion if you have to buy a new charger and more batteries, wouldn't it be more deal to buy a cell phone charger and a Li-Ion battery?

In both cases, would be great to find a place which sells dummy 2xAA models with a external cable coming out, so you can plug any vdc source and use it as a battery, right? I've never found one of these...

 

[nubie]

1xAA holder!!

Is that available??

NOT 3x AA holder.

Just ADDING a 1xAA to the 2xAA in the GP2X.

Edit: Pics now available 2 posts down click here.