Power Supply for IR Trap

Hi All,

I've been using an infra red phototrap over the last while and I'm finding it has great potential. However, it is very heavy on batteries due to the fact that the emitter has to produce a constant IR beam. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on a decent power pack. It mentions in the instructions that it can be powered by a car battery. Sounds good but not greatly practical in the field. I am using the JAMA Electronique model. The emitter can be powered through a 3.5mm jack plug. If anyone has any ideas or thoughts I would be grateful

Thanking you in advance

MJ

Motorcycle battery will give good power and not be too big - still heavy though. Or one of the various power packs available in the filming industry for cameras/lights.

Depending on the voltage of your unit (I'm an electrical dunce) you might be able to get Fixation in London to adapt leads so you can use one of the Quantum or similar packs. However something like a Quantum turbo would cost you more than a Trailmaster IR camera trap which will run for months on a set of C cells. Every time you introduce another element to a camera trap it is something else that can and will go wrong at some point.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Terry

Take a look at burglar alarm batteries, they are 12 volt, we us them as back up for the boats navigational systems. They weigh less than a kilo and measure about 20cm x 5cm x 8cm. If you think these may be suitable try ringing you local alarm engineer, they replace them after about two years for safety reasons and usually have a few perfectly serviceable units in their van.

Bob.

Bob's idea is almost there - check out the voltage you need, and then find your local Maplin store. They sell a range of sealed lead acid batteries at various capacities and voltages - they're usually quoted as mAh - the higher the figure, then bigger the capacity. There's bound to be one in there somewhere to match what you want. You can stick whatever plug you want on to them (just need wire, a couple of spade terminals, and a jack plug to suit your gadget. In terms of charging the battery, Maplin should also be able to help you find a mains to 9/12V charger to suit. They're usually quite helpful.

I've a portable video light which runs from a 9v lead acid battery and which has a car ciggie lighter connection - it can be charged in the car, or via a small mains charger with a cig lighter plug at one end. For lighting it only lasts and hour or so, but for something like an IR trap the batteries should last a lot lot longer.

I second the Maplin lead acid battery idea, I've got a couple of these in 6v and 12v that I use for powering camping lights and also for off road bicycle night riding. They aren't heavy at all, and with 4.2Ah, they should power most low drain items for a long time.

I've also built up some power packs for night cycling from Nimh batteries supplied by radio control car/plane shops. They are 13.2v/2.9Ah and are about 8" x 2" and don't weigh very much either. Bit more costly than the lead acid batteries though...

It might be easier just to get another trip. A trailmaster will last for ages and if you're Nikon an ML3 will last for around a week.