My battery backup solution

If 2 18650s are needed, why not use a single 26650 battery?

Great Idea, Did not even know about them. I will try with one 18650 and another with 26650. Now just need to wait for the parts. :slight_smile:

You are absolutely right, There arn´t any good USB UPS powerbanks, and powerbanks that support passthrough charging don´t have UPS functionality. I use a Goal Zero Yeti 150 plugged in to the wall, supporting my cellphone hotspot and a Pan cam via USB, since we have alot of power outs. Worked well so far :slight_smile:

Hopefully one of these board manufacturers will come up with a simple dual battery solution that will actually work like a mini UPS. One like this would be great:

Ya there really is nothing. I have tried modifying one of ones you listed but the big issue is there is not enough power comming in to charge the batteries and power the cam at the same time if they are drained a the way. The input is too restricted. I have been waiting on parts to ship to me from china, but with everything going on there is a month delay curently. Trying to come up with my own UPS setup. Make on larger version and if it works I can then create it on a compact scale and maybe get it manufactured for use.

Check your local library.

Sorry its been a while. I have been unable to get my items due to the whole covid thing.

However I have good news, someone has finally made a REAL UPS for small devices. I got it today from Amazon and it works great. Really happy with it even though it is $36.99 but it works like a real UPS.
Works great for the wize cams, got 3 hooked up to one bank

Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W8MCBMS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hope if helps out others that need this also. I plan on buying a few more .

And for people who need a POE version (15v/24v only):
https://www.amazon.com/Uninterruptable-Supply-8800mAH-Indicator-Wrieless/dp/B07SVXP68L

1 Like

Hey all. Been following this thread for awhile on and off. Recently I finally got all the parts necessary to build a working 5v UPS. I used this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lithium-Li-ion-18650-Battery-Charger-5V-9V-12V-Converter-UPS-Power-Supply-Module/383776099170

I used 2x 18650 cells harvested from an old laptop battery pack. I’m already fairly familiar with soldering, but the contacts are sufficiently large for it to be a cinch even if you don’t have a lot of experience. I cut up the USB cable to separate the leads and used a hot glue gun to secure the wires.

I live in an urban area and the power doesn’t go out once a year, but as luck would have it a mylar balloon took out the power lines for over 10 hours yesterday. The v2 cam stayed up and ran 8 hrs 30 mins. It’s set on continuous recording to SD, and I watched footage, and can confirm it was operational the entire time. It stopped recording when the battery was depleted but when power came back it started up again.

I guess one thing to watch out for when looking for a working board is to see whether they have any capacitors on them (labeled 220 16V VT in photo). Capacitors are necessary to deal with power blips and to supply voltage during the time required to fail over to the batteries.

1 Like

I am still very interested in this solution. Did you order the one marked “5V 15W Battery Charger PCB MOD” off that EBAY link (it has a dropdown)? The short power blips are 99% of my problem because I have a generator for long outages. How long did the board take to come in from China?

THANKS!

I did order the 15W version. It was probably overkill for one camera, but more capacitors help to stabilize output and since space wasn’t an issue, I’d rather just have it work. The 5W version of the board claims to support 5W stable and 8W transient, which according to this post seems to be plenty for even two v2 cams daisy-chained. https://forums.wyze.com/t/wyzecam-v2-real-world-power-usage-test/5240

The boards themselves arrived on time per eBay shipping estimates, I think they took about 2 to 3 weeks.

You’re welcome!

Is it a true ups? I have tried a few dozen of these that they claim UPS, but once power is cut the power to the camera is dropped for a bout 1 second and causes the camera to reboot.

Also does the power flow through the battery to the camera at all times (Having the battery on a constraint drain/charge). or does it only switch to the battery once the power is cut and does it instantaneously?

Also any reason you did not use the included micro usb for the charging port.

Very interested.

As far as my experimentation went it appeared to be a true UPS. With the camera connected and in playback mode (looking at it in app), I unplugged the input power multiple times and also disconnected the batteries (not at the same time) and the camera remained running. From a no-power state, either putting in the batteries or plugging it back in will restore functionality.

The only time it died was in the middle of the night during the power outage, and it came back automatically after power was restored. I can’t speak for the 5W version, but based on the electrical characteristics I can see no reason why it wouldn’t work.

The USB input port works fine (I tested it). I didn’t use it because I cut up the cable supplied with the camera and I was already soldering, so I would have needed an extra cable. A good solder is way better than the connector anyway.

Just tested all these steps again at my desk, verified working.

2 Likes

Do any of you guy have found a satisfying turn-key product?

I don’t mind providing my own 18650 cell but not a big fan of waiting 2-3 weeks to get it from china or soldering.

Please what’s the final solution for this?