Here's how my external power pack is mounted to Equinox.

[tnsharpshooter]

Alright here a pic with a power pack installed on Nox.

I went to Wally World and bought the strips- note the container they came in.
This power pack is rated 6000 mAH, not very heavy.
Person could use a bigger rated.
I have two 6000 and two10,000 MaH rated.

A person with small arms can actually use pack on top of the cuff too.

The velcro strips allow you to secure with some pressure too, so the pack ain't going anywhere.
In wetter conditions since the pack doesn't have a lot of clearance under, mounting on to of cuff would be a work around.
I have used my Nox with pack in top of cuff loads.

Either setup allow for quick pack changes in the field if need be.
And by using the pack, your internal detector's battery service life overall will be extended somewhat.

Will post a pic here with pack mounted on top of cuff, but this pic shows the pack taped rather than using Velcro.
I have used the Velcro strips and both ways of mounting work well.
A user gets to monitor occasionally their pack's power level too.

 

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[gamiller]

Is the main goal of this set up to lessen the load on the internal battery?

 

[toasted]

I only hunt for 4-5 hours max, usually a lot less, so I wont be needing this unless the battery in the unit gets weak or defective out of warranty maybe. It would come in handy if you forgot to charge your battery though. So I guess the detector will still operate while on charge?

 

[tnsharpshooter]

Is the main goal of this set up to lessen the load on the internal battery?

Well,
It does allow detector to suck pack juice vs internal battery juice.
Also if your internal battery is not fully charged or dead., you can hunt while your internal battery charges.
Internal detector battery will not last a life time. So using pack will extend it overall service life.
And a user can use this setup on shorter hunts, or longer hunts.
Of if something went wrong with internal battery, external power source might/would save the day.

The 6000 mah packs cost around $18 bucks at Wally World. Some cheap insurance of you ask me to keep you running in the field.
Not for underwater use!!
Some folks may be going to remote sites to detect for periods of days too.
So a couple packs charged up plus internal battery would give a person a lot of hours run time.
And like the gent said, you forget to charge your detector, just attach a charged pack and rock and roll.

Should also say here.
In hot weather where wearing wireless headphones would be uncomfortable, a person ,if they opt to run external speaker. Running external speaker on detecfor will pull on the detector's internal battery more. So an external pack good insurance here.

Same would go for extended night hunting, with backlight on.

Backlight on and using external speaker will sure pull more power.

 

[gamiller]

tnsharpshooter thanks for the answer. I already have a couple external batteries that are being under utilized.

It never occurred to me that the external power source would be utilized first.

 

[Echoplex]

I'm going to do a similar setup for our trips to Europe, where we hunt is from dawn to dusk, around 8-9 hours a day. When you're finding stuff that is 2000 years old, you don't take breaks. Only other thing I need to rig up for those trips is an IV drip for Ibuprofen.

 

[tnsharpshooter]

tnsharpshooter thanks for the answer. I already have a couple external batteries that are being under utilized.

It never occurred to me that the external power source would be utilized first.

Don't hold me to this but I think this is how it works.

You hook external source.
If internal battery is charged after a few minutes you will get steady green light. This indicates internal battery charged and you'll be running off of external power. If pack falls below a certain level the green light will extinguish and the detector will switch to internal battery power.

If starting off with somewhat of a depleted internal battery, green light will obviously flash longer time wise until internal internal,battery is fully charged.

Ports on the packs can be different too, meaning depending on the output of port (rating) could affect overall charge time for internal,battery is its not fully charged at the onset.

I use my Nox loads btw.

The more depleted the internal battery the more current is drawn, as the battery comes up power wise current draw (charging flattens out).

I know this cause I have charged my internal battery with pack alone, and watching the percentage meter on pack,,when first hooked up, the percentage really falls fast, and then percentage number shown drops slower and slower.

 

[GroundBalanced]

Alright here a pic with a power pack installed on Nox.

I went to Wally World and bought the strips- note the container they came in.
This power pack is rated 6000 mAH, not very heavy.
Person could use a bigger rated.
I have two 6000 and two10,000 MaH rated.

A person with small arms can actually use pack on top of the cuff too.

The velcro strips allow you to secure with some pressure too, so the pack ain't going anywhere.
In wetter conditions since the pack doesn't have a lot of clearance under, mounting on to of cuff would be a work around.
I have used my Nox with pack in top of cuff loads.

Either setup allow for quick pack changes in the field if need be.
And by using the pack, your internal detector's battery service life overall will be extended somewhat.

Will post a pic here with pack mounted on top of cuff, but this pic shows the pack taped rather than using Velcro.
I have used the Velcro strips and both ways of mounting work well.
A user gets to monitor occasionally their pack's power level too.

That's a good setup tnsharpshooter. I was hoping to get the little minelab case that is made to hang on the undercuff slots, but if the waterproof headphones are any indication of minelabs intentions, then we might be waiting quite some time for that as well. (atleast i haven't seen it available anywhere yet). This charging method is real nice even just for charging up the NOX when you are out camping/etc and don't have access to power. Those USB Powerpacks work great. (Just make sure you test it on something cheaper before you plug one into your NOX, as the cheaper the unit, the less likely it's providing the appropriate V/Amperage. The other weekend i used my NOX for a good 5-6 hours straight and the thing still showed multiple bars of power left, but as you said, turn on that light or use the external speaker and you might be taxing it a bit more.

 

[fuceye]

I would highly recommended any of the following venders.i've talked with them and understand their products....bit more pricy but
after years of use I get what I pay for....these products work well together with no tinkering....

I use this power bank...sometimes

View attachment 1571063​

https://www.voltaicsystems.com/v44

I use this one the most...

View attachment 1571065​

https://powerpractical.com/products/pronto-usb-battery-pack

I can use this solar panel to charge the power banks in the field... it all fits nicely in my pack great for hunting on sunny days...

View attachment 1571064​

https://www.voltaicsystems.com/arc10w

 

[Ammoman]

Alright here a pic with a power pack installed on Nox.

I went to Wally World and bought the strips- note the container they came in.
This power pack is rated 6000 mAH, not very heavy.
Person could use a bigger rated.
I have two 6000 and two10,000 MaH rated.

A person with small arms can actually use pack on top of the cuff too.

The velcro strips allow you to secure with some pressure too, so the pack ain't going anywhere.
In wetter conditions since the pack doesn't have a lot of clearance under, mounting on to of cuff would be a work around.
I have used my Nox with pack in top of cuff loads.

Either setup allow for quick pack changes in the field if need be.
And by using the pack, your internal detector's battery service life overall will be extended somewhat.

Will post a pic here with pack mounted on top of cuff, but this pic shows the pack taped rather than using Velcro.
I have used the Velcro strips and both ways of mounting work well.
A user gets to monitor occasionally their pack's power level too.

Ok im a little uneducated here. what is the purpose of this setup? Does minelab not have a back up power supply available?

 

[tnsharpshooter]

Ok im a little uneducated here. what is the purpose of this setup? Does minelab not have a back up power supply available?

Just extends battery run times and allows detector to be run on external power source.
External power source will both run detector and charge internal battery of needed.

Minelab right now, nothing is available. But good rated commercial packs will do just fine.

You forget to charge your detector and want to detect.
You have 2 choices. Wait and charge your detector's internal battery. Or you can attach a external pack and start detecting immediately.
You might even allow your Equinox internal battery to charge using auto charger, but maybe your trip to site not long enough to get the battery charged enough, so attach pack and hunt.
Just takes a couple minutes.

Btw, detecting for extended periods of time in say <40f temps, a pack might be necessary for an all day hunt.
All batteries even Li-on do suffer from run time losses when temps drops. They are better than the more traditional type batteries like Ni cad and Ni metal hydride.

Granted in wintertime. Less daylight hours to hunt. But a person could be doing both days uniting and night hunting.

Some folks detect in a lot colder than 40f too.
Like maybe on a beach (not in water) since the ground won't freeze in dry sand.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I hunted for a full 8 hours last Sunday and the battery meter on my EQ800 only went down one segment.

 

[baspinall]

Ive hunted 9 hours and my detector went down two bars. My headphones however died at 9 hours. Also has a bit to do with how high your running your gain I believe. On the detector anyways.

 

[ctdirtdigger]

Fuceye, I love the idea of the Solar Panel, I'm going to check that out !! Thank you.

I purchased Doc's Power Kit for the Equinox 600/800 and have been very pleased with it. But all good suggestions.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Docs-Charg...h=item4b4d5c15e4:g:dIEAAOSw~B9bhxog:rk:1:pf:0