DC 30 accessory battery pack

[Unreal_tk]

Bearbain,

The idea is great. Marshal has been saying that for the last two years... so we will see. If they do come out with one, I hope its great.

[Steve White]

End of summer what year? Been saying that for a long time now. I won't hold my breath, and you can bet the price will be much higher!

I understand why some want bigger batteries. I would be very concerned about the waterproofing. Most of use know that silicone does fail. Perhaps a more suitable casing could be made in the future. I hunt in the highest concentration of lakes in the world. So water is a huge concern here.

[South Texan]

bearbain,
In your experiment you said the collar run 58 hours on the 5 second update. Have you tried it on the 10 second update? It would be interesting after you fully charge the battery pack to see how many hours of run time you could get on the 10 second update. Thanks. Robbie

[bearbain]

Battery life for 10 second updates should be 81 hours (assumes 24 hour life with original battery, auxiliary battery boost 3.4X original battery life). 30 second update should be 122hr or 5 days. Waterproofing is a potential issue. I sealed mine with 100% silicone and guerrilla taped it with a double layer of heat shrink on the outside. I went over the internal seals with petroleum gel to boost water resistance. If I was hunting in the swamps again, I would redo the silicone every 3 months.

Finished weight was 16.0 oz start weight was 10.1 oz
For reference: A Johnson telemetry 1600 hr collar weighs 12.0 oz

[pegleg]

why not just vacuum form a plastic case to hold the new battery and original components together? most likely be done very easily and then waterproofing wouldn't be much of a issue with a rubber gasket.