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How to make a 5 volt battery?

How to make a 5 volt battery?

How to make a 5 volt battery?

(OP)
I have a wireless network camera that I want to mount in a location that doesn't have an outlet (the camera I own is the D-Link DCS-900G, and details can be found here: http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=459).  Anyway, the users manual states that the power supply cord is a 5-volt, 2.5-Amp power supply.  I know so little about electricity, but if I remember correctly I could get 6 volts by placing 4 1.5 volt batteries in series, correct?  However, would 6 volts damage the unit?  If I did create a 5-volt battery system, doesn't the voltage on a battery drop as it's used?  How long would batteries run the camera?  (Obviously it depends on battery size and type, but I have no clue where to begin).

Anyway, I just need to work up some way to get some juice to the camera, and a 50-foot extension cord running through the middle of my front yard is an option I'm sure my wife isn't going to go for, and I have no desire to pay someone to run electricty to the site.  Thanks!

RE: How to make a 5 volt battery?

You want to google "low head" voltage regulator.  You would take your 6V and regulate it down to 5V.  Alternatively you could use a silicon rectifier to dump 0.7V by placing it in series with the the 6V.

Other things to consider.

A bunch of 1.5V dry cells aren't going to last long.

A six volt lead acid battery will last far longer.

Six volt LA batteries put out more than 6V.

Six volts would probably damage the unit but 5.2 - 5.3 probably wouldn't.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com

RE: How to make a 5 volt battery?

You can probably get it to work for a usable time period with four NiCd cells and no regulator, or five NiCd cells with a regulator.  

If you charge the cells while they are in the circuit, e.g. with a trickle charger, you _must_ use a voltage regulator, because it takes something like 7V to charge a 6V lead-acid battery, and probably a bit more than 5V to charge a 4.8V NiCd battery.  Most 5V devices will tolerate some undervoltage, but not overvoltage.

OR, run it from the specified AC adapter (no warranty issues), and run _that_ from a computer UPS, which should be good for a couple of days.

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: How to make a 5 volt battery?

Spec sheet in back of manual says its 5V 2.5 amp. Also says 5 watt. Numbers dont add as 5 V at 2.5 Amp is 7.5 watts.

So to Battery. Nicad or NiMH are 2000 maH for the
very high capacity AA size, 1.2 votl per cell,  
will last about 3/4 hour

Enersys X cell (fat D sealed lead acid)
is 5 amp hours 2 volts per cell (2.14 charged).
3 in series would provide a couple hours and last
through about 300 charge discharge cycles.
Cost is more than $10 a cell on the open market.

Golf cart battery is 6 volt, 220 Amp hour, Weight less
than 75 pounds... About 1 foot cube last about
2 - 3 days at that rate (100 hours or so.)

Gives you an idea of your trade offs.  
Low drop out regulator for 2.5 amps is going to take a heat sink  etc etc. This little puppy is power hungry.

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