131.5F

Other than the inverter temporarily shutting itself off and a transient blue shift in the LCD displays, everything worked fine at 131.5F. The sun was so bright and hot that it was difficult to take these pix. Thanks again to Chris, K7CMC, who got roasted on his roof when getting these shots.

AC input & output cords

The AC input cable is ready to charge the pack, and the AC out cable is ready to help waste the battery's precious amp-hours. DC to AC inverters are really inefficient, but this one isn't too bad. It's metal and fit perfectly below the RIGrunner... I wouldn't use it for anything with more draw than a laptop, though.

Output side with AC cable

I cut an outdoor-rated AC extension cable and screwed the three wires into the back of a Bulgin SA3230 screw terminal insert that's surrounded by a Bulgin PX0800 flex cable connector.

AC & DC inputs

Actually, when the pack is powered by AC, the DC jack on this side of the case is an unfused output. The Red-Dee-2 PS-4 makes that possible by tapping into the output line from the Samlex SEC-1235 AC to DC power supply, leading to the input of the PWRgate battery charger.

When AC is disconnected, the DC jack drops to about 0.12V and is ready to accept power. The PWRgate can't tell the difference between the internal power supply and an external DC source...

BTW, I've since replaced the female AC input bulkhead with a male one -- so there's no chance of getting shocked by touching the end of the custom AC input cable.

Input side 3q profile close up

As you can see, nothing except power cables sticks out past the pack's lid. The Red-Dee-2 PS-4 is held in place by a modified paper clamp. I cut it to match the PS-4's length, drilled a screw hole through the back, squeezed the PS-4 into the clamp and twisted an industrial twist-tie to keep it from sliding. It's rather low-tech compared to the rest of the pack, but it works.

Input side 3q profile close up - NEW

In this updated version of the pack, I discarded the paper clamp PS-4 mount in favor of a more professional light duty ring clamp with an integrated screw hole. I removed the PS-4's plastic case, wrapped it in many layers of electrical tape, cut short the PowerPoles that plugged into it, and rotated the PS-4 to unblock the AC / DC input bulkheads.

Top & bottom close up

Everything is visible here. The power cord hanging down between the PWRgate and RIGrunner is draped behind the polycarbonate backplate and exits on the right of the RIGrunner. To charge an external battery with the PWRgate, you just disconnect the internal battery, plug the hanging cord into it and plug the other side into the cable going to the PowerPole bulkhead on the far right.

You can charge an external battery from either PowerPole bulkhead without swapping cables; however, without using the PWRgate the charge will be unregulated. Not recommended...

The thin power cords hanging down over the inverter are going to a modified 12V to 5V USB adapter that provides the backlight for the white digital thermometer in the upper left. The thermometer has an internal watch battery, but its blue backlight is very cool. :-) It also has a temperature probe (red / white cable on the left side of the RIGrunner). Pretty nice for only $7. Sadly, the thermometer is EOL now -- no longer available.

I have since eliminated the 12V to 5V adapter and replaced the RIGrunner 4005 with a 4004U that has two integrated 5V USB power jacks. See the next pic.

After starting to build a battery sled that I could easily slide out of the pack, I soon discovered a simple solution: a ballistic nylon strap and furniture sliders on each side.

Top & bottom close up - NEW

Here you can see the new PS-4 mount and the RIGrunner 4004U instead of the 4005. I also put the thermometer probe behind the backplate, organized the wire runs a little better, and shifted the LED strip over to the left a bit in order to throw some light horizontally.

Top

Delp's Awards in Eugene laser engraved the labels for only $3 each. Great deal. The Skooba Superbungee Strap makes the pack much easier to carry.

Hanging #1

Here's a better view of the boat brackets I'm installing on the 1430 pack now. They work just as well on chain link fences as on boat hulls...

Hanging #2

Just expand the brackets a bit, and clip the pack to the top of a fence.

Hanging #3

You can even attach the pack to the side of your vehicle without having to worry about it flipping you over like Fred Flintstone's order of ribs.

Attack Goats!

I had to distract these goats with snacks to keep them from trying to eat the pack. :-)

Top & bottom close up - V2

To the casual eye, not much has changed from the original design. It uses the same PWRgate, inverter and power supply (wires visible at the bottom of the image) and batteries (not shown; Hawker Odyssey PC680s as an option). The Red-Dee PS-4 PowerPole splitter has been re-modified with sturdier "meltable wall" shrink tube and secured with a plastic clamp. The PVC-coated power cables have all been replaced with superior 200C/400F silicone-coated cable. I decided to swap out the RIGrunner 4005 for the 4004U version. Although it has one less PowerPole jack, I actually gained a free PP jack because I ditched the thermometer (which required a 12V -> 5V adapter) and the LED strip (needed a PP jack). I now use a much brighter flexible USB LED light.

In the middle of the lid (between the PWRgate and silver inverter), I added a PowerPole pedestal that connects the PWRgate to wires behind the back plate that run to the new backlit Turnigy meters. One of the meters connects to the battery via the two holes at the bottom of the pedestal (cords are hanging down). Why did I install two meters? Well, I discovered that the reasonably-priced meters that would fit in my case all had the same limitation: Although they will pass current, etc. from the load to the source (right to left) side of the meter, they will NOT display it.

Anyhow, this "flaw" is a problem when you have a bidirectional power system and need to simultaneously view the charge (in) and discharge (out). Sure, you could swap cables with one meter like an old-timey switch board operator (and lose all of your stored data in the process), but I wanted to make something better that didn't require guesswork or an instruction book.

As for how I wired the meters, it's difficult to explain, but here goes (see the cheesy MS Paint diagram, below):

Let's call the incoming meter "IN" and the outgoing meter "OUT". Both have "source" and "load" cables; "IN/S", "IN/L", "OUT/S" and "OUT/L". The PWRgate charger has "PS", "OUT" and "BAT" jacks; "PG/PS", "PG/OUT", "PG/BAT". The jacks on the PowerPole pedestal between the PWRgate and inverter that PG/OUT and PG/BAT connects to are called "PP/OUT/FRONT", "PP/OUT/BACK", "PP/BAT/FRONT" and "PP/BAT/BACK".

Here's how they connect:

AC/DC in -> PS4 splitter -> PG/PS -> PG/OUT and PG/BAT; PG/OUT -> PP/OUT/FRONT -> PP/OUT/BACK -> OUT/S -> OUT/L -> RIGrunner (RR) -> load/DC OUT. PG/BAT -> PP/BAT/FRONT -> PP/BAT/BACK -> IN/S -> IN/L -> BATTERY.

When no external AC/DC is present, the battery takes over: BATTERY -> IN/L -> IN/S -> PP/BAT/BACK -> PP/BAT/FRONT -> PG/BAT -> PG/OUT -> PP/OUT/FRONT -> PP/OUT/BACK -> OUT/S -> OUT/L -> RR -> DC OUT. That's about a dozen steps, but it all seems to flow efficiently. I think Rube Goldberg would've liked it. :-)

3Q profile - V2 #1

3Q profile - V2 #2

AC & DC inputs - V2

Output side with AC & DC cables - V2

1430PP - V2 diagram

Who needs Visio? :-P See how I took advantage of the meter's inability to show current, etc. flowing from right to left?