Flux Health Forum

Power bank behavior to look for, for driving devices

Flux Health Info
#1

From what I’ve understood, power banks are quite different when it comes to features and behavior.

What do I look for?

I have two medium sized power banks.

I’ve used both for driving the same red light pad. With PB 1 I need to remove the cable, then reinsert it between each timer application. With PB 2 the simple LED display said OFF even after the first session had concluded. That’s where it starts when I initially plug in. The device remembered the settings.

Can you tell me if this has anything to do with what I’m looking for? I’m guessing PB 2 is better, but I don’t know if what I observed tells me if it will work well. I was hoping you would know. I can test with a meter later on what small charge the controller draws when the pad is off. But PB 2 also has two outlets. The 1A outlet wasn’t powerful enough for the pad, but maybe for the M1 or C5?

#2

Its really very hard (impossible) to say how any given power bank product will perform: there are no industrial standards, so they are designed and changed by manufacturers at will. Two supposedly identical ones, purchased just a few weeks apart, may behave quite differently if they were built in different manufacturing batches.

Our ICES-PEMF devices draw very little current, but once again, that depends on how you use it, just like a car burning gas. How much gas does a car burn? It depends on how you drive it.

On a low intensity setting with low-load standard coils and a low frequency pulse pattern, the power draw of our ICES-PEMF devices can be as little as 0.03 amps (30 mA), which is why some power banks will just shut off for this kind of load: they can’t even detect it because it is so low.

On the other hand, if you crank up the intensity to 14 or 15 on a C5, use high-load coils (such as a 2x2 arrays), and drive it at high frequency, the load could be over 1 amp (1000 mA). So it depends entirely on how you are using it.

Generally I recommend using USB power outlets with a current capacity of 2 amps (2000 mA) or more, either for power bank outlets or from a wall plug charger port, just to be sure it will be enough.

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#3

Thank you. That will help a lot. I just ordered another USB meter, and will measure the power banks I have.

I’m probably deluding myself that I can figure out anything more than you’ve already told me. But I like the challenge, and I love fiddling with USB meters.

The issue with changes in batches would be that it makes it near impossible to order in bulk. You basically need to be able to test it in the store, which means breaking the seal of the one you buy.

Unless the Anker powerbank with trickle charge mentioned in another post actually delivers what it promises, and trickle charge enda up being something you can rely on to tell you the power banks of a certain model are all specced to work for this application.

#4

These things are fun to fiddle around with. I am testing three USB battery power banks right at the moment. Anker seems to make a pretty consistent product. It is just a bit frustrating when I find an off-brand one that is perfect, but then you can never buy them again, or they change their product so it is not so perfect anymore. If their trickle charge feature is as it is advertised, that would solve the turn-off problem, and I would trust Anker to make it consistently based on their products that I have tested in the past.

#5

I would be interested in a video showing your testing process. I don’t have any of your devices yet, so I would also be interested in any workarounds you could come up with for testing a customer’s existing power banks before ordering your device.

#6

The testing process is actually very dull. I run different devices for hours on different settings, just letting them run, sometimes logging their output signals and operating voltages automatically. I suppose it is about as interesting as watching a toaster.

The results are interesting to me, the process… not so much.

#7

high tech version of watching paint dry :thinking::smiley:

you must love your work and mission of making pemf accessible to the masses to personally interact and answer our tedious, but genuine questions and concerns haha

I’m grateful for your expertise and making yourself so accessible to the public the way you do. it’s rare we get to interact with the inventor of such a life improving and liberating device!

thanks Dr Bob for all you do and having the passion to develop the tools for all of us to benefit from! :+1:t4:

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#8

I’m thinking more along the lines of how I can simulate the lowest load. I suppose I won’t really know until I have a device.

#9

About 10 mA would be a reasonable representation of our devices at a very low power setting with low-load coils at a low frequency, so you could try by just simulating a 10 mA load, which for a 5 volt supply (USB standard) would be:

E = I * R
5.0 = .010 * R

R = 500 Ohms.

That is not a “standard” resistor value, but it is close, so I suggest you try putting a load of 510 Ohms on the USB output. These are very common and inexpensive resistors., 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 Watt would be fine for this application.

These resistors cost just a few cents a piece, but you usually have to buy them in larger numbers (example: 100 for about $6):

#10

I appreciate the specifics, and I’m sure the publib record will prove useful for some. That might be a little above my pay grade, though. I understand ready made dummy loads, and I have some variable ones. I will measure the stuff I have lying around, though.

#11

I got the machine today. None of my power banks work with M1. Any hacks you know of to keep the connection alive?

Edit: With power level at 1. Maybe one or more would work with a higher power level. Don’t know that yet.

#12

higher intensity levels might work, you could try that.

#13

I was thinking a tiny hub and an extra device charging off the same port on the power bank might work. That would make the whole thing bulky, so not sure there’s any point.

The power brick that came with it is US plug, so that can have issues. Can power bricks have issues with low power too?

I can’t start with high power. I need to start really slow and see how I respond.

I have a total of 6 batteries, so I can use it regardless. I didn’t expect the machine to come with batteries, so I already bought some. The extra charger will come in handy for sure.

#14

here’s the problem: all of these power banks and bricks work differently. Some sense low current, but some do not and therefore will not turn off. Believe it or not, but the cheaper ones tend to work better, because they have fewer bells-and-whistles, so they sometimes do not have an automatic turn OFF feature.

If you are good with a soldering iron, the technical solution is to solder a 50 to 60 Ohm resistor between +5V and ground wires on the USB cable to the power bank. This will add just enough electrical load that the power banks will sense a load and will not turn off (usually)

Bob

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#15

I had a hunch you would mention a resistor, LOL…