OT battery packs for Mk1 & Mk2

Hi!
I’ve been searching around for an external battery that would work with the octatrack - through this forum I found out about the Tekkeon MP3450 but it’s not available anymore.
Found this though which appears to have identical specs -
http://www.powerstream.com/PST-MP3500-I.htm

Has anyone used this - or is there a cheaper option (Tekkeon MP3300?) that anyone can recommend?

Thanks!

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May be this ! Not tried but mentioned in another thread

http://www.ravpower.com/ravpower-23000mah-portable-charger-external-battery-charger.html

Thanks for the reply - the price is great on that one but i’m not sure it’ll work with the Octatrack as it’s DC output is 9v and over - only the USB output does 5V.
I found another one that appears to be identical to the Tekkeon, but it’d be great to find one that’s been tested with an OT.

Hey, instead of creating a new thread regarding this topic, I decided to reanimate this one.

Has anyone made real life experiences regarding a battery pack that works with powering the Octatrack (and therefore maybe other Elektron machines?)

I especially would like to to hear about products that are available on the European market.

Thanks in advance and best regards,
Bolandross

3 Likes

adding a slim flat rechargeable battery pack to the elektron store that

  • switches 6v or 12v;
  • fits under the full width n breadth of any electron machine;
  • attaches via the rack screw holes;
  • is indented to accommodate the machines rubber feet;
  • with a short cable with combo plug to simultaneously power the machine and socket to accept charging via 6v or 12v wall wart and;
  • a USB charging socket; and,
  • remaining charge meter

… would be of great interest!

8 Likes

I would second this!! Another option would be one attaches to the rack sides but resides in a front bumper (like the bumpers on the MPC 5000)
It could also angle the Octa…

Front bumper is a good idea, or integrated into an angled stand.
However a backplate battery could function with the EIT stands :wink:

I have a Ravpower 23000mah which works great for my RYTM and A4, but it doesn’t output 6v which is needed monomachine/octatrack. (Eventually I’ll own an octatrack) That Powerstream one mentioned by OP seems a tad overpriced (170$ vs the 90$ I spent on the ravpower)

So if anyone knows a portable batter bank similar to Ravpower 23000mah that works for Octatrack/Monomachine please let me know!

Do you guys think this one might work ?

Hey Tokin,
I see a problem at the available output voltages. As onoffon said, the Octatrack needs 6V to work, but the Poweradd Pilot Pro2 does not have such an output-option.

Oh yeah, thanks

If you need a battery pack you can take a simple power bank with 5v usb out put or a 12 v acid battery off a motorbike. they are all dc and building a converter is very easy. there even are step up and step down modules available that go for less than a euro.

This sounds very interesting!

I have a question though, how do these converters behave when the voltage of the batteries starts to decrease? Are they flexible and just reduce what’s necessary?
For example:
9V -> 6V
8.5V -> 6V
7V -> 6V

6.5V -> 6V
5.5V -> 5.5V ?

I know it might not be that easy as I think, that’s why I am asking :slight_smile:
Also, it would be awesome to have an indicator that shows when the battery is low, so projects can be saved before shutdown.

Thanks in advance,
best regards,
Benjamin

It depends on how much is decreasing and how much the instrument consumes. There are capacitors to buffer but I wouldn’t rely on it. Anyway I think a converted 12 V from a motorcycle battery can power a machine for quite a while. Not sure what the average consumption is but not that much I guess.
I can’t tell for sure but I doubt you will have a constant output when the capacity is dropping.
There are converters that can do this but they will need some kind of intelligent regulation and you won’t get this for a euro

Have you got any example of these intelligent converters? The other ones you are referring to - are they something like this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/To-6V-18W-Max-3A-Power-Supply-Waterproof-DC-DC-Converter-12V-Step-Down-/130981183428 Apart from that the rating does not seem good at all, would not mind to pay a few euros extra for something more “reliable”
Have anyone found a tekkeon alternative?

I use this one every time i go on holiday:

http://www.millets.co.uk/equipment/124679-powertraveller-powergorilla-charger.html/723165/?istCompanyId=b238823a-59fd-4816-9c36-7dd47877f2a8&istItemId=raxrmlrtp&istBid=tzil&gclid=Cj0KEQjw9tW5BRDk29KDnqWu4fMBEiQAKj7sp4NvRNCfMcI_QckMZK7rNkc7jn3wJS5e0kommtBz0NYaAnNE8P8HAQ

Squirts - the spec for that powerbank says it only does 5v, 8.4v, 9v etc … does it work with octatrack since it’s 6v 3amp input ?

yup, the 8.4v works perfectly and I get about 5 hours playing time out of each charge.

Thanks for the info.

I was hesitant to try a higher voltage IE: 8.4v or 9v going into the monomachine or octatrack.

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That looks interesting and I’m tempted to pull the trigger, but how do I know that it won’t hurt the OT to be sending it 8.4 volts instead of 6? Have you had any issues with it getting hot, etc? Seems kinda sketchy