Short story - I'm successfully running my TRX-1 solely off a typical li-ion 5v power-bank with no noise detected.
Wow. So I used the mini-usb to usb cable supplied with the TRX-1, and ran that my 10000mah Anker usb power bank and didn't expect it to work well, but it does. I also grabbed an inline usb volt / ammeter to test with to check it out.
Noise? None that I can detect, although I still have to run through the full spectrum. So far, I'm not detecting any noise from the Anker's voltage downconverter. And just as importantly, I'm not hearing any microprocessor noise from the TRX-1 being generated down a common-mode and being radiated outside the cable! Common-mode filtering is a big problem with any modern uP rig / scanner, and frankly, I was expecting the worst. Or at least something stupid like burying the dc cable in ferrites.
So this combination of an Anker powerbanks works for *me* - but there's no way I can say if other powerbanks will not be noisy. One would have to do empirical testing like I'm doing.
Charging has been turned OFF in the Global programming menus by setting the charge time to 0 (ZERO) hours. I had to kick-start the powerbank with it's own power button to have it recognize the trx-1. But once on, it stays on.
Rat-tail? Yeah, I suspect so having the cable laying around the desk, but I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it.
Some measurements at 5.1v out of the powerbank:
Idle (0.05A) Light on made it 0.06A
Conventional analog monitoring: 0.17A
P25 conventional digital: 0.2A
Charging (when no carriers active) 0.25A (I disabled charging, but tested anyway.)
Thoughts: McGuyvering a li-ion powerbank might best be done by duct-taping, erm using velcro on the back with a much smaller size, like a 3000 to 5000ah powerbank. The mini-usb will get a lot of wear and tear, so I'd just leave the cable connected to the trx-1, and charge the powerbank normally by pulling the usb plug from that. Perhaps make a very small mini-usb to usb cable instead of using the Whistler supplied one. You get the idea.
Again - I was expecting the worst from either powerbank voltage downconverter noise (not even hear on my AM airband objects), or the dreaded modern problem of poor common-mode noise filtering making it's way to the cable and back to the scanner antenna (listening to itself more or less). I can't find a problem yet, but I'm sure it's there in the spectrum *somewhere*.
Heh, it's a scanner-sexy way to go li-ion without a proprietary solution.
Wow. So I used the mini-usb to usb cable supplied with the TRX-1, and ran that my 10000mah Anker usb power bank and didn't expect it to work well, but it does. I also grabbed an inline usb volt / ammeter to test with to check it out.
Noise? None that I can detect, although I still have to run through the full spectrum. So far, I'm not detecting any noise from the Anker's voltage downconverter. And just as importantly, I'm not hearing any microprocessor noise from the TRX-1 being generated down a common-mode and being radiated outside the cable! Common-mode filtering is a big problem with any modern uP rig / scanner, and frankly, I was expecting the worst. Or at least something stupid like burying the dc cable in ferrites.
So this combination of an Anker powerbanks works for *me* - but there's no way I can say if other powerbanks will not be noisy. One would have to do empirical testing like I'm doing.
Charging has been turned OFF in the Global programming menus by setting the charge time to 0 (ZERO) hours. I had to kick-start the powerbank with it's own power button to have it recognize the trx-1. But once on, it stays on.
Rat-tail? Yeah, I suspect so having the cable laying around the desk, but I'm not going to make a huge deal out of it.
Some measurements at 5.1v out of the powerbank:
Idle (0.05A) Light on made it 0.06A
Conventional analog monitoring: 0.17A
P25 conventional digital: 0.2A
Charging (when no carriers active) 0.25A (I disabled charging, but tested anyway.)
Thoughts: McGuyvering a li-ion powerbank might best be done by duct-taping, erm using velcro on the back with a much smaller size, like a 3000 to 5000ah powerbank. The mini-usb will get a lot of wear and tear, so I'd just leave the cable connected to the trx-1, and charge the powerbank normally by pulling the usb plug from that. Perhaps make a very small mini-usb to usb cable instead of using the Whistler supplied one. You get the idea.
Again - I was expecting the worst from either powerbank voltage downconverter noise (not even hear on my AM airband objects), or the dreaded modern problem of poor common-mode noise filtering making it's way to the cable and back to the scanner antenna (listening to itself more or less). I can't find a problem yet, but I'm sure it's there in the spectrum *somewhere*.
Heh, it's a scanner-sexy way to go li-ion without a proprietary solution.
