Arlo Pro 2 remote power supply by USB "power bank" 26,800 mAh

[litbro]

I have an Arlo Pro 2 camera up in a tree.  Every week I have to carry a ladder to the tree and climb it,  to recharge/exchange the 2,440 mAh Arlo battery.  This is a little dangerous to do every week, and my wife cannot do this.   I want to power it with a larger battery such as a 26,800 mAh battery, then I must climb the ladder only once in 10 weeks.

I've included an image of my camera placement and a USB power bank attached with a USB cable.  As you can see there is no sunlight for a Solar panel.

1) Can I use a "USB power bank" plugged into the USB port to power the Arlo pro2 ?

2) WIll the Arlo Pro 2 then operate continuously for appx 10x as long as on the 2,440 mAh battery?

[TomMac]

1) As long as the camera get power it should work, the camera will run on 5v but not charge the battery

2) it should , tho a 26 ahr battery may be a bit heavy, also hope it's weatherproof

[litbro]

TomMac thanks very much for your reply!

I need to be able to disconnect the 26Ah USB battery to recharge it (hopefully after 10 weeks).  I there's a charged Arlo battery inside the camera (which will be holding its charge cuz it's unused, right?) will the camera remain up & running?  I prefer not to have to re-sync the camera to the base station when I unplug the US battery to charge it.

I read somewhere that if the supply is USB 2 or USB 3, and can offer 9v then it may charge the 7.2v Arlo battery (8.4v charging).

That red USB battery is about 5,000mAh.  26,800mAh battery is not so big, about 4x the size of an iPhone.

I will paint the battery brown and hide it on the backside of the tree in some kind of water resistant enclosure.

Another thing I'd prefer to avoid is moving the camera, because it takes some effort to re-aim it each time, and I don't have wi-fi at the camera location.  Other than that, its working good (as in the pic) just need more battery power.

[litbro]

Is there anyone who can help with this?

[Dannybear]

Have you considered using a 12v car battery and a USB-C Qualcomm plugin car charger plug and socket.

You could put the car battery in a battery box at the base of the tree, use a inline 12v cigarette lighter socket to connect to the USB-C charger then use an outdoor charger cable similar to the indoor supplied charger cable.

This would allow the camera to be always charging or if you want you can disconnect the battery when the camera is fully charged so not wasting the battery.
Just a thought.

[litbro]

Thanks Dannybear,

Yes I could rig that up, and that was my initial plan until I realized how much simpler it would be to just buy a $30 USB power bank.  A 12v car battery and the Quallcom hardware is towards  ~$100. And I need two of these setups.  A smaller 12v GEL battery can be used too, there are lots of ways.  But before buying the USB  power banks, I need answers on how the Arlo Pro "accepts" external power.  This forum is my hope, but perhaps it's not allowed to discuss "other power supplies".

If the "powerbank" proposal can work;

1) they cost ~$30 each

2) plug in directly by USB

3) Are very easily concealed (not much bigger than an iPhone)

4) are easily recharged

5) by the numbers, a 26,800mAh should run my camera for 10 weeks.

6) this possibility makes an Arlo Pro 2 system  MUCH more useful to more people because one or more cameras can be positioned in optimum locations tht have a lot of motion, and wiull deplete the Arlo battery  (back yard, driveway entrance etc).  I don't want people to see me climbing a ladder every week, thus giving away the hidden location of my camera.

I can't be the only Arlo user who wants to operate a Pro 2 "remote", without hiring an electrician to run 120v wires to a "wireless" camera.

Again, here is the same "example pic" of my proposal.

And this is what's happening.  The Arlo Pro 2 is connected to the USB power bank, and the internal battery is depleting (now 3%).  Will it deplete to 0 % then access the external supply?

I'm mainly looking for confirmation that the camera will "operate normally" powered by a "USB battery bank".  I can imagine a situation where the camera declines to ask for external power until it's internal battery is dead.   Or perhaps the Pro 2 NEVER accepts external power without "a handshake from an approved power supply".  

I need these type of answers.

I realize that Arlo would like to sell their own power supply.

I cannot use their Solar panel because the camera is in a shaded area.

So, the questions are:

1) Can a "USB battery bank" with a USB power outlet operate the Arlo Pro 2 camera ?  With certainty?

2) Are there any specific type of "USB power bank" to choose?  Or avoid?

3) If the Arlo Pro 2 has a fully charged battery inside, will it deplete it's internal battery and then try to re-charge?  I would like the Arlo to default to its internal battery only while disconnected (while I'm recharging the "USB power bank").

4)  I understand it will NOT recharge on 5v but does it OPERATE on 5v external USB power from a "USB power bank"?  

[litbro]

Is there any way to get assistance from Arlo on this?

I bought into this Arlo security system (5 cameras, 2 base stations) and need some help to finish out some details.

Is Arlo even participate in this duscussion board?

Is there a better place to get information?

[TomMac]

So, the questions are:

1) Can a "USB battery bank" with a USB power outlet operate the Arlo Pro 2 camera ? With certainty?

2) Are there any specific type of "USB power bank" to choose? Or avoid?

3) If the Arlo Pro 2 has a fully charged battery inside, will it deplete it's internal battery and then try to re-charge? I would like the Arlo to default to its internal battery only while disconnected (while I'm recharging the "USB power bank").

4) I understand it will NOT recharge on 5v but does it OPERATE on 5v external USB power from a "USB power bank"?

1) yes it can, I just tried a 5v supply and the pro ran fine ( without battery )

2) in all honesty, I would go with the 12 deep cycle battery near ground and a quallcom charger.  Easy to recharge where you can get to it

3) it will only charge the internal battery on a dual voltage quallcom type charger ( or original ) that outoputs 5v and 9v to charge... thinking that if only 5 v are supplied it may drain a bit from the battery

4) see number 1... I ran a Pro cam from a 6volt gell cell with a regulated output of 5v.  Ran fine

[litbro]

In my pic, the red 5000mAh powerbank has been connected to the camera for a few days, and the camera battery has depleted to 1%.

The Arlo Pro 2 camera went off-line with USB power available.

It seems that the Arlo is NOT drawing 5v from the USB microprocessor-controlled powerbank.

So TomMac, I think you're saying it DOES work with a direct 5v source, i.e.  "not microprocessor-controlled 5v".

OK that's good info.

I will fall back on "cutting/splicing" if nobody replies.

Which I can do, and have done many times with other devices.

I want to know if the Arlo will run on external power from a microprocessor controlled supply (such as a USB powerbank.  A USB powerbank might "go to sleep", thus requiring a wake-up call from the Arlo (protocol etc etc etc) before it outputs 5v?  Some USB powerbanks seem to output USB 3.0 but it's hard to clarify if they accept charge from the USB 3.0 or output 3.0 or both.  And not sure if it's the Qualcomm 3.0 standard.

It seems prudent to first research most readily-available items.  The simple and compact US power banks are so readily available, and recharge directly, etc etc etc, for only $30.  The only question is, are there any that the Arlo will accept power from?   MOST people prefer plug-n-play solutions over cutting/splicing, thus higher value to the forum.

To give up so easily when "the qualified answer" is out there, seems "lazy".  I'll climb the ladder again, exchange the Arlo  again and research for another week in other places.  Maybe I can find another forum that has more activity.  And maybe by then ..... someone who knows these things will happen upon this community.arlo thread.

Fingers crossed.