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Gopro Hero 2 External Power Setup


Knute

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Got sick & tired of constantly swapping out batteries on my GoPro Hero 2 and now with the WiFi + Remote Pac I've added, battery life seems to be even worse. So I decided to try and hook up some external power via a dual usb outlet. I'm really not that good at setting up crap like this, but it does work, perhaps someone can use it and I'm sure improve on it... anyway have a look see.

Outlet USB

Whipped up a quick Remote mounting point. Used a GoPro Tripod mount and just shaved off the round areas.

Remote mount

Front view

Had to mod the Remote mounting bracket by cutting off the locking clip and epoxy the remote charger to the mounting bracket.Though that I might have had to reinforce it but the epoxy held just fine. Oh, had to add a little spacer between the two parts, just used a piece of a zip tie as the filler.

Remote mod2

Remote mod1

Remote mod3

Front fork mount...

Fork mount

Rear cable run and mount... (easy to loop it around the tank bumper and make the run to the rear under the seat)

Rear usb cable run

Rear usb cable run1

Rear mount

Rear usb connection

Front windscreen...

Front mount

Cable plug in's

USB outlet

Side front

All in all I'm quite happy with the results. At first I thought I had to have a WiFi Pac usb power connection as well, but so far it seems that the one connection to the camera itself keeps both camera and wifi pack charged. Now I can run the darn thing all day without changing batteries! Damn what a piss off it was to get off the bike only to find the F'ing camera turned off with dead batteries. Now, when I shut the bike off for a fill up or a little rest stop, I simply leave the GoPro powered up. Swapping locations is a snap too, only take a few minutes to relocate to any mount on the bike. Fairly easy setup to do!

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I thought you were married now ? But looks good ...

I guess I could count the last 32 years as being married, I'm thinking my wife would (well most of the time anyway) :blush:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Looks good. I never thought of getting one for the remote too. I installed a single usb port and bought a skeleton case to keep the camera powered via usb.. Your idea looks better, the skeleton case is incredibly bad for wind noise. Finding hero 2 parts has become a pain, now that the 3 is out, no one keeps parts for the older ones. (just like phones and ipods, once the new ones hit the shelves, the old accessories disappear. Damn retailers) I've also taken to using my iphone 4 instead of the remote, it has a preview screen.

Here is the usb

post-22926-0-18336100-1375737410.jpg

Here is the camera mount. The mini red 'biner is for the tether strap

post-22926-0-11344600-1375737417.jpg

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Howdy Grilldemon, You can find Hero 2 cases on eBay no problem. I was kind of thinking on getting one of the skeletal cases, but was concerned about debris getting in the case what with some of the mount locations I use. I just used my Dremel tool to carve out the usb port, actually got a fairly snug fit with the cable I will be using the most. I wasn't too concerned if I F'ed it up, figured I'd just order a new one off eBay if I did. Thinking about drilling out the mic hole as well and picking up an external mic to check out how that works.

USB port

Guess I should have included this pic in my original posting...

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I will have to buy a couple off ebay. I bought the skeleton case because I left it till the last minute, my bad. I do have 1 full case I use for quadding. My bad for not thinking ahead. Wind noise on the full case in not an issue. It sure helps to have constant power to the cam, batteries are a PITA

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I will have to buy a couple off ebay. I bought the skeleton case because I left it till the last minute, my bad. I do have 1 full case I use for quadding. My bad for not thinking ahead. Wind noise on the full case in not an issue. It sure helps to have constant power to the cam, batteries are a PITA

I just plain ole got sick and tired of swapping batteries! Can't tell you the number of times I've climbed off the bike only to find the GP dead, not having a clue as to when it died. Now I just keep it powered up the entire ride, just pressing the remote control start/stop button as needed.

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  • 2 months later...
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Knute how has your set up been working? Any issues with the USB connections vibrating loose? Can you give me a link or info about the USB dual port you used? Thanks.

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Knute how has your set up been working? Any issues with the USB connections vibrating loose? Can you give me a link or info about the USB dual port you used? Thanks.

I have the same setup, it doesn't come loose.

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  • 4 years later...
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Reviving an old thread...I havent' been using myGoPro Hero 3 black for years due to the battery issue.  Just ordered this case to enable charging.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073H2V8SF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Can anyone verify that the camera will run with USB power indefinitely as long as there is a battery installed regardless of the battery's inability to hold a charge for more than about 30 min?

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23 hours ago, 2thdr said:

Reviving an old thread...I havent' been using myGoPro Hero 3 black for years due to the battery issue.  Just ordered this case to enable charging.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B073H2V8SF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Can anyone verify that the camera will run with USB power indefinitely as long as there is a battery installed regardless of the battery's inability to hold a charge for more than about 30 min?

 

I have a little different setup now. I purchased a USB adaptor that looks like the battery but has a USB cable attached that I run to the outlet. If I recall, the setup you're looking to use did work just fine. One thing about the setup I now have is that once you switch off the ignition the GP turns off as well.

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