Incar Inverters for charging Gopro Karma etc

tweedbean · 26 Apr 2018 at 13:42

Hi all, I have just bought a Go Pro Hero 5 Black plus Karma drone and I am looking to purchase a car inverter to plug the charger into. A lot of the time I am going to use these on the go so I want to be able to charge while driving. Never looked into this before, is there anything I need to know about what inverter to get? Anything I need to look out for?

Going to look into some spare batteries but I know for the grip, you cant change the batteries so charging is the only option.

Burnsy2023 · 26 Apr 2018 at 13:59

I wouldn't look for an inverter which will ultimately go from 12-14v DC > 230V AC > 5v (or similar) which actually charges the device. Look for something that will go from car voltage to charger voltage with sufficient amperage.

adolf hamster · 26 Apr 2018 at 21:24

i guess the inverter is for the drone charger?

otherwise a good usb charger is surely the better option.

NigeP · 30 Apr 2018 at 07:15

Just wire in something like this, Thats what I use.

12V to USB adapter.

GeX · 30 Apr 2018 at 07:57

adolf hamster said:
i guess the inverter is for the drone charger?

otherwise a good usb charger is surely the better option.

NigeP said:
Just wire in something like this, Thats what I use.

12V to USB adapter.

The charger is 16.8V 5A, attempting to charge a 14.8V 5100mAH (75.4Wh) LiPo via USB is going to be.. slow.

wrt inverters, consider if just buying more batteries is a better idea - if not, it's been a while since I needed to use an inverter but I'd always look for ones that generated a pure sine wave.

I wonder if the Karma can be charged from a 'normal' LiPo charger with balance cable, I use a IMAX B6 Mini to charge mine and that takes 12V as input.

NVP · 30 Apr 2018 at 08:44

Just grab a discounted one from Maplin whilst they're still around. Remember to never have it plugged in when starting or stopping the engine as this can sometimes blow the fuse in the car-plug.

NigeP · 30 Apr 2018 at 15:21

GeX said:
The charger is 16.8V 5A, attempting to charge a 14.8V 5100mAH (75.4Wh) LiPo via USB is going to be.. slow.

Apologies, I thought it was just a GoPro

Scania · 30 Apr 2018 at 16:42

NVP said:
Just grab a discounted one from Maplin whilst they're still around. Remember to never have it plugged in when starting or stopping the engine as this can sometimes blow the fuse in the car-plug.

+1 For the Maplin option, inverters are / we’re one of the few things they are / we’re competitively priced on.

I’ve got a 600w 24v one for my truck (for my laptop) and it’s fine.

Never had an issue with it which is more than I can say for the 3000w one I use for my microwave!