Voltaic Systems V50 Always On External Battery Pack with Dual USB Ports - 12,800mAh

We needed a power pack for the lights in our tent. It had to be always on even when the lights weren't working. This power bank works great. Is compact, hold enough charge for more than we need. Very simple to use, just plug in your device and its on! Easy to charge, great quality. Very happy with it.

Excellent product and the only way I've found to charge or power low-current items (ear buds, Meshtastic nodes, small lights, etc.).

I've been using the V50 as a UPS and portable power supply for Raspberry Pi devices for the last 5 years. No problems at all. Just purchased the V75 and was surprised to see that both charge ports are now USB-C with one of them being PD.If you need a battery bank that supports low current/always on, this is it.

Good battery pack. Lasts a long time. I wish the “always on” feature was easier to understand how to use. It would make more sense to flip a switch to turn it on than jump through the hoops this thing makes you jump through to get it working. I wouldn’t buy this battery if it didn’t have the always on feature.

I have a motion detector light in the hallway and since there is a lot of traffic I have to charge about every day. Regular power banks turn off when the light goes off and doesn’t turn on until you press the button to turn on as you know. With this it is constantly charging and I haven’t had to charge the battery for over a week so far and very little charge is depleted in the power bank. It is expensive so make sure you need this type of power bank. There appears no competition so that’s why it is expensive. All my other power banks are useless in this application. I intend to buy another one for sure.

This is one of the view power banks that works as a UPS. You can plug and remove power to the side port without causing a raspberry pi it’s powering to reboot.Others claim this, but they all (nitecore, zendure, etc) have a blip. That’s probably because actual pass through requires a circuit path change. What you want are separate charge and power circuits like this unit has.It will charge at up to 10 watts. A new Pi will peak at 12, but average lower. So just enough on the pi4 I tested with.

I own a V20 and a V50. These packs are fantastic for my radio-related applications because they are 1) always on and 2) have overcharge protection.I use them to power unattended low power radio beacons (WSPR if you are interested). First, the "always on" feature is very important because the low power draw of the (0.2 watt) transmitters isn't enough to keep other Li-Ion battery banks operating (they turn themselves off). Second, the overcharge protection is great because I can semi-permanently hook the V20 / V50 up to a 20 watt solar panel (with a 5v buck transformer with USB output). One of my beacons has been operating (off-grid, of course) for 6 months now without any human intervention.For my sort of application - low power devices that are solar charged - the V20 / V50 saves me having to purchase a charge controller and lifepo battery. Using the V20/V50 is both cheaper and less bulky (and easier to fit and wire up in a weatherproof box).

If you are looking for an “always on” portable power source this is it. Other reviews touch on its purpose in solar or other scenarios. I purchased because I was looking for a portable power supply that didn’t require me to press “on” and merely drawing power by connecting a device would enable charging. This device does that. However, since it will always send a trickle of power if you don’t pair this battery with a solar panel or other continuous charge source it will discharge over the course of a week. This isn’t a design flaw. But if you are just trying to charge a phone it’s probably not the best power bank. That said, this tech is truly impressive. Pass thru charging. The ability to continuously trickle charge. The use of lithium ion instead of lithium polymer. This is engineered for a very specific purpose and I don’t think any other company is solving this. This takes IoT to new levels.