DIY Vagabond / power pack parts list

I figured this would be easier than writing this out every time I get an email about it.

The functional components are a true sine wave inverter, a sealed lead acid battery, and a charger. You want to make sure that you're using a true sine wave inverter. Cheaper modified sine wave inverters don't put out clean power. If you use a modified inverter with your strobes, you'll run the risk of either misfiring or frying your equipment. Blown caps smell bad.

The Vagabond uses this -
http://www.samlexamerica.com/products/productdescription.asp?ProductsID=7013

http://store.altenergystore.com/Inverters/Off-Grid-No-Utility-Needs-Batteries/10-to-299-Watts/Samlex-150W-12V-Pure-Sine-Wave-Inverter/p1043/

It's a 150W Samlex. They're cheap, but anyone that uses the Vagabond can tell you that the 150W continuous current can be limiting for recycle times especially for more powerful units (AB1600, X3200). I strongly recommend stepping up to the 300W Samlex. It's not that much more expensive, and 300W continuous will cut down your recycle times.

http://store.altenergystore.com/Inverters/Off-Grid-No-Utility-Needs-Batteries/300-to-999-Watts/Samlex-300W-12V-Pure-Sine-Wave-Inverter/p1044/

If you have a Fry's Electronics locally, they'll have them for $130.

Next you need a 12V battery. Sealed lead acid is cheap so it's the most economical way to go. The higher the AH rating, the longer it'll last and the heavier it'll be. It's up to you to figure out what the best compromise is for weight vs battery life. The Vagabond uses a 15AH battery. In testing I've found that it's best to stay above 10AH at a bare minimum. If you need them shipped, either one of these would work -

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=SLA-12V12

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=SLA-12V18

If you need something more heavy duty and don't mind the weight, then pick up a motorcycle or car battery at your local auto shop. Another good place to check locally would be a hobby shop.

There are plenty of options for battery chargers. If you want to prolong the life of your battery, then go with a "smart" multistage charger. They adjust according to what charging stage your battery is in, and they're safe to leave plugged in to maintain storage charge. The Battery Tender is a solid unit, and it's international.

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=DEL-022-0139-DL-UK

Then again, SLA batteries are cheap and life span is 3 years max. If you have more than 1 battery to charge at a time, going with cheaper chargers might be a more practical route.

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-12BC1000D-1

I'd avoid fast chargers though.

Here's a simplified overview of SLA charging -
http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/lead.html

After that, all that's left is to wire everything up and find something to store it in. Your local auto or electronic shop will have all the cables and connectors you need. Wire gauge from your battery to your inverter will depend on the length of the run. If it's short then you don't need anything super heavy duty - 14-16ga will be fine. For smaller capacity batteries, 1/4" spade connectors (.250) will fit the battery terminals. Bigger capacity batteries will have ring terminals. It all depends on what you go with, but it's not hard to find.

NEC requires a ground circuit. Local and state laws will vary, but the reason the Vagabond comes with a ground is a CYA. The Samlex instruction manual will show you where to attach a ground cable on the inverter chassis. Your auto store has ground cables and spikes for sale. Then again, it's probably a good idea to avoid using faulty cabling and equipment in the first place.

Toolboxes work great for storage. Walmart has a 22" plastic Black & Decker for under $10. Anything will work as long as it's sturdy and waterproof (though I do recommend plastic in order to avoid shorting anything if your cables come loose).

This is what mine looked like when I got done. The wiring's a little different because I used 5AH batteries in parallel. I also used fast disconnects for everything to make swapping batteries and plugging in chargers easier. They sell them at Fry's.







And that's about it. It's fairly straight forward and it'll save you money. A DIY power pack with 300W inverter, 12-18AH battery, charger, and misc parts should run you less than $250 easy (compared to $350 before shipping for the 150W Vagabond and $500 for the 300W version, which is 2 150W inverters instead of a single 300W).

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

virtuamike said:

I figured this would be easier than writing this out every time I
get an email about it.

The functional components are a true sine wave inverter, a sealed
lead acid battery, and a charger. You want to make sure that you're
using a true sine wave inverter. Cheaper modified sine wave
inverters don't put out clean power. If you use a modified inverter
with your strobes, you'll run the risk of either misfiring or
frying your equipment. Blown caps smell bad.

Click to expand...

I've had all the parts for some time, but haven't had time to put the thing together (no push, either, as I haven't need portability in the ABs this year). I also had no luck figuring out what to use as a ground rod, so will now roll in to check out the local auto parts stores. Thanks for that.

My intent has been to use a soft drink cooler large enough to hold the Samlex on one side, the battery on ther other, but I think I like your idea better. Again, thanks.
--
Charlie Self
http://www.charlieselfonline.com

Great job with the write-up, links, and photos. Better and cheaper than a Vagabond that is hard to in the first place.

The batteries can be heavy, so the only thing that I would change is to get a toolbox very similar to the one you showed but with wheels and an extending handle. That way it can be rolled around like luggage. I think that I remember seeing one that might be suitable at Walmart.
--
Antonio Cotto
GemPhoto
http://www.myspace.com/gemphoto
http://gemphoto.fotopic.net/
http://ujenatalent.com/photographer/11253.html
http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=886

Agreed, the batteries can get pretty heavy. With 4 batteries, my setup ran about 20 lbs.

I haven't had much luck with wheeled cases - they tend to break quick on me (especially the cheap ones). I'll probably get something like this next (should hold up longer) -
http://www.adorama.com/REC3.html

Antonio Cotto said:

Great job with the write-up, links, and photos. Better and cheaper
than a Vagabond that is hard to in the first place.

The batteries can be heavy, so the only thing that I would change
is to get a toolbox very similar to the one you showed but with
wheels and an extending handle. That way it can be rolled around
like luggage. I think that I remember seeing one that might be
suitable at Walmart.
--
Antonio Cotto
GemPhoto
http://www.myspace.com/gemphoto
http://gemphoto.fotopic.net/
http://ujenatalent.com/photographer/11253.html
http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=886

Click to expand...

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

Heh I looked into coolers too. I ended up going with the toolbox because it was lighter and less bulky.

CharlieDIY said:

virtuamike said:

I figured this would be easier than writing this out every time I
get an email about it.

The functional components are a true sine wave inverter, a sealed
lead acid battery, and a charger. You want to make sure that you're
using a true sine wave inverter. Cheaper modified sine wave
inverters don't put out clean power. If you use a modified inverter
with your strobes, you'll run the risk of either misfiring or
frying your equipment. Blown caps smell bad.

Click to expand...

I've had all the parts for some time, but haven't had time to put
the thing together (no push, either, as I haven't need portability
in the ABs this year). I also had no luck figuring out what to use
as a ground rod, so will now roll in to check out the local auto
parts stores. Thanks for that.

My intent has been to use a soft drink cooler large enough to hold
the Samlex on one side, the battery on ther other, but I think I
like your idea better. Again, thanks.
--
Charlie Self
http://www.charlieselfonline.com

Click to expand...

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

Check car section in Walmart - they offer a Black and Decker 350W emergency power supply (120V and 12V output) - battery/inverter is already built-in - cost about $99. Also Sams club has a similar unit (another manufacturer) which is similar but has USB outputs and radio built-in. Both of these are suitable for the proposed use, I've used them both recently and they certainly work out cheaper than custom/OEM units.

Do you know how many shots per charge yet?

Also, it will be interesting to see how Paul Buff weighs in on this. There may be a logical reason for using two 150W inverters. Without having one handy to take a part I can only guess that it may provide two separate AC circuits at 150W rather than a single at 300W. Splitting the load may be on purpose.

--
Chefziggy
http://www.pbase.com/chefziggy/lecream

IIRC the dedicated solutions include a 'peak limiter', as flashes typically pull a very large current in the first moments after each discharge.

--
cheers, Peter

Germany

Hey, those fins on the inverter are there for a reason. Don't put them in anything that eliminates airflow during use, like a cooler. Same for the charger.

Also, if in doubt, find someone with an oscilloscope and check the output voltage to verify that it is a somewhat decent looking sine wave.
--
Scott

Tony D said:

Check car section in Walmart - they offer a Black and Decker 350W
emergency power supply (120V and 12V output) - battery/inverter is
already built-in - cost about $99. Also Sams club has a similar
unit (another manufacturer) which is similar but has USB outputs
and radio built-in. Both of these are suitable for the proposed
use, I've used them both recently and they certainly work out
cheaper than custom/OEM units.

Click to expand...

Tony D or anyone else,

I just purchased 2 Alien bee B800 flash heads and the Vagabond portable power V150 with an extra battery with the intent that I could use two B800's at ful power for ~ 200 flashes. Per Alien bee service rep he said this would be possible.

Now I am thinking of building my own per virtual mike's setup mentioned above....and/or checking out the portable power you metioned via B&D power supplies at Walmart or Sam's.

Any possible issues/concerns using either one of these from Walmart/Sam's and would it give me ~ 200 flashes for two B800's ?

ChefZiggy said:

Do you know how many shots per charge yet?

Also, it will be interesting to see how Paul Buff weighs in on
this. There may be a logical reason for using two 150W inverters.
Without having one handy to take a part I can only guess that it
may provide two separate AC circuits at 150W rather than a single
at 300W. Splitting the load may be on purpose.

--
Chefziggy
http://www.pbase.com/chefziggy/lecream

Click to expand...

The Vagabond was the first portable power unit for studio flash. When it was designed the 300W inverters used a different current limiting scheme and didn't work as well as the 150W. There is also the issue of redundency - if one inverter fails during a shoot the other can keep you going.

Paul Buff

I'm not so sure that these B&D units are true sine-wave. I'd be surprised if they are true sine wave at that price! Better check this out before using it. I've read previously that the strobes don;t like a "dirty" signal, and they may seem to work OK up front but over time it may fry the capacitors.

I have been wondering about these units myself, but I don't want to save $50 and fry a $300 (or more) strobe!!!!

--
Spannie

Yep!

Redundancy!

Thanks Paul.
--
Chefziggy
http://www.pbase.com/chefziggy/lecream

First off, what a cool thread. I love these kind of DIY projects! Thank you for posting.

Second, I will agree with Paul-- I've had an inverter on my Vagabond fail on a shoot. Luckily, I was able to continue-- though of course much slower than with two inverters. AB/WL replaced the inverter at no charge, so that was cool.

But I still think this is a cool thread. Compared to some of the REALLY expensive battery packs (ie not the vagabond) -- this set-up is a bargain.
--
Pete Springer
http://www.petespringer.com

Back to the prebuilt options (Black and Decker) - it seems to work OK with my Alien Bees (around 200 shot per charge) and seem to handle the charge requirements well as it is designed to handle jump starting cars with flat batteries (built in feature). Not certain if its cycle speed beats a commercial unit but it fast enough for me. Seems to have a standard seal lead acid car battery in it (its heavy enough)

Thanks for the DIY info. I have a vagabond 300 and like it alot. I like having a padded case for when I carry it over my shoulder along with all my other "stuff".

My only WISH for the Vagabond was that the battery/wiring/case was designed to enable quick battery swap outs or a 2nd battery in for extended shoot capacity.

Thanks again for the post
Trebor

True redundancy would be 2 complete setups. That means 2 batteries + 2 inverters, not 2 inverters + 1 battery.

I've used the 300W unit with an X1600 and an AB800 running at full power and it worked fine. If there's a problem with design that inhibits it from working properly, I didn't see it.

And as far as design goes, there's not much involved. Samlex designed and made the inverter. Vagabonds are assembly jobs, just like the DIY power pack.

paulbuff said:

ChefZiggy said:

Do you know how many shots per charge yet?

Also, it will be interesting to see how Paul Buff weighs in on
this. There may be a logical reason for using two 150W inverters.
Without having one handy to take a part I can only guess that it
may provide two separate AC circuits at 150W rather than a single
at 300W. Splitting the load may be on purpose.

--
Chefziggy
http://www.pbase.com/chefziggy/lecream

Click to expand...

The Vagabond was the first portable power unit for studio flash.
When it was designed the 300W inverters used a different current
limiting scheme and didn't work as well as the 150W. There is also
the issue of redundency - if one inverter fails during a shoot the
other can keep you going.

Paul Buff

Click to expand...

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

If it's not a true sine wave inverter, then you're running your strobes at your own risk.

Tony D said:

Check car section in Walmart - they offer a Black and Decker 350W
emergency power supply (120V and 12V output) - battery/inverter is
already built-in - cost about $99. Also Sams club has a similar
unit (another manufacturer) which is similar but has USB outputs
and radio built-in. Both of these are suitable for the proposed
use, I've used them both recently and they certainly work out
cheaper than custom/OEM units.

Click to expand...

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

Those fins are there to increase surface area in order to aid in cooling. I've never had a problem with the inverter failing from a lack of heating from being in a toolbox, and I doubt you'd find too many people complaining about their Vagabonds failing from their inverters being in a bag. Besides, the Samlex units have built-in fans that'll kick in if the electronics need cooling. As for the charger, it outputs 12V 1.25A. We're not talking a huge amount of power here - that's going to be difficult to overheat.

Onetrack97 said:

Hey, those fins on the inverter are there for a reason. Don't put
them in anything that eliminates airflow during use, like a cooler.
Same for the charger.

Also, if in doubt, find someone with an oscilloscope and check the
output voltage to verify that it is a somewhat decent looking sine
wave.
--
Scott

Click to expand...

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com