open dyslexic mode

Since 2016, I had been running this customized proton pack on 10 x AA rechargeable batteries. As a result, the pack was running at roughly 12 volts; not bad, but it could be better.

A few months ago, I realized that I had a car jump-start battery pack which had a 15VDC output on it with a barrel connector that fit the "charging" port on my pack - so, I couldn't resist trying... Not only did it work, but the various el-wire that I had on there all lit up brighter.

I realized it probably would not be wise to use a car jump-start pack for hours at a time this way, so I went looking for something that wasn't meant for use with a car. I found a "Krisdonia" 25,000 mAh LiPo-based power bank with a matching DC barrel output, which can output 5V (including USB), 8.4V, 9V, 12V, 16V, and 20VDC. I don't think 20V would be safe for the electronics in my pack, so I'm running 16V - just over the perfect theoretical maximum of 10x1.5V AA cells.

Now I have a much brighter pack, which may be able to run for two hours at 16V before the battery cuts out - I have yet to do a full real-world test - but it looks great, and far more visible than the batteries I have used in past.