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Confirmed RCT715 works with backup battery

mikejacoubowsky
over 1 year ago

Above you can see the setup; the RCT715 hooked up to a 10000mah backup (GETIHU BG-140) on a 4 hour ride. Set for continuous camera recording, and flash changing as cars approach. At the end of the ride the power bank had used up 17% of its capacity, while the RCT715 stayed at 100% charge. 

My biggest issue is with the mounting of the RCT715. The seatstay mounting isn't secure enough; it will try to move inward towards the wheel on bumpy pavement. Not a good thing. Going to try to figure out how to use something that clamps on the seat mast and drop down, to put it "over" the rear brake.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    One problem I've run into when using external battery is if I hit a bump that jars the connector loose even the tiniest bit, the Varia RCT715 will immediately shut off (even with full battery). Have you run into this issue? 

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    How long are people riding that they need an external battery? Last fall I rode a century for a charity event. I have mine set to record on radar activation, since that's all I need (I have no use for it past a safety camera). With that it lasted for the entire ride, 7.5 hrs.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to DeanWette

    True, most people probably won't need extra battery, but in the ultra cycling community, 24+ hour rides are not uncommon. Even with radar activation only, which is primarily what I use as well, the radar won't last much past 8 or 9 hours depending on how busy the area is.  

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to kartoone

    I am aware of the randonneuring requirements, and the idea of using an external battery makes sense for that, but I think the for the vast majority of other use cases the RCT715 really has pretty impressive battery life, unlike the flakey, unreliable crap Cycliq sells.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to DeanWette

    oh i agree for sure ... compared to other camera options, the RCT715 has an exceedingly long battery life ... it's still not long enough for ultra cyclists, though!

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to DeanWette

    Mine have been 500km road rides and 400k. Gravel adventures that stretch things a lot. Ideally I want the video running. 
    the fact it works will plugged in is perfect. The last models didn’t. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Has anyone come across an improvement on this? It would be great to have something like a “weather cap”/USB-C integrated cable. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    One thing I am noticing about this picture is the battery charge level. Whenever I connect my Varia RCT715 to an external battery pack, the radar camera battery icon switches to an icon with a question mark. Also, probably related, whenever I hit a bump while it's plugged in to external battery pack, the radar/light disconnects and turns off immediately even with a lot of battery left on the radar camera. I'm wondering if a new firmware update may have fixed this issue or whether there is a specific order in which you have to connect the radar to an external battery pack and pair to the Garmin.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to GWDavis

    My understanding is the connection is sealed as well. Not sure if that would help with running a connection in wet conditions. I would expect this to be across any USB-C devices. 
    a cap would be a low use case. In the past I have used electrical tape for a connection with a different device.