This is the second of a two part post, if you haven’t seen part 1 check it out here.
Build Your Own Alien Bees Power Pack
I realize that this setup isn’t anything new for people that are electronics savvy. The Alien Bee Vagabond (Power Pack) is just a battery source connected to an inverter. The tough part is just doing the homework to figure out which battery and inverter combo work best. This is the best setup I have dialed in and have had no issues with it in several months of use, I make no guarantees other then to say I know 4 other photographers running this system. A lot what I am sharing is the product of the research by my friend and badass ski photographer Erik Seo for his blog, only he used a heavier lead acid battery.
So here’s the skinny on what you need to build your own Alien Bee Power Pack (Vaganbond).
1) 10Amp Hour NiMH Battery Pack — Like this one (don’t forget the charger). This is the battery pack of choice because it has enough power for about 350 full pops on an AB800, it outputs the right Voltage (12V) and it has a high enough discharge rate to keep up with the AB (this is the one factor that I haven’t figured out yet with a DIY Lithium Pack). I like to keep the sticker on top visible when I travel so that the baggage checkers don’t get too freaked out.
2) A Pure Sine Wave Inverter — Like this one (this is what I use) or this one (this is heavier but has two outlets). The inverter is going to connect to the NiMH battery and turn the DC source into an AC source that the AB can use. Make sure to keep the inverter well ventilated while in use, blown inverters are the most likely failure you could have with this system.
3) Anderson Connectors or similar higher capacity connectors from your local hobby shop. 
These will connect the battery to the inverter. Stay away from the cheapo connectors, take the time and solder or track down some Anderson Connectors. 
I’ve also decided to tape my connectors on the leads out of my battery to the battery itself in order to eliminate the risk of damaging my connection. In fact I leave the inverter plugged into the battery permanently and have rigged a neat little little switch cover to prevent the inverter from being turned on accidentally.
4. A bag to put it all in. I just use a CaseLogic mini pack that I picked up from a local store.
5) Put it together. Once you have your supplies, you need to take the top off the inverter to identify which wire is the positive end. Use this picture and mark the positive end so you permanently know which wire is which. The battery is already marked with its wiring (red is positive). Attach your connectors and then you can attach the inverter and battery together. Make sure to give things a good tug, you want to make sure things aren’t coming apart in the field. My battery, inverter and mini pack weigh in at exactly 5lbs.
6) Final Thoughts. I’ve been traveling and using the AlienBees quite a bit over the past few months. I have a larger Kata bag that contains 3 AB 800s, 3 Power Packs, Power Cables, and Sync Cords and I check this bag with other location gear in one large 70lb roller (the Kata bag weights 28lbs). I haven’t had any issues traveling with the packs or using them on location. Here are few AB shots:
I’M A PHOTOGRAPHER, NOT AN ELECTRICIAN — USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
FeedTim Kemple is an action sport and lifestyle photographer and video producer... mountain summits to city streets.
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@Ryan – I believe the companies that are selling the NiMH batteries sell car chargers. I don’t run two heads on one pack with an outlet splitter regularly, so I did talk to a couple colleagues that do. They said that the refresh rate takes a little bit of a hit, but everything works properly (as has been my experience). You might look at getting the inverter with two outlets if you want to run two heads regularly? tk
thank you for the article.
will a 50HZ inverter work for AB800? i am looking at one which is 200watts. also, i know nothing about electronics. in the inverter specs it says “modified” sine. what does that mean? i am concerned cause you mentioned a pure sine.
also, i am in europe and i will be buying a 220v version of bees and therefore 220v inverter. anything i need to know that is different? thanks
@ Sergey – I’m not experienced at all in European power, I’d contact your local battery store. I’m sure they would love to help you out if you tell them what you are trying to do!
tim.
do you know if a modified sine inverter will do the trick or do i need a pure sine?
I have built the battery pack/ inverter that you guys are talking about and tried using it on a White Lightning Ultra 600.
The dump light comes on and it seems that the unit charges to full power no matter what I set the power setting at. Anybody else have this problem
yeaaah jesmond … sweatin his balls off
… did you gel it up or its just post processing? do you shoot with profoto or elinchrom or just AB’s ??
any idea if this would work?
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/962e/
it’s significantly heavier than any of the other solutions, but it’s also $99
@Khap –
Don’t know if the need for a Sine Wave inverter would be an issue.. I doubt it, but you never know. Why not buy a 2.5lb Lithium Ion pack and a 1lb inverter?? tk
Hi, thank you for the above, I was wondering if a battery like this would work well http://www.amazon.com/Enersys-NP12-12-Lead-Acid-Battery-PowerStar/dp/B0025ZFVWA/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1263752667&sr=1-2-fkmr1
Thank you
@Tunin – Yeah that battery will work, but it also weighs 10lbs… The NiMH version is half the weight, and the LiFePo4 batteries are 3lbs… tk
Thank you for a quick reply. I would consider buying the Explorer or the A.B. Va. II but it is like 400 – 500 Euros in Europe… I was going to buy an inverter and a bat. and do it my self…
I found several inverters… not sure if the specs meet my needs but I would rather go with 1000W than 400 or 350…
http://www.amazon.de/Skytronic-Spannungswandler-Wechselrichter-Belastbarkeit-1000-2000/dp/B000NCHP3A/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=ce-de&qid=1263761817&sr=8-24
http://www.amazon.de/LAS-KFZ-Spannungswandler-230V-1200Watt/dp/B002HEBABA/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1263761793&sr=8-12
http://www.amazon.de/Spannungswandler-Inverter-12V-220V-600W/dp/B000R8RVZW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1263761304&sr=8-3
What do you think of the inverters above? Thank you.
@Tunin
Ha – If those sites were in spanish I might have a shot! All you need is a Pure SINE wave inverter, connect that to 12V NiMH battery and you are good to go! Good luck – tk
Thank you. I will look in to this, the one I found locally writes “Modified sine wave” whatever that means?
Excuse me but does anyone know the difference between a vagabond system and a regular UPS. I’m just saying there is the prospect of going through all of this trouble wouldn’t it be easier to just use a UPS?
^ The weight is the biggest issue. Also I don’t know if the UPS has any issues with discharge rate. In general for the Alien Bees the battery/system needs to be able to withstand a very short draw from the flash unit of about 20amps. tk
What is the actual refresh/recharge rate with your setup when the AB1600 is set to full power?
I bought a “PURE SINE WAVE POWER INVERTER 300/600 WATT 12V DC TO AC” on ebay for $100 and plugged it into my 700A car battery booster http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/SolarPortablePower/PowerPacks/PRDOVR~0111591P/Motomaster%252BEliminator%252B700A%252BBooster%252BPack.jsp and it takes about 6+ seconds to refresh a White Lighting 1600 which usually takes 2 seconds when plugged into the wall.
Also the inverter can only handle two or three pops in a row before overheating and turning off.
I’m wondering if this is due to a cheap inverter or if it is the wrong kind of battery and it won’t put out enough amps through the cigarette lighter port.
What is your refresh time?
Has anybody tried these diy packs on a profoto system? I’m interested because I have an acute2 1200 pack and head. Would the lithion iron batteries work? Which inverter should I get? Thanks.
An update to my February 8th post. I plugged the inverter that I bought on ebay into my car battery (not the car battery booster pack that I was using before) and I get 4 second refresh time at full power and the inverter didn’t shut down or crap out at all.
I did a dozen or more full power pops in a row and it didn’t even beep.
I think the problem before was that the car battery booster limits the current that can come out of it’s cigarette lighter port. It wasn’t that the inverter couldn’t handle the White Lighting but rather the battery couldn’t handle the inverter.
Unfortunately you can’t hook the inverter up through the jumper cables either as it has a safety shut-off circuit. You can only hook it up to other car batteries for a boost.
So now that I know my inverter can handle a White Lighting 1600 without problems I just need to buy a good NiMH or LiIon battery like yours.
Hello,
Thanks for this great information, it has been very useful for me, portable strobes have not been a viable option for me due to the weight of the battery packs available, this diy is perfect.
I was looking at LiFePO4 batteries and ran across this ebay seller, can you tell me if any of these batteries fit the specs?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/LiFePO4-Battery-Pack-12V-15AH-with-BMS-and-2A-Charger_W0QQitemZ290408372253QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439db0181d
Though the price does seem high, it does include the charger and the main attraction is the light weight. The batteryspace cant deliver to me!
If there are any other potential vendors, please pass them on.
-TK,
How much did you spend per unit?
I have a question towards Ryan Jackson .
Which cheapo inverter did you buy ? Is it this one ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330409182260&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2769wt_1165
Thanks a lot !!!