Native Dual Voltage™ vs. 26V
With the new high voltage era, the battery game has been at the forefront and there’s been a bit of confusion on the different types of batteries out there. Which ones are Native Dual Voltage™ packs and how can they be both native 14V and native 28V? Which ones are solely 26V? And what kind of chargers do you need?
Well rest assured, we’re here to answer all of your questions and set the record straight based on actual facts. Let’s dive right into it with this chart showing the different options out there and what each pack’s operating voltage range is.
As you can see, there are dual voltage packs and then solely high voltage packs. The Core Helix Max V/B/G packs are Native Dual Voltage™, meaning they can operate as a native 14v battery pack and has a native 28v battery pack. Now you may be wondering, how is it possible they are native in both voltages? Well, once connected to a Helix V/G-mount or ARRI® B-mount plate, the pack switches from a parallel cellular 4S arrangement to a series 8S arrangement to provide high voltage. The switching is done with ZERO power regulation and is 100% EFFICIENT. No extra heat or stress is put on the cells once the pack switches to an 8S cellular arrangement and is drawn from. Once removed from the mount plate, the packs switches back to a parallel 4S cellular arrangement instantly so you can use them on all your standard 14v equipment along with chargers.
Furthermore in regards to the operating voltages, keep in mind what the operating range is on the device you are powering. For example, the ARRI Alexa 35 requires 20.5 – 33.6V which is in the full discharge range of the Helix Max V/B/G-mount packs, Bebob B-mount, and Swit B-mount.
On the other hand, A/B’s 26v Gold Mount Plus and B-mount packs operating range is 17.5-28.9V which will cause the camera to shut down prior to the 26v battery pack’s full depletion because the pack can’t fully sustain the voltage needs of the camera.
Voltage is directly related to power – the higher the voltage, the more power delivered. So, the higher the pack’s operating voltage, the more power the pack can deliver, hence a pack offering 28.8v natively like our Helix Max is superior to a 26v pack for cameras and lighting applications.
To be very clear, our Helix Max packs are Native Dual Voltage. There’s no up-conversion needed which would create heat and stress on the battery cells.
Now before we wrap this up, let’s touch on a few other benefits of using Native Dual Voltage™ packs. With the Helix Max batteries, you can still use your existing 14v charger whereas with the high voltage only battery packs, you need to invest in a new charging system. Not only do you need to spend more money on your equipment, but you also need to carry more chargers to set. In addition, you need to make sure that you pack your specific sets of batteries for your low voltage equipment and high voltage equipment. Then you also need to worry while on-set that you pick up the right battery to power your equipment because you definitely don’t want to put a high voltage pack on low voltage equipment by accident.
With Helix Max, you can be left stress-free knowing that you have a battery pack capable of powering any battery powered device in your production and use the same charger for all your packs.
For even more in-depth information, take a look here:
