I wrote:
>> Hi Walt and All,
>>
>> Well I got busy with my (very fine) hacksaw and sliced open the plastic
>> casing of my defunct Sony D10 DAT battery (NP-22H 6 volt 1800 mAh
>> rechargeable ni-cad). There were three cells inside, two long and one
>> short, linked by 2 short wires to a mysterious silvery connector 2cm long
>> (which is marked IP305AF 80C ISUZU 0A3.)
Walter wrote:
> Are you sure the long ones are not two cells linked together? We more or
> less worked out that there should be 5 cells total.
Hi Walt and All,
What a helpful group this is! Thanks for all your comments. You are
exactly right Walt and Adam, there are two cells wrapped as one, for each of
the "long" cells. Size-wise, they all seem to be exactly the same size as C
cells, so that's 5 rechargeable C cells in all.
My thinking was (given the rave reviews for NIMH compared to NICAD) that I
would make a housing for 5 C cell NIMH batteries, using the existing plastic
shell and contacts, but so that the 5 cells could be easily extracted each
time for recharging. I would intend (in theory) recharging the NIMH
batteries with a separate NIMH charger, not the Sony NICAD one. I don't
know what the cost of NIMH batteries and charger might be, but I'll get the
theory sorted out first! Is this the right approach, or should I be looking
to try and recharge the entire pack of five NIMH cells as a single unit?
>> Rechargeable cells often run at a lower voltage than disposable long-life
>> cells, would this make a difference in the number of cells I used?
>
> If you use disposables you would only need 4. Disposables typically are
> 1.5 volts or so, rechargables are nominally 1.2 volts, thus the need for
> 5 cells.
Given this, I would like make my housing adaptable so that it would take 4
disposables, or 5 rechargeables, for added flexibility when out in the
wilds.
Walt wrote:
> One of the differences in NIMH Cells is that they are much hotter than
> Nicads at the end of a fast charge that is correct for them.
Both Klas and Walt suggested that the silvery connector for the NICADs is
most likely a heat switch, and that when the NICADs reach a certain
temperature, the charger then switches itself off. If I was using NIMH
batteries and a NIMH charger, I wouldn't be needing the silvery connector,
so all I would need to think about is the mechanics of the housing. Am I
right in thinking that?
Adam wrote:
> To rebuild the pack, I suggest going to www.digikey.com. Digikey
> sells "solder tabbed" Nicad batteries for rechargable packs (page 847
> of the current catolog -- Go to Catolog:Batteries on the web site).
>
I haven't checked this yet, but perhaps USA only? Unless they were really
cheap and locally available, I might as well just buy a complete new battery
from Sony, as the end result would be the same. I'm sure these
'solder-tabbed' batteries would work just fine, but my idea is to build an
IMPROVED CAPACITY battery using locally available
off-the-shelf-at-the-supermarket products.
Will wrote:
> I have been using an Ecocharge,
> sealed lead-acid, battery for many years now. It requires that the battery be
> put into a fanny pack for ease of carrying but, it will power the D10 for 6+
> hours continuously. With the fast charger, recharging requires slightly less
> time than the recording session was. I have cycled these batteries hundreds
> of times and they are working great. Other than the weight and need for a
> fanny pack I love them!
> http://www.ecocharge.com/gamma.htm <http://www.ecocharge.com/gamma.htm>
Again, maybe only easily availble in USA, and expensive too? Sounds ideal
for certain situations though. Thanks for the info.
More on Jeremy's D10 battery charging problem in a separate posting.
Vicki Powys
Australia
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