5 Mar
2005
5 Mar
'05
10:53 p.m.
On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:53:21 -0800 "Eric F." <elf at ucsd.edu> Inquired:
[...]
I have a hand held lab computer (manufactured &
purchased in 1990)
which
takes quite an unusual battery.
The battery is the size of a regular "AA", but is 2.5V Lithium. The
company who used to manufacture them (SAFT) no longer does so. The SAFT
battery model # is "LCP 6".
I'm straining to remember if the 2.5V Lithium batteries were
rechargeable. The pictures of the device (below) do not indicate if
there is a charging port... Current technology for primary cells is 3
V.
[...]
http://home.san.rr.com/instep/labpartner-front.jpg
(~58KB)
http://home.san.rr.com/instep/labpartner-back.jpg (~44KB)
I have a number of odd instruments that have taken all sorts of
batteries that are no longer in use or, if available, would take a
large part of my net worth. An old portable radio with a 90V battery
comes to mind.
My solution to the problem has been to use a regular battery that will
fit in the space along with a buck or boost converter to generate the
total voltage required. In your case I would use a regular alkaline AA
in one compartment and a boost circuit in the other. Your use might not
be quite as long as that of a Lithium, but alkalines are cheap.
[...]
(And what's with the designer(s) decision to use
such an obscure
battery type?)
I, like that designer, have yet to find a good source of hindsight to
use when designing in components :-))
CRC