On Tue, 6 Jan 2004, Markus L wrote:

Thank you for the pointer to the on-line book! I had a good read.

Li-Ion batteries are dangerous, they may explode if (a) overcharged or (b)
discharged too rapidly. That's why individual cells are almost unavailable.
Battery packs come with the necessary circuitry to protect the cells. As
long as you use an existing pack I wouldn't be too concerned. Please note
that contrary to NiCd, Li-Ion cells cannot deliver high peak currents. The
expert at www.buchmann.ca indicates a peak load of 2C for Li-Ion vs 20C for
NiCd.

In this case I'm considering using the laptop battery itself, not opening
it up and extracting the cells. Overcharging shouldn't be a problem,
because I'd be using the laptop itself to recharge the battery. I don't
think that I'll be drawing too much current, either, as the DSW-40 (an
original one) only puts out about 2 watts.

BUT, with the warnings about Li-Ion cells in mind I think I'll see if I
can learn more about the battery packs made for my particular laptop to
determine if I really want to do this.

Thanks!

-Josh, AE6IQ

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