|
Laptop Batteries for QRP Power?
Hi All,
In thinking about a power source for my recently acquired DSW-40, I realized that the Lithium-Ion batteries in my laptop (PowerBook G4) might be an ideal solution: small, plenty of power, within the DSW-40's power requirements (14.1V), and I don't need to buy a charger--I can just use the laptop. Has anyone used laptop batteries for powering their gear? And if so, will you offer some practical advice/tips on using them? I'm concerned that there may be some difficulties, because modern laptop batteries aren't just power cells; there's some control circuitry and whatnot in there too. Thanks! -Josh, AE6IQ -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
I would not use laptop batteries per say, but I would use the external
booster battery packs for laptops, they come in different size/capacities, and are more cost effective... Bob N9LVU Joshua G Senecal wrote: Hi All, In thinking about a power source for my recently acquired DSW-40, I realized that the Lithium-Ion batteries in my laptop (PowerBook G4) might be an ideal solution: small, plenty of power, within the DSW-40's power requirements (14.1V), and I don't need to buy a charger--I can just use the laptop. Has anyone used laptop batteries for powering their gear? And if so, will you offer some practical advice/tips on using them? I'm concerned that there may be some difficulties, because modern laptop batteries aren't just power cells; there's some control circuitry and whatnot in there too. Thanks! -Josh, AE6IQ -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
I would not use laptop batteries per say, but I would use the external
booster battery packs for laptops, they come in different size/capacities, and are more cost effective... Bob N9LVU Joshua G Senecal wrote: Hi All, In thinking about a power source for my recently acquired DSW-40, I realized that the Lithium-Ion batteries in my laptop (PowerBook G4) might be an ideal solution: small, plenty of power, within the DSW-40's power requirements (14.1V), and I don't need to buy a charger--I can just use the laptop. Has anyone used laptop batteries for powering their gear? And if so, will you offer some practical advice/tips on using them? I'm concerned that there may be some difficulties, because modern laptop batteries aren't just power cells; there's some control circuitry and whatnot in there too. Thanks! -Josh, AE6IQ -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Robert Kubichek wrote:
I would not use laptop batteries per say, but I would use the external booster battery packs for laptops, they come in different size/capacities, and are more cost effective... I'm not going to be purchasing anything--I already have two batteries for my laptop and that's plenty. My interest in using the batteries was to save money. I'm a married grad student and need to keep costs down. The laptop isn't even mine, really, but is one issued to me. Is price your only concern about using laptop batteries, or are there other reasons you feel I shouldn't use them? -Josh -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Robert Kubichek wrote:
I would not use laptop batteries per say, but I would use the external booster battery packs for laptops, they come in different size/capacities, and are more cost effective... I'm not going to be purchasing anything--I already have two batteries for my laptop and that's plenty. My interest in using the batteries was to save money. I'm a married grad student and need to keep costs down. The laptop isn't even mine, really, but is one issued to me. Is price your only concern about using laptop batteries, or are there other reasons you feel I shouldn't use them? -Josh -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
I would be more concerned about maximum
current drain when I would use laptop batteries.... Better yet, I would get a sealed gell cell at 12v 7.5-15 AH for and external power source, this is what I use, and I have a solar panel that puts out 750ma at 15v for charging, and running a low powered rig. Bob N9LVU Joshua G Senecal wrote: On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Robert Kubichek wrote: I would not use laptop batteries per say, but I would use the external booster battery packs for laptops, they come in different size/capacities, and are more cost effective... I'm not going to be purchasing anything--I already have two batteries for my laptop and that's plenty. My interest in using the batteries was to save money. I'm a married grad student and need to keep costs down. The laptop isn't even mine, really, but is one issued to me. Is price your only concern about using laptop batteries, or are there other reasons you feel I shouldn't use them? -Josh |
I would be more concerned about maximum
current drain when I would use laptop batteries.... Better yet, I would get a sealed gell cell at 12v 7.5-15 AH for and external power source, this is what I use, and I have a solar panel that puts out 750ma at 15v for charging, and running a low powered rig. Bob N9LVU Joshua G Senecal wrote: On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Robert Kubichek wrote: I would not use laptop batteries per say, but I would use the external booster battery packs for laptops, they come in different size/capacities, and are more cost effective... I'm not going to be purchasing anything--I already have two batteries for my laptop and that's plenty. My interest in using the batteries was to save money. I'm a married grad student and need to keep costs down. The laptop isn't even mine, really, but is one issued to me. Is price your only concern about using laptop batteries, or are there other reasons you feel I shouldn't use them? -Josh |
Joshua G Senecal wrote:
In thinking about a power source for my recently acquired DSW-40, I realized that the Lithium-Ion batteries in my laptop (PowerBook G4) might be an ideal solution: small, plenty of power, within the DSW-40's power requirements (14.1V), and I don't need to buy a charger--I can just use the laptop. Has anyone used laptop batteries for powering their gear? And if so, will you offer some practical advice/tips on using them? I'm concerned that there may be some difficulties, because modern laptop batteries aren't just power cells; there's some control circuitry and whatnot in there too. 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. I successfully salvaged individual Li-Ion cells from defeective notebook battery packs and used them to build an external power source for my digicam. Since I continue to use the original protection circuit I'm feeling safe doing so. Remember to have seen an article recently in a German ham radio magazine describing the use of salvaged Li-Ion cells to power a transceiver. But also there the original protection circuit was used. Markus HB9BRJ / AE6MG |
Joshua G Senecal wrote:
In thinking about a power source for my recently acquired DSW-40, I realized that the Lithium-Ion batteries in my laptop (PowerBook G4) might be an ideal solution: small, plenty of power, within the DSW-40's power requirements (14.1V), and I don't need to buy a charger--I can just use the laptop. Has anyone used laptop batteries for powering their gear? And if so, will you offer some practical advice/tips on using them? I'm concerned that there may be some difficulties, because modern laptop batteries aren't just power cells; there's some control circuitry and whatnot in there too. 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. I successfully salvaged individual Li-Ion cells from defeective notebook battery packs and used them to build an external power source for my digicam. Since I continue to use the original protection circuit I'm feeling safe doing so. Remember to have seen an article recently in a German ham radio magazine describing the use of salvaged Li-Ion cells to power a transceiver. But also there the original protection circuit was used. Markus HB9BRJ / AE6MG |
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 -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
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 -- Remove the reversed "nospam" in the address. |
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. At 2 watts, your DSW-40 current requirment is pretty low....way below the battery's A/H rating. WAY BELOW. I=P/E = 2/12 = 160ma. If you are that worried about using the laptop battery, get a 12v lantern battery. It will last for months of QSO's. I used one with an HW-8 and it was FB for about 3 or 4 months. It lasted so long, I thought it would never run down. With your DSW-40, it might lose more energy through shelf-life than operating time. :-) Either way you go, go for it. 73 dale, kg5u |
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. At 2 watts, your DSW-40 current requirment is pretty low....way below the battery's A/H rating. WAY BELOW. I=P/E = 2/12 = 160ma. If you are that worried about using the laptop battery, get a 12v lantern battery. It will last for months of QSO's. I used one with an HW-8 and it was FB for about 3 or 4 months. It lasted so long, I thought it would never run down. With your DSW-40, it might lose more energy through shelf-life than operating time. :-) Either way you go, go for it. 73 dale, kg5u |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:30 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
RadioBanter.com