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Old January 5th 04, 05:35 PM
Joshua G Senecal
 
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Default 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
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Old January 5th 04, 09:04 PM
Robert Kubichek
 
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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.


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Old January 5th 04, 09:04 PM
Robert Kubichek
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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.


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Old January 5th 04, 09:25 PM
Joshua G Senecal
 
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Default

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

--


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Old January 5th 04, 09:25 PM
Joshua G Senecal
 
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Default

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

--


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Old January 6th 04, 02:51 AM
Robert Kubichek
 
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Default

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


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Old January 6th 04, 02:51 AM
Robert Kubichek
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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


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Old January 6th 04, 11:29 AM
Markus L
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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



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Old January 6th 04, 11:29 AM
Markus L
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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



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Old January 7th 04, 04:55 PM
Joshua G Senecal
 
Posts: n/a
Default

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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