Where can I get a pre-made battery pack for my bt internet radio? 7.2V DC

jpe20

Hi there,

I would like to use this radio outside in the garden and hence thinking of powering it with a bunch of 6 x 1.2V NiMH 2700mAh batteries which I think should provie enough power. Trouble is I cannot see well and do not fancy making this thing myself even though it is straight forward. So is there anything ready made out there that is basically a rechargeable battery unit of 7.2V DC output connector that will power this radio in the garden.

The alternative is the REVO pico at a stonking 160quid!!!

Any tips appreciated

Jools

vyseyboy

I was thinking you could use a 9V PP3 battery with a 1.5V or therabouts zener diode to get the required voltage drop to bring it down to 7.5ish. But, it depends on how much current the internet radio draws? Probably an awful lot more than a zener diode would want anything to do with, or a PP3 battery could sustain for very long.

What are the specified DC voltage and current requirements?

fwor

A 7.2V battery pack for use in a remote controlled model car would do the job, though they generally use NiCads still rather than NiMh.

Example here for 9 quid:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=28088&doy=4m8

Possibly a better alternative would be six AA NiMh batteries plus the 89p 6-way AA battery holder here:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=31427&doy=4m8

as you wouldn't need a dedicated charger - just a general-purpose AA size charger.

unrich

Not knowing what it looks like or the capacity or if it has a charger,

a place to start is
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Budpak-Direct
or http://stores.ebay.co.uk/component-shop

At a guess the pack will be made of 6 aa cells or 6 sub-C cells. 6*1.2=7.2V
You might be able to use one of the ready made RC (remote control) battery packs.
Adapting the connector to fit.

Also maplin have battery boxes http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=84176&FromMenu=y&doy=4m8&MenuName=Battery%20Boxes
filling these with some good ebay batteries might do the job. I have lots of these.

Just watch out as shorting out Nimh cells does burn through stuff quickly so take care. If you do do it yourself get some heat shrink tubing too very good for covering soldered joints.

jpe20

Looks like the maplin stuff is my only option at the moment even though will be tricky for me to assemble with my poor eyesight!!! Just will keep my eye out for a possible camera rechargeable battery pack with a dc connector already connected up.

penrhyn

What about a Pure One with a chargepak.
I have one and it works great, I simply run it off the mains in the lounge and unplug it when I'm roaming around.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-One-DAB-Portable-Radio/dp/B000G06PMG/ref=pd_sbs_ce?ie=UTF8&qid=1217924837&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-VL-60923-ChargePAK-C6L/dp/B000W45IOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217924837&sr=8-1

jpe20

Yeah I saw this Pure One and chargepak .... looks a possibility though I need to check for DAB reception quality.