Re: ATM Battery Renewal

[Michael Stephan <mstephan@kconline.com>]

Jim,
 Might I suggest a trip to Batteries Plus if you have such a chain store in your
area. I had a gell cell battery in a Nite Lite brand hunting light that the
manufactors wanted around $45 for. I found the exact same battery for $16 at
this particular store! You might also try the internet. There are several
battery companies I have come across that might have a deal for you.

Mike
Indiana

Good luck.

Jim and Sue Sapp wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>      Are there any battery gurus out there? Maybe some of you amateur radio
> guys can answer this:
>      In the dim reaches of my fading memory, back when all things electrical
> were a hobby, instead of a narrow digital field a profession, I had a little
> electronics project book that had a circuit called a "zapper" that was
> intended to renew old NiCad batteries. If I remember the text correctly, as
> NiCads age they lose their ability to recharge due to some hairy stuff that
> grows inside them and shorts them out. This zapper circuit would supposedly
> apply a large voltage (or current?) to them and "zap" the hairy stuff away.
> Does this ring a bell to anyone? I'd like to/need to have that knowledge
> again. - Which brings me to my second question:
>      I have a 12v gel-cell that seems to have a couple of shorted cells. It
> won't take more than about 9 volts of charge anymore. This is one of the
> three portable power sources I use to feed my inefficient and power hungry
> telescopes in the feild, and would like to renew it somehow without coughing
> up the coin to buy a new battery. Do any of you guys know of a way to "zap"
> a gel-cell back to health?
>
> - Jim