Re: batteries

Bob Luffel (bobl@hpgrla.gr.hp.com)
Thu, 4 May 95 17:13:26 MDT

>
> I found some very nice 1.8 Amp Hr batteries at a local electronics
> surplus place. They are lead acid, 12 v, and about 1x4x6 inches, in a
> very nice plastic wrapped case. I double stickey'ed them onto the
> bottom of my mirror box to run the fan... I think I paid $4.00 apiece
> for them. I believe they are Panasonics.
>
> They were just what I needed to balance the scope :-).
>
> Bob Bond
>

Those sound like the batteries that are used for my Dob's fan (I bought the scope used, and the fan/batt setup is from AstroSystems). They are also available from RadioShack (used for cellular phones), but at a much higher cost!

Something that always worried me about them was the potential for them to vent gasses that would attack my mirror/coatings. So far, though, my coatings look fine. Anyone know what gasses are given off by lead acid or NiCad batteries during charging or use?

Lately, my batteries have gone south and I must replace them. I was thinking of just using the NiCads from my RC car instead. Since I am always forgetting to recharge the batteries, I thought it would be nice to have some batteries that I can quick-charge just before use (you can charge the nicads in 15 minutes).

Bob L