Channeling Tim The Tool Man
Dec. 29th, 2010 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deaneI need more power.
Specifically, for my cellphone. All too often when I'm geocaching it runs out of juice long before I do. The phone charges through a USB connection so what would be ideal would be a rechargeable battery pack with a USB connector.
Wait a second, don't we already have one of those? Indeed we do. A while back the paramour purchased a unit which not only holds four AAA rechargeables but also has a small solar panel attached, just in case you get really desperate. The only problem is, it doesn't seem to work. When I plug my cellphone into it, nothing happens. The pack's built-in flashlight comes on, weakly, so maybe the batteries are just too low on charge to power the phone. No problem, let's pop them into the charger for a couple of hours.
(time passes)
Now let's give it a try. The light comes on more brightly now, but the phone still isn't seeing a charge. Okay, let's pop this sucker open and see what's going on. The circuitry will be pretty simple so I'll just use my multimeter to make sure that power is...
What's that smell? Why won't the knob on the meter turn?
BACCHUS!!! YOU SUNUVABITCH! YOU PEED ON MY METER!
(two hours pass while Dean disassembles the meter, cleans out encrusted cat urine, scrapes corrosion from electrical contacts and ponders the futility of seeking vengeance against a creature who is incapable of understanding its provenance)
Okay, I now have a functioning multimeter once more. Let's start with the battery-pack's switch. Does it make proper contact when I switch it to USB output? Yes. Does the negative terminal of the battery pack connect to the negative pin of the USB jack with little or no resistance? Yes. Does the positive terminal of the battery pack connect to the positive pin of the USB jack with little or no resistance? Yes.
Hmm. Let's slap the batteries in. Do we see voltage across the battery pack? Yes, but it's only about 2.5 volts. What about the individual batteries? Aha! Two of them are deader than a Windows Vista launch party. Even after two hours in the charger they don't register an iota of current. Fortunately, we have other AAA rechargeables which are not currently being used for anything else. They too are dead, so let's give them their turn in the charger.
(time passes)
All right, let's load these puppies into the battery pack. Gee, the built-in flash is really bright now. And if we plug in the cell phone? It shows a charge. Victory!
The battery in my cell phone is rated at 1,150 mAh when new. These AAA cells are 850 mAh so in theory the pack should give me around 70% more time when geocaching. We'll see how that holds up in the real world, but at the moment I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Bacchus might even live to pee another day.
Specifically, for my cellphone. All too often when I'm geocaching it runs out of juice long before I do. The phone charges through a USB connection so what would be ideal would be a rechargeable battery pack with a USB connector.
Wait a second, don't we already have one of those? Indeed we do. A while back the paramour purchased a unit which not only holds four AAA rechargeables but also has a small solar panel attached, just in case you get really desperate. The only problem is, it doesn't seem to work. When I plug my cellphone into it, nothing happens. The pack's built-in flashlight comes on, weakly, so maybe the batteries are just too low on charge to power the phone. No problem, let's pop them into the charger for a couple of hours.
(time passes)
Now let's give it a try. The light comes on more brightly now, but the phone still isn't seeing a charge. Okay, let's pop this sucker open and see what's going on. The circuitry will be pretty simple so I'll just use my multimeter to make sure that power is...
What's that smell? Why won't the knob on the meter turn?
BACCHUS!!! YOU SUNUVABITCH! YOU PEED ON MY METER!
(two hours pass while Dean disassembles the meter, cleans out encrusted cat urine, scrapes corrosion from electrical contacts and ponders the futility of seeking vengeance against a creature who is incapable of understanding its provenance)
Okay, I now have a functioning multimeter once more. Let's start with the battery-pack's switch. Does it make proper contact when I switch it to USB output? Yes. Does the negative terminal of the battery pack connect to the negative pin of the USB jack with little or no resistance? Yes. Does the positive terminal of the battery pack connect to the positive pin of the USB jack with little or no resistance? Yes.
Hmm. Let's slap the batteries in. Do we see voltage across the battery pack? Yes, but it's only about 2.5 volts. What about the individual batteries? Aha! Two of them are deader than a Windows Vista launch party. Even after two hours in the charger they don't register an iota of current. Fortunately, we have other AAA rechargeables which are not currently being used for anything else. They too are dead, so let's give them their turn in the charger.
(time passes)
All right, let's load these puppies into the battery pack. Gee, the built-in flash is really bright now. And if we plug in the cell phone? It shows a charge. Victory!
The battery in my cell phone is rated at 1,150 mAh when new. These AAA cells are 850 mAh so in theory the pack should give me around 70% more time when geocaching. We'll see how that holds up in the real world, but at the moment I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Bacchus might even live to pee another day.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-12-30 02:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-12-30 06:55 pm (UTC)