Anyone upgrade a DS-125 battery pack?

Hey Peter

I would not advise that. Can you take them to batteries plus store and have tabs welded on them? If not return them and get some with tabs. The batteries don't like the heat and the solder takes up extra room.

Bill

Hey Peter

I would not advise that. Can you take them to batteries plus store and have tabs welded on them? If not return them and get some with tabs. The batteries don't like the heat and the solder takes up extra room.

Bill

I just contacted a local battery supplier and they said they would be able to solder the tabs on for me. I asked about welding and they said they dont do welding but soldering will do the job. Is welding essential? Will solder be less reliable?

Well the problem is not reliable it is that the battery doesn't like the heat from soldering. The spot welding is a very low heat short duration activity. When soldering you have to get the end of the battery hot enough to accept the solder.

Most producers of NiCd and NiMh cells advise against soldering their cells for two reasons. First you can overheat them when you make them too hot using a light soldering iron. A larger soldering iron lets you use short heating times and less risk of ruining the cells. Secondly, you can clog up the over charge vent which is usually located at the positive pole. When you ovecharge a cell, the battery will get a lot of pressure inside. If that pressure becomes too high, you risk the explosion of the cell. As the casing of the cell is made of metal, it can become a true granade!

http://www.dream-models.com/eco/buildPack.html

search nimh solder

good luck

I seem to remember someone having their own circuit boards printed up for the DS125 battery pack.

If it was you, could you please message me?

Thanks,

Peter

4200 NIMH tenergy batteries from batteryjunction have too too large of a diameter to work. They are .92 inches in diameter.

You need .87 inch diameter batteries.

.87 inch diameter NIMH batteries are hard to find. Anybody have a source?

PS

3800 NIMH batteries from batteryjucntion are listed as same diameter as the 4200 NIMH batteries.

The specifications listed on the web site are probably not correct.

I used these batteries

http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhrechargeab...ithtabs1pc.aspx

web site listed 23mm (0.91") actual size 22mm .867"

original batteries 22.2mm .874"

Anyhow I don't think that it is that tight in there that a mm or two wouldn't fit.

...Anyhow I don't think that it is that tight in there that a mm or two wouldn't fit.

The problem with the diameter is that there is not enough room for the circuit board if the batteries have too large of a diameter. I wouldn't have beleved it myself if I hadn't tried it.

I used these batteries

http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhrechargeab...ithtabs1pc.aspx

web site listed 23mm (0.91") actual size 22mm .867"

original batteries 22.2mm .874"

I used these batteries

http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhrechargeab...ithtabs1pc.aspx

web site listed 23mm (0.91") actual size 22mm .867"

original batteries 22.2mm .874"

Thanks,

I ordered 12 of those batteries. I used coupon code E7SEA to save 5%. Shipping was almost $10

I had some circuit boards made by a company called BatchPCB ( www.batchpcb.com )

So for those who need a new circuit board for their strobes: http://www.batchpcb.com/product_info.php?p...17dc62bf778bc13

I think you need to be registred to actually see it, but I can assure you it's there... Mine has been working for almost a year now, and I have have a few spares if I ever get that unlucky again...

It seems that it's the same type of batterypack for the DS-125, 160 and 161. So I think you could use this with every strobe, and not only for the DS-125

Just a heads-up for anyone buying the Tenergy 4500's from batteryjunction suggested in this thread, that i just recieved some and they came with no tabs! The reply that i got from batteryjunction is that they no longer sell these batteries with tabs (even though they have "-tab" in the URL still."

 

Is it still safe to solder tabs onto flat top batteries? Anyone got any tips to do this?

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

Earlier in the thread, people suggested brushing the surfaces to be soldered to break the oxide layer, using a very hot solder iron, using flux. You can solder these, but be quick as too much heat will harm the batteries. The other thing people said was these are too fat, and may be tight in the housing. Better to use the undersized 3800 MAH Tenergy cells.

As for chargers, why not use an old laptop charger? These are all made to charge NiMH batteries, and accept worldwide voltage. I find them cheap at flea markets. Cut off the battery plug, replace it with a new one from Radio Shack, and save a bit.

Laptop chargers are generally just a power supply and rely on smarts in the laptop and/or battery to control the charging. They would probably overcharge a dumb pack.

Also, with all the discussion of soldering, I'm surprised no one has suggested having the battery supplier spot weld the pack together. I've had my battery supplier

(batterystore.com) do that for my Nikon SB-104 packs. Your Ike packs would require a jig to get the nice circular pattern, but I think that would be better than soldering.

Also, the diode is likely there to prevent a short at the charging port from causing a fire.

Chuck

Hi All,

Sorry for dragging up such an old thread. I am in need of replacing the batteries in my DS-125 now and am looking to use:

Sub C 4000mAh NiMH Tagged Battery

Nominal capacity - 4000mAh

Dimensions - H 42mm x W 22.0mm Weight 54g

Price: £3.25

from http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/1...._Batteries.html

Do they look to be correct?

Also, my current charger, that came with the ds-125 says:

NiCd-/NiMH-charger 5-6 cells/2,5-10Ah

Type: FW7304/10

input: 100-240~/ 50-60Hz/ 450mA/ 31W

Output: 5-10,5V DC/ 2,0A

Will this be ok to use with the replacement batteries?

I think all should be fine, just wanted to check

Thanks

Cal

Those look about right to me.

Hi All,

 

Sorry for dragging up such an old thread. I am in need of replacing the batteries in my DS-125 now and am looking to use:

 

Sub C 4000mAh NiMH Tagged Battery

Nominal capacity - 4000mAh

Dimensions - H 42mm x W 22.0mm Weight 54g

Price: £3.25

 

from http://www.batteriesplus.co.uk/acatalog/1...._Batteries.html

 

Do they look to be correct?

 

Also, my current charger, that came with the ds-125 says:

 

NiCd-/NiMH-charger 5-6 cells/2,5-10Ah

Type: FW7304/10

input: 100-240~/ 50-60Hz/ 450mA/ 31W

Output: 5-10,5V DC/ 2,0A

 

Will this be ok to use with the replacement batteries?

 

I think all should be fine, just wanted to check

 

Thanks

 

Cal

Great, thanks very much for getting back to me Dave.

Cal

Anyone attempt to upgrade DS125/160 battery pack to Lithium Ion yet?

Ordered these Tenergy 3800 sub-C batteries from the U.S. (I'm from Manila) and they don't fit, no matter what I do.

Tenergy 3800

Ordered these Tenergy 3800 sub-C batteries from the U.S. (I'm from Manila) and they don't fit, no matter what I do.

 

Tenergy 3800

see my post #68 above. I don't think you can use anything over 3800 batteries due to space constraints. I think these will work.

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tenergy-10518-3800mah-nimh-sc-opt.html

Bill

see my post #68 above. I don't think you can use anything over 3800 batteries due to space constraints. I think these will work.

 

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tenergy-10518-3800mah-nimh-sc-opt.html

 

Bill

But that's the exact Tenergy 3800 that I have and they don't fit.

Here is the question and answer from the web site.

................................................................

The diameter of the original batteries 22.2mm .874"

What is the diameter of your cells? Maybe they changed since the question was answered. The cells I used were only 3300 ma.

Have the seller provide the exact measurements before you purchase it.

Bill