Electronic expert help

[yodakiller1138]

Thought I'd run this by all you electronic experts. I have one of Hyperdyne Labs Boba Fett LED boards. It runs on three 357 watch batteries. I want to take the springs off the board to make more room so it will fit into the rangefinder. I'll solder some leadwires on the + - points on the board thru the stalk and connect to another power source inside the Fett helmet. The batteries are 1.55 volts each. Is there another battery that is equivelent to the watch batteries that won't burn out the LED's or the board? Or am I pretty much stuck with the watch batteries? I'm not an expert on such things, so would appreciate some expert advice.

 

[DS Operative]

Why not ask Hyperdyne directly?

 

[exoray]

Best to really asked Jim as there is only so much I can gather from the few pictures he has on his website, but from what I gather from the pictures is that he is running the circuit without any additional voltage regulation, so basically at the 4.5ish volts the batteries make, he has almost certainly balanced the LEDs for this 4.5ish voltage level...

Now there really isn't any 4.5 volt batteries so you will need to regulate a higher voltage battery down to 4.5ish or add up lower voltage batteries...

The easiest solution is to simply use the existing button cells, just get a rubber band and use it to hold the wires to the ends, with a wrap of electrical tape for good measure... The local Dollar Tree by me sells AG13 or what ever near equivalent button cells in a blister pack of 8 for a buck...

Or you can get a single N battery holder like this at the local Radio Shack...

N Battery Holder : Battery Holders | RadioShack.com

Put your 3 AG13/357 in there, and then pack the rest of the distance with a conductive wedge, AKA wad of aluminum foil or even another spring....

But if you want to use a more traditional battery that you can get locally you could go this route....

AAA Battery Holder : Battery Holders | RadioShack.com

But that might be a little bulky in your helmet...

You can also get creative and make your own 3 cell AG13 holder...

 

[jackdoud]

All normal alkaline batteries are 1.5 volts so you techinically should be able to replace the 3 button cells with 3 AAA's, AA's, C's, D's, whatever you think you can shove in the helmet. The larger the cell the longer the run time.

 

[yodakiller1138]

Why not ask Hyperdyne directly?

I sent him an AOL message, but it takes a couple days to get an answer. Thought I'd see what you guys thought.

Thanks for the advice guys. If anyone wants to ad more I'm interested in any other ideas.

 

[yodakiller1138]

UPDATE:Got a reply. I was told it could take from 3.3-5.5 without any issues. So what does this mean for batteries?

 

[DS Operative]

Glad you got a reply (I wasn't trying to be snarky). I just thought that since he was the designer, he'd know best. Good luck!

 

[knightone]

Like jackdoud said above, you can use AA's, AAA's, etc. since they are 1.5v each, only slightly less than the original watch batteries. Since Hyperdyne said they could do 3.3v-3.5v without issue and the original batteries generated over 4.5v, I'd say three AAA's or AA's would be ideal for your needs. Although I say find a way to stick to watch type batteries as they would be lighter and would take up less space. You can always take apart and/or mod a small toy or cheap watch to make a battery holder for the watch batteries if you can find another way to do it.

 

[yodakiller1138]

Again, thanks for the advice guys. I'll try the 3 AAA's. Hopefully things won't BLOW UP.