stapleton13
Well-Known Member
We all love our props, and we love them more when they light up, and make noises, but it can be a real pain to power them up. It always seems like the easy part is to yank the guts out of a toy, and fit them inside, but there is little room left for battery holders. For a long time I searched for the best way to power my creations. I finally stopped at Rechargable Li-POL batteries. They come in a great assortment of voltages and currents. They are also small, and easy to use. For this tutorial I will be focusing on the most common size. This is the 3.7 volt battery. It works well with almost any prop that takes 2 to 3 AA batteries. (3 to 5 volts)
Here is a group of my hero props that I have used batteries like this in.
I have used several different batteries in a wide range of sizes. The key is to choose the largest one that will fit into the prop. The current range on most of these is from 50ma to 1500ma. The current will determine how long a prop will run on one charge. Here is a few types I have used. Most can be picked up cheap on ebay.
Next you will need a charger. I get these from ebay also. Just search for a universal phone charger. These are cheap, and work great with 3.7v batteries. There are better ones as well for a few extra bucks.
You will also need a charging port. You can can get male, and female headphone type jacks at radio shack in both 1/8, and 1/16 sizes. These work great for a lot of props. Another type I use alot is the connectors used for Radio controlled servo's. I pick mine up at the local hobby shop, but there can be picked up online. Like the ones HERE
One of the connectors gets attached to the charger. To accomplish this I open up the charger, and solder a long section of the extention cable to the charging terminals on the inside of the charger. I then create a sloy in the side of the charger the cable can pass through, and hot glue the cable in place. Then put the charger back together.
Last but not least you have to assemble the electronics in the prop. Here is a quick diagram of the basic wiring setup.
I will try to answer other questions if I can.
Here is a group of my hero props that I have used batteries like this in.
I have used several different batteries in a wide range of sizes. The key is to choose the largest one that will fit into the prop. The current range on most of these is from 50ma to 1500ma. The current will determine how long a prop will run on one charge. Here is a few types I have used. Most can be picked up cheap on ebay.
Next you will need a charger. I get these from ebay also. Just search for a universal phone charger. These are cheap, and work great with 3.7v batteries. There are better ones as well for a few extra bucks.
You will also need a charging port. You can can get male, and female headphone type jacks at radio shack in both 1/8, and 1/16 sizes. These work great for a lot of props. Another type I use alot is the connectors used for Radio controlled servo's. I pick mine up at the local hobby shop, but there can be picked up online. Like the ones HERE
One of the connectors gets attached to the charger. To accomplish this I open up the charger, and solder a long section of the extention cable to the charging terminals on the inside of the charger. I then create a sloy in the side of the charger the cable can pass through, and hot glue the cable in place. Then put the charger back together.
Last but not least you have to assemble the electronics in the prop. Here is a quick diagram of the basic wiring setup.
I will try to answer other questions if I can.
Last edited:
