Have you analyzed the temperature effect on LiPo? Just curious as it can get cold and wet here in the Pacific Northwet
Hello
Up here in Canukastan it goes to -20 c no problem for Lipo
where as LiFePo are a definite warm temp battery.
I have looked at them all Lipo are the way to go
One of my 9000 mah rated lipo was on the Hitec X4 Charger over night at 1000 ma charge rate and it X4 reads on the display this morning 9012 mah put in this is on
a lipo battery that is 5 years old +-. This is indicating that the GPS base is taking the battery down 100% more or less to 3.6 vilts per cell ~ 10.8 volts.
You will have to load the battery slightly to get a true end of discharge voltage.
The battery Voltage rebounds a fair amount when the load/device is disconnected
So all is good.
Peter Kozub
Thank you and good news and I now think I am coming close to beating this subject to death and have to go into the experimentation round!
Hitech Chargers
http://hitecrcd.com/products/chargers/dcdc-chargers/x4-eighty-4-port-multi-charger/product
Please So Far with the X4 over the last year
Attached is a Lipo I use to power our 1 watt GPS base
3 Cell 9000mah Lipo in Polyurethane Dip
Here is the cell I built the pack from but a few years ago it was
rated at 9000mah
http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-ioncell37v10000mah9059156-1c37wh10arate-ulunapproved.aspx
Peter
Hello Norm
Some advice on case to contain the LIPO Cells
I have spent many endless hours searching Pelican cases and other to no reward
to fit the Lipo cell pack to a extreme tight fit.
I have found that it seems that the most rugged compact solution would
be to machine/fab a basic rectangular mold to place the battery in and then pour liquid silicon or Polyurethane instead of a case around the pack with a suitable tripod hanger.
This provides the most compact form factor for the tradition battery
case adds 30% plus +++ volume to the final end product.
The balance plug on most RC lipo battery packs are used due to the Extreme
work loads placed on the cells and survey gear places no such demands on the
battery pack so no cell balance required.
So to summaries cut the balance connector of the RC LIPO battery pack and
install a single charge / run connector t your favorite survey gadget.
Peter
Looks like the Geodimeter big battery would be off the hook ridiculous power. HeHeHe, I like it ...
There is still squeezin' room for two more plates too, three, no way
By what you have said, that is 27 amps in a case that used to only deliver 6.5 NiCD and 13+/- NiMH. Weight would be 196 x 9 or 864 gr or 1.9 lb.
I am liking this even more. 2.5 amps out of the little radio batteries. 153 grams 1/3 lb
I am thinking that the battery you are using would be good for the bulk work, as you are using it and I just need to come up with a hard case to print with a connection board to modify for different equipment
Hello
Yes LIPO a substantial level of power compared to the old NICD NIMH junk.
But most new survey gear the internal Lithium batts are good i.e. my new LEICA TS 12 robot seems to go forever on a ridiculous small 7.2 V Li-ION battery.
I think most if not all external battery's are going to run the GPS base
and possibly a robot at winter temps when it sits in one spot for tens of hours
plus and run the internal robot heaters if they exist.
So to review a 9.0 -10.0 amp hour battery I photo'd would run your
geo / 5600 robot till your legs run out and its time to go home.
I did the same with my GEO 650 Retired on the radio but cut the
radio battery in half to accept a LIPO to run the remote radio for
a day a the rod.
But now with long range blue tooth on a Carlson surveyor+ and Leica Ts12 Robot there are no such things as radios any more just MORE blue tooth. But UHF is still the domain of RTK base and LIPO battery packs. At the base a LIPO 18 amp hr battery pack I built originally for the GEO 650 Robot will run my 1 watt Gps for 3 days ??.
Mostly now its a nice walk with the dog "Elmo" to the Base to change out the BAse batt and pick up after Elmo The dog.
Nice work on the autocad solid models
Peter K
When I got our externals to 14 amps they were great, I can't see a need for more. So with that said a case design to optimize the 9 amp scenario, with nice factory style leads/connections is the ticket. 2 per crew. I may have to apply this to the scanners too.
I see you made yours without a handle and I am thinking that these would slide into a vest so easily that a handle would not be needed. This will be easy to print/design, fit a fuse link replaceable from the outside, a charge port and a plate that could be adapted for various hookups.
Found a gram scale, just had to wipe all this white residue off of it. Kidding of course.
This battery:
It is 51 grams for the case and 245 grams for the guts, 10 AA NiCD cells
NiCD Stock battery:
296 grams, 0.65 lb 0.7 amp
NiMH re-cell:
296 grams, 0.65 lb 2.2 amp
LiPo re-cell
204 grams, 0.44 lb 2.5 amp
That looks like an easy decision for the re-cell. Thanks for your help Peter!
Well parts are starting to arrive. I got the charger today and the ball plungers.
Sometimes when you look at something in a catalog and you design on your screen, you get this mental picture of it being much larger than it really is. These ball plungers are way too small, LOL. Could easily have seen this coming but didn't. I will source what I need locally.
Peter, the charger is way cool, ... I mean, it will be an asset to any survey office
I got the charging shoe (as I call it) and it was a little tight, so, I clearanced it with my knife. Then I dyed it orange, bought the tiny little tap I needed and will put it together. I had made it tight on purpose, but, it was just too hard to slide. The next one will have much bigger ball plungers
It snaps in place with a distinctive sound and the lift tab works great. The only modification that I will need is to thin the tops of the slides
I love seeing other guys doing projects like this! I have two more questions:
1. Is the lift tab necessary? I note that the Trimble triple carrier doesn't make use of the detent at all -- the batts just slide in against a stop in the carrier.
2. How do you plan to connect the charger to the ball plungers?
> 1. Is the lift tab necessary? I note that the Trimble triple carrier doesn't make use of the detent at all -- the batts just slide in against a stop in the carrier.
Maybe, maybe not. I like it to have a click to position, so, I designed to use the stock detent. I wanted to make sure that you could get it back out, so, the lift tab. With the detent, it would be a bitch without the tab.
You can see that I clearanced the detent, which then proved unnecessary.
>
> 2. How do you plan to connect the charger to the ball plungers?
I was going to solder them on until the realization of just how ridiculously small they are came out. I know I need to go back to the drawing board on this, just haven't had the time.
It actually works fine, I will have to screw them in from the top after they are soldered, but, they will work. I am up sizing them to a #8 ball plunger for the rest though. The #8's are long enough for a jam nut set in place of solder
This is the case I designed for the batteries that Peter suggested. I am planning on using the Geodimeter plates as a direct install and printing spare plates for other connectors. The waffle appearance is just to save on printing material.
I want to design the other plate to accept a given connector as a snap in, so, I will look for something like that soon. This will be the charging connector, but, neither of the connectors that I usually use, Tamiya or Dean's will work well like that.
We used the first one I printed yesterday and it worked perfectly, well almost ... Yes the chainman managed, at great personal effort, to jam it on backwards. That is the way I found it when I was locking up last night. Not charging as the contacts will not line up backwards, just sitting all hooked up. All I can do is shake my head and print a block on the model so that the future ones cannot be jammed on. I mean seriously, it slides easily one way and you really have to force it the other ...
I need to get an old 360° prism working, so, I am going to print a battery for it that is LiPo. The batteries I have chosen are 50 mm x 30.5 mm x 6 mm and weigh 14 grams. Three in a circle still makes me make a circle of about the same size as six would, so, six it was. 6 times 14 grams is 84 grams then add the case weight of 90 grams calculated from the amount of nylon. So 174 gram battery (6.13 oz)plus connector and screws. I am wondering if I have made it more robust than it needs to be. I will order one and see from there, but, I know as it is below it will be more than strong enough. At 1.5 amps it is too big too, I may go back to the drawing board, but, here it is for now.
Then the removable charge plate
The Polymer Li-Ion Cell: 3.7V, 750mAh (603048-10C), 2.7Wh, 7.5A rate --- UL listed (0.225) http://tinyurl.com/ka5vozw 
Then next to a iPhone 5 model
Hello Norm
It would be best to go to a Leica 360 MPR " machine rated prism = "tough"
and add the diodes to follow.
I have in past connected a IR diode to my desk top signal generator and these old
GEO 600 trimble 5600 series seem to follow it the solo IR diode. I discovered this by
Checking the frequencies on standard IR GEO robot target with my agelent Multimeter
It would be best to use a standard Brick GEO 600 / 5600 series target.
The target diode is not that complicated the complication is in the prism
diode side as you are finding. I suggest that the tracking of the 600 Geo 5600 trimble
is NOT coaxial and it would be best to dump the GEO / Trimble 5600 and go to
Say a modern Leica 1200 series.
Less Batts
Better Follow
Just Better
Peter K
Your killing me printing something though, LOL. This is for back up, i.e. cheap stuff and using the ones that I already have. I just did a three battery design and got the weigh below 3 oz and a my cost below $60 all in. I will look at your suggestion for the main line stuff though.
Never posted a finished picture. It works perfect and yes I added a tongue on the bottom so it could not be installed backwards:-D
