Got 27 stations done this morning when the Topcon Battery quit. The boss pulls out the spare battery and that's dead too. 30 minute walk back to the truck. Checked Survey Dealers and no one can get us a battery pack recelled by 7 AM tomorrow.
SO we stopped by walmart and bought some AA rechargables and I solder the sucker back together and she works like a charm. Who needs solder tabs?
and that's all you ever had to do with that other hideous replacement battery pack that you had one here several years ago... But good on ya' this time anyway!
what, this one?
I'm quite proud of this one.
Actually, I still have the 2 orignal BC65 Nikon battery packs, I just built this as a backup for big jobs.
Believe it or not, those Nikon batteries are still working after 10 and 11 years.
That is totally cool! :good:
Ni-MH
Just found out they are Nickel Metal hydride (not Ni-Cad). Same 1.2 voltage per cell but not sure of other ramifications. The boss just called and said it charged up okay (on the NICAD charger that came w/ the gun) and it's shooting okay.
Ni-MH
NiMh tend to self-discharge over a few weeks, so don't let them sit idle too long as spares. On the other hand, they are reputed to not have the memory effect that reduces capacity in NiCd when operated over partial discharge-charge cycles.
Either one is reasonably tolerant of charger characteristics. Just don't try any of the Lithium technologies on a charger not designed for them - that can be dangerous.
Ni-MH
Never tried charging the NiMH on the NiCad charger. We bought some of those same Duracell NiMH rechargeable batteries in 2650 mAh and had problems with them either not fully charging or just not lasting very long after charging. After about 4-6 months, they all but quit holding a charge at all. We switched to the same Duracell NiMH rechargeable batteries in 2000 mAh and 1500 mAh and have not had any more similar problems and they last a long time.
Ni-MH
> Just found out they are Nickel Metal hydride (not Ni-Cad). Same 1.2 voltage per cell but not sure of other ramifications.
Found this on the web...
In general, NiMH batteries cannot handle the high rate of charges or discharges (typically over 1.5-2 amps) that NiCAD batteries can. Many modelers use high rate, peak detection or time-based chargers to charge NiCAD batteries. Such chargers are NOT recommended for NiMH batteries (unless otherwise specified in the charger or battery literature) as they can cause permanent damage to the NiMH cells. Also, NiMH batteries will not perform well in high rate discharge applications, typically providing only a small fraction of the rated capacity in these instances.
So maybe your NIMH's won't last through so many cycles. Do you care?
Ni-MH
> > Just found out they are Nickel Metal hydride (not Ni-Cad). Same 1.2 voltage per cell but not sure of other ramifications.
>
> Found this on the web...
> In general, NiMH batteries cannot handle the high rate of charges or discharges (typically over 1.5-2 amps) that NiCAD batteries can. Many modelers use high rate, peak detection or time-based chargers to charge NiCAD batteries. Such chargers are NOT recommended for NiMH batteries (unless otherwise specified in the charger or battery literature) as they can cause permanent damage to the NiMH cells. Also, NiMH batteries will not perform well in high rate discharge applications, typically providing only a small fraction of the rated capacity in these instances.
>
> So maybe your NIMH's won't last through so many cycles. Do you care?
I don't think the total station would be a high-discharge application would it?
Anyway, so far, so good. It was worth the $15 to be able to work tomorrow and finish up this 500 acre parcel.
Ni-MH
> I don't think the total station would be a high-discharge application would it?
Depends. Is it a Trimble 5603?
You will know if your gun is a high discharge type if the batteries go dead quickly. It will either work or it won't. If it appears to work I doubt there will be any kind of negative long-term effect on the instrument. It may be that the battery level indicator on your gun will be confused by the discharge curve from the different kind of battery.
The part that will take time for you to learn is how many charge/discharge cycles you get out of the NiMH pack. If the NiCd charger is putting too much current to the NiMH's they will quit taking a charge after a relatively small number of cycles.
Ni-MH
> > I don't think the total station would be a high-discharge application would it?
> Depends. Is it a Trimble 5603?
>
> You will know if your gun is a high discharge type if the batteries go dead quickly. It will either work or it won't. If it appears to work I doubt there will be any kind of negative long-term effect on the instrument. It may be that the battery level indicator on your gun will be confused by the discharge curve from the different kind of battery.
>
> The part that will take time for you to learn is how many charge/discharge cycles you get out of the NiMH pack. If the NiCd charger is putting too much current to the NiMH's they will quit taking a charge after a relatively small number of cycles.
It's a fairly old Topcon CTS series circa 1995 ? w/ no reflectorless capability.
For $15 worth of Duracell rechargablles, we will be happy if they will go a few charge-discharge cycles. We just started today on 500 acres of boundary and the two existing batteries only got us 27 stations into the traverse. Had to walk out of the woods at noon. We would be pretty much dead in the water until we got a battery got recelled, so this was the best option. Back at it tomorrow.
Ni-MH
This site has a pretty good discussion of the differences in types of battery and the effects of different charging rates.
WOW
I nominate that for thereifixedit.com
🙂
Nate
It made the NH Land Surveyors 2011 Calendar.
Ni-MH
Did you just say you had 27 set-ups done by lunch?
Ni-MH
Most total stations draw considerably less than 0.8 amps momentarily at the peak point of the measuring cycle. Average draw is in low milliamps, so they are not going to cause NiMH batteries any problems (NiMH are standard manufacturer's choice anyway).
Charging is important and slow charging (over 8 hours) GREATLY improves the life of both NiCAD and NiMH batteries. I've still got a couple of NiCAD 7aH batteries running which I re-celled some 15 years ago.
I've been re-celling and building our own battery packs for some 25 years now (much to the annoyance of the instrument sales staff!) and we first tried Li-Ion cells about 5 years ago. Their great advantage is small size/weight (an 8 aH pack fits into a suit pocket). With a slightly higher voltage than most EDM batteries - typically around 16 volt - they last a couple of days in field use.
The voltage doesn't seem to be a problem. Instrument/Vehicle connecting cables from the manufacturers don't always have voltage regulators built in and the average heavy duty vehicle battery kicks out 15-16 volts anyway.
The disadvantage of the Li-Ion is the initial cost and they MUST use the cell suppliers charger, which normally has a matching discharge/recharge circuit board and keeps the cells in good condition.
Hope this helps.
Ni-MH
> Did you just say you had 27 set-ups done by lunch?
Yes, the beauty of woods traversing w/ tall stakes. Leaving for the job again in 15 minutes w/ 45 minutes one way and expect to do 60 stations today.
So Far so Good
Well no 60 stations today as the boss had a client to meet this afternoon.
Finished 28 woods setups and another 10 setups in the open fields and the battery is still reading a full 4 bars. Looks like the Ni-MH is not going to be a problem for the short term at least.
Here's the farm we are surveying:
Ni-MH
If/when I build a Lithium Ion battery pack I would like to use a voltage regulator. Any thoughts on whether it should be a switch mode or linear regulator? I expect it comes down to the nature of the load. Cheers.
What you need is an external battery pack.. There is a motorcycle (wet-cell) battery housed in a waterproof "pelican" case with a lead to Topcons' external battery port.
