I-Appliance BBS The Official Source for Internet Appliance Upgrades and Mods BBS Main List | Sign In | Sign Up | Search | Help | Linux-Hacker.net Reply to Thread | Printer |

Home / Other I-Appliances / Virgin Webplayer Webplayer Battery Source? Webplayer Battery Source?

Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) optiplex Profile I was wondering if there's some sort of external battery that could power up the WebPlayer to make it truly portable? I'm successfully running Windows ME on it, and to have it run off a battery source would be terrific, and would make the Webplayer PC a true laptop! Any thoughts? 12-07-2000 21:37:05

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) M_firmature Profile I have been doing some research and have come to some hard truths about a battery for this thing..... 1. It is very difficult if not impossible to find a 5V 5A battery 2. DC/DC converters are kinda pricey 40 to 50... 3. The best bet is something similar to this with rechargeable batteries http://horse.mes.titech.ac.jp/srtlssp/cansat/exercise/ex_power01.html 12-08-2000 01:31:10

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) gustaf Profile | Email Well, if you're not averse to soldering, it would not be that bad to make your own battery packs. NiCad packs are relatively cheap nowadays, and would handle 5A rather easily(how long depending on how many packs you have, at what rating). Granted, they output ~7.2V, but you can get a regulator or even a converter to keep it at 5V. This would probably end up much cheaper than any commercial option, if there are any. Unfortunately, you have to get your hands dirty with electronics. 12-08-2000 19:39:25

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) drleephd Profile yeah, Nicads don't look that bad. I saw a 6v nicad pack new on ebay for 2 bucks. It was rated for 1.1Ah. (at a third of a pound each) we would have three packs and make a reasonably powerful battery weighing only about one pound. Also, If you're not opposed to a really bulky battery... Sealed lead acid batteries are cheap and would do the trick. You can get 6-volt replacement batteries designed for Power-wheels toy kiddie cars for about 25 dollars. They would have more than enough juice. 06-23-2002 22:57:43

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? ... Camcorder batteries? (modified 0 times) drleephd Profile Also, I am looking into using a pair of camcorder batteries. At my work we always have camcorder batteries going on clearance. if I can find a couple old fashon NiCads, I don't know what you would need to use to charge info-lithium. and just the word "info-lithium" reaks with a smell of the word "expensive". 06-23-2002 23:05:01

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) zmoz Profile I have this thing called a "pocket generator" by vector. Its a small lead acid battery witha 50 watt power inverter attached, every thing is in a nylon case with a shoulder strap. The webplayer works great on that for about 2 hours, and you can just plug its power adapter right into it. It weighs about 3 pounds...I think I got it at target about a year ago for $44. Here's one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1361070101 , its also great for other things that plug in... 06-24-2002 13:04:58

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) NHSam Profile Possible source of 5Volt 5AMP battery is www.radioshack.com. According to my Radio Shack catalog (pg 398), some AST laptops (Premium Exec 386 series, various Advantage models) use Ni-Cd 5000 mAh 4.8 Volt batteries. The Cat No is 960-0676 and the price is $70. Also for ACER 750/c laptops, there are two higher capacity batteries. 4.8 V Ni-Cd at 6000 mAh for $131 (cat #960-1061) 4.8 V Ni-MH at 8400 mAh for $160 (cat #960-1059) Hope this helps the battery debate :) 06-24-2002 20:51:39

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) Lucubrate Profile You don't want to wire nicad packs or cells in parallel to create a higher capacity. It won't work well. Nicads have a very low internal resistance and will discharge through each other when you do that. I believe NiMH are just as bad about it. 06-25-2002 06:41:20

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) drleephd Profile Hey, I found a place that sells SLA (sealed lead acid) batteries pretty cheap. Between US$5 and $20 can get you can get a SLA 6v battery. Hahah they even sell the power wheels batteries. Only $25 for those. Amps x volts = Watts. So If webplayer uses 5v@5a = 25watts. If we put in a 7Ah Battery, we can run at least an hour and a half. i don't think it would be hard to build a strap or frame mechanism to mount the battery behind the monitor. All we need is a way to drop the voltage from 6vDC to 5vDC, which shouldn't be hard at all. The battery listings are at: http://www.batterymart.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=sla they even have a SLA charger for $6.95 http://www.batterymart.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=store&Product_Code=ACC-41A06500 If someone wanted to go all-out, they have a 12v 225Ah battery, we could run our webplayers for over 45 hours on this sucker... too bad it's $300 and weighs 161 pounds! the forklifts at my work run off of 6 of these batteries! any takers??? http://www.batterymart.com/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=store&Product_Code=SLA-8G-8D Oh yeah... With the $6.95 charger, it would take almost 19 days to recharge that monster battery!!!!! 06-27-2002 02:56:34

RE:Webplayer Battery Source? (modified 0 times) drleephd Profile i did a bit more research and it seems harder than I thought to regulate the voltage... anyone have an idea how to drop the voltage and still keep 5amps? resistors wouldn't carry that much current, would they? I am wondering if the websurfer couldn't just run off 6vDC... actually, a sealed lead acid battery will be between 6.3 and 5.8 volts... 06-27-2002 05:18:14

Reply to Thread | Printer | All times are PST Powered by UltraBoard v1.62

I-Appliance BBS General - NEWS, Breaking NEWS - linux-hacker.net BBS on CD Questions - User Groups in Your Town - E-Bay, Yahoo Auction LINKS ONLY (MODERATED) - Jokes & Humor - usdtv box I-Opener Areas - I-Opener General Posts - I-Opener Technical Stuff - I-Opener Technical Info Reference (MODERATED) WebSurfer Areas - WebSurfer General Posts - WebSurfer Technical Stuff - WebSurfer Technical Info Reference (MODERATED) Other I-Appliances - Virgin Webplayer - WebPal - MailStation - 3Com Audrey - ThinkNIC / Oracle NIC - Gateway/AOL Connected Touch Pad - Philips/AOL-TV - ACER NT-150 STB - MSN Companion - Compaq IA - Emachines IA - IBM NetVista IA - Intel dot.station - MSNTV2 Network Computers - Fujitsu-Siemens Scovery Linux Net Computers - GallantWeb Server Consoles - Dreamcast - xbox hacking Web Pads - Epods One General Post - Panasonic CF-01 - Fujitsu Stylistic 1200 - Cybiko Thin Clients - Thin Clients DigitalVideoRecorders - DTV Recorders, Replay, TiVo, Etc... - Tivo Hacks Linux - Midori Linux General Board - ITX MotherBoards Single Board Computers - Earth Computers mARMalade Elite Member Area MISC Areas - The Swap Meet WE TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY TRANSACTION HERE AND NO COMMERCIAL POST PERIOD !!! - Wireless Net - Cameras - Robotics - Routers/Gateways - Mattel JuiceBox