RE: TEK 1502 batteries

[Steve]

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Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your comments. I bet your right on with your ideas of why the
battery is there. Do you have a particular manufacturer/ part # for the 3.6
volt batteries you use? I've noticed that the cost of TEK's original
lithium battery have dropped considerably, with Mouser electronics carrying
them for around $7 each. Mouser also lists a KeeperII magnum battery which
is 3.6 vdc, 1.6 amp/hr for $9 us.

You mentioned earlier that you used a battery with around 10X the capacity
of the original battery which is about 750 mah.     

To muddy the waters a little more, I've also considered removing the pc
mounted lithium battery, and installing IC contacts so that the battery can
be unpluged when it needs to be replaced. This would keep the instrument as
close to original as possible, while minimizing the effort required to
replace it.

Regards,

Steve
http://www.slsargent.com/  






At 06:58 PM 03/07/2001 GMT, you wrote:
>NOTE:  To get off this list, send email to majordomo@aqua.ccwr.ac.za
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>unsubscribe sowacs
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-sowacs@aqua.ccwr.ac.za 
>> [mailto:owner-sowacs@aqua.ccwr.ac.za]
>> Sent: 07 March 2001 08:53
>> Subject: Re: TEK 1502 batteries
>> 
>> 
>> I'm still very interested in hearing of others that have successfully
>> replaced this lithium battery with a regulator or such.
>> 
>
>We have had this battery discharge on several of our customers who then run
>into the Tektronix service charge.
>
>For a few customers we have replaced the battery for them, but instead of
>using the same battery (which is a very old design, expensive, low capacity
>battery) we remove the battery and take a couple of flying leads off to a
>reasonable quality AA battery holder which you can mount inside the case
>(there is lots of space).   In that carrier you can fit a readily available
>3.6 V Lithium Thionyl Chloride battery, which has a capacity some 10X
>greater than the original circuit board battery package.   If your use of
>the 1502 extends beyond the life of that battery (unlikely) then you can buy
>a replacement battery from an electronic store and fit it in minutes.  
>
>Cost of the modification if you do it yourself is about $15 including
>battery.  Obviously you need to be careful in unsoldering the original
>battery and making sure you match the polarity when installing the new
>battery but this is not a big technical challenge.  Make sure you buy a
>reasonable quality battery holder and I would advise putting a cable tie
>around the holder and battery to stop the battery dropping out if the unit
>is jolted.
>
>Alternatively you could consider buying a new TDR unit, see the Whats New
>section of www.campbellsci.com!
>
>Andrew Sandford
>Campbell Scientific Ltd, UK
>
>
>