eksasol said:The battery is not removable, it is but not with sliding and snapping style like labtop. I think it uses a little connector that connect two pins like any other standard internal li-on batteries.
Only the dev boards were set up like that. You can see a pic of the production battery here: CODE
i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/MWeston_2007/production_battery.jpg
Those contacts line up with three springy contacts on the Pandora, so it is easily removable.
There are no plans at this time to build a standalone battery charger, but it might be considered as a future accessory.
Chip said:eksasol said:The battery is not removable, it is but not with sliding and snapping style like labtop. I think it uses a little connector that connect two pins like any other standard internal li-on batteries.
Only the dev boards were set up like that. You can see a pic of the production battery here: CODE
i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/MWeston_2007/production_battery.jpg
Those contacts line up with three springy contacts on the Pandora, so it is easily removable.
There are no plans at this time to build a standalone battery charger, but it might be considered as a future accessory.
Would it be as simple as a regulated voltage of 5V in series with the pack or similiar? (since thats the charge input voltage)
NO. Never, *ever* try this with a Li-Ion battery, you will get an large explosion and fire.'CC_machine' said:Would it be as simple as a regulated voltage of 5V in series with the pack or similiar? (since thats the charge input voltage)
pelrun said:'CC_machine' said:Would it be as simple as a regulated voltage of 5V in series with the pack or similiar? (since thats the charge input voltage)
NO. Never, *ever* try this with a Li-Ion battery, you will get an large explosion and fire. This is correct. Using anything other than a charger specifically designed for your battery is seriously dangerous. Li-Ion chargers a much more complex and constantly monitor the battery's condition to prevent over charging and explosion. This is not something you can safely build yourself.
Here is what happens when you overcharge a LiPo battery: youtube.com/watch?v=lCFUGDcSuLw
'Chip' said:'pelrun' said:The worst part about the danger of lithium polymer batteries is that many of them are made for children's devices which often can take much abuse. In general they are safe, but they can catch fire from over discharging or overcharging (overcharging is MUCH more likely to cause a fire than high discharge). But imagine a battery shorting somehow on a device in a 10yo's pocket. Scary.'CC_machine' said:Would it be as simple as a regulated voltage of 5V in series with the pack or similiar? (since thats the charge input voltage)
NO. Never, *ever* try this with a Li-Ion battery, you will get an large explosion and fire. This is correct. Using anything other than a charger specifically designed for your battery is seriously dangerous. Li-Ion chargers a much more complex and constantly monitor the battery's condition to prevent over charging and explosion. This is not something you can safely build yourself.
Here is what happens when you overcharge a LiPo battery: youtube.com/watch?v=lCFUGDcSuLw
Chris
pelrun said:NO. Never, *ever* try this with a Li-Ion battery, you will get an large explosion and fire.'CC_machine' said:Would it be as simple as a regulated voltage of 5V in series with the pack or similiar? (since thats the charge input voltage)
Only use chargers explicitly designed to charge Li-Ion batteries, as they can deal with the complicated charging method required. At the very least, 5v is way above the Li-Ion maximum charging voltage - just because the Pandora takes 5V does not mean the battery does!
I see i see. I was thinking about the way lead acid batteries charge by a slightly higher voltage.
Is the battery a standard unit of some kind(compatible with other devices / chargers) or specifically designed for the pandora?
CC_machine said:Is the battery a standard unit of some kind(compatible with other devices / chargers) or specifically designed for the pandora?
It is designed for the Pandora. About the only thing that could safely charge these batteries (other than the Pandora itself) is a LiPo universal smart charger like this: www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=311
You would also need to fashion a cradle to hold the battery with contacts in the right place, and it's still possible to cause serious damage if you set the charger up wrong, but it could possibly work.
I do not recommend you attempt this unless you have significant experience with LiPo batteries and their proper handling.
The battery has protection circuits on board to prevent overvoltage, undervoltage, short circuits and general over current situations. The software running on the Pandora will control the charge current to the battery and taper it off as the battery fills. There is a hardware limit to how much current can go into the battery even if the software screws up and I have charged some batteries that way already and the battery doesn't even get warm at full current. The charging circuit on the Pandora PCB does warm up though.'Mithrildor' said:Will the pandora have a system to prevent the burning of the battery? So that it wont burn when I leave the charging on in the night (or is that a stupid idea)
You're confusing chemistries - AA lithium cells are lithium iron disulphide, not rechargeable, and nowhere near as dangerous as Li-Ion.'WizardStan' said:The exact same danger exists with standard rechargeable Lithium batteries. Charging a AA Lithium battery in a charger meant for a NiMH (or even worse, the old Alkaline) will cause heat, possibly rupture and eventual explosion.