Rebuilding Mac Portable batteries

From: Richard A. Cini, Jr. <rcini_at_email.msn.com>
Date: Fri Jul 17 20:12:21 1998

    After a little research, I figured out how to rebuild a MacPortable
battery pack for about 1/3 the cost of buying one on the resale market (I've
seen prices between $60 and $75 per battery).

    Anyway, the pack is rated at 6v/5ah, and contains three, 2v/5ah Gates
Cyclon "X" cells. The X cells are two sizes above the conventional D
battery. Gates no longer makes these batteries, having gotten out of the
battery business. Hawker Energy Products (http://www.hepi.com) now makes
these cells.

    These are available from Battery Specialties (1-800-854-5759) for $7.24
each ($21.72 total).

    Opening the battery case is also easy. The pack top is ultrasonically
welded to the bottom case, but if you score the top plastic in the groove
where it meets the bottom case, and then bang it with a small slot-headed
screwdriver and a hammer, you can open it easily.

    Replace the internal cells with the new ones, observing all polarity
markings and ensuring that all insulating plastic and foam pieces are
replaced. You can then seal it with plastic welding cement such as X7.

    The only problem that I can see is creating the bars that join the
cells. I'll probably use 12g copper wire in stead of bus bars.

    Now all I need is the batteries...

Rich Cini/WUGNET <nospam_rcini_at_msn.com>
  - ClubWin! Charter Member
  - MCP Windows 95/Windows Networking
  - Preserver of "classic" computers
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Received on Fri Jul 17 1998 - 20:12:21 BST

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