Those batteries are absolutely awesome, and exactly what I would expect an electrical mad scientist like yourself to be using! The future is here!! Thanks for sharing your 🧠 with us!!
Hey there ! Just to let you know that handwritten comments are indeed great to have ! I know it takes time to write though... so extra thanks for the effort !
@@xugo91 Only had the batteries just a little over a year, and "yes" they are working well so far! I have been using AAA and AA batteries. Just ordered the 9 volts for my smoke alrams once they arrive we shall see how they do...
I put battery packs in a freezer overnight, then I either smack the edge with a hammer, or I put them in a big vise and squeeze them along the sides. They usually pop open right along the glued seam.
BTech released a new usb-c charging battery for the BaoFeng UV-5R now. Your field repairs are amazing. I found this video searching for how to replace some of my midland batteries with modded lithium batteries.
Wow. Very informative. A master class effort. But again it makes me feel inadequate!!! Don’t know how long that took to produce but it was really good and much appreciated.
Ive been using these pale blues for a while and never thought about that discharge step. Really cool to see. I too figured they would have a lower capacity as well, I'm glad to be wrong. Thanks!
Thanks for a great video! 3D printing that Baofeng case has been on my to-do list, but very far down. I wish it was easier to make a case where the 18650s could easily be pulled out and put fresh batteries in. It would be nice to carry some extras when I'm in the woods for a while. I've been looking at the USB rechargeable batteries as well. Glad to see an honest review on them.
Yeah, I intend to outfit the other printed case with battery springs to allow fast and easy battery swaps, just need to find some springs, but you should use cells with built-in protection... If I am smart about it I would make a recess in the back for the BMS so that I could swap in unprotected cells.
Just found your channel the other day and subscribed today. Thank you for taking the time to produce this content! I enjoy your no nonsense way of explaining things and your dry sense of humor! LOL! Again, thank you for your content, I know it takes a lot of time editing and throwing everything together. Take care! Travis and Missy Dog
I thoroughly enjoy watching your electronics repair videos, thanks for making them! A few years ago I bought a few 9V batteries that look like they are using the same case as the ones you just got and they worked ok but I found that they had pretty high self-discharge and they eventually killed themselves. I think they ran their lithium down too low and now won't take a charge. I found that because of that self-discharge it seemed like anytime I wanted to use the device the batteries were dead, which sorta defeats the purpose... Hopefully, these ones you have are an upgrade and provide good service!
This would likely happen with any rechargeable battery with a BMS. I showed the iMax B6 recovering cells in a mobile phone, GPS battery, Camera Batteries, Toothbrush... (3:14) There will always be *some* self-discharge, either from the BMS or the cell itself, how fast it happens is the key issue. And while I can't really test this on these batteries, it seems to me that such batteries are better suited to applications where you are going through a lot of batteries, and would notice the low battery indicator or dead battery and charge it up again as part of its normal cycle. But your comment is a good reminder in general for anything with Lithium batteries and a BMS. If it's not being used, keep it near a charger and give it a bump every month or something to prevent the battery protection circuit from taking the batteries too low.
Good idea to do an occasional charge on all lithium batteries. I haven’t been able to find a suitable monthly timer yet, so I use Kasa mini plug timers off Amazon and give all lithium gadgets a weekly short charge with some ganged to the same timer if they are about the same size. Then when I use them I setup a manual timer to fully recharge the gadget and afterwards it reverts to the weekly “bump” charge. It might not be the not be the best for battery longevity, but at least I haven’t lost any more expensive lithium radio/camera batteries due to forgetting to charge them every couple of months.
sir, you are a resourefull gentleman and a scientist , a very good professor too ! as you travel kindly teach the kids around as a social service .. greetings from india...vanakkam!!!🙏🙏🙏
I repaired several dead battery packs by removing the insides and installing either 1 or 2 18650 cells depending on whether it needs 3.6 or 7.2 volts. The 18650's give you either 4 volts or 8 volts with 2 in series but in most cases that's close enough. Only problem is the new cells are thicker than most battery packs so I used a Dremel to cut out a slot in the back of the case to put the cells in so the cover will close, then put hot glue around the hole to seal it up. BTW, Ryobi sells a nice battery powered soldering iron that runs off their 18 volt tool batteries that is really handy for most portable soldering jobs on the go.
The TS100 is the soldering iron of choice for overlanders, accepts anything from 12 to 28 volts... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ix07-_C3UDU.html
@@Everlanders Yeah I have one but it's kind of small, underpowered and can't do large wires or connectors. Also another option for repairing dead radio battery packs is to just get a Li-Po drone battery and put into the battery case.
That battery eliminator not working would cause me to smash it, but the buck is a jolly good solution. I have two of those irons and use them both, the TS80 and the TS100. I don't remember why I ended up with the TS80, but I am sure there was a reason I thought was reasonable. I finally got an Ender 3 v2 and gave it to my stepson so he can make me stuff. I am just too old and brain damaged to figure it out. I really admire how you just make stuff that you need with it. That is something I would have done before the head injury and age set in. The new 101, (65w), can use USB PD along with whatever else. I will prob buy one of those, just in case I need a third one. So now I have to buy a bunch of batteries. Those look really nice. Maybe Pale Blue should help with a bit of support. Great video!
I keep getting people making these claims, but without a moment arm, I can't imagine how this very stiff shaft could rotate, I have never had any of the trim pots wander on me...
Great video! I have been looking at the various brands on amazon with no conclusive reviews. Thanks to you, I'll ordering the Pale Blue. Nice to see you still our have our "Flood" channel programed on your radios. Hopefully we can use them together one day again.
Great video! Yes, the captions are critical to me. I'm hearing challenged so being able to read them helps tremendously. I thought youtube could automatically generate them though. No? BTW, this kind of video is the content I happily pay my membership for.
Thanks Tim! One member needing them makes it worthwhile. RU-vid does generate its own subtitles, but without punctuation which leads to funny translations and technical content, where words are abbreviated, such as USB NTC, DC-DC, LM2596, and my word salad speaking style, it sometimes butchers what I say. Further, it's made that much worse when translated into other languages. Salad in, Salad out... 💩
@@Everlanders I'd like to get a couple of the radios. Is a license required? I've been reading up on them and do not see if it is or not. Which model do you recomend?
Depending which country you are using them in, there may be a licence required for some bands. Out of the box I think you're fine. But they can be programmed over USB to allow other frequencies too, and also increase the transmitting wattage.
@Tim Duncklee HAM radio license is required in the US. They can be programmed to work on channels that don't require licenses, but technically, the output level is too high. I know a lot of people use them around here on logging roads on MURS channels because the extra range could be helpful in an emergency.
Excellent review, Been looking for rechargeable batteries and didn't know which one to order. Just ordered one set of AA batteries. You should post an amazon affeliate link. Thanks!
Yes. I purchased palenlue batteries based on your findings. As stated in your video, they work great and good bye to battery corrosion. However...my AAA batteries came with Micro connection's which sucks.
I noticed in your videos that you reference different 3D printers, CR 10 S, Ender 3, etc. Would you please take a moment to give your opinion as to which you think would be good for setting up a system. ie... Pro, V2 .... Thank you for the worthwhile, instructive videos!!!
It's a really tough call, my preference are products that have a broad community Support and are widely adopted. This makes inexpensive replacement parts and upgrades easy to get. For that reason I've always used Creality printers at home, and in the truck... Getting something with a huge build volume is almost useless in my opinion. I never came close to utilizing the build volume of the cr-10. It would take weeks to print something that big and the chances of something going wrong during the print are higher the longer the print goes. It is also worth noting that x and y axis are relatively strong, but the z-axis where the layers are stacked on each other is comparatively weak. For that reason it's often wiser to design your assembly in a way which is assembled later and then you can utilize the strength of the x and y axis where it is needed. If you're looking for something super cheap, the ender 3 is a great option for $200... If you want something more fancy, the Bamboo Labs X1 is getting great reviews at five times the price, but five times the features.
Baofeng radios and transmitting on FRS/GMRS channels is a hot-button issue in FCC-land. How do you navigate the different country rules as you travel through the Americas? Do many of the countries have similar license-free services to FRS, or do they just not care? Do the European travelers you meet run PMR446 radios? Do you hold a license for any radio services? You'd probably enjoy amateur radio if you haven't tried it, you could reach quite far and if you're off-grid there's a much lower noise floor which makes it more fun. You could talk to Canada under the right conditions.
As I said @ 2:10 and I don't want to ruffle any feathers in FCC-land... I do hold ROC-A a certificate, not much use in this case... Through all of Central America and now into South, all the FRS channels are swamped if you're anywhere near a populated center. So they either have the same unlicensed bands, or nobody cares. Regarding talking to Canada, If I need to talk to them, I'll phone or text, but hoping that I might skip a signal to a stranger in Canada sounds more like a hobby then a practical means of communication. Our primary use for these radios is talking the rig 100m ahead or listening to the babe 5 meters behind, for that, we use 137.620 and call it a day...
@@Everlanders Yeah, I imagine enforcement is lax, there isn't much here either. Amateur radio is definitely a hobby, and there are normally easier ways to get in touch. Only do it if it sounds fun.
Great video, but I have a question concerning Charging and Discharging temperature operations. Lithium Ion Batteries have limitations with temperatures below freezing. For example many can NOT be charged when temperatures are below 32℉, and Discharge temp is also a thing. I found the on the website double A batteries have a documented Operating Temperature Rage: -20c -> 60c, (-4F-> 140F), however theres no mention of charging specific temperature limitation printed on the website. Was there any mention on the packaging?
I don't remember anything on the package about the temperature range. As far as I know, no Lithium battery should be recharged when frozen, but it would be easy enough to bring them inside and let them come up to room temperature before recharging, this would apply to any lithium battery. Nice that you found the published Operating Temperature Rage: -20c -> 60c 👍
These sounded really promising, but when thinking about using them in a few outdoor AA batteries driven temperature sending units I have, the operational limitations become a thing. I'm in Michigan, where temps drop below 32F for months, Alkaline Batteries are the only choice. So far PaleBlue appears to be a better choice for reusable over the old Alkaline Batteries choice in the non-frozen landscape use environments.
do you know or think the pale blue batteries be charged in battery chargers other than a usb cable such as a plug in charger that holds 4 batteries or a walkie talkie that has its own usb chraging socket and holds 3 of the batteries?
It might be okay, It's no different than my Garmin Dashcam... Lithium should not be *recharged* below freezing, but if you let them come to room temperature before charging, they should be fine. And as far as discharge, they are not ideal for high current demands below freezing, but I don't think those cameras pull that much current. I'll ask Tom and see what he thinks 👍
@@Everlanders I use them a lot outside, trail cams, weather station, remote thermometer, sprinkler controllers, outdoor lights and we live at 6000ft with a lot of very cold nights. Jason is right though, let them warm up before recharging. Also, on the trail cams, we have heard anecdotes that cellular enabled cams will chew through our batteries a bit faster than expected...we think the cell function is triggering our BMS regularly enough to cause some parasitic drain.
I'm surprised you went with USB charging batteries and not LiIon batteries that recharge like "traditional" rechargeables. Couldn't that space be used to cram in more ahs?
No... For example, the Walkie-Talkie battery I showed at 10:30 uses a larger 3D printed case to hold larger batteries, that's what you're suggesting? But in the case of my cordless mouse or headphones, they have limited space for traditional form factor batteries. In that case, getting batteries that fit in there and a BMS to keep them from over-discharging is tricky. In that case, these USB charging batteries are the bee's knees! 🐝
Now after a month, can you say anything about the self-discharge rate of those rechargeable lithium batteries? I still haven't switched to them because I suspect that the buck converter inside would leave my device dead after a month in the closet just like NiMH's.
Pale Blue's LVC is proper eh? Seems I initially chose... poorly. 4th wall break unlocked, ✊⛽yesss! ; ) Btw, have you ever tried the rubbing alcohol to release hot glue trick? I forget where I learned about it, but it just lets go like you let air into the edge of a suction cup.
It seems good... 👍 I've been trying to think how I would improve on it, but it seems good. Yeah, I've always hated got glue, it never holds, but in this case I'm considering it a filler/rattle prevention.
I don't think you can have a 4 way splitter with USB - PD protocols, they'd need to have USB-PD handshake circuits in every battery and you would need to charge them all separately. Besides, there is no need for more power anyway, 5 volts and 500mA is more than enough for this application.
I just checked, if connected to a USB-C charger with strict PD protocols, it doesn't handshake and doesnt charge - This is better as it will work with any old USB charger...
