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HC-2 opened up photo's

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Archive:
Originally posted by picturemaker22 on the RailPro Users Yahoo! Group on Jun 11, 2015

The batteries in my HC-2 last about 4 hours too. It is good to let these batteries run down to almost dead before charging them. They will develop a  "memory"  after a while if they are charged while still having a significant charge left in them.

I make sure I have a full charge before downloading anything from Ring. No problems so far.

Mel

Archive:
Originally posted by goodbyemarissa on the RailPro Users Yahoo! Group on Jun 11, 2015

I am no battery expert but I cannot see why installing higher capacity same chemistry batteries should cause any problems. In my mind it is no different than powering from a D cell instead of a C cell. The battery state of charge indicator is likely measuring battery voltage to calculate remaining charge. I doubt Ring would go to the expense of using something like coulomb counting or other more sophisticated measuring method. If true then the state of charge indicator and charging circuit should work the same regardless of the battery capacity.

Archive:
Originally posted by William Brillinger on the RailPro Users Yahoo! Group on Jun 12, 2015

I usually get a little over 4 hours from my HC-2. I just got a second one now as I am heading toward more serious sessions.
Loading updates is hard on the battery for sure.

My op sessions can be more than 4 hours long when I have guest operators and the break for lunch or supper is not long enough to fully recharge the HC-2.

I have been considering using a separate charging pack - the kind you use for a cel phone. I have a set of interchangeable tops for the charging battery I have but I don't have quite the right tip. yet. These batteries only provide 5v while the Ring Charger indicates 6v.

Once I locate a tip for it, I'll test it and see how it works.

- Bill

Archive:
Originally posted by William Brillinger on the RailPro Users Yahoo! Group on Jun 12, 2015

I measured the tip and I get 3.44mm outside and 1.09 inside.
So I'm thinking this is a 3.5mm x 1mm connector.

The battery pack I have has a 3.5mm x 1.3mm connector, which does not fit.

I was hoping I could find a pre-made 3ft USB cord on ebay, but I cant locate one with the right tip.

- Bill

Archive:
Originally posted by rgourley@... on the RailPro Users Yahoo! Group on Jun 12, 2015

My assumption is that Ring is using NiMH batteries, which can range from 1200 mAH to 2600 mAH, for an AA cell.  Therefore, if Ring went with lower capacity cells, 1200-1350 mAH, then you could easily double the capacity by switching to 2400-2600 mAH cells.  If Ring is already using the higher capacity cells, then increasing the number or size of the cells would be the only option.  That would involve modifying the battery holder.  I would not recommend switching to a different battery chemistry, as that could be extremely hazardous.  The cell voltages can be different (higher for LiPo), which if not accounted for, could damage the throttle.  Also, if not charged properly could result in a fire.

Without knowing how long it takes to recharge a throttle, I really can't speculate on what method Ring is using.  If they went with a low fixed current method, then it might not be possible to reach the full potential of the increased capacity.  This is due to the fact that the charging current used, is usually based on the capacity.  Also, since NiMH batteries can be damaged by overcharging, some chargers have a time limit, as well.  This might further impede the chances of the larger capacity cells reaching full charge.  If they used a delta V or delta T method, then there is a good chance that the increased capacity would be fully charged.  However, since the delta in voltage is not as pronounced, as with a NiCd battery and could be slightly different for a different brand or capacity, there could be a risk of overcharging.  Hopefully, Ring took into account potential increases in battery capacity and designed the charger accordingly.  If not, and they are using a fixed low current with time limit, then maybe the charging current and time could be updated via firmware.

As far as the battery indicator still being accurate with an increase in capacity, well it could go either way.  With alkaline batteries, the voltage decreases as the battery discharges and it's pretty much linear.  However, with a NiMH battery the voltage remains pretty constant, only dropping off once the charge is extremely low.  Therefore, there is not a direct correlation between voltage level and charge level.  Some level indicators can be as crude as just keeping track of the on time and calculating the level based on the average consumption rate and the battery capacity.  Therefore, if this method is used and the battery capacity value can't be updated, then the indicator will be inaccurate.  However, if the charging algorithm also calculates the battery capacity, then more than likely the indicator will be accurate.

If Ring, is using NiMH batteries, then there should not be any concern of the batteries developing a memory.  Therefore, there is no need to fully discharge them prior to charging.  In fact, fully discharging, especially multi-cell packs, can do more harm than good.  That is why most devices will automatically turn-off once the battery voltage drops below 1.1 to 1 volt.  Also, NiMH batteries self-discharge, so the batteries will discharge over time, even if the device is off.  Therefore, if a throttle has been sitting for a while, topping off the batteries prior to a run, would help extend the run time.  Placing the throttle on the charger between runs would also help extend the time.  The downside is, NiMH batteries have a limited number of times they can be cycled, I believe in the 250-500 range.  I've "heard" that those figures are based on deep cycling, letting the battery get down to say 10%, before charging.  Therefore, some claim that only letting the battery get down to 50% before charging, can increase the lifespan (number of cycles).

I don't have much hands-on experience with NiMH batteries, so this is all based on what I've heard from customers and peers.  To make matters worse, my memory is not what it used to be.  Therefore, I would view my information as more speculative, than factual.  I have to imagine there are a lot of published studies and white papers on the topic.  When I have more time, I'll do a little research to see what's out there.

Hopefully, this is somewhat helpful,

Rian

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