Drug store bonanza: AA cells & low VCE(sat) xstrs

M

Michael

Guest
Disposable cameras contain, among other goodies, one AA alkaline cell and a low
VCE(sat) transistor. Great for 1-cell LED V boost P.S.

Thanks to Watson's tip, I checked around at photo counters for free, used
disposable cameras and finally hit a gold mine after being told by three stores
that they don't give them away. The gal happily dragged a BIG cardboard box
over to the counter and began emptying it into plastic bags for me. Jeez ... I
wanted only 2 or 3; later count revealed I'd netted 45!

The batteries have lots of life left in them (none measured less than 1.5v,
static measurement) and those little xstrs work a treat for V boost.

I'll wait a week and then go back for more. Thinking about lashing several
dozen of the flash units to a PIC (or PICs) for a July 4th display.

Thanks, Watson, for the tip!

--
Michael
 
"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4245008D.A2F593FB@att.net...
Disposable cameras contain, among other goodies, one AA alkaline cell
and a low
VCE(sat) transistor. Great for 1-cell LED V boost P.S.

Thanks to Watson's tip, I checked around at photo counters for free,
used
disposable cameras and finally hit a gold mine after being told by
three stores
that they don't give them away. The gal happily dragged a BIG
cardboard box
over to the counter and began emptying it into plastic bags for me.
Jeez ... I
wanted only 2 or 3; later count revealed I'd netted 45!

The batteries have lots of life left in them (none measured less than
1.5v,
static measurement) and those little xstrs work a treat for V boost.

I'll wait a week and then go back for more. Thinking about lashing
several
dozen of the flash units to a PIC (or PICs) for a July 4th display.

Thanks, Watson, for the tip!
Click to expand...
HTH! Glad to hear you've hit a bonanza. Watch out for them charged
caps! They BITE!

BTW, some guy built a strobe from a disposable flash and it got so hot
it melted the plastic lens on front! If you're going to flash the flash
at a rate higher than once every few tens of seconds, you should reduce
the capacitor to 1/10 or less of its usual value. The usual cap is
about 120 to 160uF at 330VDC. I think they said that 22uF was a bit on
the high side, maybe should be even lower.

--
Michael
Click to expand...
 
Hmmm .... while each of the two types of Kodak disposable cameras I got did have
an AA cell, some Fuji and Konica(?) had AAA. Boo-hiss. I think there's just
one device in my entire house that runs on AAA. All others use AA, so extras
are nice to have.
 
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:
HTH! Glad to hear you've hit a bonanza. Watch out for them charged
caps! They BITE!
Click to expand...
YES! At least one kind of Kodak apparently stays ON, once on. This type uses a
neon for the Ready light. The first of this type that I opened, I hit the
shutter, removed the battery (took me a second or two), then grasped the PC
board with one hand and reached for the cap. leads with a forceps, to make sure
the thing was discharged. BANG! It felt like AC.

BTW, some guy built a strobe from a disposable flash and it got so hot
it melted the plastic lens on front! If you're going to flash the flash
at a rate higher than once every few tens of seconds, you should reduce
the capacitor to 1/10 or less of its usual value. The usual cap is
about 120 to 160uF at 330VDC. I think they said that 22uF was a bit on
the high side, maybe should be even lower.
Click to expand...
Well, if I do get something bizarre lashed up in time for July 4th it will
definitely break the rule of "tens of seconds" between flashes. :-O Back in
my tech. days I found a Gen Rad strobe tach in the equip. room. Played around
with it during lunch break one day. It smelled like hot steel when I returned
it to the tool crib. :)

Yeah, the Kodak (use AAA cell) cap is indeed 120uF. The cap. of the AAA-driven
ones isn't marked with any intelligence but is a bit smaller in diameter than an
AAA cell and about 4/5 as long.
 
"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4246152D.3D933EA2@att.net...
Hmmm .... while each of the two types of Kodak disposable cameras I
got did have
an AA cell, some Fuji and Konica(?) had AAA. Boo-hiss. I think
there's just
one device in my entire house that runs on AAA. All others use AA, so
extras
are nice to have.
Click to expand...
Stick a nut or a few washers in the end of the AA battery holder and use
them in place of the AAs. Or else get some AAA cell holders and make
some LED flashlights that use them.
 
"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:42461918.7E2E4546@att.net...
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:
HTH! Glad to hear you've hit a bonanza. Watch out for them charged
caps! They BITE!

YES! At least one kind of Kodak apparently stays ON, once on. This
type uses a
neon for the Ready light. The first of this type that I opened, I hit
the
shutter, removed the battery (took me a second or two), then grasped
the PC
board with one hand and reached for the cap. leads with a forceps, to
make sure
the thing was discharged. BANG! It felt like AC.

BTW, some guy built a strobe from a disposable flash and it got so
hot
it melted the plastic lens on front! If you're going to flash the
flash
at a rate higher than once every few tens of seconds, you should
reduce
the capacitor to 1/10 or less of its usual value. The usual cap is
about 120 to 160uF at 330VDC. I think they said that 22uF was a bit
on
the high side, maybe should be even lower.

Well, if I do get something bizarre lashed up in time for July 4th it
will
definitely break the rule of "tens of seconds" between flashes. :-O
Back in
my tech. days I found a Gen Rad strobe tach in the equip. room.
Played around
with it during lunch break one day. It smelled like hot steel when I
returned
it to the tool crib. :)

Yeah, the Kodak (use AAA cell) cap is indeed 120uF. The cap. of the
AAA-driven
ones isn't marked with any intelligence but is a bit smaller in
diameter than an
AAA cell and about 4/5 as long.
Click to expand...
Go here and read Kevin Attempts.. then scroll down to the Kodak Max and
other disposable schematics.
http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/strbfaq.htm
 
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:
"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4246152D.3D933EA2@att.net...
Hmmm .... while each of the two types of Kodak disposable cameras I
got did have
an AA cell, some Fuji and Konica(?) had AAA. Boo-hiss. I think
there's just
one device in my entire house that runs on AAA. All others use AA, so
extras
are nice to have.

Stick a nut or a few washers in the end of the AA battery holder and use
them in place of the AAs. Or else get some AAA cell holders and make
some LED flashlights that use them.
Click to expand...

Speaking of battery holders, I visited Rat Shack the other night to kill time
after ordering Chinese takeout. Wanted a few more of those nice, enclosed,
2-AA holders. Unfortunately the entire selection of battery holders seems to
total three, none of them the nice enclosed model. I constantly tell myself,
"When you find something that works, buy a ton of it before it's
discontinued." Well, I wish I had listened. I'm down to two of those battery
holders now, and one will be used for the V boost keychain light.
 
"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4246E73D.1DB4D7FF@att.net...
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:

"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4246152D.3D933EA2@att.net...
Hmmm .... while each of the two types of Kodak disposable cameras
I
got did have
an AA cell, some Fuji and Konica(?) had AAA. Boo-hiss. I think
there's just
one device in my entire house that runs on AAA. All others use
AA, so
extras
are nice to have.

Stick a nut or a few washers in the end of the AA battery holder and
use
them in place of the AAs. Or else get some AAA cell holders and
make
some LED flashlights that use them.


Speaking of battery holders, I visited Rat Shack the other night to
kill time
after ordering Chinese takeout. Wanted a few more of those nice,
enclosed,
2-AA holders. Unfortunately the entire selection of battery holders
seems to
total three, none of them the nice enclosed model. I constantly tell
myself,
"When you find something that works, buy a ton of it before it's
discontinued." Well, I wish I had listened. I'm down to two of
those battery
holders now, and one will be used for the V boost keychain light.
Click to expand...
Speaking of battery holders. Last year I searched all over for a AAAA
cell battery holder and came up emty-handed. This year, just about the
same thing. I can find a press fit contact here. They even have
holders for odd ones like 2/3A etc., but no cigar when it comes to the
whole AAAA holder.
http://www.aboveboardelectronics.com/keyelco/standpro/sprod01n.htm

I finally got desperate and made my own out of a block of wood. But it
would sure be nice of some company would come up with one.

One interesting one is the 1/2AA cell holder. If one could get 1/2 AA
cells, then it would be easy to put four into a mini maglite and run a
LED directly off them, with a resistor. But then I already have my
Opalec Newbeam, MagmaLED, and Terralux adapters, so I guess I'm already
taken care of.
 
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:
Speaking of battery holders. Last year I searched all over for a AAAA
cell battery holder and came up emty-handed. This year, just about the
same thing. I can find a press fit contact here. They even have
holders for odd ones like 2/3A etc., but no cigar when it comes to the
whole AAAA holder.
http://www.aboveboardelectronics.com/keyelco/standpro/sprod01n.htm

I finally got desperate and made my own out of a block of wood. But it
would sure be nice of some company would come up with one.

One interesting one is the 1/2AA cell holder. If one could get 1/2 AA
cells, then it would be easy to put four into a mini maglite and run a
LED directly off them, with a resistor. But then I already have my
Opalec Newbeam, MagmaLED, and Terralux adapters, so I guess I'm already
taken care of.
Click to expand...
Would 2/3 AE nicads fit? I think they were 2/3 the length of a
standard AA cell so you could use three and get 3.6 volts. I used to
buy them for regency handhelds and make my own battery packs. I don't
have any of them anymore but I found something on the web that says they
are 17 mm * 28 mm instead of 14 mm * 50 mm so if you could compress the
spring another 12 mm you might squeeze 4 cells in to get 4.8 volts.

http://www.overlander.co.uk/pdf/overlanderJan2003.pdf also lists AAAA
nicads

--
?

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
 
"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4247635F.F265105@earthlink.net...
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:

Speaking of battery holders. Last year I searched all over for a
AAAA
cell battery holder and came up emty-handed. This year, just about
the
same thing. I can find a press fit contact here. They even have
holders for odd ones like 2/3A etc., but no cigar when it comes to
the
whole AAAA holder.
http://www.aboveboardelectronics.com/keyelco/standpro/sprod01n.htm

I finally got desperate and made my own out of a block of wood. But
it
would sure be nice of some company would come up with one.

One interesting one is the 1/2AA cell holder. If one could get 1/2
AA
cells, then it would be easy to put four into a mini maglite and run
a
LED directly off them, with a resistor. But then I already have my
Opalec Newbeam, MagmaLED, and Terralux adapters, so I guess I'm
already
taken care of.

Would 2/3 AE nicads fit? I think they were 2/3 the length of a
standard AA cell so you could use three and get 3.6 volts. I used to
buy them for regency handhelds and make my own battery packs. I don't
have any of them anymore but I found something on the web that says
they
are 17 mm * 28 mm instead of 14 mm * 50 mm so if you could compress
the
spring another 12 mm you might squeeze 4 cells in to get 4.8 volts.

http://www.overlander.co.uk/pdf/overlanderJan2003.pdf also lists AAAA
nicads
Click to expand...
Actually, I don't know why I brought that up. See, AA and AAA cells are
a commodity item, you can find them everywhere and they are cheap.
Other odd sizes are not, and are not cheap and are hard to get. So
there is no point in pursuing that path.

One flashlight maker (and also someone else who was innovative) came up
with an adapter sleeve. The sleeve fits into an AA flashlight and
reduces the ID and length to the same size as N cells, so one can put
three of them in place of two AA cells. That gives the higher voltage
needed for white LEDs. N cells are not as common as AA cells, but st
least they are available and not too expensive. But even so, you can
buy three AA cells (which are much higher caoacity) for less than the N
cells.

--
?

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
Click to expand...
 
In article <114f76ucgpbl61e@corp.supernews.com>,
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\""
<NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4247635F.F265105@earthlink.net...
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:

Speaking of battery holders. Last year I searched all over for a
AAAA
cell battery holder and came up emty-handed. This year, just about
the
same thing. I can find a press fit contact here. They even have
holders for odd ones like 2/3A etc., but no cigar when it comes to
the
whole AAAA holder.
http://www.aboveboardelectronics.com/keyelco/standpro/sprod01n.htm

I finally got desperate and made my own out of a block of wood. But
it
would sure be nice of some company would come up with one.

One interesting one is the 1/2AA cell holder. If one could get 1/2
AA
cells, then it would be easy to put four into a mini maglite and run
a
LED directly off them, with a resistor. But then I already have my
Opalec Newbeam, MagmaLED, and Terralux adapters, so I guess I'm
already
taken care of.

Would 2/3 AE nicads fit? I think they were 2/3 the length of a
standard AA cell so you could use three and get 3.6 volts. I used to
buy them for regency handhelds and make my own battery packs. I don't
have any of them anymore but I found something on the web that says
they
are 17 mm * 28 mm instead of 14 mm * 50 mm so if you could compress
the
spring another 12 mm you might squeeze 4 cells in to get 4.8 volts.

http://www.overlander.co.uk/pdf/overlanderJan2003.pdf also lists AAAA
nicads

Actually, I don't know why I brought that up. See, AA and AAA cells are
a commodity item, you can find them everywhere and they are cheap.
Other odd sizes are not, and are not cheap and are hard to get. So
there is no point in pursuing that path.

One flashlight maker (and also someone else who was innovative) came up
with an adapter sleeve. The sleeve fits into an AA flashlight and
reduces the ID and length to the same size as N cells, so one can put
three of them in place of two AA cells. That gives the higher voltage
needed for white LEDs. N cells are not as common as AA cells, but st
least they are available and not too expensive. But even so, you can
buy three AA cells (which are much higher caoacity) for less than the N
cells.
Click to expand...
In that same vein - I kinda like the idea involved in the new Eveready
"Adaptalight" flashlight - Supposed to eat any kind of battery you have
available, from AA to C. Couldn't tell if it was an LED or filament from
the picture in the ad I saw for it, but did see that it's got a
four-position switch labeled D, C, and AA.

--
Don Bruder - dakidd@sonic.net - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html> for full details.
 
Sounds like great fun.

The other thing you can do is change the flash capacitor to something
appreciably smaller (like 0.1 uF) so it will recharge almost instantly, and
rig up a circuit to trigger it at 10 Hz... you have a stroboscope.

Actually, those high-voltage, low-impedance capacitors are useful on their
own.
 
Don Bruder <dakidd@sonic.net> wrote:
In that same vein - I kinda like the idea involved in the new Eveready
"Adaptalight" flashlight - Supposed to eat any kind of battery you have
available, from AA to C. Couldn't tell if it was an LED or filament from
the picture in the ad I saw for it, but did see that it's got a
four-position switch labeled D, C, and AA.
Click to expand...
http://eveready.com/products/flashlights/flashlight.asp?cat=1 sez
Krypton bulb, comes with AAs...
 
"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4246E73D.1DB4D7FF@att.net...
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\"" wrote:

"Michael" <NoSpam@att.net> wrote in message
news:4246152D.3D933EA2@att.net...
Hmmm .... while each of the two types of Kodak disposable cameras
I
got did have
an AA cell, some Fuji and Konica(?) had AAA. Boo-hiss. I think
there's just
one device in my entire house that runs on AAA. All others use
AA, so
extras
are nice to have.

Stick a nut or a few washers in the end of the AA battery holder and
use
them in place of the AAs. Or else get some AAA cell holders and
make
some LED flashlights that use them.


Speaking of battery holders, I visited Rat Shack the other night to
kill time
after ordering Chinese takeout. Wanted a few more of those nice,
enclosed,
2-AA holders. Unfortunately the entire selection of battery holders
seems to
total three, none of them the nice enclosed model. I constantly tell
myself,
"When you find something that works, buy a ton of it before it's
discontinued." Well, I wish I had listened. I'm down to two of
those battery
holders now, and one will be used for the V boost keychain light.
Click to expand...
Hey, man! Not to worry. Mouser has 'em, cheaper than Rat Shack, too.
But then there's shipping. Page 1266 of their latest paper catalog, or
at www.mouser.com. They're made by EPD, Eagle Plastic Devices. It's
Mouser stock no. 12BH325/CS for two AA, and they also have two AAA cell
holders.

Give Radio Shaft the shaft. Get what you want online. You may even be
able to still buy them online from RS, tho. ALso you might find them on
Ebay.
 
"mc" <mc_no_spam@uga.edu> wrote in message
news:4245873a$1@mustang.speedfactory.net...
Sounds like great fun.

The other thing you can do is change the flash capacitor to something
appreciably smaller (like 0.1 uF) so it will recharge almost
instantly, and
rig up a circuit to trigger it at 10 Hz... you have a stroboscope.

Actually, those high-voltage, low-impedance capacitors are useful on
their
own.
Click to expand...
(Heh-heh) Electric chair. <G>

BRRRZAP!!!
 
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