5590BA Battery Adapter
© Brooke Clarke 2005 - 2007
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Top
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1 of 2
Production Strings
holding 10 or 11 AA Cells
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Lid Open
Power Pole connectors
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Box with
Battery Holders
6 ea 3 AA + 2 ea 2AA
20 * 2.3 * 1.2 = 55 WH
8 hours run time
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Top 3/4 view
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Open View
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20 SC cell
hand made pack
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4 Packs of
10 ea Ni-MH
2.0 AH per pack
40 * 2.0 * 1.2 = 96 WH
10 hours run time |
Description
Universal Design
AA Cells in Battery
Holders
AA Packs
Li-polymer possible
SC Pack
Version 2
Long Shelf Life Battery Chemistry
Weights
Discharge
Battery Holder
Tests
Charge
Socket Assembly
10 or 11 Cells
Charging
Experiments
Use as Battery Eliminator
Testing
Fit
Internal Resistance
Load
Current Capability -
Table
Run Time -
Table
Batteries Not Included
Recommendation
$ per Watt Hour
Weight
Opening the 5590BA
Status
Related Products
Plug
Background
Ordering
Description
A battery adapter for the
BA-5590/U family of primary and secondary military batteries.
Universal Design
Note that the design that has gone into
production is the one I named
"Universal" during the design process. The label should have been
"5590BA/U", but it's too late for the first batch of adapters.
The
reason for the Universal name has to do with the ability to easily
change what cells are installed.
AA Cells
The first version of the adapter will have custom made battery holders
for AA size rechargeable cells (batteries not included).
It may be possible to use Alkaline AA cells for radios like the
SINCGARS that connect the two internal batteries in parallel.
More testing shortly on that using the strange Everactive Wal-Mart AA
Alkaline cells that have very low internal resistance.
14 March 2006 - Note that a SINCGARS radio (PRC-119 manpack version)
will draw almost 4 amps and that's too much for the battery
holders. See the Current table (Prod, 3rd gen, Hldr2) and note
that the max current is 2.5 amps. For high current applications a
battery pack that does not use springs is required.
AA Cell Pack
After testing a used BB-390 on the
½ PRC-104 load cycle and getting just over 12 hours run time and
knowing that the
2.3 AH Ni-MH gives 8 hours it should be possible to get 16 hours by
using 40 each AA cells. There's no way this can be done using
battery holders, but it is possible to get 40 AA cells into the box
with room for the wiring and connectors if it was as a battery
pack. There is a 2x5 pack of AA cells and four of them will just
fit, see right hand photo at top of page. This may have a
capacity similar to a used BB-390A/U.
Li-poly Possible
It should be possible to
install 8 Kokam 3.27 AH Li-poly pouches and a couple of 4 Lithium
battery protection circuits into the same box. These cells have a
discharge rating of 3*C (about 9 amps) but the protection circuits
limit the current to 6.5 amps (although there may be a way to change
that). Since Power Pole connectors are used on the back of the
adapter
socket it's very easy to remove or swap the battery packs.
SC Pack
The
BB-590 battery (shown at left) uses 20 each Sub C (SC) Ni-Cad
cells that have
spot
welded interconnecting straps. The cells are held in a
plastic two piece calm shell type housing that provides a small amount
of separation between cells. Label has a 1983 date, 1.5 Amp Hour
rating at 1.8 Amps. So the 2005 SC size RC Ni-MH batteries will
probably provide more than twice the capacity. Even the 2.3 AH
Ni-MH AA cells should have more capacity. Can not test this one
since there are dead cells.
The label on a Ni-MH BB-390 with a 1995 contract date is rated 3.6 AH
at 0.72 Amps. Note the AH rating will be much lower at 1.8 Amps
which is closer to a real radio Tx load current.
These are the same type of cells used in the RC racing car hobby.
But since the RC motors draw currents in the tens of amps they use
copper
bars to interconnect the cells both for lower resistance and as
a way to get heat out of the cells. They seem to use only flat
top SC cells, no other sizes so it's fortunate that this is the cell
size that fits the 5590BA.
By
hot melt gluing the cells together the resulting pack will be slightly
smaller than the BB-590 pack shown in the photo above left because the
BB-590 has an air gap between cells. After gluing the copper bars
and wires are soldered.
The pack at left uses the same cell orientation as a BB-590 with the
same cell polarity and wiring.
Although this 20 SC cell pack fits into the box, like the 4 each AA
packs, it has the same problem with the lid fitting. The tabs hit
some cells preventing them from seating. This can be fixed simply
be filing the tabs so that they protrude slightly less than 0.60" into
the box. This way the tabs will not go inside the box. This
works well making it much easier to remove the lid.
Using hot melt glue and cardboard (but not glued) as an insulating
spacer on the pack faces where the
connecting bars are located.
15 Nov 2005 Caution
- Some SC cells have a diameter of 0.9" (22.86 mm) and when these are
used to make a pack it will be too tall to fit into the 5590BA. The
0.87" (22.1 mm) diameter cells will fit with a little room to spare.
25 Nov 2006 - It should be possible to fit 23 mm diameter SC cells by
rearranging the right cell in the 4th row from the bottom. Then
the right cell in the 5th row up from the bottom (only 2 cells in this
row). Then the top two cells.
Battery Space is now offering a 4.5 AH SC cells that has specs similar to Li-Ion but for much less, see:
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2283
A theoretical calculation shows the maximum SC cell diameter that
will
fit is 0.887" (22.5 mm) based on close packing (which is the easy
way). A better way is to position the cells inside the battery
box (with an insulator on the bottom for safety) and use hot melt glue
to tack them in place. Then add all the jumpers and wires to make
the pack plus reinforce it with more hot melt glue.
12 Jan 2007 - If a 0.030" horizontal gap is inserted between the 4
batteries in the bottom row (photo above and to the left showing 20 SC
cells) then there will be a 0.030 horizontal gap in all the batteries
above the starting row. This has the effect of making the battery
pack height fit the battery box when 0.920" diameter SC cells are used.
Battery Eliminator
Another way to use the adapter is as an interface for a battery
eliminator. To do this a power supply (either a dual "12 Volt" or
a single "24 Volt" supply would be connected to the back of the socket
using Power Pole connectors and the adapter plugged into a radio or
other equipment.
Version 2
Long Shelf Life Battery Chemistry
While looking at battery specs for
version 2 I came across the new Long Shelf Life Ni-MH AA cells.
These are sold blister packed fully charged. The claim is that
they don't go flat as fast as normal Ni-MH cells. I have some on
order to try out. More later.
Weights
There's a considerable difference in the weights of various 5590 family batteries.
Model
|
Lb - oz
|
5590BA & 20 SC cells
|
3 - 6.6
|
5590BA & 20 AA Ni-MH
|
2 - 1.6
|
| BA-5590/U |
2 - 3.8 |
BB-390A
|
4 - 0.3
|
BB-490/U
|
3 - 1.6
|
Other Mil battery weights
| Model |
Lb - oz |
BB-557/U
|
1 - 6.1 |
BB-388/U
|
0 - 14.5
|
BB-507/U
|
2 - 0.4
|
NSN 6140-01-241-2295
|
1 - 3.0
|
Discharge
Since 2001 my main focus on this
product has been to come up with a reasonably priced battery adapter
that would work. By work I mean that the discharge
characteristics were good enough to power radios that worked with the
BA-5590 primary battery. Note the BA-5590/U is not supposed to
supply more than 2.25 Amps. The key to getting good discharge
performance is minimizing the resistance of the batteries, springs and
wiring.
The 5590BA Battery Adapter can be used
in most applications where the
BA-5590/U or
one of its derivatives
(BA-390/U BA-590/U, BA-2290/U) is
used. The case is black anodized aluminum and there is a
removable lid to gain access to the interior. It uses the
secondary type battery socket that has gold plated contacts providing
longer life than the primary type battery socket. 5 wires
from the socket are connected with a white power pole connector on pin
3. Each battery pair from the socket
is terminated with
Power Pole
connectors. The first version will
come with two strings of AA battery holders. Each string will
hold either 10 or 11 cells so that when rechargeable batteries (the
only type
recommended) are used the voltage will be just under 15.0 Volts (which
is correct for a "
12 Volt" battery).
14 Apr 2005 - using the latest Powerizer 2.3 AH AA batteries gives an
equivalent PRC-104 run time of 8 hours.
Charge
There is a potential problem if an old
fashioned DC fast charger, like the Maha C777+, is used on Ni-MH
cells. At the end of charge the battery will get very hot,
possibly damaging the plastic battery holders. But this can be
avoided by using a slow charge (current < C/10) or by using a
burp
mode charger, like the
Propel BB-590.
The Propel charger makes the C777+ look like it was designed in the
stone ages and has changed my mind about allow the 5590BA to be charged
from the socket.
An old fashioned DC
fast charger can be used by charging each string out of the battery
adapter. Note that the
Maha temperature sensor is sandwiched between two of the 3 AA
holders.
The stock Maha clip leads work nicely with the Power Pole connectors on
the string of 10 or 11 cells.
Ni-MH cells get very hot during the
charge cycle
unlike Ni-Cad cells that don't get as hot. I typically measure
140 degrees F at the end of a charging cycle for Ni-MH cells where the
batteries are
out in open air.
Socket Assembly
The
socket used on the 5590BA is what's called a
secondary socket and it's different from a primary socket in a number
of ways. It has a metal frame with a rubber insulating block
holding gold plated contacts. Whereas the primary socket uses a
plastic frame insulating block and non gold plated contacts. The
warding keys in the secondary socket are different from the keys in the
primary socket. This is one way that a device that can charge a
battery is prevented from charging a primary battery. The aim of
the secondary socket is to offer many more mating cycles than would be
the case with a primary socket and that's why it's used on the
5590BA.
Top view showing the circuit diagram and labeling:
5590BA
PRC68.com
MFR-3Y2J2
Pin 3 is wired to pin 1 using white wire and white Power
Pole
connectors. When mated they allow chargers or radios that use pin
3 for charging (to prevent charging a primary battery) to charge this
adapter, and when separated they will prevent pin 3 type chargers from
charging this adapter. Note that because a secondary socket is
being used a charger that only used the socket to prevent charging may
try to charge this adapter even when the pin 3 connection is open.
10 or 11 Cells for each "12 Volt" Battery
In my opinion it was a mistake to use
only 10 cells in the BB-390 and
BB-590 since using 11 cells gives an open circuit terminal voltage just
under 15.0 volts, which is what a fresh BA-5590/U measures since it has
5 each 3.0 Volt LiSO
2 cells for each side. But for
this adapter the extra volt provided by the eleventh cell provides more
Watt Hours.
NOTE:
As of 21 June 2005 I know of no fast charger that can charge strings of
11 cells using the "Burp" method. This means that in order to use
11 cells either use a slow charge or disassembly of the adapter would
be required. It may be that there are chargers that can do it
(maybe used in the RC hobby) but so far none of them have answered
technical questions.
Charging Experiments
These experiments are being done on a
5590BA that has pins 1 and 3 connected and using 20 cells (not 22) and
with the starting dead battery voltage for the 20 cells around 12 to 14
volts. The discharge cycle I'm calling "1/2 PRC-104" is using 100
ma for 9 minutes & 1.5 Amps for 1 minute, repeated until the
battery voltage goes below 20 Volts. If two batteries are
installed in the PRC-104 (connected in parallel) then the run time
would be the same as for this test. For more on battery chargers
see the
Battery Charger web page.
Maha C777+ Charger
Batteries very hot at end of
charge and 3.8 hours run time. Should not be used to charge the
batteries while in the 5590BA because there's a chance that the
temperature sensor will be on one of the battery holders that's not
being charged they over heating the charged battery holders and
damaging them.
When a string of 11 brand new Ni-Cad cells were connected to the Maha
C777+ it stopped charging in about 15 minutes and said that the
batteries were charged. Reconnecting the next day had the same
result, i.e. after 18 minute the charger stopped and said the batteries
were full. Reconnecting a third time allowed 994 mAH to be put in
and it took 80 minutes. This may confirm a claim in the Propel
patent saying that Ni-Cads that have been stored for a long time (or
are new) have a
false voltage peak at turn on that fools most chargers.
After the 80 minute charge the batteries were warm (about 113 deg F)
and the terminal voltage is 15.33 (1.39 volts/cell).
The Maha seems to use a 10 ms wide pulse 100 times per second to change
the charging current or discharging load by a small amount as part of
it's method of measuring the batteries being charged. It does NOT
use classical Burp Charging like the
Propel
BB-590.
With 11 Ni-Cad cells on the Maha, when fully charged there is a 10 ms
wide pulse on top of the DC charge that's at a rep rate of 99 Hz.
The baseline voltage is 15.78 V ( 1.16 V/cell) and the pulse peak is
18.70 V (1.7 V/cell).
TMQ-34 Charger
Leaving the 5590BA (with 20 Ni-MH
cells, not 22) on the Charger that comes with the
TMQ-34 Weather Station overnight does not
cause any heating. This is a trickle charger (maybe 60 to 100 ma).
The PP-8444 charger will put charge
into the 5590BA. But since the 5590BA does not have the built-in
temperature sensor it will overheat. I tried it with the 4 packs
of 10 Ni-MH configuration and pulled it off the charger. The
adapter surface was at 110 deg F but the internal packs were closer to
150 deg F. The battery pack used in the
Tek 1502 Cable Test Set
has heat spreaders to take the heat away from each cell and if that
were done here maybe the cells would not get to as high a temperature.
To me this is a confirmation that Ni-MH needs temperature sensors when
conventional chargers are used. It's too bad that burp chargers
were not used or that there's not a burp charging option for the
PP-8444 charger.
This charger can
not
be used in a start it and leave mode. It
needs constant baby sitting to prevent overheating the batteries.
Lab Power Supply BK Precision Model 1786 30 V 3 A
First try CV=30.0 CC=0.25 amps.
The C/10 rate would be 225 ma. The 1786 doesn't have perfect CC mode
resulting in 0.29 amps or C/7.7 current. 20 cells in series using
the "charging cable" from
Steve Hanney.
0.25 amps at 27.0 volts 10:56 starting
0.29 amps at 28.2 volts 11:43 box cold
0.29 amps at 28.5 volts 12:42 box cold
0.29 amps at 28.8 volts 13:52 box cold
0.29 amps at 29.1 volts 14:32 box cold
0.29 amps at 28.7 volts 15:39 box slightly warm
0.29 amps at 28.1 volts 16:44 box warm
0.29 amps at 28.1 volts 17:44 box warm
0.29 amps at 28.1 volts 18.30 box warm
0.29 amps at 28.1 volts 20:00 box warm
4.8 hours of run time on the 1/2 PRC-106 test cycle. 24.7 Volts
open ckt.
4.7 hours of run time on the 1/2 PRC-106 testy cycle when the same pack
was charged on the Propel charger.
So far this appears to be the best way
to charge a string of 20 Ni-MH or Ni-Cad cells. It uses a couple
of patented microcontrollers to be smart about the charging. 6.2
hours run time in the 1/2 PRC-104 discharge cycle.
Using 20 each 1.0 AH
Ni-Cad
cells the run time is 3.3 hours. If the 2.25 AH Ni-MH give 4.8
hours of run time then the 1.0 AH Ni-Cads should give 2.1 hours of run
time. There may be two factors, the Ni-Cad cells may be better at
supplying the 1.5 amp transmit current and/or the Ni-MH cells may have
been degraded by charge overheat. After another charge cycle on
the Propel the run time was 3.7 hours (5.3 AH delivered).
After charging on the Propel a second time the run for 20 Ni-MH have a
run time of 6.5 hours! 9.39 AH delivered, ending OCV 24.3 Battery
numbers: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21,
22, 23, 24.
The other Ni-MH battery pack only delivers 4.8 hours of run time (7 AH
delivered).
The cell numbers for this pack are: 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35,
36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47. Why the difference in
capacity, could it be that the overheating on the Maha C777+ degraded a
pack?
Got some new Powerizer Ni-MH cells rated at 2.3 AH and after a few
hours on the Propel they are around 100 deg F, warm, not hot.
I'll let these trickle charge overnight and run the PRC-104 load test
tomorrow. These cells have NOT be on the Maha charger.
14.20 Volts Open Circuit for 10 cells after some trickle charge, i.e.
1.42 Volts per cell or 28.4 Volts for a string of 20 cells.
Run time 8 hours, 11.6 AH delivered. Ending OCV 23.5. The 2.25 AH
should deliver (2.25/2.3 * 8 = 6) 6 AH, so the 2.25 AH pack that's
delivering only 4.5 hours was damaged by overheating. The 2.25 AH
pack delivering 6.9 hours is OK.
The Propel seems to charge 22 cells correctly, but need to wait untill
this afternoon to see what the run time is. Only 7.8 hours, 20
cells run for 8 hours so this did not work.
This charger has a switch to select
either 0.9 Amp(<2.1 AH Batt) or 1.8 Amp (>2.1AH Batt) charge
current and includes
Burp
charging. It takes very close
to 2 hours to charge 10 3.3 AH SC cells (1.8 Amps * 2 hours = 3.6
AH). The cell temperature gets warm but not hot. Since
these don't cost that much <$30) it would make sense to use two of
them in parallel to charge the 20 cells in a 5590BA.
Data taken during charging left for side A and right for side B:
Time
|
Temp (F)
|
Voltage
|
|
Time
|
Temp
|
Voltage
|
7:16
|
-
|
12.7 OCV
|
|
9:22
|
-
|
12.77 OCV
|
7:17
|
77.6
|
12.9
|
|
9:23 |
77.8 |
12.94 |
7:41
|
78.6
|
13.91
|
|
9:43
|
85.5
|
13.85
|
8:26
|
81.7
|
14.14
|
|
10:09
|
88.6
|
13.81
|
8:53
|
82.5
|
14.40
|
|
10:20
|
89.6
|
14.04
|
9:17
|
99.4
|
14.45
|
|
10:55
|
93.6
|
14.25
|
9:22
|
100.8
|
14.161
|
|
11:10
|
95.1
|
14.36
|
|
|
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|
11:16
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105.3
|
14.36
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|
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11:23
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112
|
14.131
|
Note
1 - you can see
the battery voltage has a negative delta V that's detected by the
charger to switch to trickle charge mode properly before the batteries
overheat from excessive charge. I was not paying a lot of
attention to when the fast charge LED (red) changed to trickle (green)
so the actual times are probably a little shorter than shown above.
The charged battery was allowed to sit overnight then in the morning
was reconnected to the charger which ran for maybe 10 minutes for each
string of 10 cells then went into trickle charge. Now on the 1/2
PRC-104 run time test with an OCV of just over 28 volts. the 12.5 hour
run time is the same as the 12.75 hour run time from the Propel
BB-590. Will try a SINCGARS run time test, but expect it will be
in line with the Propel charger also. The Battery Space charger
looks like a good way to charge the SC cells. Need to check it on
the 2.3 AH AA cells.
3 May 2005 - have a 5590BA with 22 each
2.3 AH Ni-MH Powerizer cells on the charger. Set for C/10 (239
ma) and 16 hours. Will measure run time tomorrow. Expect
about 8.8 hours, but only got 8.25 hours, just a tiny bit longer than
20 cells.
Have just got a
VRC-87 going and need to
modify the PP-8249 to reduce it's charging current. As received
the PP-8249 had the charging wire disconnected making it the same as a
CY-8644 Battery Tray. When charging the current is over 400 ma, a
little too high for trickle charging a 5590 type battery.
This charger was purchased while
working on version 2 of the 5590BA, but I'm listing it here for
completeness. It will charge a string of 20 Ni-MH cells and
has an analysis mode that's more capable than the Maha C777Plus.
Use as Battery Eliminator
A battery eliminator is a way to use
the AC power grid to replace a battery. Since the 5590BA uses
standard Power Pole PP15 connectors on the inside of the socket it's
very easy to connect these to:
Where the radios supply voltage is known
Either a single 24 VDC supply, a single 12 VDC supply
Where the radios supply voltage is not known
A pair of "12 VDC" supplies. These are very common and are used
to
replace a car "12 Volt" cigarette lighter socket or to power "12 Volt"
equipment
Note: For most radios "12 VDC"
really
means 10 to 15 VDC.
In the case of the SINCGARS CY-8523() battery boxes it's a simple
matter to remove two screws from the lid hinge to seperate the lid from
the rest of the battery box allowing the 5590BA to be installed without
it's lid. and providing easy access to the power pole connectors. A
spacer should be placed behind the 5590BA to prevent it from unplugging
from the battery box. By using an existing battery box a large
amount of money is saved and either the two terminal wire line
interface or the remote control handset is supported.
In a similar fashion the 5590BA can be used as the adapter portion of a
battery eliminator. This is a great way to save money when a
radio is being used where there is an AC mains supply.
Testing
Fit
Two each 5590BA power the
PRC-104.
Checked antenna
tuning on various bands and no low battery tone when speaking, like
would happen
with one of the old style batteries.
The CY-7875/PRC-104 Battery Box has the battery plugs of if a defective
battery that does not have a floating socket breaks the plug only the
battery box gets damaged, not the radio.
In the PRC-215 the
battery compartment nearest
the electronics is a tight fit but the other is a good
fit. This is a problem with the battery box, not the 5590BA
adapters. To remove the adapter closest to the electronics the
box needs to be turned over and bumped against your hand.
The battery plugs are on cables so no need for a floating battery
socket.
The
SINCGARS -
CY-8523A battery box and the 5590BA Battery
Adapter.
The battery box has the battery plug thus protecting the radio from a
defective battery.
The 5590BA fits nicely into the LST-5 battery box. It can be
removed just by unplugging the connector and turning the box upside
down. If the plastic pull tab is folded over and then the 5590BA
is installed the extra thickness of the pull tab will cause the 5590BA
to be trapped such that is does not fall out when the box is
inverted. But it will come out if upside down and jerked.
The battery plug is on a cable and so not sensitive to a non floating
battery socket.
The HYX-57 and
KY-57 use the same battery
box. The 5590BA fits and functions fine.
The battery plug is on the KY-57 and HYX-57 and so it's important that
the battery socket floats.
Testing Internal Resistance
Using the modified capacitor ESR meter and modified probe the AC
resistance of a string of batteries can be
measured.
What
|
Where
|
Ohms
|
5590BA
10 ea 2.3 AH Ni-MH
charged or discharged
|
pins 1 to 4
or
pins 2 to 5
|
1.3
1.3
|
5590BA
10 ea 2.3 AH Ni-MH
charged
|
pins 1 to 4
or
pins 2 to 5 |
1.2
1.2
|
BA-5590
LiSO2
|
pins 1 to 4
or
pins 2 to 5 |
8.41
8.4
|
BB-557
Ni-Cad
|
pins 1 to 4
or
pins 2 to 5 |
0.36
0.38
|
11 ea 1 AH
Ni-Cad
disty batt hldr
|
Power Pole
|
2.22
|
11 ea 1 AH
Ni-Cad
prod batt hldr |
Power Pole |
1.53
|
10 ea 2.25 AH
Ni-MH
prod batt hldr
|
Power Pole |
1.4
|
Note
1 - Something wrong, maybe has to do with circuit inside
BA-5590.
Note
2 - The stock disty battery holder is 1 Ohm higher than
custom battery holder.
Note
3 -same NiCad cells moved from disty batt hldr to prod
batt hldr.
AA Cell
| What |
Ohms
|
Duracell
Alkaline MN1500
|
0.54
|
Powerizer #14
2.25 AH Ni-MH
|
0.04
|
Powerizer
2.3 AH Ni-MH
|
0.005 ?4
|
Kirkland AA
Alkaline
|
0.12
|
Wal-Mart
EverActive AA
Alkaline
|
0.04
|
Energizer E91
Alkaline
|
0.06
|
Energizer
LS91
Li-FeS2 |
0.13
|
Note
4 - alternate 0.00 or 0.01 display
20 each Wal-Mart EverActive Alkaline AA batteries in series. (under $
8)) Eveready patents on Wal-Mart package:
6022639
Zinc anode for an electochemical cell Feb 8, 2000 429/229 (15.6 amp
short ckt curr ? batt size)
6589693
High discharge electrolytic manganese dioxide and an electrode and
alkaline cell incorporating the same
July 8, 2003 429/224; 429/218.1; 429/229; 429/231.8
These patents are aimed at providing high discharge currents and are a
big improvement over conventional Alkaline cells.
Load Testing
Current Capability
Battery Holder Tests
A test of some new custom made
battery
holders done 27 Feb. 2005. The old holder was tested first and
the batteries moved to the new
holder without charging, so the starting voltage for the new holder is
a little lower than for the old holder. Once the voltage in this
test falls below 10.0 the radio will cut off and no longer work.
Measured Voltage vs. Load Current
Current
|
Production
3rd gen
Hldr1
|
Prod
3rd gen
Hldr2
|
Prod
3rd gen
Hldr2
|
Sample
2nd gen
Hldr
|
Disty
stock
Hldr
|
BB-390
used
|
4x10
2.0 AH
40 cells
|
Wal-Mart
"12 Volt"
SINCGARS
|
Wal-Mart
"24 Volt"
|
2 packs
10 SC cells
3.3 AH
|
BA-5590/U
|
BB-390
s/n..63
3.6 AH
|
BB-390
s/n..9U
3.6 AH
|
Chem:
|
Ni-MH
|
Alkaline
|
Alkaline |
Ni-MH |
Ni-MH |
Ni-MH
|
Ni-MH
|
Alkaline
|
Alkaline |
Ni-MH
|
LiSO2 |
Ni-MH
|
Ni-MH
|
# Cells:
|
11
|
11
|
10
|
11
|
11
|
40
|
40
|
20
|
20
|
20
|
10
|
20
|
20
|
RI3
|
1.5
|
2.62
|
2.1
|
1.3
|
2.6
|
0.67
|
0.61
|
1.2
|
5.2
|
0.35
|
1.4
|
0.65
|
0.73
|
| Amps |
Volts |
Volts
|
Volts |
Volts
|
Volts
|
Volts
|
Volts
|
Volts
|
Volts |
Volts
|
Volts |
Volts |
Volts |
0.1
|
14.4
|
17.2
|
15.1
|
14.7
|
14.8 |
26.3
|
27.4
|
15.6
|
30.8
|
27.83
|
27.2
|
27.6
|
28.1
|
1.0
|
13.1
|
14.3
|
13.3
|
13.6
|
12.3 |
25.8
|
27.2
|
14.5
|
26.3
|
27.57
|
25.1
|
27.1
|
27.6
|
1.5
|
12.4
|
12.2
|
12.2
|
13.0
|
10.8 |
25.5
|
27.1
|
14.0
|
23.6
|
27.44
|
24.8
|
26.8
|
27.3
|
2.0
|
11.6
|
10.7
|
11.1
|
12.3
|
9.6 |
25.2
|
26.5
|
13.3
|
21*
|
27.27
|
24.3
|
26.5
|
26.9
|
2.5
|
10.9
|
9.7
|
10.9*
|
11.7
|
8.5* |
24.8
|
26.1
|
12.8
|
-
|
27.07
|
23.8*
|
26.2
|
26.5
|
3.0
|
10.2
|
8.7
|
8.9
|
11.0
|
-
|
24.4
|
25.8
|
12.2
|
-
|
26.8
|
|
25.9
|
26.1
|
3.5
|
9.4
|
7.8
|
7.9
|
10.3
|
-
|
24.2
|
25.4
|
11.6
|
-
|
26.7
|
|
25.6
|
25.7
|
4.0
|
8.6*
|
6.9*
|
6.8
|
9.5*
|
-
|
23.8
|
25.1
|
11.1
|
-
|
26.5
|
|
25.3
|
25.4
|
4.5
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
23.4
|
24.8
|
10.4*
|
-
|
26.3
|
|
24.8
|
25.0
|
5.0
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
23.0*
|
24.4*
|
-
|
-
|
26.1*
|
|
24.4*
|
24.5*
|
*PwrPk
|
68
|
56
|
54
|
56
|
42
|
115
|
122
|
47
|
42
|
130
|
59.5
|
122
|
122
|
Note
1 The new holder test
was done using different batteries. Need to do more controlled
testing.
Note
2 The voltage is dropping fast with alkaline cells so
it's difficult to say what it really is. They can only maintain
the current for a few seconds, but might be useful.
Note
3 - DC Resistance. When multiplied by the Tx
current gives the voltage
drop from the terminal voltage of the battry. For example a fresh
20 Ni-MH cell battery might have a terminal voltage of 28 volts.
With a transmit current of 1.5 amps the drop will vary between 0.5 (
27.5 delivered) volts for the 20 SC pack to 3.9 (24.1 delivered) volts
for a battery using stock AA battery holders. There's 30% more
power delivered by the low resistnace pack.
* The peak power delivered for those tests where the peak power is at 5
amps will be higher if more current is drawn. I just was not
comfortable using higher test currents. Note that the home made
3.3 AH SC pack is delivering more power than any other battery tested
and it has the lowest DC resistance.
Note that the new holders are much
much better than the stock
holders. Some radios, like the PRC-104, need a minimum of 20.0
volts to work. You can see from the above table that if two of
the old style battery holders were connected is series you could get a
little less than 2 amps at 20 volts out. BUT with the new holders
you can pull over 3.5 amps and still have 20 volts out of a single
battery, not two batteries as are needed with a stock BA-5590.
25 Mar 2005 - 11 Alkaline cells are a little hot (greater than 15
volts) and so are the
LS91
Li-FeS
2 Lithium cells.
6 May 2005 - for SINCGARS radios where the cells are paralled alkaline
and/or Li-FeS
2 may work.
Run Time
This is done using a lap top computer
to control an
electronic load. The
cycle uses 9 minutes of receive current and 1 minute of transmit
current.
Since the PRC-104 uses two batteries the actual currents are deivded by
two yeilding 100 ma Rx and 1.5 Amp test currents for the actual 200 ma
Rx current and 3 Amp Tx current.
SINCGARS uses a single battery with 320ma Rx current and 1.7 Amps Tx
current for the Medium power setting.
The
Battery
Safety Guide has some run times for the BA-5590/U.
PRC-104 23 hours normal temp, 7 hours low temp.
PRC-119 (RT-1439) SINCGARS 16 hours normal temp, 6 hours low temp.
PRC-119A (RT-1523, RT-1523A) SINCGARS 25 hours normal temp, 16 hours
low temp.
C-11561 SINCGARS RCU normal use 13 hours, 8 hours low temp
HYX-57 wire line interface 49 hours, 21 hr cold
KY-57 42 hr, 17 hs cold.
The Feb 2001 issue 579 pg 48 of PS magazine says a new BB-390A battery
will only give 6 hours of run time out of the box after a charge,
but that after two full charge discharge cycles it should provide 12 to
18 hours of run time. The CECOM web site for rechargable
batteries says that a BB-390 near it's end of life should deliver 8
hours of run time.
The 1999 PS mag issue 558 pg 53 says a BA-5590A/U will last 24 hours as
part of the BB-390A/U promotion.
Actual Tested Run Times using laptop and
electronic load
Name
|
# of Cells
|
Chemistry
|
AH
|
½
PRC-104
|
PRC-104
single batt
|
SINCGARS
|
5590BA
|
20
|
Ni-MH
|
2.3
|
8 hr
|
|
8 hr
4.7 hr5
6.8 hrs6
|
5590BA
|
40
|
Ni-MH Pack
|
2.0
|
10 hr
|
|
7.8, 12.33 hr |
5590BA
|
20
|
Ni-MH Pack
|
2.0
|
tbd
|
|
tbd
|
5590BA
|
20
|
Ni-Cad
|
1.0
|
3.5 hrs6 |
|
3.9 hrs6 |
5590BA
|
20
|
Alkaline
Wal-Mart
EverActive
same as
Eveready E91
|
2.0
|
tbd
|
|
2 hr2
|
5590BA
|
20 SC
|
Ni-MH
|
3.3
|
10.51 12.75
12.5 hr5
|
5.8
|
13, 9.8, 12.54 hr
10.6 hr5
9 hr6.5
|
BB-390 (9U)
|
40
|
Ni-MH
|
3.6
|
12 hr
|
|
8.5, 13.8 hr
|
BB-390 (63)
|
40
|
Ni-MH |
3.6 |
|
7 hr |
14.4 hr
|
Note
1 - First run
with SC pack 1 June 2005 - will do SINCGARS run next then try PRC-104
again. (i.e. cycle pack a few times to get full cpacity.
The Battery Space AH ratings have no details and so don't mean too
much. But the capacity can be calculated for the radio cycle
loading.
The receive part of the cycle is: 9/60 hours * 1.2 Volts * 20 cells =
0.36 WH
The trans. part of the cycle is: 1/60 hours * 1.2 Volts *
20 cells = 0.60 WH
So the total for 10 minutes is 0.96 WH. An 8 hour run time
corresponds to 46 WH (divide by 1.2 V=) 38 AH. This is less than
the (20 * 3.3 AH) 66 AH capacity advertised for a couple of
reasons. The actual power delivered is not at 1.2 volts but in
all
cases at a higher voltage that changes during the test. The WH
capacity of a battery decreases as the load current increases, it's not
constant. 1.5 Amps is much more that the specified load current
which is probably more like 0.33 Amps (i.e. C/10).
The SC pack (79 WH rating) is delivering more run time than the higher
rated 4 pack ( 96 WH) of 2 AH AA cells. This may be because the
SC cells are rated for much higher currents (say 30 amps for an RC race
car) than the AA cells and so when loaded have less internal voltage
drop. Also the radio Tx currents are about C/2 for the SC cell
but more like C/1.3 for the AA cells, i.e. the AA cells are called on
to provide a higher discharge rate relative to their capacity. Or
maybe when two packs of 10 cells are connected in parallel they are not
as efficient as a pure series pack? Testing single packs of 10
will give some insight on this.
4 June 2005 - the second PRC-104 run with the 20 SC pack improved from
the initial 7.8 hours to 12.75 hours, slightly better than the used
BB-390. Next another charge cycle on the Propel then another
SINCGARS run.
Note
2 - After the test the
batteries check as good on a radio shack battery tester, i.e.. they
look like new, so the test terminated for an unknown reason, maybe they
got hot or gained charge after resting for a day or so.
Note
3 - after
being connected as a pack and going through a second charge cycle the
pack is now delivering more watt hours than any other option tested as
of 29 May 2005.
Note
4 - 6 June 2005 Second
SINCGARS run at 9.8 hours is strange. 13 June 2005 12.5 hours, Propel
Charger.
Note
5 - this test
after using the Battery Space charger
Note
6 - after Propel
Charger,
6.5
- after Proper Charger + 5 hrs on PP-7286 @ C/10
Batteries Not Included
The 5590BA comes with battery holders
for 22 AA batteries, but the batteries are not included. I
recommend the use of Ni-MH AA batteries. Ni-Cad would also work but
they
have less capacity and may have memory problems. A possible
advantage of Ni-Cad batteries is that they do not get as hot during
charging and might work in military chargers, but I don't have a way to
check this out for all situations. Some alkaline batteries have a
lot
of internal resistance and so probably will not work at all, but this
needs to be checked once the custom production battery holders arrive.
You will
also need to supply a battery charger that can charge the batteries,
either one at a time, or more conveniently charge a string of 11 cells
or even better the whole battery adapter if it's a
burp charger that will not overheat the
batteries and holders.
For testing I'm using the 2.3 AH Powerizer AA batteries from Battery
Space. They come in a
24
pack for $29.99 and if discount code
batteryspace
is entered there's a 5% discount. They seem to be in stock and
ship the next day.
If you find a reasonable priced higher capacity AA cell let me know.
Recommendation
The home made pack of 20 SC Ni-MH cells
gives performance about the same as a BB-390. Maybe better
depending on the Amp Hour capacity of the cells used. This makes
a great battery. The caution is that you need either a burp or
trickle charger. Don't use the PP-8444 or Maha chargers as they
will over heat the battery.
I have a pdf instruction sheet with
details on:
- how to Modify the Lid
- build the 20 cell SC pack
- Charger Recomendations (on this web page)
It's 8 MB, too big to email, will be sent USPS mail
upon
request.
Battery Configuration
The battery holders that come with the 5590BA will provide good
service, but no where near the run times that you can get from using SC
size Ni-MH cells made up into a custom pack of 20 cells. There's
a trade off between getting the highest Amp Hour capacity cells for top
dollar or getting slightly less capacity for a better $/Watt Hour
value. Today (10 June '05) I think the 3.3 AH batteries from
Battery Space are a better value, but the 3.7 AH cells from
Cheap
Battery Packs have more capacity.
Charging
For either the Battery holders or the SC cells the charger (or better 2
of them) from Battery
Space appears to be good value and does not overheat the cells like the
Maha C777+ or the PP-8444.
Fair Radio has some BA-5590 style plugs mounted on a metal plate that
can be used to make up a charger based on two of the Battery Space
chargers thus allowing both sides to be charged at the same time.
Much more convenient than doing them one at a time. Also with two
chargers both sides can be left on trickle charge which may be needed
to fully charge Ni-MH cells.
$ per Watt Hour
A comparison done 26 May 2005 all for a
20 or 40 cell arrangement.
Source
|
Chemistry
|
Size
|
AH0
|
$/QTY
|
WH
|
$/WH
|
Battery Space
|
Ni-MH
|
AA
|
2.3
|
$30 / 24
|
55.2
|
0.451
|
Battery Space
|
Ni-MH
|
SC
|
3.3
|
$50 / 20
|
80.5
|
0.612
|
Cheap
Battery Packs
|
Ni-MH
|
SC
|
3.7
|
$130 / 20
|
88.8
|
1.462
|
Battery Space
|
Ni-MH
|
AA
|
2.0
|
$59 / 4
*10-packs
|
96
|
0.63
|
| Battery
Space |
Ni-MH |
AA |
2.0
|
$30 / 2
* 10-packs
|
48
|
0.63
|
Note
0 - The Amp Hour rating may or may not correlate to
radio run time. This is because the battery voltage recovers when
the load is removed or reduced. It may be that the larger SC
cells that are rated for 30 Amps load current will actually provide a
longer run time than the ratio of the Amp Hour ratings.
Note
1 - There will be 4 left over batteries, shipping
costs need to be added.
Note
2 - This is the loose cell price. 20 bars at 40
cents, some wire and connectors plus labor needed to make pack.
Weight
The adapter without any batteries
installed weighs just under a pound.
Opening the 5590BA
The aluminum lid has 4 "ears" that point inward and attach to 4 slots
in the aluminum box. To get the "ears" clear of the box pressure
is needed on the two sides of the box. The sides are 2.5" x
5". Since the socket bracket holds one of the sides most of the
pressure needs to be applied to the side opposite the socket.
This way no extra hardware is used.
The prototype units take some force to open, a slight of build person
may want to use a vise with cloth covering the jaws to squeeze the
sides. The production units will be made from thinner Aluminum
and be easier to open.
10 June 2005 - By filing all the tabs so that the height measured from
the outside of the lid is reduced from 0.20" to just under 0.120" the
tabs will not protrude into the inside of the box allowing the use of
20
SC cells. It also makes it easier to remove the lid.
Status
28 Feb. 2005 - It looks like the
prototypes work well. There may be a problem with how much the
socket floats. Need to get parts on order to build them.
2 March 2005 - I'm getting a quotation for a tapped battery holder that
would allow connection with either 10 or 11 cells in the string.
10 may be needed for compatibility with military equipment designed to
charge the BB-590/U battery. Note that the BB-390/U charger needs
thermistors which are not part of the current 5590BA design.
7 Mar 2005 - the battery holder manufacturer will supply my improved
design with the heavier wires
16 March 2005 - I've learned that one of the differences between a
primary socket (like used on the BA-5590) and a secondary socket (like
used on any of the BB-xx90 batteries) is that the warding key ways are
different. This is how the problem of charging a BA-5590 is
prevented. For some reason most chargers do not check for the
electrical jumper between pins 3 and 1. But equipment that can
charge the battery may use pin 3 as the negative end of a 30 volt
charger where pin 4 is jumpered to pin 2 and pin 5 is the positive end
of the charger output. This way a BA-5590 would not be charged.
25 March 2005 - Battery holders have arrived, but the 5590BA boxes are
back at
the sheet metal shop for rework.
1 April 2005 - Received reworked boxes.
6 April 2005 - Doing charging tests to help determine how the socket
should be wired.
8 April 2005 - Starting prototype socket wiring with 105 deg C
wire and white Power Pole pin 3 charging option.
13 April 2005 - Received new 2.3 AH Powerizer AA cells for load testing
without being on the Maha charger.
Boxes out for laser marking.
14 April 2005 - Run time of 8 hours using 20 each 2.3 AH
Ni-MH
Powerizer batteries.
19 April 2005 - Starting to test
Internal
Resistance of batteries + Battery Holders.
22 April 2005 - Boxes back with laser marking, see above.
Start Pilot Production
tomorrow
25 April 2005 - The machine shop can make the plug body to mate with
any BA-5590 family battery or this adapter. The plug will use
standard insert male pins and a standard 12 series clamp (& bushing
if the wire is that small). This will support a number of
Related Products and also be available for easy
field assembly of cables without any potting required. Small
quantity of pins on order for the 5590P Plug for testing.
2 May 2005 - The Propel charger seems to properly charge the 5590BA
with 22 cells. Only 7.8 hrs run time, did not work.
3 May 2005 - 22 cell version of 5590BA on PP-7286 charger, more
tomorrow.
4 May 2005 - Only got 8.25 hours from 22 cells and using the PP-7286
charger.
6 May 2005 -
MRCG
meeting Friday 10:00 am presentation of BA-5590
family and this adapter,
Camp San Luis Obispo
7 May 2005 - email to battery pack maker to see about a 40 AA cell pack
to fit the 5590BA.
8 May 2005 - Ordered 4 each
12
Volt battery packs each one has 2x5 2.0 AH AA cells with welded
tabs and shrink wrap. They should fit the box as is. Only
need Power Pole connectors added
10 May 2005 - 4 Powerizer battery packs installed, they do fit beside
socket. Now on Propel charger.
11 May 2005 - the 40 cell (4 pack) run time is just over 10 hours, not
as good as a used BB-390 but very close.
Note although the 4 packs do fit in the
box the fit is so close that the lid can not be put on. A design
change would accommodate getting the lid on but it's not possible now.
Wal-Mart Alkaline now on load test in SINCGARS "12 Volt"
configuration. Impressive current capability. 2 hours run
time, they work but not for long (other alkaline cells will not work at
call at the high currents needed). Note the Wal-Mart EverActive
are about the same as Eveready E91.
23 May 2005 - Charging 2.3 AH Ni-MH and 1 AH Ni-Cad for SINCGARS run
time tests tomorrow. Then Ni-Cad charged by
PP-8444.
The 5590BA can be purchased with
customization options like without the AA battery holders or with just
wires from the socket with out Power Pole connectors or with just raw
connector pins so you can attach your own wires.
26 May 2005 - the SINCGARS run time for
20 ea. 2.3 AH AA cells was a little over 2 hours. Not sure why,
but expect it has to do with matching the two strings of cells.
Have 20 each SC 3.3 AH
Ni-MH cells and some interconnect bars on order to make up a 20 cell
pack. The cells will be hot melt glued together then the
interconnect bars soldered.
31 May 2005 - The 20 SC 3.3 AH batteries arrived. They came with
welded tabs, but both tabs are pointing in the same direction so could
only be used if you were making a stick. I bent them back and
forth and broke them all off. After sanding the tab material it
can easily be soldered. First used hot melt glue to stick all the
cells together then soldered on the Cheap Battery Pack bars. The
voltage as delivered on both packs was a little above 12 V and matched
to within 0.01 volts. As the Propel charger is charging both
sides the voltage continues to be within 0.01 volts. (note the
cells are sold as matches sets of 10 and I asked that both sets also
match each other. They will be charging overnight.
I also got the
Multi
Current Universal Smart Charger that has a switch for either 0.9 or
1.8 Amps charge current (< $30). It should be able to charge a
10 cell string without getting it hot, we'll see. If that works
well I'll get another so both sides can be charged at the same time.
4 June 2005 - the 20 SC pack is looking better and better. A
drawing of the batteries in the box shows that the lid and slots can be
relocated so that although asymmetrical the lid can be put on either
way. Also have started looking into how to make a battery holder
for these cells that can handle the high currents (i.e. have very low
resistance).
6 June 2005 - 20 SC pack 9.8 hours run time on SINCGARS. Next try
Battery Space charger (10.6 hours).
7 June 2005 - the Battery Space charger works without overheating
the 3.3 AH SC cells,
see above for
details. The run time is the same as for the Propel chrager so it
works and is available. The alligator clips that come with the
charger work well on the Power Pole connector on the batteries.
The first way I've come up with to make a battery holder for SC cells
is doable, but would be expensive. It's questionable if it makes
sense since it's relatively easy to solder up a pack using readily
available bars. The battery plug looks like a more profitable
product.
8 June 2005 - The Battery Space charger works nicely on the 2.3 AH AA
Ni-MH cells just over 100 deg F at end of charge, but takes about 3
hours which seems a little long since the 3.3 AH SC battery packs
charged in 2 hours. 20 of the 2.3 AH AA cells in battery holders
are now on the SINCGARS run time test after being charged with the
Battery Space charger.
10 June 2005 - Lid
modification to allow use of 20
each SC size cells and to make it easier to remove the lid.
Hint: If you haven't made this mod and are having difficulty in
removing the lid a small (-) blade screwdriver can be used to pry it
off.
28 June 2005 - Using a single 5590BA with a 20 SC cell pack the PRC-104
will run for 5.8 hours. This is due to the very low resistance of
the SC pack keeping the voltage up during transmit.
16 July 2005 - A customer attempted to make the SC battery pack and
destroyed most of the cells by overheating them. So it does take
advanced soldering skills to make the SC pack. An alternate would
be to have a custom pack welded (or better bars soldered) by Cheap
Battery Packs.com or one of the
"battery stores" that does re-cell work or makes custom battery
packs. A simple way to test a pack is to connect a 12 volt
automobile tail light bulb to 1 & 4 or 2 & 5 to provide some
load current then check the voltage across each cell. They all
should be close to the same voltage and above 1.2 volts. To have
bars soldered you need to go to someone who makes packs for the RC car
hobby. Normal battery dealers only do the spot welding type packs.
17 July 2005 - Reduced price for U.S. mail address to under $100.
21 July 2005 - a used BB-390 on the full power PRC-104 run time test
lasts 7 hours compared to the 20 SC pack in the 5590BA at 5.8 hours.
Related Products
Plug
12 May 2007 - Not enough interest to go further on the plug described below.
There is a possibility that a much simpler (i.e. very low cost) plug
can be integrated into a PCB. I plan to try this out when I get a
round TUIT.
I have investigated a number of sources for plugs that mate with the
BA-5590 family of batteries and they are either very expensive or
difficult to use (require potting for cable attachment). In order
to offer the following cables a plug is needed. One is now in the
design stages. It will be a custom machined shell-insert that
will accept standard machined solder cup pins and use a standard
military size 6 cable
clamp (3/4-20 thread). It also will accept a commercial low cost
extraction tool
to allow the pins to be removed supporting rework, repair or
cannibalization (you can not do this with a potted connector).
The rear cavity is much longer than an ordinary connector to allow a
couple of 3 Amp Schottky diodes to be installed in that space allowing
the construction of a "12 Volt" output cable. Of course any other
type of normal cable can also be made.
14 May 2005:
There are a number of size 6 clamps available. The 654-97-67-14-6
is a Water Resistant clamp with a rubber bushing, the 654-97-3057-1007-1
is a standard military clamp that comes with a rubber bushing and the 654-3057-6
is a commercial clamp with no bushing available.
For status see my
Products In Development
paragraph on the PRC68.com web page.
- 24 Volt Charging Cable - A 2 conductor cable wired
white to pin 5 (positive), pin 2 jumpered to pin 4, and black to pin 3
(negative) similar to the discharge test cable now being sold as a
charging cable. This wiring prevents charging a primary battery.
- 24 Volt Discharging Cable - A 2 conductor cable wired white to
pin 5 (positive), pin 2 jumpered to pin 4, and black to pin 1
(negative). This wiring allows taking "24 Volts" from either a
primary or secondary battery or testing a primary battery to see if
it's fully discharged after pressing the discharge switch on a
BA-5590. This is the cable available on the surplus market now.
- 12 Volt combining cable - A 2 conductor cable wired
with black (negative) to pins 1 and 2. A Schottky diode from pin
4 to white (positive) and a Schottky diode from pin 5 to white
(positive). This will work with either a primary or rechargeable
battery.
- Dual 12 Volt cable - Would have 4 conductors wired to
pins 1, 4, 2 and 5 allowing seperate access to the two internal
batteries. This would be the way to go for using two of the
Battery Space chargers, one on each side.
A Power Pole to wire ends cable could be used to aid in charging each
side of the adapter when the cover is removed to give access for a
charger thermistor.
Specialized cable to match a charger to the 5590BA.
July 2005 - Plug on hold. If made to the first design it would be
a long straight connector sticking up from the battery, not good if the
battery is in the field. Better to make the plug in a 90 degree
type design to both minimize the added height and to allow the plug to
be strapped on the battery to prevent unplugging.
Background
Background information on the BA-5590/U
and it's variants is on web page
BA5590.
BA-5590 Family Battery Adapter
development history
In order to be economical and to have about the same
capacity as a BA-5590 I have chosen to use 16 each common "C"
cells. You can not easily connect two
Switching
Mode
Power
Supplies in parallel so it's not feasible to
offer a battery adapter that has 2 sides and let the user equipment
wire them either in series or in parallel. So it's better to
offer
three different adapters:
5590BAP Passive Battery Adapter
14 June 2004 - It
turns out that the springs in the "C" battery holder used for the test
were a problem. They heated to the point of melting the plastic.
Testing today with a high current modification to one of the stock
257477BA adapters reduced the total resistance for 10 cells from half
an Ohm to less than ¼ Ohm. The half an Ohm is consistent
with the resistance of one battery support spring. At 3 Amps load
the terminal voltage of 10 each 4.5 AH batteries is 12.9 Volts, or 1.29
Volts per cell. Testing on a real PRC-104 shows the Tx load
current to be closer to 1 Amp than 3 Amps.
14 June 2004 - New idea is to use "AA" cells in a passive
adapter. Home Depot is selling a package of 36
Energizer AAs for $ 13.00. This has a number of big advantages
over any active battery adapter.
C Cell battery Test
13 Aug. 2003 - I'm planning of testing a series
string of 8 Alkaline "C" cells. Rx load will be 200 ma for 9
minutes and the Tx load will be 3 Amps for 1 minute. This will be
repeated untill the voltage drops below 10.0 Volts.
Brand
|
Duracell
|
Energizer
|
Rayovac
|
Model
|
MN1400
|
E93
|
Maximum Plus
|
Date Code
|
Mar 2010 |
2010
|
Dec 2010
|
Wal Mart
$ for 8 cells
|
$9.74
|
$ 7.97
|
$ 6.84
|
Run Time hrs
|
0 @ 3A
|
no test
|
no test
|
Capacity Amp Hrs
|
|
|
|
Capacity Watt Hrs
|
|
|
|
$ per Watt Hr
|
|
|
|
5590BA15 Active Battery Adapter
This is the 13.6 Volt version. A Switching Mode Power
Supply will take the output from 16 rechargable "C" cells connected in
series and
transform it into a 13.6 Volt output. This way the current draw
from the batteries will be less than the current draw from the radio
thus the batteries will provide more than their nominal watt hours.
5590BA30 Active Battery Adapter
This is the 27.2 Volt version. A Switching Mode
Power Supply will take the output from 16 rechargable "C" cells
connected in series and transform it into a 27.2 Volt output.
There's not enough room inside the BA-5590 outline to fit more "C"
cells.
I need customer data on what radios or other equipment they would use
with either of these adapters. And if the 15 Volt or 30 Volt
model and the current pulled from it. The current is a critical
design factor for a SMPS in order to (1) be able to supply what's
needed and (2) do it efficiently.
Ordering
Options
The prices below are for the version described above. If you are
interested in getting the box, bracket and socket, but without the
battery holders and without the Power Pole connectors the 5590BA can be
purchased with either loose connector pins or with just 6" wires on the
pins.
Another option is for me to order the parts and assemble a 20 cell SC
pack. The price will depend on the current parts price plus some
labor. If you have reasonable soldering skills and the equipment
(60 Watt soldering iron, hot melt glue gun) you can do it yourself with
instructions I will supply with the 5590BA. If you don't have
Power Pole connector installation tools (special crimping tool and heat
gun) I can supply short Power Pole pig tales for the SC battery pack.
If this or other customization is of interest
just let me know.
Links
April 2006 QST article on Green Radios.
Back to Brooke's Products for Sale, Batteries, Military
Information, Personal Home, PRC68
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Products Information
Patent
The
BB-590 battery (shown at left) uses 20 each Sub C (SC) Ni-Cad
cells that have
spot
welded interconnecting straps. The cells are held in a
plastic two piece calm shell type housing that provides a small amount
of separation between cells. Label has a 1983 date, 1.5 Amp Hour
rating at 1.8 Amps. So the 2005 SC size RC Ni-MH batteries will
probably provide more than twice the capacity. Even the 2.3 AH
Ni-MH AA cells should have more capacity. Can not test this one
since there are dead cells.
By
hot melt gluing the cells together the resulting pack will be slightly
smaller than the BB-590 pack shown in the photo above left because the
BB-590 has an air gap between cells. After gluing the copper bars
and wires are soldered.
