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Re: 1.5 v batteries - to buy ?



Frank Gaul wrote:
I am having a difficult time finding 1.5v hobby square batteries with screw
terminals.

Oooooo, that's a really old-time product, from the very beginnings of
the retail battery industry. Four "E" cells connected in parallel and
packaged in a rectangular case. The ubiquitous 6 volt lantern battery
has the exact same components connected in series, with spring
terminals. The 1.5 volt version has a rather short shelf life because
the parallel cells tend to discharge each other.

Nowadays the primary use of 1.5 volt hobby batteries is for initially
powering up the glow plugs in model airplane engines, though it is being
rapidly replaced by rechargeables and electronic paks. Any place that
sells model aircraft should have them or know where you can get them.
The only retail marketer I am familiar with is Hobbico, which probably
has them manufactured by Eveready or Rayovac as an OEM product.

Here's an online source: Surf to <http://www.hobbypeople.net/>. Click
"Manufacturer Listing". Scroll down the page and under "H" click
"Hobbico Planes and Accessories". Scroll down that page until you come
to "Hobbico 1.5 Volt Square Hobby Battery". $6.59 plus
shipping/handling.

IMHO you would be better off going to someplace like Radio Shack, buying
4 or 6 or 8 "D cell" holders, and wiring them in parallel to create your
own homegrown substitute. Not as pretty as the Hobbico, but more
practical. Remove the cells from the holders when not in use to prevent
mutual discharge.

Best wishes,

Larry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Cartwright Retired Physics Teacher
<exit60@cablespeed.com> Charlotte MI 48813 USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Information is not knowledge,
knowledge is not wisdom,
and wisdom is not foresight.
Each grows out of the other and we need them all."
(Arthur C. Clarke)
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