Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / May 2007

Man, that must be some really special aluminum foil, considering it has a
low voltage cut-off and voltage regulator built right into it!

How does it work for baking potatoes, though? <g>

I did something similar for making an adapter for charging my glow igniter
battery.  I cut a piece of dowel rod the length of an AA battery, (minus a
little) and fastened a wire on one end with a wood screw and a ring terminal
for the positive, and on the other end used a wood screw, ring terminal and
small fender washer for the negative, and ran the wires to an earphone jack
with a wheel collar on it, so that my igniter prongs would hook onto it.

I now can lay a quick charge onto it with one of those cheap auto shut-off
commercial AA or AAA size battery chargers with 4 slots controlled
individually.  Now I know when the thing is charged without overcharging it,
(like a wall wart is liable to do) and get much better battery life.

I also rolled cardboard around some NiMH AA batteries to make them as large
in diameter as a C sized battery.  The length was close enough to work OK.

 I did that because a few years back, the C batteries were not in the
stores much, and I had a small TV that I wanted to make recharge capable.

I also made a holder to charge individual AA sized NiMH batteries for my
radios and cameras and what-not, using my peak sensing fast field charger.

A piece of 1/2" CPVC water pipe will nicely fit AA batteries inside it.  I
cut a length that would work out to put 4 batteries end to end in it, with a
maglight end (with the coil spring) on one end, and a small (about a 10-32)
screw all of the way through the pipe to contact the positive battery end.
Connect it to the charger with alligator clips or ring terminals, and plug
the rig into the field charger, and away it goes.  A little longer tube will
work for 5 cells, or 8 cells ( plugged into the transmitter port) or more,
if you have a charger that will charge a larger variety of cell counts.

I hope some of these ideas will be useful for someone.  Feel free to pass
them on, if there are any new ideas you want to spread about.