OESF Portables Forum

Everything Else => General Support and Discussion => Zaurus General Forums => Archived Forums => Accessories => Topic started by: bluey on June 12, 2004, 08:07:16 pm

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: bluey on June 12, 2004, 08:07:16 pm

Hi!

Has anyone tried to make a cover for the SL-5500 to old the big battery? Would something like that make any difference?

Does anyone have a dead big battery which could donate for scientific research?


I\'ll post sketches later.

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: elvis on June 14, 2004, 08:10:11 pm

Will the 5600 battery even fit inside the 5500? If it does, then it is only a question of fashioning a new hinge for the 5500. I am perplexed why Sharp never bothered to manufacture and sell battery upgrades for the 5500. The unbelievably short battery life of the 5500 has me at my wits ends... I am seriously thinking of going back to Palm  because the ] $600 for an SL-6000 is out of the question.

If anyone knows if they 5600 battery actually does fit inside the 5600, please post and let us know. I\'d go out and find someone to fashion me a new plastic hinge at pretty much any reasonable price.

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: bluey on June 14, 2004, 08:48:42 pm

I believe it does.

I was thinking in molding a new cover so I could use the bigger battery. I looked to the normal cover and it seems possible to make a cover to hold the bigger battery, beside the platic locking tips which could need to be hand cut.

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: elvis on June 14, 2004, 09:29:24 pm

According to this thread http://www.zaurus.com/dev/board/index.php?...%20battery&st=0 (http://www.zaurus.com/dev/board/index.php?showtopic=4374&hl=5600%20battery&st=0) on the old board, the 5600 battery should fit but a new cover would be needed and the 5500 would no longer lie flat on the table. I don\'t about it lying flat but I have no idea how one molds a new plastic cover. Any ideas? I\'d certainly be very, very interested. It should be possible to pick up a 5600 battery on ebay for ~$25

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: bluey on June 15, 2004, 05:55:39 am

~$25? I\'ll try to find such a deal.

I\'ll try to gather more information on how to mold a new cover, and will post about it later.

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: elvis on July 01, 2004, 09:28:53 am

Any luck? I've searched on the net *briefly* and not found any place where you can have a batch of ~10 plastic covers made for a reasonable price. Most places that produce molded plastic wants thousands of orders at the least.

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: tumnus on July 01, 2004, 09:51:59 am

The 5600 battery has a little tab that would need filing off to fit in the 5500. There's probably nothing in that tab, but I'd still be extremely warey about filing bits off a lithium battery casing. Lithium can be quite volitile (See reports of exploding Nokia batteries).

I have no idea how you'd make a new casing. On the 5600 the part of the back half of the casing surrounding the battery is raised, so that actual battery cover still slides over the battery and locks in place like the 5500. The problem with a 5600 battery in a 5500 is you couldn't have a cover that slides over the battery because it sticks out, so how you would lock it in place I don't know.

Also the 5600 has two pegs at the top of the back so that it lies more or less level on a flat surface.

Title: Fat battery on the 5500/5000
Post by: cavit8 on July 02, 2004, 04:10:40 pm

You might be able to find something like this to make a cover.

http://www.hrtrains.com/classnotes8.html (http://www.hrtrains.com/classnotes8.html)

Try searching for vacuum moulding small parts  or something.

Seems like a bit of a production, though.  I've just made up battery packs, myself.