need some basic power help

[aragorn723]

Hi,

I want to extend the life of the batteries in the Quickie, but need some help with wiring.  Would it be a good idea to have maybe 2 sets of D batteries for the 1.5V?  Is there a simple diagram for this?  Thanks,

Dave

[Paul Joppa]

Alkaline D-cells are the highest capacity primary cells that are readily available. Any number of them can be connected in parallel for increased lifetime. The only risk is failure mechanisms; if one develops a short circuit, it will discharge the entire pack. Thus you want to use top quality cells, preferably all from the same production run. Check out the following site for more details:

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/serial_and_parallel_battery_configurations

For the high voltage, AA cells are usually the most cost-effective source, and 24 of them in series will provide 36 volts for a long time. The site above has more detailed information on series connections as well.

Rechargeable cells are more cost effective over the long run, but they usually have so much self-discharge that you can't get a longer life by using more or larger cells. A good idea if the Quickie is running  12 hours a day, but in normal home use you still have to charge them every few months.

Hope that helps!

[aragorn723]

Paul,

So if I use 24 AA batteries in series, that would be ~3,000ma (if google is right) and 4 9 volt batteries is only 565ma (AA batteries are about 5x more capacity!)  Wow.  What would be the best way to implement something like this?  That would mean a lot of battery holders!  Maybe 12 of these?

http://www.parts-express.com/2-aa-cell-battery-holder--140-968

Dave

[cpaul]

Or 4 of these: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Eagle-Plastic-Devices/12BH361-C-GR/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvxqoKe%252bDjhrtqMYD5tpkc%252bIYSCT%252beoXa0%3d

or these: http://www.batteryholders.com/part.php?pn=BH16AASF&original=AA&override=AA

You get the idea.  I see mostly 1/2/4/6/8/10 battery holders.  No 12 battery units.  4 holders for 6 batteries seems like the way to go.  Probably easy enough to wire just like the existing 4x9v batteries.

[aragorn723]

4 of the 6 battery holders sounds good.  With those and 4 snap connectors, I could plug that right into the Quickie's existing connections.  Where can I find a spool of wires to connect the power chassis to the main chassis?  Is stranded better than solid core in this application?

Thanks,

Dave

[cpaul]

Sorry, but I don't have a preference for stranded or solid core.  Actually, I do as a rule prefer solid core, but not for any real audio purposes that I can offer.