The tiny 400mAh #LithiumPolymer#battery in this cheap #Bluetooth#speaker turned into a puffed up pillow. I've replaced it with a 350mAh one I salvaged from a single-use disposable #vape device. In spite of the lower capacity, it is significantly larger than the original battery. Hope it can still fit in the available space.
Also fitted a JST connector to the speaker wires in case I need to disassemble again for a future #repair.
Found a Pyne Pod 8500 discarded in the grass during a walk into town yesterday
Surprisingly sophisticated charging circuitry for an item designed to be disposable. No obvious way to open it in order for owners to refill the tank or to swap in a new atomizer module.
People might wonder why I am a little hesitant about buying #Apple products now…
Back in 2011 I bought a used 2008-model #Apple#MacBook (MacBook 5.1), sporting a Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM and a 160GB HDD.
It was in good condition. I updated the OS on there to MacOS X 10.6, dual-booted with Gentoo Linux. I later upped the disk to a 750GB HDD (SSDs were puny and a bit dicey back then) and upgraded the RAM to 8GB.
It was a good workhorse for a couple of years, except its lack of ports.
2 USB 2.0 ports is a pain to work with, netbooks have more. Plus the lack of RS-232 was a pain at work. I bought a Panasonic ToughBook CF-53mkII (pictured) to replace the MacBook at work, and used it as a work-from-home machine.
After a while, it managed to cook its original batteries, so I took the machine into one of Apple's vendors in Brisbane, and picked up a replacement battery. Installation on this model is a tool-free process.
A few years later, the machine managed to cook that battery too! So the MacBook today is battery-less. This means when disconnected from power, it forgets the current date/time, and if that magsafe power connector moves just slightly, the machine may shut down as there's no back-up power supply.
I've had several laptops over the years, but only one Apple, and this is the only machine I've used or owned that has cooked its own battery in such spectacular fashion.
I'm thankful its removal is a tool-free process. Modern MacBooks have their batteries glued in. Sorry, hard-pass!
Especially as the ToughBook here is still being used today, its original battery is still good for 2-3 hours (and I have a new replacement which is good for ~6).
@stuartl@Fairphone
After all, #LithiumIon and #LithiumPolymer if not all #batteries will INEVITABLY die due to use and/or age.
Same with #Flash dying after exceeding it's life cycles or #HDD's dying due to motor failures and gunked-up greases or since recently loss of #Helium...
Before the current epidemic of disposable vape pens, Poundland used to sell these disposable phone chargers which had a 650mAh #lithiumPolymer battery connected to a DC-DC boost converter. There was no straightforward way for owners to recharge them.
I've been distracted by e-cig battery harvesting, but finally got around to adding a TC4056A module with over-discharge protection to the few I bought back then
On the other hand it depends on your useage type and the cargind and discharging controls whether a #LithiumIon / #LithiumPolymer battery becomes a #DangerPillow.
Oh no! Free #lithiumPolymer batteries appearing in the wild in Canada too! https://youtu.be/lidMQu3S2NU
Haven't seen either of those in the UK not even under a different brand name. [pileofstuff] measured 4V on the battery from the rechargeable #eCigarette, 3.3V on the non-rechargeable #VapePen
That pressure sensing capsule found in most disposable #vape pens can very easily be turned into a #touchSensitive switch that is capable of switching currents high enough to activate small relays and solenoids
Simply slice the top off, exposing the edges of the inner and outer conductive cylindrical walls. Bridging the two walls with something no more conductive than human skin is sufficient to trigger it
Found all these disposable #Vape devices by just walking into town and back today. Passed by a few that were little more than shattered remains in the road. Even the run overs might still have salvageable electronics -- the pressure sensor can be repurposed as a capacitive touch switch
Whether or not these disposable #vape devices get banned, the astonishing level of #shrinkflation that is bordering on scam territory, should be sufficient reason to stop buying these single-use #VapePens
The 550mAh #lithiumPolymer#battery (date code 221101) was found in a discarded Elfbar 600 from earlier this year.
The 360mAh battery (date code 230417) from an Elfbar 600 I picked up from the side of a road today
Haven't seen a single-use #vape device in this form factor before. Found discarded in the grass along the side of a public footpath
Internal #LithiumPolymer battery is rechargeable via USB-C but the tank is not refillable. Still has a voltage of 3.7V
I wonder how many times it was recharged before becoming street #litter