Batteries for LaserGlow Aries

[Justin]

We have found that rechargeable C batteries seem to be a little inconsistent when it comes to physical size. Some work, some don't, and it is made more difficult due to the fact that the Aries are mostly hand assembled so each one may have slight variations in the battery tube length. (By "slight" I mean fractions of a mm, but sometimes it makes a difference.) Duracell batteries always work just fine, but the NiMH batteries can be finicky.

As for using L-ion, be careful about the voltage. The Aries is designed for 2 alkaline "C" (total 3.0V) or 2 NiMH "C" (total 2.4V). Many lithium batteries have higher peak voltages and I would not recommend sending more than 3.4V through the laser.

If the safety dongle is acting up, check the pins to make sure none have been bent or damaged in any way. If it quits working please contact me and I can arrange for a replacement dongle for you.

 

[cyberindie]

Hi Justin,

Thanks for the reply. I contacted Paul @ laserglow and he said he'd try and see if there were any dongles lying around. However he said that the dongle is unique to each laser body and so another dongle may not fit.

None of the pins are bent to any noticable degree. I've also noticed that 3 or so times the laser has come on but then gone off again even though the red laser on LED is still lit. At first I thought it was batteries running down but don't think that's the case now. Could it be the poor connection with the dongle means only enough power is getting through to light the LED but not the actual laser?

Thanks

Paul

 

[windstrings]

I would talk to Justin - see if he will just exchange the tailcap with you - to prevent you having to send the entire laser back ! I have been having some odd issues with the tail cap, myself......when I change the batts, the tail cap seems to almost get cross threaded, and is kinda difficult to get screwed all the way on.

I noticed that if trying to use batteries that were too long.. but when I went to true alkalines or ones that were that same size.. it screwed on fine.

With the Aries, when you put your batteries in "without the cap", the batteries should be perfectly "flush" with the end of the laser case or barrel... the center + sticks out, but the rest of the battery thats flat is perfectly flush... if its not.. your batteries are too long...

But I do think they should lengthen the spring or something in there to allow more grace..... I also think modifying the cap would do the trick too... the threads are quite "fine" giving little room for error.... maybe a slightly deeper cap with more threads would be an easy retrofit without having to deal with the spring.....
maybe laserglow can work on that and offer a replacement if needed.

I don't notice that issue with the herc.

 

[SenKat]

Yeah - AFTER the warranty is up, I plan on adding a tail cap dc power jack - so it can become a Labby upon demand....also, I will be able to modify some cells to fit in there, and be able to charge them without removing them, period ! That will be nice - then the tailcap issue will be a moot point !

 

[pseudonomen137]

Yeah - AFTER the warranty is up, I plan on adding a tail cap dc power jack - so it can become a Labby upon demand....also, I will be able to modify some cells to fit in there, and be able to charge them without removing them, period !  That will be nice - then the tailcap issue will be a moot point !

I'm not sure if the same is true with the Aries (my only Aries is away for RMA at the moment), but with the PGL-III-A/Envee lasers, the saftey interlock dongle just completes the circuit through the tailcap when plugged in. What I was thinking though is if you put something inside the battery compartment to act as a dummy battery, and then just hooked up the interlock to a power supply, it might be an easy external power mod. This would be especially convenient with the PGL-III-As because the interlock is only a shorted, relatively common, 2.5mm mono jack like those for cell phone headsets. I don't remember how applicable this would be for the Aries/PGL-III though.

 

[SenKat]

I believe you are right as far as that goes - the dongle appears to be merely a PS2 port with a loopback - so that possibly could work ! You would have to feed the negative pole through the dongle as well, though....What kind of current could that PS2 port take ? I think it is only rated at 200ma - if I recall the +5v from a system board@200ma...could be off...

 

[windstrings]

[quote author=SenKat link=1172741807/15#19 date=1172894294]Yeah - AFTER the warranty is up, I plan on adding a tail cap dc power jack - so it can become a Labby upon demand....also, I will be able to modify some cells to fit in there, and be able to charge them without removing them, period ! That will be nice - then the tailcap issue will be a moot point !

I'm not sure if the same is true with the Aries (my only Aries is away for RMA at the moment), but with the PGL-III-A/Envee lasers, the saftey interlock dongle just completes the circuit through the tailcap when plugged in. What I was thinking though is if you put something inside the battery compartment to act as a dummy battery, and then just hooked up the interlock to a power supply, it might be an easy external power mod. This would be especially convenient with the PGL-III-As because the interlock is only a shorted, relatively common, 2.5mm mono jack like those for cell phone headsets. I don't remember how applicable this would be for the Aries/PGL-III though.
[/quote]


LiIon batteries don't seem to share thier AH capacity too much?
One LiIon may not have the capacity of two NiHH?

Does anybody know how they compare?

I know LiIOn's are more dense and can carry much more capacity.. I just don't know how much....
Plus the other issue to consider is to make sure the load is not so high that the LiIon would get hot..I doubt its an issue....

 

[cyberindie]

Tested both batteries in my Aries and found that the Ansmann 4500mAh rechargeable fits very well and cap fits perfectly with them. In fact they are shade smaller than the Duracell Ultra batteries

The accupower 6000mah also fits ok but it's a tight squeeze - cap fits but only just. They are slightly longer than DuraCell Ultras

Still got tail cap problems but not having much luck getting a replacement.

 

[SenKat]

It IS still under warrnaty - so contact Justin, and tell him you want another tailcap made for it, or tha laser replaced with one of similiar, or better specs. Sounds fair to me ! I may do the same thing in regards to my Aries 175. The tailcap is a little bit on the difficult side.....

 

[windstrings]

Tested both batteries in my Aries and found that the  Ansmann 4500mAh rechargeable fits very well and cap fits perfectly with them.  In fact they are shade smaller than the Duracell Ultra batteries

The  accupower 6000mah also fits ok but it's a tight squeeze - cap fits but only just.  They are slightly longer than DuraCell Ultras

Still got tail cap problems but not having much luck getting a replacement.

Now you have me wondering ... Put some simple alkalines in to test for fit.... when the cap is all the way on, there should be no gap.. or very little.

If the 6000's don't fit, I wouldn't use them unless they can modify the cap.. but I did get a set that fits perfect "NimH's" and the cap went on fine.

But if they are too long, the threads are so fine, you only get a turn or so before it won't go any more.. so don't risk toasting your threads with long batteries.

They should be flush when holding in with your fingers to the end of the barrel.. the flat part of the top of the battery that is.

But I agree, it would be nice to have some beefier threads so you could put longer batteries in if you wanted.. of course then you would have a gap between the body and the cap when fully tightened.. unless they could put a longer spring etc to make up for the difference.