Electronic gurus- soldering battery to IC board

just wondering if there is any safe method of affixing a lithium battery that does not have solder tabs and does not fit any standard battery holders I can find, to a memory board ? I assume the heat from the iron would ruin the battery if direct solder to battery ends was attempted, correct ? Any cold adhesive made for this sort of purpose that might hold, for instance ?

(if it matters, this is a 3.6 volt lithium, about the diameter of an AA but half the length)



[This message has been edited by D. Thomas (edited 06-28-2002).]

Take an AA batery bracket and cut it down. Should work. It should be able to contact both end contacts and the centre clip should secure it to the board, if things aren't to active.

Radio shack should have the brackets for AA.

grace & peace

will

A short quick soldering job should not be a problem for the battery. I use a solder gun which heats fast and make sure it is hot and the tip has wet solder and flux on it before touching the battery, also tin the wire before you begin to touch the battery. You will only need to touch the battery for 3 seconds or so for a successful joint. This should not hurt the battery. Bone up on your procedure first on a discarded AA battery so you know what to expect.

The Metal Doc

Is that a 1/3N battery?
Have you checked www.digkey.com, page 851?

Unfortunately they have a $25 minimum or a $5 handling fee.

[This message has been edited by joahmon (edited 06-28-2002).]

[This message has been edited by joahmon (edited 06-28-2002).]

I second the Metal Doc! I did the same thing and had no problem. I'd asked at a battery supply house and they told me to just solder it and don't worry. They normally use a spot welder.

OK, I'll give direct solder a try. I tried this once years ago and ruined the battery, but after thinking about it, I believe it was a little pancake type battery and I used one of those "too hot" Weller gun types of irons. With this style battery and a proper precision Hakko iron, perhaps I will taste the sweet taste of sucess this time !

jo,

I think you meant www.digikey.com

TheMetalDoc

Well, I did manage to solder the battery today without damaging it. Wasn't a totally satisfactory solder job however...not great flow on the battery ends, more like a spot weld, but should be ok for the purpose.

Speaking of solder fun...did I ever tell you guys about the time I was wrestling with my son and broke one of the nose piece supports on my glasses ? I had just got new (expensive) Varilux lenses a month earlier, in my old frames, and I wasn't in the mood for buying new frames and yet more lenses (as the lenses in the old frame were unlikely to match any new frames), and none of the optometry shops would even think about fixing the frames. So, I decided I'd try and solder the darn piece back. I forgot my lenses were plastic, so I was not real pleased when the lens edge started to melt...then I dropped the nose piece support on the floor and in my hurry to find it, put the glasses back on....only to quickly remove them again as the sharp hot edge burned into my already raw nose !

But in the end, after some medication on the nose, regaining composure, and removing the lens, I managed a strong and barely noticable solder job, which has held up for two years now.

[This message has been edited by D. Thomas (edited 06-29-2002).]

Congrats on the solder job D. . Just for info next time go to your local computer supply place and get a leaded battery . They have those and also one thats enclosed in plastic with wire leads and velcro to fasten it out of the way.

In this small town, there is no computer supply exactly. There are a couple of guys who repair computers, and I tried them a year or so back for another board battery and they didn't have anything, but come to think of it, I may have been looking for an odd voltage (6V I think) back then. Is 3.5 or 3.6 volts typical for computer batteries ? Just found out I need another one, but this one is a NiCad 3.6 volt.

Sometimes,- sciplus.com has these batteries, at good prices.

D.,I had the same problem with my first computer,couldn't find the correct battery,with the tabs.Bought a same voltage watch battery and soldered insulated leads on and then soldered them to the old battery contacts.

D. The easiest thing to do is go to the nearest radio shack match voltage and type IE (Lithium or lithium ion nicad etc ) in any format and buy a battery clip or pack .Intsall it in an easy local for you to get to and then you'll be up to date with an available battery. The reason you must match type of battery is in some cases ( such as nicad) the systen may charge the battery when powered and if you put a non rechargable battery in you'll end up with a hot oozzing mess and a blown power supply on the board. Batteries for memory backup come in many types from 6 volt down to 2.7 and with the new low voltage proccesors and memory maybe even lower now. The 3.6 , 3.7 volt batteries are backup for 5volt memory ussually design is 5 volt but anything over about 2.6 will maintain states.the reason for 3.7 is that they use a diode to block feedback of dc to the battery this is a drop of .7 volts so your really only feeding the memory 3.0 volts. Too Much info sorry I ramble some times.

I use a backup battery for the CMOS on my wire EDM machine. The battery type is very hard to find so I rigged a Radio Shack battery holder for (2) D size Energizers to provide 3.2 v. I brought wires out from the inside of the cabinet where the mount is for the snap-in lithium to the outside world on top of my generator cabinet. This replaces an AA size lithium 3.6v job. The energizers last a few months and then I replace them for about .60 each vs the $15. for the Lithium. Has worked good for years now. I find that when the battery drops below 2.9 v I am in danger of losing my CMOS settings so I do a change out at 3.0.

TheMetalDoc