First posting in joining.welding, I hang out over rec.metal.
My cheapy autodark helmet quit recently, about 3 years old. I Googled autodark helmet repair and did not find much, except for this thread:
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the cross posting. Summary of which is: all autodark helmets w/ solar cells also have batteries, not they have capacitors, batteries,=85blah, blah, blah=85.Store your helmet in the sun to extend the battery life. The advice was a bit late but I placed the autodark module in a southern facing window for 9 weeks. On the first strike the autodark was noticeable slow, but was OK for the following restrikes. After a 5+ minute pause, the first strike was once again slow.With not too much to loose, I used an Exacto knife and cut open the case seam:
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CR2330 batteries soldered to the board. I found a replacement battery w/ the solder leads attached
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but then I thought why not mount the batteries on the outside of the case as in this simulation
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is plenty of room between the module and my forehead for the batteries.So should I stay w/ the 0.255mAh CR2330 battery or go with something else since I am no longer constrained by the package space? If so what? I found this puppy w/ a much higher capacity
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but it also has a higher self discharge rate.SO where does one go to buy a very small qty of electrical components today? In my youth I stopped by Radio Shack or Olsens Electronics for parts. I found a nice looking battery holder online (in min qtys of
12). I need a battery holder that I can bond or screw/rivet to the PP (guess) case of the autodark module. Who are some good vendors that are willing to deal in small qty orders and don=92t have outrageous shipping rates?