NP1 Batteries
jasonporter
What brand/type of NP style batteries are you other doc guys using these
days?
I've been using some old Aspen NHP-50's (1st generation I think) and
they're becoming less reliable. They power a Schoeps, FP33 (SD 302 in a
few days I hope!) and 2 Micron Diversity RF's. I used to get 7-8 days
per charge, now I'm getting only 2-3 days (poor me, : )). I'm gonna buy
a couple new batt's when I pick up my SD 302, any recomnendations?
-Jason
Wolf
NP-1 BATTERIES
Generally: The only thing that is the same about NiCad, NiMH and
Lith-ion (=Lithium) NP1 type batteries is the size. The NiCads come in
12volt 1,7ah, 1,8ah, 1,9ah, 2,3ah, 2,4ah and the NiMH are 12 volt 3,5ah,
4ah, 13,2 volt 3,5ah and in the USA 12 volt 4,5ah (?). The Lithium Ion
is 14,4 volt 2ah and 14,4 volt 2,8ah. NiCads can have 10 11 or 12 cells.
NiCads have been around for a long time and can be charged by most
chargers and will accept a lot of abuse. NiMH is of a higher capacity
with the same weight (2,3 ah max NiCad/ 4ah max NiMH). They do require a
different special charger. (NiMH do not like to be over charged.) If
used with the correct charger, they should give you the same cycle life
as NiCads. Aspen chargers charge both and any voltage cell, they sense
the inverse Delta of charging current only, not heat. IX chargers charge
all 3 kinds. The Lith-ion NP1 batteries have the advantage of weight
(350grams) but are not suitable for high discharge and with a 14.4 volt
nominal voltage may be too high for some equipment. Having said that,
the voltage of a 10 cell (12 volt) battery NiCad/NiMH could rise to 17
volts depending on the charge rate. Lith-ion battery would be 16.4 volts
max. right off the charger.
The advantage of Lith-ion batteries is the weight and the low
temperature capability. The Lith-ion NP1 battery would not operate your
equipment much longer than an NP1-B NiCad battery but only half the time
of an NiMH battery [IDX claims differently]. (Ray Pritchard
www.rpmarketing.co.uk)
Note: None of the manufacturers seem to select cells of the same
capacity for a pack where they get charged together to increase life
through uniform charging. All the manufacturers in the USA seem to use
Sanyo cells. Don't expect more than 18 months out of any NiCad and
that's if you use them or not. They do seem to keep capacity better if
used regularly.
Notes on the new Nickel-Metal-Hydride batteries: Their power capacity
goes way down when the batteries are used in cold weather. They outlast
Lithium in recharge cycles. They have memory and their typical lifetime
used or not is not much more than 18 months. Read the IDX website for
more comparisons.
NiCads are cheapest! And remember all the manufacturers' specmanship
forces them to lie, yes imagine that LIE! Chris Wolf says: NiMhd and
NiCad fail to deliver much energy once the temperature drops below
freezing. Voltage-depression problems do affect both and so, too, do
cell imbalance and cell polarity-reversal effects, both of which are
difficult to distinguish from "memory." Lithiums are good to 40F.
Charge at room temp.
Aspen: Make NiCad and NiMH Batt some with digital L.E.D. fuel gauge.
Their NiCads were the cheapest ($50 for 11 cell NP1 type street price)
Tel. 714.379.2515 Good customer phone service: (800) 241-8994. It has
been said that you can go to their factory and wait for any repairs.
Company has a good reputation of looking after small customers. Nicely
designed web site: http://www.aspenelectronics.com Aspen has interesting
software that tests batteries in their chargers and gives you a database
on their performance. FLASH: They sell a special NiMH battery that has a
circuit in it that allows you to charge it from a regular NiCad charger.
$160 list. Nice compact chargers that are good for both NiCads and NiMH
with built in dischargers. Aspen was bought by the same company that
owns Bauer in 2002.
PAG
2755 Alamo St. #103 Simi Valley, CA 93065, Tel: (805)520-4911, (English
made chargers) also Sold by Frezzolini, (800)345-1030, are smaller and
lighter and have outputs for BP-90. 4 XLR pin adapter is available. Has
diagnostic super fast refresh cycling charger that keeps a computer disk
record of Batt condition. PAG makes a cap for NP1 type battery with
cable and 4pin. Net: http://www.pag.co.uk
Anton Bauer
They are the most widely used and seen chargers and batteries just
because of their marketing and sales efforts. NP13 - Best price $110 at
Band Pro, Burbank. (Little sales support here but they are the largest
Anton Bauer dealer in the US.) Charger LSNP ($650 discounted) has 4
holes discontinued in 2001. Charges an NP1 or NP13 batteries
sequentially in about an hour + each, then sequences to charge the next
battery of the 4. It comes with a manual that obfuscates how the charger
works. Much blinking of red and green lights (solid green = good). Will
not recondition by discharging but does all kinds of other supposedly
good stuff under microprocessor control. Anton Bauer publishes a unclear
battery book for free. Now on the web:
http://www.antonbauer.com/handbook/handbook.html (800)541-1667 also
(800)422-3473 or (203)929-1100. The national sales rep, Joe Rosado,
says: We use Sanyo cells.
NP1A - centered centered cell for longer run, shorter life - 18 Watt hr
NP1B - now discontinued
NP13 - centered centered cell shorter run, but longer life,
These are good for 14-16 months with Beta, 24 Watt hr. Beta cams draw
2.2 A, PD-4 and PD-2 draw.8 A. This puts much less strain on battery and
they should last a few cycles longer. http://www.antonbauer.com/
Nitek1
(800) 697-1122 or (510)538-5973 at 22011 Chaparral La., Castro Valley,
CA 94552, make charger that works from cigarette lighter in car. Make
discharger with 10 segment LED voltmeter. 30 min. charge
(859) 282 1802, FAX: (859)282-1804 make The Wise Guy a charger for
both NiCad and NiMH with charge indicator for $140.00. 2 hour charge
with discharger built in. Chargers four NP's in about 30 minutes for all
four, Simultaneous charging of all batteries, Elective discharge on EACH
station, A "fault" (bad battery) indicator Up to 3 amp charge on EACH
station, Now Have a NP-2 Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) Battery, with 4.5
Ahr capacity - cost approx. $160 that s 3 times the price of NiCad.
http://www.usbroadcast.com
Frezzi Energy Systems, make NiCad and NiMH batteries and chargers, 5
Valley Street Hawthorne, NJ 07506, USA, Tel: (973) 427-1160 Fax: (973)
427-0934 (800) 345-1030 E-mail fre...@frezzi.com
Cool-Lux Pro Power & Lighting
Phone: (800)223-2589 and (805)482-4820, Fax: (805)482-0736 makes a
variety of reasonably priced batteries and chargers.
http://www.cool-lux.com
These charts by Cool-Lux for CoolBrick NiCad Cells:
Lithium and other rare batteries available from: http://www.tadiranbat.com/
IDX make NiCad and Lithium Ion. Engineered in Japan and built there too
I believe. MUST READ website explaining why Lithium is better than NiMH.
For approx. $250 you get Li NP1s with a built in five segment battery
meter. For around $200 you get the same battery without the built in
meter. Freshly charged without a load they peak at just under 16 volts.
Maximum output voltage: 16.4 Volts Mean output voltage: 14.4 volts,
Capacity: 50Wh (14.4V/3.2 Ah). Minimum cut off 9.5V. Official temps:
-14F 122F. Charger come in 2 hole JL-2 sequential (approx $350 in
2002) and 4 hole sequential or simultaneous versions for over $1300.
8170 Ronson Road Suite C, San Diego, CA 92111 Phone: (619)560-9779
President: Pat O Rourke ALSO IDX System Technology, Inc. 1602 Lockness
Place Torrance, CA 90501 Tel: 310-891-2800 Marketing: Michelle. .
http://www.idxtek.com/ Dealers in Boston: Stuart Cody, in LA: LSC, Band Pro.
Stuart Cody - none knows more about Lithiums and primary Lithiums than
he does. Primary Lithiums are still half of rechargeables weight for the
same energy. He makes them, he sells them, and consults honestly and
comprehensively. He equips all film or video expeditions to cold and
daring places (Everest, Artic etc&). Modifies IDX chargers for 12V.
Boston (617)787-4313. A good site: http://automatedmedia.com/
ProPower4Less. 10601 Tierrasanta Blvd., Suite 312, San Diego, CA
92124-2692 a new company carries only a few batteries: NP-1 and Cannon
Batteries and PAG as of 2002, prices seem similar to Aspen.
www.propower4less.com
Information on Batteries in low temp conditions is available from Pete
Bucktrout from the British Antarctic Survey on 01223 221400.
Hawk-Woods Ltd, United House, 32 Brinkley Road, Worcester Park, Surrey,
KT4 8JF England Tel: +44 (0)20 8715-0999, FAX: +44 (0)20 8330 5659, Good
Internet site with useful info: http://www.hawkwoods.com/ They make
cables that attach to an NP1: Battery to 4-pin XLR for about $60 street,
with the Hirose for about $150. Also make chargers and Batteries.
Lithium NP-1 (430 gr. 50Watt with fuel gauge) and charger that runs on
12V as well as 110-220V. Make RF receiver holders for various sizes.
R.P.Marketing, Ray Pritchard, http://www.rpmarketing.co.uk
RP Marketing Sales Tel: +44 (0)1787 278983 Fax: +44 (0) 1787 278997
Mobile: 0973 769847 Email: ray...@lineone.net They make very flexible
fast chargers (12V and 90-220 input) for NP1 of all persuasions. Their
batteries have microprocessor controlled capacity indicators. Ray
Pritchard in the UK makes 50 Watt NiMH batteries with five LED charge
indicators. He also makes 1, 2, and 4 channel chargers. He used to work
for IDX in the UK. He also makes NiCad and Lithium NP1's.
A new company based in Japan with some interesting engineering: NiCad,
NiMH and Lithium. 1-800-613-SWIT http://www.switronix.com/ or in Japan
www.swit-battery.com
Batteries FAQs - all there is to know about heavy batteries at:
http://www.dcbattery.com/ Brands: Optima, Lifeline, Powersonic, not
Panasonic, not Hawker.
Panasonic has decent info CD they will send you or batteries on the net:
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial_oem/battery
Interesting NiCad info:
http://www.repairfaq.org/ELE/F_NiCd_Battery.html#NICDBATTERY_025
Complete Battery sales of all kinds and accessories and custom assembly
on web (shipping from MA): http://www.advanced-battery.com/
Car and Deep Cycle (Sealed Lead-Acid) Battery Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) maybe found at http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/ Also, has a
Battery Manufacturers and Brand Names List, Battery References and
Information
Links.
Battery charger controller for solar panels:
http://www.solarconverters.com/index.html
About discharging NiCads:
Larry Fisher writes: First : the easiest way to discharge NP-1 is with
the Aspen RoQ-4 charger that has a discharger built in that stops at the
correct voltage and with a $50 computer prog. and cable will keep track
of your batteries and their condition over their lifecycle.
[Unfortunately their software requires a win 95 machine. Hard to find
these days. Ed].
A safe way to discharge a Batt pack ( 10 13 cells in a NP-1) to a
fairly low level is to put a digital volt meter (DVM) on the pack and
keep a eye on the voltage. Near the endpoint of the discharge cycle, you
will see a sudden (over less than a minute) 1.2 volt drop in the battery
voltage as the weakest cell goes from 1.2 volts to 0 volts. Stop
discharging the battery at that moment, before the weak cell can go into
a reversed condition. If you continue discharging the battery, you will
see additional 1.2 volt steps as more cells go to 0 volts. Do not miss
this point or you will ruin the battery that time.
I think the smart chargers, when run in a renewal mode, discharge the
pack and look for that sudden 1.2 volt drop. [Some just look for the
overall voltage of a pack say 6 (cells) x 1.0 volt = 6.0V min. for a 6V
battery. This is the voltage you should stop discharging if no 1.2V drop
had occurred first.]
The notion that memory effect is nonexistent is correct,
crystallization is what reduces the capacity of a still good NiCad.
Crystallization occurs over time and can occur whether a battery is
being trickle charged or stored, in a charged or discharged state. We
(Lectrosonics) used to receive batteries in a fully discharged state
from high quality manufacturers and they all had about 70% capacity on
the first charge - discharge cycle. After that first cycle they would
meet their rated capacity but would make about 120% capacity after a few
more cycles. Crystallization is reversed by battery usage. A full
discharge will reverse crystallization in the quickest way but may ruin
a pack. Substantial partial discharges (80% discharged to choose a
number) will accomplish the same thing but it may take 3 or 4 cycles
before the battery is reformed to full capacity. My experience is that
an 80% discharge every month will keep a battery in good shape without
running the danger of reversing a cell. I have no scientific basis for
that statement. [Generally people agree that NiCads that are used
regularly last a lot longer than ones on the shelf a lot]. Like people,
occasional [monthly] strenuous exercise will keep a NiCad in good shape,
just don't overdo it. [Do not discharge to less than 1V per cell].
As the experienced and exhausted NiCad users know, full discharges won't
damage a battery pack every time it is done or even once every ten
times. As the packs get older and the cells become more and more
unbalanced in capacity, the probability of shorting one does increase.
Heavy discharges to low voltages [below 1V per cell] will eventually
catch up with you.
One last thought: use caution when discharging or using a NiCad pack.
They can deliver frightening amounts of current, on the order of
hundreds of amps. A well charged one amp 12 volt battery pack weighing
one pound can turn a piece of number 18 wire red hot much faster than
you can let go of it. Most commercial packs are fused but don't depend
on the fuse. You can be burned down to the bones experimenting on yourself.
Batteries in cold:
Lithiums rechargeable are pretty good at low temperatures and would be
the best choice. NiCads are great when cold but their capacity is much
less than the lithiums to begin with. If you do recharge NiCads or
NiMH's, be aware that they will discharge well at low temperatures but
they won't recharge worth a dang when cold. The cell won't accept a
charge and the current forced into the battery causes electrolysis of
the electrolyte and the battery will overpressure and vent. When
charging always bring batteries to room temp.
Above written by Larry Fisher Lectrosonics lar...@lectrosonics.com
Oleg Kaizerman
people living in pounds so it cant be cheep.
The Sweet is selling 50W li for less than 100 $( without shipping) on direct
sell from china,they have 2 or 4 bay charger that cost about 150$
O.K(gebe) Hollyland
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