Adding a spring to the HD45 (+) contact?

Has anybody replaced the silver bead with a spring as the (+) contact on the circuit board of an HD45? Care to share the mod?

I had a little scare today when the magnet I've been using on a li-ion cell powering my HD45 somehow shifted off the (+) contact. :duck:

I have other magnets with washers around them but, after today, I'd rather stop using magnets altogether.

Suggestions welcome.

Stop using the damned magnets and act like a man finally. Use CR123 cells :nana:
That is my suggestion.
Chuck Norris would have said the same.

Maybe an easy fix would be some new cells. I haven't bought any rechargeables for a while but I think AW's 17670s have button tops on them now.

Kiessling said:

Stop using the damned magnets and act like a man finally. Use CR123 cells :nana:
That is my suggestion.
Chuck Norris would have said the same.

Click to expand...

Real men have unprotected se... no, cells. :nana:

UnderTheWeepingMoon said:

Maybe an easy fix would be some new cells. I haven't bought any rechargeables for a while but I think AW's 17670s have button tops on them now.

Click to expand...

That of course is an option, but I have a ton of flat-top cells that would go to waste.


I thought of a spring, so the light accomodates flat-top and button-top cells, but I could just as easily solder a small brass rod to raise the contact... :thinking:

Hey, anybody know what the diameter of the silver bead (stock + contact) is?

Which driver do you have? The NewBBx2's contact & bead is smaller than the others. That's a pretty small spring you would have to find & may not be very reliable. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Doesn't your contact bead sit higher than the ground contact ring? It should unless it's smashed already which does happen. I would just replace it with a larger bead. Aside from the flat top cells you are using, are the cells shorter in length? If yes adjust or replace the spring in the tube.

If you have the DBx2 or Wiz2X2 board, PM me your address, I'll mail you some larger beads.

:thanks: Will!

It's a DBx2 I have in there.

The problem is the batteries I'm using, the "button" is lower than the top "shoulder", which rests on the outer contact ring of the circuit board.

Plus, the bead is smashed.

greenLED said:

Real men have unprotected...cells. :nana:

Click to expand...

But which cells are the unprotected ones? :thinking:

fyrstormer said:

But which cells are the unprotected ones? :thinking:

Click to expand...

Cells without the protection circuit that prevents them from being overcharged, overdischarged, or short-circuited. Generally they are used as part of laptop battery packs (because the proper circuits are built into the pack, not the cells).

If you are after li-ion cells and don't know much about their safe handling, I suggest everyone uses protected cells. Pila brand is excellent, and so are the ones sold by AW over on CPFM.

greenLED, I refer you back to your original joke and suggest that you consider possible double-entendres of the word "cells". :naughty:

Dunno if this ever got resolved, but personally I'd rather add a solder blob than an extra spring, because positive contact points are traditionally solid instead of flexible.

fyrstormer said:

Dunno if this ever got resolved, but personally I'd rather add a solder blob than an extra spring, because positive contact points are traditionally solid instead of flexible.

Click to expand...

I run against everything that is traditional... :nana:

Seriously, I'm not pursuing the spring idea anymore; Will's sending me some larger contact beads.

fyrstormer said:

greenLED, I refer you back to your original joke and suggest that you consider possible double-entendres of the word "cells". :naughty:

Click to expand...

...and in the mean time, I'm using primaries.