Hi Don,
I have the bits of info that I have gathered from my friend. But you should really contact Simon on that email address for the best information. He is the agent and will fill you in on all of the details. I can tell you that these cells are unique in the industry at the moment as far as the safety aspects go. I may be looking for some myself on an RC model project. They are not cheap but you get more charge cycles than a NiCd or NiMh cell and the energy density is the best in its class. The belt pack for the Megaray really is light in weight. The old lead acid pack weighed over 20 pounds. You would have to be a special forces soldier to carry that lot round all night!
If you have a specific Voltage, Capacity, Load requirement etc it will be easy for Simon to get you a solution worked out. The cells can be made into series / parallel packs with electronic PCM protection modules in place which prevent any over charging or discharging. They also balance the pack cell voltage when charging to prevent one cell charging more than another. You will need a special Lithium Charger as they have a (as do all Lithium cells) very specific charge profile that must be followed to produce a full charge.
Simon does a demo on these packs where he puts a nail through them while they are working. Guess what. They carry on working! Do this with any other lithium cell and you will start a fire or trigger an explosion. Please do not try this at home.
Many electronics companies are paranoid with lithium battery safety. They have been known to scrap entire production runs of cells because of one faulty pack. Another story I heard was thet when a mobile phone salesman was shown what happens to an overcharged cells phone battery caused by a faulty PCM protection module. (It explodes and bursts into flame)he now charges his phone in a flameproof bucket in his garage. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif
Hope this helps to explain the technology a bit more.
Mark
