Onlybatterypacks.com sells a nice NIMH battery pack ($35) that can be installed in the Excal Pod so I bought one.
I then decided to by a spare and also the quick charger with indicator light ( total $54) that is sold along with it. It charges
the battery pack in the pod in about 2 hours and a green diode lights when it is charged, red as it is charging. I went to
radio shack and purchased male/female 9 volt square type battery terminals and soldered them to a Radio shack female
adapter. Now I can charge my spare battery pack without loading it in the pod and keep it ready and able to install if my
battery in the pod loses power. While buying an extra Pod is more expensive and not a bad idea , this works fine for me.
The only thing to be careful about is unloading and loading the pod properly . The set screws should be threaded in so they are just flush with the pod.
The Oring should be lubricated. When I received the Excal, I understood why so many folks were less than pleased by the charger included because it never
indicated a full charge or if a charge was even taking place. I bought a battery tester to check this, but also bought the above additions and I feel very confident in my
battery situation now. The original trickle charger for the excal can come in handy for waking up the NIMH if it becomes totally drained because the quick
charger will not function for a completely discharged NIMH battery pack.
So, this is a good solution to take the guess work out of battery maintainability for the Excal. It's probably not a bad idea to sure up the seal where the set screws go into
by following with a wrap of electrical tape over them. Takes a second and can be removed in seconds too. Insurance against leakage of water into the screw area.
Russ
I then decided to by a spare and also the quick charger with indicator light ( total $54) that is sold along with it. It charges
the battery pack in the pod in about 2 hours and a green diode lights when it is charged, red as it is charging. I went to
radio shack and purchased male/female 9 volt square type battery terminals and soldered them to a Radio shack female
adapter. Now I can charge my spare battery pack without loading it in the pod and keep it ready and able to install if my
battery in the pod loses power. While buying an extra Pod is more expensive and not a bad idea , this works fine for me.
The only thing to be careful about is unloading and loading the pod properly . The set screws should be threaded in so they are just flush with the pod.
The Oring should be lubricated. When I received the Excal, I understood why so many folks were less than pleased by the charger included because it never
indicated a full charge or if a charge was even taking place. I bought a battery tester to check this, but also bought the above additions and I feel very confident in my
battery situation now. The original trickle charger for the excal can come in handy for waking up the NIMH if it becomes totally drained because the quick
charger will not function for a completely discharged NIMH battery pack.
So, this is a good solution to take the guess work out of battery maintainability for the Excal. It's probably not a bad idea to sure up the seal where the set screws go into
by following with a wrap of electrical tape over them. Takes a second and can be removed in seconds too. Insurance against leakage of water into the screw area.
Russ