connector / housing wear after many rechargings

Gerald WaldenGerald Walden
edited December 2015 in Headware

I have the Ultracortex and the 16 channel board.  I also installed the recommended battery for the unit.  Is there some way to recharge the battery without removing the battery and the entire housing?  I have done so once, and the second time the process of removing the battery connector from the board despite my careful attention weakened the connector to the point where I had to replace the female battery connector.  In addition, I can tell there is not enough strain relief to prevent damage from continually inserting and removing the battery to recharge it.  I probably missed it, but is there a location on the board to insert connectors or wires that are not part of the battery assembly and connector to use as a “port” to recharge the unit?

Comments

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    edited December 2015
    Jerry, hi.

    I have not seen any recharge 'port' pins on the board. But just brainstorming here a moment, there might be a couple of workarounds for you. Look at this thread,


    (1) There is a link mentioned there, where you can get JST-PH 'extension' cords from Adafruit. With a couple of such cords (or shortened cords) you could run separate cables to outside the housing. One for the board connection and one for the battery. You could then unplug these and insert the charger connection when needed without touching the main board or battery itself. This would also save having to unscrew the housing each time and reduce wear on the screw threads.


    (2) That same thread mentioned above has a link to the Adafruit Powerboost 500C. That small board could be mounted with double adhesive tape say on the outside of the enclosure. It has a USB charge port on the side, and the battery can be left plugged into it at all times, as well as the cable to the main board. You'd need some of the extension cables also. A possible advantage of the Powerboost is that it has battery low and charged indicators and can take the battery farther down the discharge curve than a battery alone. 

    William

  • wjcroftwjcroft Mount Shasta, CA
    Also wanted to add, if you are having difficulty pulling the JST-PH male connector out of the female -- you can use say some small needle nose pliers to pull directly on the plug housing itself. If you try pulling on the cable portion, indeed that will weaken the crimped/soldered wire/pin connections.

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