Judeau (EatTheRich)Aug 1, 2024

I was changing the backup battery in my #Dell Axim X30 #PocketPC #PDA with an aftermarket part.

Unfortunately the replacement (top) soldered the wires directly on the flat sides of the battery which makes it too thick.

The original (bottom) used tabs that move the wire to the sides thus reducing the thickness.

How can I repurpose the old tabs? Do I just heat the left and right pits with a soldering gun to remove them?

#WindowsMobile #WindowsCE #RetroComputing #DIY #Electronics #AskFedi

Show threadin_sympathyAug 1, 2024
@Judeau just a thought - since the batteries are indeed easily damaged by heat - maybe they used a soldering paste with 139 degrees melting temperature at the factory and if so - try using that same type of soldering paste as well
Show threadin_sympathyAug 1, 2024
@Judeau or maybe spot weld a new cell instead of soldering and then solder a wire to the welding strips
Show threadJudeau (EatTheRich)Aug 1, 2024

@in_sympathy that is what I was currently looking at was purchasing a battery spot welder.

These batteries are tough to find with the tabs already installed.

I thought if I could buy the batteries and tabs separately then maybe I could purchase a battery welder to weld them on.

Looking on Amazon it looks like I could get a battery welder for less than $100. At the same time I know very little about all this stuff and while I'm not opposed to learning I hope I'm not getting in over my head.

Show threadin_sympathy
@Judeau I just ordered one of those welders from Fnirsi a few days ago from AliExpress, but it’ll also take a while to arrive. Hopefully it’s pretty easy to use
Aug 1, 2024 at 6:08pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadin_sympathyAug 1, 2024
@Judeau and also it was like 30-40$ with free shipping - way less than a hundred dollars
Show threadJudeau (EatTheRich)Aug 1, 2024

@in_sympathy Oh nice! Hopefully it works good.

Knowing very little about this stuff I don't know what to expect to pay for a quality welder. I see quite a few handheld ones available anywhere between 30 and $100.

I might have to pick one up but I think I will probably try that paste you mentioned first.

Thanks for all the info.

I can't believe that aftermarket batteries for some of these PDAs are so hard to come by.

Show threadin_sympathyAug 1, 2024

@Judeau I’ve been looking for a backup battery for iPAQ hx4700 - 80$ on eBay VS 1$ on AliExpress 🤷🏻‍♂️

And similar story was for the super capacitor for iPAQ H214

Show threadJudeau (EatTheRich)Aug 1, 2024
@in_sympathy That's wild. It seems like with everything there's usually a Super Fan out there that makes aftermarket stuff but in this case I guess there's a niche to be filled.
Show threadin_sympathyAug 4, 2024

@Judeau So this Fnirsi SWM-10 spot welder has arrived and it's really easy to use and provides nice joints. BUT! Out of curiosity I gently pressed a RESET button and after one press there was no mire button.

Had to disassemble the thing to find that button got totally torn away from the PCB along with the 0.1mm traces.

Had to spend rest of the evening disassembling and fixing it - which I thankfully did - and made an epoxy pillow for the button to forever stay in place - but be careful 🫠

Show threadJudeau (EatTheRich)Aug 5, 2024

@in_sympathy Haha! wow! 😅

I'm glad to hear it works well but it sounds like the durability or build quality leaves a little bit to be desired...

I think I found the same model here in the States on Amazon and it looks like it has some decent reviews.

I'm going to look at a few other models but I might pick up the same one.