Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
from
George Dowell, K0FF
on
November 20, 2011
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Waste Not-Want Not -- Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
Tired of those cheap, flimsy 9V battery clips from the supply house?
Make your own!
Next time a 9V battery goes dead, think about taking it apart to salvage valuable electrical components.
Usually even a cheap battery has a much better clip on it than the new clips have.
Solder your own wires, I use Teflon, silver plated #24.
The bottom blank plate and silicone cushion tops it off for a lifetime battery clip.
Not to mention, you made it yourself.
George Dowell, K0FF
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KG4RUL on November 20, 2011
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It would have been nice to see the finished product?
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by K9MHZ on November 20, 2011
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Isn't there a lot of nastiness inside a 9-volt battery?
I think I'd rather get a quality clip from Mouser.
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by K8SOR on November 20, 2011
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In my many years as a ham, I have done this many times when
I needed a clip and didn't have one, and yes, these are usually better
than the ones you buy. Unless the 9v battery has laid around dead for a
few years, the inside should be pretty clean--just 6 small cells hooked
together.
73,
Skip K8SOR
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by K4MC on November 20, 2011
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Most all 9 volt batteries are made up of six 1.5 volt AAAA
batteries connected in series. If making a battery clip, dismantle a
quality battery and you will end up with a very good quality clip.
To protect the soldered connections, I use a Devcon 5 minute epoxy
rather than silicone. Mix up a small amount of epoxy and apply it to
the soldered connections, then rotate it back and forth to keep the
epoxy in place untill it sets. An additional step I take is to add a
little red or black Testors model paint to the epoxy to give it a good
color.
These home made clips are much superior to the ready made ones.
Wendell
K4MC
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by AB9NZ on November 20, 2011
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Lovely idea, thanks for the heads up Mr. Dowell.
de Tom, AB9NZ
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by WD8OQX on November 20, 2011
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You could also cut (salvage) the plug out of an old device,
most are just molded in the plastic. I've even had some that were like a
separate part.
And... what you end up with are already wired!
(old smoke detectors come to mind)
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by WB4DX on November 20, 2011
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Great idea.
It dosen't take a lot to visualize the finished product.
2 bonuses here, yes you made it yourself AND it wasn't a piece of chinese crap purchased that would support their economy.
👍
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by W5ZIT on November 20, 2011
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I recently repaired a Fluke 77 DVM that had been stored for
a long period of time with the battery installed for a friend. It had
corroded and eaten the mating terminal on the Fluke completely up. By
polishing the remaining part of the terminal with a wire brush on a
Dremel Tool, I was able to solder the mating terminal recovered from a
discharged 9 Volt battery in place of the destroyed terminal and restore
the Fluke to operation. The battery can still be replaced in the
normal fashion after the repair.
73 - Jim W5ZIT
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by W7ETA on November 22, 2011
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So obvious that I've never thought of it.
Many thanks for letting everyone else into your insight.
Happy Thanksgiving
Bob
PS: I prefer using mil surplus teflon coated wire also.
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KD2APS on November 22, 2011
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I chuckled when I saw the title, because I have done this many, many times when I was a kid.
For those who want details, take the dead battery and put in a vise,
lengthwise, so the long seam faces up. Take a hacksaw and gently saw
away until the seam breaks. Open in up to see (typically) multiple 1.5
volt batteries inside, and reuse the connector by carefully soldering on
a red/black set of wires. As a kid, I used some electrical tape for
insulation in a pinch.
It's still a great idea, and thank you so much for posting it!
-- Jim
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by WA8MEA on November 22, 2011
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I'm dating myself when I say this, but I used this trick at the tender age of 14 (1970).
I never said anything to anyone because I figured if a dumb kid
could figure this out, it must be common knowledge among other
experimenters.
Now I wish I would have taken the risk and posted this on Eham back in 1970. Dang it all anyway....
;-)
73, Bill - WA8MEA
http://HamRadioFun.com
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by G7MRV on November 23, 2011
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Ive been doing this for years. Duracell Procell are the
best since they use the stack of AAAA cells, many cheaper batteries will
be a wrapped stack of paste and metal.
The procells also have ends that are cup shaped, i have often built a
tiny circuit in the bottom piece, filled both with hotmelt glue and
joined them while still warm, forming a tiny little box that sits on top
of a PP3! Simple circuits like flashing LED dummy alarms, signal
injectors etc, can be done this way!
Also, they open up easily along the side seam (its just a rolled
crimp) and i do that by gripping the corner of the seam with side
cutters and rolling it back along the length of the battery.
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by K1CJS on November 23, 2011
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Me too, Bill. I've been doing this when in a pinch for
more years than I should count--it's getting a little time consuming
counting them today anyway!
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by N1ERF on November 23, 2011
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This is a great idea. I could have used it many times in the past.
At work we use industrial alkalines. It seems that of the two kinds
that we have recently used, the Energizer batteries were more solidly
built than the Panasonic ones. The Panasonic's top plate is thinner and
more flexible and the connections are riveted to the welded internal
connections (flat wire). All cells are welded together (lower internal
resistance).
The Energizer has a more rigid top with a better negative (-)
contact (6-point contact instead of 4-point). The cells are all separate
and rely on the compression of the top & bottom plates to the inner
conductive wafers (flat wire type). For a new battery, the energizer
cells are easier to extract and do not require cutting. They just fall
out of the case.
In a pinch, all useful though.
Your results may vary!
John
N1ERF
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KD7ZRO on November 23, 2011
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Wow, I would have never though of this! I'll keep this in
mind the next time a 9V battery goes dead around here. Thanks for the
simple, yet very useful, tip!
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KC2VDM on November 23, 2011
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Nice Idea! Now I feel dumb for all the times I've gone to Radioshack for a connector!
-Alex
KC2VDM
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KL2TC on November 23, 2011
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Bravo! I have more dead nine volts hiding in junk drawers than you can shake a stick at! 73!
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by W8AAZ on November 24, 2011
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Or if you stack 9 Volt batteries in series to make B
batteries for old radios or projects, you could cut the top in half and
make connections for your stack.
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KC2WI on November 26, 2011
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I just tried this with an Energizer. Split and peel open the meatal case, everything just falls apart. Simple.
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by N2EIK on November 27, 2011
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Brad, Then you have missed the point.
(No offense)
N2EIK
"RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip: Reply
by K9MHZ on November 20, 2011 Mail this to a friend!
Isn't there a lot of nastiness inside a 9-volt battery?
I think I'd rather get a quality clip from Mouser. "
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by N0CRS on November 27, 2011
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Been doing things like that for decades myself . Just
sit down and really think about the things you throw in the trash.
Alot of this comes from neccessity . Very little $$
when I was growing up .
My dad was a child of the Depression years . Passed it on down to us kids in the 50s and 60s .Mom too .
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by W3TTT on December 8, 2011
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There are two streams of ham radio tinkerers.
1) Do as much as possible to save a buck, recycle, reuse, salvage parts from old devices and so on.
2) By all the parts new from suppliers.
For years, I was in category 1. Now, at age 57, I have graduated to
category two. I am getting rid of as much as possible from my pack rat
collection of old parts, radios and so on. When I now build a project,
it is either a kit, or I get everything new from a supplier. I can now
afford $20 or $30 for a Vectronics or Ramsey kit, and $5 for a radio
shack enclosure. And, announcing for the first time here, I have bought
a NEW tranciever. I still home brew my antennas, though.
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Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by KE4ZHN on December 14, 2011
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I can understand doing this in a pinch if you have no clips
lying around...but isnt this why hams get the much deserved reputation
of being terribly cheap? Somewhere out there is some ham who probably
makes his own PL259's from salvaged trash they find in a dumpster. Some
hams will put forth hours work to save on a $2 part not realizing how
much their time is worth being wasted on these el-cheapo endeavors. Home
brewing a rig,antenna or amplifier...bravo! Wasting time and effort
making $2 parts....get real.
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by WA7DUY on December 19, 2011
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I do not know about you but the 9v battery connectors that I
get (made in China) are barely usable the first time, let alone stay
together for more than one battery change. The method described here at
least gives you a connector that does not come apart the first time it
is used and is more rigid. It also mates with other 9v batteries
properly whereas purchased connectors are too flexible and have to be
made (flexed) to mate with the battery terminals. I have trouble
getting cheap connectors to fit the battery! This is a good method.
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RE: Make Your Own 9-Volt Battery Clip:
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by N1ERF on December 20, 2011
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Being the "Throw-Away" society that we have become, I don't
have a problem with "cheap". I have a problem with "cheap quality".
Planned obsolescence is designed in nearly everything we buy these days.
Spending time scrounging is not a bad thing and we are not a lesser
person if we are thrifty. The whole process of doing it yourself with
what you have can be fun!
Side Note: There are plastic bodied replacements that are sturdier
than the typical flimsy flexible battery clips out there. Sometimes they
used them in guitar effects pedals. Higher quality clips are out there,
but just hard to find, anywhere. With that in mind, I have several
clips that need to be replaced... using the idea proposed in this
thread.
/J
N1ERF
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