<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3314" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>A couple weeks ago I started a thread on increasing battery time for PDAs running Verituner. I finally have my portable battery charging pack just about finished. I have tested it to verify that it does indeed charge up the PDA, but I haven't field tested it yet - not sure how many times it will charge the PDA, etc.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Below are a few pictures.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>The pack is 12V, 2.2 Ah. It is made of ten rechargeable 1.2V NiMH cells. The batteries are set in epoxy so they don't rattle around. The electronics in the lower right corner is the guts from an automobile smart charger for the PDA. So this pack is actually a portable recharger for the PDA, rather than a direct external battery.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:001301c8bd2f$05bdda60$0701a8c0@DESKTOP" align=baseline border=0></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>On the cover I have a volt meter to monitor the charge state of the pack. Just push a little button and an LED shows the charge state.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:001401c8bd2f$05bdda60$0701a8c0@DESKTOP" align=baseline border=0></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Below is the complete rig. The black thing on the right of the box is a fuse. I'll put some felt on the bottom of the pack and I'll be ready to go! </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:001501c8bd2f$05c02450$0701a8c0@DESKTOP" align=baseline border=0></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>My suspicion is that I'll mostly use the pack for charging between jobs. But it is such that I can also use it while tuning if there is not a 120V outlet nearby.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Oh yeah, the appearance. Well, let's just say that I chose function over form. Some folks have suggested to me that I do fabulous woodwork because they look at the lovely soundboards, etc. I have built. I tell them that I am happy with the way my soundboards and bridges, etc. come out, but that I am really not a well-rounded woodworker and I could not build a nightstand if my life depended on it - the product would look like a kindergartner built it. The picture above is proof!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>