[NTLK] My Cannibal Battery Tray

[Dana Gray]

Dear NewtonTalk Users,
	I tried 3D printing a battery tray on Shapeways, but they couldn't do it.  My Newton came with a dead battery pack and I found an earlier thread where someone showed a battery tray he built out of an old pack.  Not being inclined to give up easy I tried making my own tray out of my battery pack.  I thought I would share my experience here incase anyone wants to try.
	I don't have a rotary cutter, so I took my hobby knife and jeweler's saw to the pack.  I split the pack along the seam and chopped up the top into parts I thought I would want to glue back on.  Once I had the cells and thermistor out I took some springs from an 4xAA pack and put them in the case.  I soldered one spring to the metal plate that makes the negative terminal of the pack.
Tray with the springs in place: http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/5840/img0286kr.jpg
I ended up only putting a little piece of the "lid" back on.  The batteries are a tight fit, but they didn't pop out like I had feared.
Tray with the batteries loaded: http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/1061/img0287eel.jpg
Voltage checked out: http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/90/img0288ve.jpg
I'm so clever! http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/3514/img0289ir.jpg
I ended up drilling two tiny holes in the battery tray and looping some nylon cord through.  This helps a lot for getting the tray out.  I cover the cord with a little electrical tape.  http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4096/img0290x.jpg
Best Regards,
Alex