Battery options for 82143A printer

[Dave Britten]

Here's some photos of the converted/rebuilt battery pack:

https://imgur.com/a/K14ZXhD

It's really simple to do. The hardest part is opening the pack, because you need to use a sharp utility knife to get the halves apart. If you have a chain mail or thick leather glove, I highly recommend wearing one on the hand holding the battery pack so you don't cut yourself badly. Alternatively, hold it gently in a bench vise. Another option is to use a knife to get a good start, then tap the halves apart with a chisel.

Once it's open, use a knife to separate the soldered/welded batteries contacts, taking care not to mangle the actual y-shaped battery terminal assembly too badly. With the old batteries removed, you'll hot glue that back into the pack by putting a moderate drop in between the two contact openings along the center spine. The two plastic halves of the pack are identical, so don't worry about getting them mixed up. They fit together when rotated 180 degrees.

For the end of the pack that bridges the pairs of batteries together, I just folded some aluminum foil to a good thickness. Use a piece that's much wider than the pack, so you can fold the ends in and make it thicker where the batteries make contact. I put some very thin foam mounting tape behind the contact points to hold the bridge in place, and offer a tiny bit of pressure.

After that, just drop in 4 sub-C NiMHs, place the other half of the plastic shell onto the pack, and put the whole thing in your printer/Topcat. When it's time to recharge, pull them out and stick them in a charger.