mAh question....
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SgtBowhack
- Posts: 831
- Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:16 am
- Location: Chicago, USA
Running sets of NiMH batteries in parallel is dangerous. You can cause one set to charge (or explode) the other if the drain isn't assured to be equal (or simply by differences in the batteries). That said, just use 10, and keep the other 10 handy (make your own battery pack case or something as an extra project, yay)
While battery life is important, there are other ways to do this that might help keep the size down. One is to use step-up converters. You can get 12v from a power source below 12v by using one of these things. A lot of devices that run off of a single cell use these to keep size down. In theory you can probably get 12v from 2 or 3 AAs with one, but of course you lose battery life much more quickly (because it draws more current to increase the voltage). However, if you're using materials that are low-power already (NOAC, an LCD-lit screen, etc.) you might be a winner by going that route. Plus you can just use two step-up circuits and get both of the voltages you need (just have one that goes to 7v to power the NES, and one off of that that bumps it to 12v to power the screen).
I'd personally go this route because I don't play single games for hours on end when I'm going portable, and I don't want to sit there and replace 10 batteries every time they die. Replacing 2 or 3 every hour seems like less bother than replacing 10 every few to me for some reason.
While battery life is important, there are other ways to do this that might help keep the size down. One is to use step-up converters. You can get 12v from a power source below 12v by using one of these things. A lot of devices that run off of a single cell use these to keep size down. In theory you can probably get 12v from 2 or 3 AAs with one, but of course you lose battery life much more quickly (because it draws more current to increase the voltage). However, if you're using materials that are low-power already (NOAC, an LCD-lit screen, etc.) you might be a winner by going that route. Plus you can just use two step-up circuits and get both of the voltages you need (just have one that goes to 7v to power the NES, and one off of that that bumps it to 12v to power the screen).
I'd personally go this route because I don't play single games for hours on end when I'm going portable, and I don't want to sit there and replace 10 batteries every time they die. Replacing 2 or 3 every hour seems like less bother than replacing 10 every few to me for some reason.