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We used a Lithium D cell in a prototype wireless product at a startup I worked at in 1989. The cells were pre-production samples. I forget the name of the compa
by UncleOxidant 5y ago
We used a Lithium D cell in a prototype wireless product at a startup I worked at in 1989. The cells were pre-production samples. I forget the name of the company that was producing them now (I think it was a Japanese company - there were no logos on these batteries), but we were warned not to let them short out as they would go off like a 1/4 stick of dynamite. We were pretty careful with them, but we did have a unit come back from the field that had pretty much burned up, nothing but a charred circuit board left and most of the plastic enclosure melted away.
- hypnoscripto 5y agoHow much better than the competition were they then? Did you understand why you were using such a dangerous alternative?
- nine_k 5y agoWeight, I suppose. And silver+zinc was likely still more expensive.
- neltnerb 5y agoI was never rich enough to own a laptop in that era, but I remember weight being the commonly espoused difference, or at least how it was marketed.
- UncleOxidant 5y agoWe needed long battery life - 3 years for a small 8051-based board with a data radio (kind of like wifi in 1989) that turned on every second or so. We created a power control ASIC that kept the 8051 off most of the time - it would wake up when data was available for processing. This was a proof of concept project for the military not a consumer item.
- catblast01 5y agoWere these disposable lithium metal batteries or rechargeable lithium ion? They’re pretty different technologies. Both are prone to rapid discharge overheating problems though.