Question Powering a wavebird off 18650 cell

[Spencer Richardson]

Hey guys! I'm wanting to do a mod with a wavebird because the shell and just about everything is pretty beat up. One of the things I'm wanting to do with it is run it off of a 18650 cell which would have a high voltage of 4.2v. Wavebirds run on 2 AA batteries which would be 3v. So I'm wondering if anyone has tried this before and what modifications were needed(if any) to run on the higher voltage from the 18650. Thanks!

 

[Madmorda]

You'd just do it the exact same way you would with a portable I'd use a quality single cell rechargeable battery and hook it up to a TI reg. That's what I did in my wiimote / zapper gun project and it works fine. But you will probably have to go through a couple batteries to find a reliable one.

That said, I think that the two cell battery packs are generally more reliable. I'd just try some different ones out until you find a good one that won't crap out.

 

[Spencer Richardson]

So it's actually looking like the 2 AA's are in series to make 6v. Could I hurt anything by testing if it will run on 5v?

 

[Stitches]

So it's actually looking like the 2 AA's are in series to make 6v. Could I hurt anything by testing if it will run on 5v?

You what? 1.5 + 1.5 =/= 6

 

[Spencer Richardson]

You what? 1.5 + 1.5 =/= 6

Wow That's embarrassing. Hahaha I got confuzzled and in my head they were each 3v. ahhh just forget I posted that.... sometimes I can do math but apparently not last night. Ha thanks stitches.
Does anyone have any suggestions for regs that can convert 3.7v to 3v? I think the ti's have a limit of like 4.8v or something right?

 

[Matthew]

No TI's can power things as low as 3.3v. That's how we power the N64. I'm not sure the lowest voltage but you can probably do 3v. It's possible you could also do 3.7v. You will just need to test it and look at the circuit. Time4science

 

[cheese]

The PTHs do have the minimum of 4.8v in for 3v output, if you put two cells in series you could get 6-8v out of the 18650s

 

[Spencer Richardson]

The PTHs do have the minimum of 4.8v in for 3v output, if you put two cells in series you could get 6-8v out of the 18650s

I have considered that. I'm just not sure I can fit two cells in therrr... haha thanks guys! I'm thinking my cheapest/simplest option is going to be getting a single-cell portable phone battery and use a PHT to get the 5v to 3v.