X10 Community Forum

💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: bkenobi on April 19, 2019, 12:52:10 AM

Title: Sourcing a PCB edge clip battery connector
Post by: bkenobi on April 19, 2019, 12:52:10 AM
I need to find a PCB clip that makes contact to a battery pack.  The mfg of the device doesn't provide a replacement for whatever reason. Without the clip, there is no way to power the device...

I did find one source, but they want $40 for these 2 clips!  For that rip off price, I'm willing to search for an alternative briefly.  Any thought of somewhere to look? Mouser didn't seen to have anything and I couldn't figure out where it might be on digikey yet.
Title: Re: Sourcing a PCB edge clip battery connector
Post by: bkenobi on April 19, 2019, 09:00:27 AM
So I woke up this morning with a couple thoughts on this.

1) why can't I just solder the clip in permanently?
2) maybe just solder a wire on as a new spring/clip to replace the broken ones?

First, if I could get the device open without damage, I'd definitely just solder the clip on. But right now I don't know how. It's sealed with a gasket and I'd probably destroy that if I tried to open it.

But, adding a new tab from a bent paperclip section should work.  I'd prefer to replace these, but at least I should be ablessed to make the fix work.
Title: Re: Sourcing a PCB edge clip battery connector
Post by: bkenobi on April 19, 2019, 12:12:49 PM
Well, soldering a custom retainer (bent paperclip) on kinda worked.  I was able to install the clip and confirmed that the battery will now work with the device.  Unfortunately, as soon as I screwed the battery cover back on, I heard a "tink" and I got a characteristic rattle inside with a non-functioning device.  Guess I'll have to find a new clip after all.