LC 575 and Color Classic Battery Alternatives

[alvin777]

Hi. It's hard and expensive to find the Rayovac square batteries for the LC 575 and the Color Classic. Is there any alternative that also works well? Thanks.

 

[Mr. 680x0]

I haven't tried it yet, but the batteries in most wireless house phone handsets are 3.6v. You'll need to adapt it and make a bracket, but the voltage is the same.

 

[~tl]

I haven't tried it yet, but the batteries in most wireless house phone handsets are 3.6v. You'll need to adapt it and make a bracket, but the voltage is the same.

The square Rayovac batteries are 4.5v...

 

[mmu_man]

I successfully replaced one in a powermac by 2 paperclips and a standard 4.5V battery. It's bigger but fitted perfectly in the case behind the power switch. Cheap and replaceable. Just make sure clips are correctly insulated.

 

[chris]

3 standard any-size 1.5v batteries(d, c, a, aa, etc) wired and taped will get 4.5v... Haven't tested so DON'T KILL MEEEEE.

 

[Mr. 680x0]

I haven't tried it yet, but the batteries in most wireless house phone handsets are 3.6v. You'll need to adapt it and make a bracket, but the voltage is the same.

The square Rayovac batteries are 4.5v...

The Color Classic uses the round 3.6v one though. I used 3 AA batteries in a hacked up cheapo flashlight mounted inside my Performa 636CD, which seemed to work.

 

[beachycove]

Hi. It's hard and expensive to find the Rayovac square batteries for the LC 575 and the Color Classic. Is there any alternative that also works well? Thanks.

Radio Shack or similar retail outfits will sell you a little case for 3xAAA Alkalines, complete with leads, for around $1. Gives you exactly what the Rayovac was: a 4.5v. Alkaline battery.

 

[MacMan]

This. The 4.5V lantern batteries basically contain 3 AA cells soldered together, put in a cardboard case and then fitted with two long solder tabs. Just clip the connector and wires off the old Rayovac battery and solder them onto the terminals of the lantern battery.

Another good alternative is getting a 3xAA plastic battery holder and doing a similar thing. The beauty of this is that it is a permenant conversion to AA PRAM batteries for your Mac, so future replacements are as cheap as chips.

 

[Mike Richardson]

3 standard any-size 1.5v batteries(d, c, a, aa, etc) wired and taped will get 4.5v... Haven't tested so DON'T KILL MEEEEE.

I did this with 3 AA batteries. It works fine. I got some used Rayovac 4.5v batteries off of eBay also. They were cheaper than new ones and seem to hold a good charge.

I also found a comparable battery in Fry's for like $8, but it was the last one, and it seemed like they did not sell such batteries anymore.

 

[Maccess]

Buy a 3AA/AAA plastic battery holder and use good quality Alkalines. Don't solder them! They could leak and it's bye bye Mac.

 

[Alan Cottrill]

I purchased 1.5v "N" cells from Radio Shack. Part Number 23-023. They are $3.99 per pair. For $12.00 you can build two of these. I soldered mine together. I wasn't aware the risk of leakage increased with soldering them. I just assumed I'd have to monitor them closely to make sure I caught any leakage early. Picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[II2II]

I did the 3AA battery thing. Held up for several years without a hitch.

 

[equill]

... The Color Classic uses the round 3.6v one though ...

Unfortunately, not all of them, as we learnt in another thread here a little while ago. Some, perhaps as a result of a different subcontractor's board production, did use rectangular 4.5V alkaline Rayovac-style batteries.

de

 

[Mr. 680x0]

... The Color Classic uses the round 3.6v one though ...

Unfortunately, not all of them, as we learnt in another thread here a little while ago. Some, perhaps as a result of a different subcontractor's board production, did use rectangular 4.5V alkaline Rayovac-style batteries.

de

Oh, I didn't know that. My color classic uses the 3.6v which means I'd have to pay $15 at Radio Shack to get one. If it used the 4.5V I would've made one already. I did that on a 636CD a long time ago. I made a battery holder out of an old cheapo 3 AA flashlight.

 

[equill]

... Oh, I didn't know that. My color classic uses the 3.6v which means I'd have to pay $15 at Radio Shack to get one. If it used the 4.5V I would've made one already ...

Let eBay (or, rather, an eBay seller) be your friend. USD4.00 + postage from ronaldo101 for first-quality French SAFT. Even cheaper in multiples. I buy at least four every time. The first and last 3.6V half-AA 3.6V lithium battery that I bought from an Apple dealer more than 10 years ago cost me AUD33.

de

 

[register]

In a PowerMacintosh 7200/90 I swapped the internal 3.6 Volt Lithium battery for an external 3 x AAA (= 4.5 Volt alkaline) battery case mounted on the backplate of the computer's case. The setup works fine for half a year now, in everyday use in a shop (that is why I chose the external battery case: no one wants to get the computer out of it's corner just to change batteries). The PRAM buffer and clock chip of this specific machine seems not to be picky about it's supply voltage, but no warranty for other computers.