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#1
06-11-2006, 05:38 PM
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Found an Orange RCA
Last thing I needed but for $10 I couldn't pass it by.
Built in 1975 so it's 31 years old! (that makes me feel REALLY old  )It works great with a strong CRT, controls are a little stiff and the tuner is dirty but a little Deoxit should fix that. This is AC/DC but I hadn't noticed till just now that it has a built in battery pack. I seriously doubt the batteries are any good at this point but I found a switch on the back to turn the charger on/off so I turned it on and will see what happens. Perhaps they can be rebuilt by putting new NiCad batterys inside? Last edited by Eric H; 06-11-2006 at 05:58 PM. 
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#2
06-11-2006, 06:20 PM
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Quote:
The battery pack is made up of two lead-acid "gel-cell" batteries, not NiCd. I can practically guarantee you they will now be as dead as a doornail. Don't try to replace it with a NiCd battery pack, especially since I don't think the charging circuit in this set is very sophisticated. As I recall, the gel-cell batteries in this set didn't appear to be an "industry standard" size, but you can probably find some of the proper voltage that can at least be made to fit in the base. Have fun!
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#3
06-11-2006, 07:30 PM
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Say, I just noticed that you posted a photo of one of the gel-cell batteries open. Perhaps those actually may indeed be standard size "Gates" cells inside those plastic cases. If so, you could rebuild the original batteries with six cylindrical "Gates"-style 2-volt gel-cells.
By the way, you may have been lucky. Nowadays, I don't think it's typical for lead-acid batteries to have removable cells inside them; as far as I know, they're molded together as one inseperable unit, like a car battery. If so, and you had cut the plastic case on one of them, you may well have ended up with some nasty gel-ified battery acid to deal with..! 
Last edited by Whirled One; 06-11-2006 at 07:34 PM.
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#4
06-11-2006, 07:54 PM
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They do say "Gates" on the bottom of each cell, they are quite a bit larger than a "D" cell and have two terminals on top
The only thing holding the packs together on these is the orange label, I sliced it with a knife and the case pulled right apart.  The wife of one of the guys at work has a battery business specializing in rechargeable cells. I'll ask her if she can get me some replacement cells. I have a Panasonic TV from the late 60's that uses a large lead/acid gel cel, that one would be a mess/impossible to open up! (see pic)
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#6
06-12-2006, 12:11 AM
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All Electronics has some WEIRD batteries in stock... If not familiar, they're a surplus store in Van Nuys (Oxnard Street, 2 buildings West of Kester Ave on the S side of the street). They get all kinds of neat stuff in bulk lots from local companies, including Litton Industries, ITT-Gilfillan, and Boeing. They might just have what would fit in there!
Charles
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