Looking for some advice on miniature rechargeable batteries

[Southwest Chief]

I have an idea that may or may not work.

I have an HO scale plane that I plan to hang over our HO layout.  I'd like to wire in lights for this plane.

How to power them will be the trick.

I'd like to install rechargeable batteries inside the plane.  It is unlikely I'll be able to access the battery after assembling the plane.  So once the recharging life cycle ends so too will the lights.  But that is an acceptable consequence I can live with.

I've found some really small rechargeable batteries, here is a link to one such:

Tiny Rechargeable Battery

So finding small batteries and a small on/off switch has not been too difficult.  It's finding small jacks and a suitable charger that has been difficult.

I think a charging jack could be installed in the plane.  So to recharge the battery I could plug into the plane.

Google searches have taken me all over with no real solutions.

So before I give up this idea, I was wondering if anyone here might have some ideas, and more importantly some internet links I could search?

[hobo9941]

Allbattery.com http://www.all-battery.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=08242011_EndSummer&utm_content=Banner_Home

Has lots of rechargable batteries in all sizes. But most fit into various chargers, usually two or four to a charger. You might be able to hook up some kind of jack by soldering onto the contacts for one battery, and making sure the charger is filled with batteries in the other slots.. Most chargers won't charge a single battery, because they are wired in series of two or four batts. You might also arrange some way of removing the battery to charge it.

I use 1 1/2 volt rechargables in my cabooses with the 1 1/2 volt Tomar marker lights. I dremeled off the locking tabs on the caboose shells, so I can just lift off the shell and put a fully charged battery in. I use the single AA battery holder from Radio Shack in each caboose. When I'm done running trains, I just leave the battery in and let it run down, and put a fully charged one in the next time I run. They are cheaper by the dozen.

[richg1998]

Al I can comment on is, make sure the charger is for this type of battery. NiMH batteries require their own charger, not just any kind of charger or power pack.

Do a seach for charger for nimh batteries. You will see.

Rich

 

 

[Alantrains]

An alternative way of powering the lights could be to hang the plane by 2 electric wires, some fine magnet wires would work if you anly need to power LEDs which don't use much power.

just a thought.

[rrinker]

 Skip the rechargeable batteries. Use a regular battery, and LEDs for the lights. The continuous run time would be days, if not weeks, and that's only if you forgot to turn it off. That battery you linked, you would have to build your own charger with the proper current limit (I think for nickle hydride batteries it's 10% but I didn't look it up) and appropriate cutoff circuitry to prevent overcharging. Non-rechargeable is looking better and better, eh?

 Or if it will hang from the ceiling, you can use some fine stranded wire, to get power to it, instead of hanging it from a single thread. I'm talking like #36 wire, or smaller.

                                   --Randy

 

[Southwest Chief]

Thin wire (especially magnetic wire) is so obvious now.  Not sure why I didn't think of that before

Thanks for the tips.