Dummy coin cells with wires? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: e100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 08:18:46 am
content: Do these things exist for doing factory testing or firmware upgrades without using a real battery?I have a bunch of battery powered wireless switches that need firmware updates and each one takes over an hour, and so it drains a lot of the energy from a CR2032 lithium coin cell. Temporarily attaching wires to the fragile contacts is not easy.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 09:26:14 am
content: Apparently they do exist:

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 09:35:28 am
content: Oddly enough I was looking for the same a week or so ago. I decided the Aliexpress offering was a bit meh, I found a 3D print on Thingiversehttps://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4757807At the end of the day I just tacked power on to the programming header which worked in my case.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 09:40:16 am
content: You can order 3.2mm thick PCBs or stack two PCBs on top of each other to make a CR3032 replacement.

author: e100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 10:55:23 am
content: Quote from: nali on July 01, 2024, 09:35:28 amThe Aliexpress ones look unusable as they have literally just soldered a wire to the bottom of a dead battery which raises the height and the wire has to somehow loop over the edge which for most battery holders is never going to work.Quote from: nali on July 01, 2024, 09:35:28 amIt's seems odd that there are no ready made solutions.

author: e100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 10:59:10 am
content: Quote from: tszaboo on July 01, 2024, 09:40:16 amDo you mean with edge plating for the sideways contact patch?

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 11:09:37 am
content: Quote from: e100 on July 01, 2024, 10:59:10 amI think the cell holder that we were using had top/bottom contacts.But yeah, edge plating would work.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2024, 11:24:19 am
content: Quote from: e100 on July 01, 2024, 10:55:23 amThat's what I thought at first too, but the edge between the battery halves does not look like a proper seal. They are probably making these from pre-production half products.Quote from: e100 on July 01, 2024, 10:55:23 amEngage brain before responding. I guess you are capable of soldering yourself and drilling some holes.There are no standard solutions for a thing like this. Battery holders are made in many different varieties and leaving room for attaching wires to the coincells themselves is no consideration.Maybe you can hack something together from a real coin or a steel washer for one pole, and add a piece of PCB or other conductive surface and glue them together. Maybe add some layers of paper of plastic foil for insulation and to get to the right diameter.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2024, 08:18:07 pm
content: Quote from: e100 on July 01, 2024, 10:55:23 amLooks like it would work fine for slide in style holders, you just don't slide the battery in all of the way.Lots of results on google.https://hackaday.io/project/26896-coin-cell-battery-emulator-cr2016cr2032https://batteryeliminatorstore.com/products/cr2032-battery-eliminator-2-aa-powered