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    lion mclionhead • 12/18/2024 at 10:32 • 0 comments



    The lion kingdom had some unused gopro 3 batteries which fit the 3 pin connector in the gopro 4. The desire was to not destroy any 4 batteries or the 4 itself, since its power management still worked & lions still imagined using it in a gimbal someday.

    The board would have to be cut down to the right size.  There would be no way to preserve the thermister pin.  Also, heating the board to remove the tabs melts the insulator.  The insulator has to be popped off before you remove the tabs.

    They all had mangled cathodes.  The 3 had the pins inserted from above & they always jammed.  The 4 had them inserted sideways.  The polarity was reversed in the 4.

    The trick is grinding off enough while preserving the via stitching.  There's no way to resolder the pins if they melt off.

    The fragment of board with the pins dictated a dummy battery which stuck out.

    It was just a PLA tube with the board scotched in the right place.  The wires were on the outside.  The dummy battery voltage was set at 4.5V so it would sag when recording to 4.2V. 

    For tripod mounting, a new 2 piece enclosure was designed with a place for the dummy battery.