4,5 (4.5) Volts batteryes
 

Just curios, there where ever made in U.S.A. radios that used 4,5 (4.5) V batteries?
This type of batteries can still be found in U.S.A.?
I mean batteryes like the one bellow (the one from the pics isn't belong to me). B.t.w., the name of the companyn "EL.BA." haves nothing to do with the River Elba from Germany or the Elba Island (the 1st place where Napoleon was exiled); is comming from ELectro BAnat (Banat is a region Western Romania).

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...ie45VElba1.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...rie45VElba.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...aterieElba.jpg

I don't think anything marketed here (Canada or the U.S.A.) ever used those
batteries, I just saw them in some European magazines. Radios using three
cells were not common either, but I have a modern Grundig crank operated
radio that does use three AA cells as a backup to the rechargeable battery.

Always a pleasure to meet you on videokarma or audiokarma. Regards.

I think you can replace those with three AA cells. They were indeed rather popular, used more for bias than anything else. I once built a code practice oscillator using one, back about 60 years ago.

The ones that are hard to replace are the high voltage batteries.

Thanks a lot. I don't think I ever seen an Europeanen radio with those type of batteryes.

You mean 45 V and 90 V batteryes used in portable radios with electronic tubes or tube radios used in places where there it was no electricity network?

In the USA, back in the early days of transistor radios (late 50's) we had many different styles of batteries until we eventually settled on the small 9V batteries and AA and AAA, C and D cells. Radio Shack used to give away batteries back 20 to 40 years ago "Battery of the month club" or something like that.

The only radios with 9 V batteryes that I ever seen where Made in Asia (Japan, Taiwan). I don't like the 9 V batteryes too much: the run out of "power' quyte fast.

Yes the 45, 67.5, and 90 Volt batteries are scarce these days. They used tiny cells and were not economical due to short life. Even shelf life was short. They were used in portable radios from most manufacturers, with those miniature 1.5 and 3 Volt filament tubes. There were a few instances where subminiature tubes were used but that didn't go over too well due to cost.

Nine Volt batteries indeed are inefficient use of space, with so much wasted due to spacers and all. Even the AAA, AA, C, and D are inefficient; they are cylindrical and much space is wasted around them. I think they should be rectangular in cross section but that was tried without commercial success.

Garage door openers used 9V for a while. Lately the emphasis has been on the tiny dime-like cells.

I don't disparage the Asian equipment; the stuff works well most of the time, and is a comparative bargain. My ham station is almost all of Asian manufacture, as are my stereo system and telephones. Most of my electronics test gear is US made, though. I do have one English signal generator and some meters from Asia.

But there wheren't no acummulators (recharghable batteryes) for 45, 67.5, 90 Volts?
Those 4.5 (4,5) V batteryes where used in Romania at pocket flashlights (lanterns). That's why on it is saying "Baterie pentru iluminat (Baterry for lighting)". The 4,5 V where the best batteryes manufactured in Romania (Romanian batteryes wheren't so good - especially when workers started to steal from the materials; I don't know how good or bad Romanian batteryes where before Communism or in the '50's).

Hi!

These batteries are very common here in Europe. They were mostly used in pocket torches but also in early portable transistor radios. It is still possible to buy these batteries everywhere:

http://at.rs-online.com/web/search/s...0221204#header

BTW: Flachbatterie stands for flat-batterie

Greetings Josef

Back in the 'old days' rechargeable batteries were a luxury. Of course there were automobile batteries, 6V, an assembly of three 2V cells. You could buy a 2V rechargeable cell and there were vibrators made for that voltage so you could run radios from that but they were expensive. And probably unreliable. Further, the capacity wasn't all that much. You had to keep the electrolyte level above the plates, of course.

Six volt battery chargers often used a Tungar bulb as a rectifier, and no filtering or regulation other than a rheostat. Incredibly crude by today's standards, but that's all they had then. No transistors, no diodes of sufficient current rating. No zener diodes. And so on.

Did you ever seen batteryes at which you can poured the electoted inside? The battery started working after you poured the liquyd electrode.

Many automobile batteries were like that. The battery came with a plastic bottle of electrolyte that you poured into the cells to 'activate' the battery. They'd never get away with doing that today, what with all the restrictions on hazardous substances and all the attorneys ready to jump on the case.

Well, at an auto battery there are more hazardous materials then at 4,5 V battery.

Actually, some motorcycle batteries are still like that. We have some like that in the auto parts store I work at.

That battery looks like the one used in these disposable flashlights:

Cheers,