Sony PSP AAA battery mod

[danrok]

Read it on the front page:
http://www.aoaforums.com/frontpage/content/view/1871/1/

Comments?

[raphael2040]

Looks like a hassle.

I don't think many people would be using this mod just to get a little extra battery power (if they get any extra at all).

Nice idea, though.

[Gizmo]

Could be handy for when you are out and don't have a wall charger at your disposal....

[danrok]

For sure, if you're on holiday different mains voltages can be a pain when recharging. Whereas, AAA batts are pretty much universal.

[Aedan]

The PSP PSU is a switching design, which can handle anything from 100V to 240V. At least it is in Europe and Japan.

The downside is that AAA batteries don't have much capacity compared to the standard PSP battery. Sony's standard PSP battery is 1800mAh (the high capacity one is 2200mAh). Rechargable AAA batteries are about 800mAh, and standard alkaline cells depend on how much current is being drawn.

Using a figure of 0.9V minimum per cell (equiv to a 2.7V battery), and using 300mA as the running current (for GTA: see here), together with Duracell's data for a Duracell CopperTop AAA battery, and you can take an estimated guess that three Duracell AAA CopperTop batteries might net you 3hours of GTA. Using the PSP with a web browser (about 500mA consumption) and you'd be lucky to get an hour.

I'm not sure this is really a viable hack - perhaps the link to the GTA figures would be a better mod? There's still room for improvement in terms of efficiency. As far as the PSP's time remaining display goes - it's designed to predict the run time from a lithium-ion battery, not an alkaline battery.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by Áedán

The downside is that AAA batteries don't have much capacity compared to the standard PSP battery.

Yeah, I was thinking that if I were going to do this hack, I'd probably use AA batteries and find somewhere on the outside to mount the battery pack or something.

[danrok]

Originally Posted by Áedán

The PSP PSU is a switching design, which can handle anything from 100V to 240V. At least it is in Europe and Japan.

Now that I've looked at my charger I see what you're saying.

Shame more chargers aren't of the switching type.

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by danrok

Now that I've looked at my charger I see what you're saying.

Shame more chargers aren't of the switching type.

A big chunk of them now-days are, actually. Only the really absolute junk, low-end, low-power, cheeseball chargers are not based on switching technology any more, from what I have seen.

[Aedan]

Originally Posted by danrok

Shame more chargers aren't of the switching type.

Most (but not all) mobile phone chargers are switching too. Switchers are fairly cheap these days, and there's the benefit of a single design for all countries. Traditional power supplies are getting to be more and more in the minority, especially as power demands go up.