2 Responses to “Lenmar Replacement for PANASONIC 501”

1. tron3 on November 20th, 2009 11:58 pm

   I purchased the Lenmar 7.2V, 6800 mA battery because it looked identical to my Cyberhome 7.4V, 4500 mA battery. For 1/3 more battery life, why not? The lack of 0.2V should still be within operational tolerance. The battery physically fit but the power contacts were different and would not power the player. D’oh. The Lenmar battery does not have a charging port or indicator light, so it was essential to swap the cells. I wanted a working battery pack for my player and none were available. What else could I do?

   ***** PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK! *****
   
   I opened the Lenmar case to find an 8 cell battery pack which easily swaps with the 6 cell battery pack in the Cyberhome. The extra cells being the reason the Lenmar has 1/3 more power. You need to carefully peel the top right corner of the large center sticker to reveal a small screw. The Cyberhome may have an additional screw under a small green sticker. CAREFULLY AND GENTLY lift and pry the covers as the batteries are held with a double sided adhesive. You will need a small Philips screw driver for the Panasonic battery and a small diamond head for the Cyberhome battery. Hex heads will not work.

   Be sure to wear eye protection. Be very careful as I did create a few sparks which could weaken the batteries or ruin the electronics on the small circuit board. You only need heat the solder and lift the tab out with the small screw driver. Keep some extra solder handy for resoldering. I also peeled and saved the small rubber feet off the Lenmar in case I need them.

   ***** CHECK FOR POLARITY! *****
   
   The battery packs look identical but after measuring for polarity, I had to flip over the Lenmar cells to keep the polarity the same. I also joined the cell tabs in series akin to how the Cyberhome cells connect. After about an hour of careful amature work I closed up the battery pack and carefully measured the polarity on the output connector. They matched! Then I cautiously plugged in the charger. No sparks, no smoke, and the red charging light goes on! I left it to charge in a clean dry sink in case it shorts and flames out. Meanwhile I walked to a nearby Radio Shack to properly dispose of the old Lithium cells. Ask for the battery recycle box if you do not see it. Staples may also offer this service.

   I carefully peeled off the Lenmar label and trimmed off the vital battery information to stick it over the lower left corner of the Cyberhome sticker. Both battery statistics now show. This mostly documents how the battery was upgraded and still keeps the original battery information handy for reference. After a few hours the charging light on the battery eventually turns green. The Cyberhome LDV-712 DVD player is again portable with less than two ounces of extra weight. Not bad for the bucks!

   ***** FULLY CHARGE THE NEW BATTERY BEFORE USE.*****
   
   The battery function on the player indicates a full charge. The improved run time backs up the indicator reading. The old battery instructions say do not charge for more than 8 hours. To maximize battery life I would not charge longer than 6 hours from a drained state, and recharge a depleted battery as much as possible. The battery seemed to fully charge between 4.5 to 5 hours. The charger is kind of hot when charging. It starts to cool by the time the light turns green. By then the battery is probably topped off.

   After charging I let the battery sit for 18 hours with various voltage checks during. Still read just above 8 Volts, indicating it is holding a charge nicely. The battery indicator on the player showed about 98% capacity. This may be due to the cells equalizing overnight from the first charge. It played for 3:30 before I turned it off for the night. It continued the next day for another 45 minutes, for a total of 4:15 before the screen turned off and the player continued with just audio. I had hoped for more time. But it is enough for two 120 minute movies, where as I barely squeezed two 90 minute movies on the old battery. The second full charge measured 8.3 Volts and lasted 4:50. WOO HOO!

   Disconnect the battery when not in use as the player draws power for standby mode. Or leave it in to get a deeper discharge for a full recharge. If the player fails to turn on, or stay on, do not continue to deep discharge. That is how I ruined my last battery.
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. Cliff_uk on November 21st, 2009 12:46 am

   I bought the battery for my Panasonic LX9 DVD player. It increased the length of use from around 2 hours to approximately 10.5. Highly recommended.
   Rating: 5 / 5