Baofeng 18650 battery case WIP

thingiverse

For quite some time now, I've been searching for a way to run my Baofeng on batteries that can be recharged in the field using a solar panel or other USB device. Since I use an 18650 battery charger as a power bank and run my headlamp on an 18650, this seemed like the best cell choice. Two small squares of brass with nubs of solder on them form the primary contacts between the cells and the radio. The brass I used was cut from a strip that is 13mm wide by 0.5mm thick. Two ends of a small spring I purchased from the local hardware store (~6.5mm in diameter) keep the batteries securely held in place. They're connected by a diode to prevent reverse polarity from damaging your radio. This project is still a work in progress, although it's currently functional, it needs further refinement. The springs are a bit tricky to solder since they need to be soldered in place with the current design, which isn't optimal. The brass plates also don't make contact with the radio without blobs of solder. I'll likely update it at some point. EDIT: I've added + and - polarity indicators for each cell, adding redundancy or eliminating the need for a diode. I've also cut away some of the central septum to allow the bottom springs to be installed much more easily. I'm having difficulty coming up with ways to simplify the post-print build without sacrificing structural integrity. I'll let you know if I come up with anything.