Jake Anderson wrote:
> The torches use ultra caps I think (the LED ones) and the toys use
> lithium ion polymer cells way beyond what they are speced at ;->

Time to reveal the embarrassing details.

I got a hold of a small RC car. It gets charged from the remote (4 AAs), 
which has a barrel type plug on the side. You plug it in, wait a few 
minutes, the red LED on the remote goes off, the car is charged.

Skipping the obscure reasons why anyone would do this, I decided to charge 
the car from a 5.6V Nokia charger. Unfortunately I got distracted, and left 
it plugged in far longer than intended. I was reminded of the fact by the 
smell of melting vynil and plastic.

The battery inside the car has two small cells connected directly to the 
power jack. I opened up the remote, and confirmed that it has some sort of 
overcharge protection circuitry.

The cells are about as wide as a AA battery, but only about 1/3 as long. At 
this point, I can try to find an exact replacement, or try another solution. 
I doubt that a supercap would hold enough charge to be practical?

I have an LED flashlight that has to be cranked for about a minute to fully 
charge it (it stays nice a bright for about 3 minutes or so). The 
manufacturer also recommends charging it once a month to keep the battery in 
good shape.

Vitaliy 

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