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Modding the Icomm with an external battery.


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The humble iCOMM, works well while the internal battery is good, but after a year or so..........they stop working.
How to tell, its the iCOMM battery.
If the little red light no longer comes on and the static burst is not sounding, there is a good chance it is just a flat battery.

 

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Internal iCOMM battery
 

 

 

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Freight is expensive to get the very specific battery that is inside.
Genuine replacement batt $5 US, freight, $25 US.
Whattt!!! $30 US.... for a battery.....at least that's what I said. (approx $38.40 AUS)
So I decided to do a little research, and come up with a reasonably simple and inexpensive mod, approx $12-$15 Aus.

A simple AA battery holder and a rechargeable Lithium ion battery.
 

 

 

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Not just any kind of rechargeable battery can be used.
The iCOMM is sensitive to voltage, so a 3.6 volt battery is required.
The milliamp hour rating, or how much draw per hour on the battery, is only 560mAh, not bad for its small size, but I have replaced it with a 900mAh, so almost twice the capacity, and rechargeable. Approximate lifespan......Years and years.

I chose to go with a battery with an internal protection circuit, as Li-ion batteries are finicky with charging. (have been known to EXPLODE).
A digital battery charger, designed to suit 3.6-3.7 volts is perfect.
Available on evilbay for as cheap as $5 shipped from China
 

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As I discovered during the research phase, the internal battery is easily removed.
 

 

 

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First I added some adhesive Velcro to the back of the battery holder.
 

 

 

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Then I drilled a couple of small holes, one in either side of the bottom half of the iCOMM casing.
 

 

 

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Thread the red +, and black - ,wires through the holes of the casing.(From outside through to inside)
When you flip the circuit board of the iCOMM over you can solder the wires to the corresponding posts. The outer most post is the positive (+)
and the inner post the negative(-).
 

 

 

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Flip the circuit board back over and fit back into the case.
Please note, you will actually have to fit the circuit board back into the top part of the case as it is the half that has all the plug holes and LED hole.
 

 

 

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Place the two halves together, put the screw back in, and add the opposite half of the adhesive Velcro to the end of the iCOMM.
Feed the wires in through the holes to keep the excess out of the way.
 

 

 

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Tested for success, my iCOMM is again fully operational.
 

 

 

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As you can see, the overall size hasn't changed too much. iCOMM 8cm long, iCOMM with external battery adaption, 10cm long.
The weight has increased by only 20 grams.
 

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Parts List and cost

Battery Holder AA size $1.00
UltraFire Li-ion battery $6.00 (Protected circuit)
Digital battery charger $5.00
miscellaneous bits $3.00
Battery holder from Jaycar, all other parts from ebay.

 

Please note: These prices were in Australian $, so would be cheaper again in US$

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Thanks for posting this Sly, has worked well for a few of us in the past

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  • 2 weeks later...

Great info! My iComm is brand new, so I guess I have about a year before I need to worry about this, but it's nice to know there is a simple and easy method to deal with the dead battery problem, later down the road. :)

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  • 1 year later...

Sly11 or other bro, I need to change or make this fixing i my iCOMM, I have a camera rechargeable lithium battery 3.7v 900mAh, the original battery is 3.6v, could be burned the iCOMM board using the 3.7V batt?

Thanks in advance

Gio

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3.6 is definitely preferred as the Icomm's are quite sensitive to the voltage. I haven't tried a 3.7v just to stay on the safe side.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just going to add a bit on battery info.

 

3.6 and 3.7 are just nominal voltages - the voltage of any lithium-ion varies with the charge level. A properly protected lithium-ion will be at 4.0-4.2v fresh off the charger, spend most of it's run time at ~3.63.7v, then shut itself off to prevent damage when it drops to ~2.5v. Recharge and repeat.

 

It's very important to get a protected cell - aside from the fire hazard (a shorted cell won't necessarily go *boom*, but it can heat up to the point of damaging equipment and even starting a fire that water won't put out), an unprotected cell might charge over the typical 4.2v limit and damage the iComm circuitry.

 

The size lithium-ion to use in a AA holder is perhaps more commonly referred to as a 14500 (name identifies the size - 14mm diameter, 50mm long). In the US, Trustfire is a decent budget brand. I've used XTAR that work well. Genuine Ultrafires are fine. Try to avoid something-fire brands from chinese sellers - they might very well be knock-off cells of dubious quality. Especially avoid any 14500 rated at anything much higher than 900mAh - it's almost guaranteed to be a chinese cell with a fake rating. Most 14500s will be rated at 800-900mAh.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...

Many years later thread bump!

 

Is the rechargable 3.6v battery still holding up @Sly11 ? I'm on my third iComm battery and am considering this mod very seriously. I have one more spare of the tiny one, but ugh. I'd love to fix it one final time and never crack that case again.

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I've had the same updated mod for 3 years and going strong, occasionally I remove the battery just to top up the charge

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Mine has lasted to this day as I recharge it frequently because Lithium ion batteries can die of neglect.

They tend to love a frequent charge as a good rule of thumb.

I also use a good digital charger and only recommend protected batteries.

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  • 11 months later...

awesome post!  I was out trooping today, second year, and I am seeing intermittent problems. Sometimes it clicks and starts to project my voice, but I can get in one word, then it dies... or its doing small clicking sounds like the pulse of the alien life finder... you know what I mean.

 

I was JUST about to order a new iCOMM when I found this post.  Question:

Can I someone (Maybe Glen), post links to amazon or someplace to order the holder, and battery?

Edited by Harder
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57 minutes ago, Harder said:

awesome post!  I was out trooping today, second year, and I am seeing intermittent problems. Sometimes it clicks and starts to project my voice, but I can get in one word, then it dies... or its doing small clicking sounds like the pulse of the alien life finder... you know what I mean.

 

I was JUST about to order a new iCOMM when I found this post.  Question:

Can I someone (Maybe Glen), post links to amazon or someplace to order the holder, and battery?

Battery is a 3.6V AA 900mAh battery, I have used higher mAh batteries with no issues, as long as the AA is a 3.6v

 

Quick searches:

AMAZON

Battery https://www.amazon.com/s?k=3.7v+aa+rechargeable+battery+900mah&crid=16GDRDQOUHXJS&sprefix=3.7v+aa+rechargeable+battery+900mah%2Caps%2C348&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

Holder (I've only seen packs of 6-8) https://www.amazon.com/Single-Battery-Holder-Leads-5-Pack/dp/B07THZL8JX/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1MKB3I92U4Y5Y&keywords=1+x+aa+battery+holder&qid=1687043446&sprefix=1+x+aa+battery+holder%2Caps%2C357&sr=8-4

 

I also find Aliexpress to be a cheap option for electronic parts

 

ALIEXPRESS

Battery https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-aa-rechargeable-battery-900mah.html?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20230617151237&origin=y&SearchText=aa+rechargeable+battery+900mah&spm=a2g0o.detail.1000002.0

 

 

Holder https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004016852718.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.13.5666308epE6EqW&algo_pvid=9fffd0d4-849f-4c08-abc3-88cb6227642a&aem_p4p_detail=202306171611552896936901680680009541166&algo_exp_id=9fffd0d4-849f-4c08-abc3-88cb6227642a-6&pdp_npi=3%40dis!AUD!1.18!1.18!!!!!%40211be54b16870435154592879d07ff!12000027750189299!sea!AU!178098435&curPageLogUid=LAY2qcH0djVl&search_p4p_id=202306171611552896936901680680009541166_7

 

 

 

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Thanks Glen.

 

I ran into the same searches.. but I was not aware of the 3.6V only requirement.  I was also looking for circuit protection, and rechargeable.. to which I couldn't find on Amazon because the mA was a lot higher than 900 of the starting post.  But I did eventually find it.  https://www.batteryjunction.com/protected-14500-lithium.html  Its the exact one Sly11 used, I believe.

 

I found the same issue with Amazon on the battery box. I will go with the one you suggested!  Cheers!

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, popsiclewizard said:

I was banging my head against the wall trying to get it open and then I realized I had Velcro covering the only screw. 

:laugh1:

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I was banging my head against the wall trying to get it open and then I realized I had Velcro covering the only screw. 
 
I thought the same thing, couldn't find the screw. I removed my velcro and still didn't see a screw. Kept digging and it was underneath the sticker that comes with it with the customer support contact info. In the US, the replacement batteries are now on Amazon for $6 with Prime shipping.

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-for-VoiceBooster-iComm/dp/B00CRSKCE2

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Just discovered this thread digging through new post and love the idea.

Made some mods to mine and 3D printed a case for it. Only difference really is wires are hidden more and the battery mount is bolted on to the print instead of velcrod on 

 

bvNSW8b.jpg

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4 minutes ago, LVLAsian said:

Just discovered this thread digging through new post and love the idea.

Made some mods to mine and 3D printed a case for it. Only difference really is wires are hidden more and the battery mount is bolted on to the print instead of velcrod on 

 

bvNSW8b.jpg

Nice work, if you felt like sharing your files you can do so here

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/202-3d-file-depository/

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