[Phillip Beall]

All,

I don’t know how many of you use the Dakota Alert series of driveway and other sensors.  They pretty much own the MURS frequency market.  Several of my family, friends and neighbors use them.  One thing that always annoyed me a little and my dad a lot was how often you had to change the CR123A batteries.  I spoke with one of their engineers and he said they offer a modification as I was describing where one could use a 12v rechargeable battery and solar panel to never have to change the batteries.  He sent me a schematic which I am including both as a download and as a diagram (below).  The four CR123A batteries, 3v each, adds up to 12v.  Here is the diagram:

This setup has now saved my dad countless trips to replace batteries…once he figured out that the batteries were why he was no longer getting alerts.  And they eat batteries.  I have a neighbor who went with this setup because she had so much traffic she was having to change batteries monthly.

If you have the Dakota Alert MURS system you know how well they work.  They are phenomenal.  If you too are tired of changing batteries, I hope this offers you a solution.

Enjoy,

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

[Phillip Beall]

All,

One more thing – The older units used six AA batteries instead of four CR123A batteries.  AA batteries are 1.5v so 6 x 1.5 = 9v.  If you use the diagram above you will need to reduce the voltage accordingly.  I am sure old heads will just go digging around in their supplies, but if you want a commercial off the shelf (COTS) solution, this $9 device will get it done for you.

73

Phillip

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