Silly packaging

A package arrived today with dire labeling. TSA would probably have me shot on sight if I approached an airport with this box.



The cardboard box contained:

• an anti-static bag, which contained
• a plastic bag, which contained
• a roll of bubble wrap, which contained
• another plastic bag, which contained
• a piece of styrofoam, which held
• three CR1225 coin cell batteries.

Finally this box's journey is complete and our nation is safe. Also, I've got another electronics project off my workbench.

This was for replacing the clock battery on my neighbor's game camera. Some MBA decided they could shave $0.03 off the cost if they bought CR1225 batteries with terminals spot-welded on and soldered that onto the board, instead of using a standard battery holder. After all, who would want to use a game camera for more than two seasons?

Jason

Wait... the TSA has guns now... boy am I glad I don't fly anymore

jakematic said:

Wait... the TSA has guns now...

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I hadn't noticed. They didn't say a word about the seven 18650s in my carry-on on the way over here. One was in a flashlight, two were installed in vapes, and four were in dual-cell translucent cases.

Oh and once again, my boarding pass said "TSA PRECHECK" despite the fact that I've never applied for any such status. That's like being in a time-warp to 1999. You don't need to remove your laptop from your carry-on. You can keep your shoes on, you belt on, your jacket on, and you go through a metal detector instead of a body scanner.

Are all of those fancy soldering tools on your bench only there for show? Just wondering why you couldn't solder your own tabs onto locally-sourced batteries, or even better installed a proper $0.03 battery holder so that you won't have to see it again in two years?

Regarding the pre-screened status, the British equivalent of the TSA treated me to a "voluntary" rubber gloves search at Heathrow a few months after 9/11. The world is a much safer place thanks to their discovery of a UK-domestic Burger King ketchup packet in my suitcase.....

Uwe said:

Oh and once again, my boarding pass said "TSA PRECHECK" despite the fact that I've never applied for any such status.

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Perhaps you have a friend somewhere who ticked a box somewhere...

Uwe said:

I hadn't noticed. They didn't say a word about the seven 18650s in my carry-on on the way over here. One was in a flashlight, two were installed in vapes, and four were in dual-cell translucent cases.

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I think there is some legal distinction about batteries installed in devices vs. loose/bulk spares. Also, I doubt TSA will look that close at something that looks like a standard disposable AA cell.

Uwe said:

Oh and once again, my boarding pass said "TSA PRECHECK" despite the fact that I've never applied for any such status.

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Clearly, someone at TSA owns a VW/Audi.

Jason

vreihen said:

Are all of those fancy soldering tools on your bench only there for show? Just wondering why you couldn't solder your own tabs onto locally-sourced batteries, or even better installed a proper $0.03 battery holder so that you won't have to see it again in two years?

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I actually did order a battery holder for it, as I found this permanent soldered arrangement offensive, but I neglected to check the dimensions and it ended up being way too big for the space and the mounting holes. I went back to Mouser's catalog with proper measurements and couldn't find a holder that would fit without modifying the holder or the board. I'm sure it could have been done, but I'm not really at that level. I know how to use most of the features on my multi-meter, and how to find bits that obviously ran low on magic smoke and swap them like-for-like.

I'd had this project on my workbench for a few weeks, and my neighbor was pinging me to see if he could put it out for deer season this weekend. I ran across the CR1225 two-pin prefab assemblies on Mouser's site (I thought the game camera mfr had hacked this together, but I guess these are a common thing?) and decided I could hold my nose long enough to get it done. So, it's finished to factory spec, even if the factory spec sucks. Told Steve he'd have to bring it back to me every few years and he was fine with it.

Jason

jyoung8607 said:

I thought the game camera mfr had hacked this together, but I guess these are a common thing?

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Sadly more common than you would think...

jakematic said:

Sadly more common than you would think...

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That's really sad. When I think of non-rechargeable, non-replaceable batteries I think "gimmick Hallmark greeting card" or "Happy Meal toy".

Jason