Button Cell Octopus

The Button Cell Octopus replaces button batteries.
This is useful when a replacement battery is not at hand.
It was used to run a thermometer and a humidity gauge from a 4 cents battery. Making this battery is also shown.

Copper sheet (obtained from an Art supplies store)

Connection wire

2 Alligator clips

Soldier

For the battery:

4 us cents (2 or 4 being post 1982)

Cardboard

Vinegar

Tools

Hot glue gun

Soldiering iron

Scissors

Make a connector to replace the button battery with another power source:
- Cut a strip of copper and shape it into a ring the same size as the battery.
- soldier the ring.
- Cut a small circle of copper to act as the top of the battery and to be the negative terminal.
- Soldier hookup wire to the copper ring and small copper disk.

With the small circle of copper and its attached wire positioned in the center of the outer copper ring, fill with hot glue. This holds everything together and finishes the connector. The wires will either need to come out from the top or a nick will need to be made in the side of the copper ring for them to come out. This depends on the devise the octopus will be inserted into.

Check the connector fits snugly into the devise and connects to its terminals.

Solider Alligator clips to the connector wires.
Make another connector for a different sized button battery and soldier to the same alligator clips to form an octopus.

If no battery is handy, a low amp (2 milliamp) 1.5 volt battery can be made with 4 us cents.

• 2 coins were made after 1982 - these are made of zinc and copper plated, so file one of the surfaces to expose the zinc.

• 2 coins were made before 1982 - there are made of copper and will be paired to the zinc ones.

• Cut 2 disks from cardboard, just slightly larger in diameter than the coins.
• Soak the cardboard disks in vinegar.
• Sandwich a cardboard disk between a copper and zinc coin, with the exposed zinc touching the cardboard.
• Stack the 2 pairs together with the copper made coin being on top of each pair. Connect to the octopus and power the devise. E.g. calculator or thermometer.

If all coins were made after 1982, it will still work but you may need 4 pairs to achieve 1.5 volts. I like how just post 1982 us cent coins can be used either for it's zinc or copper properties and combined together to make electricity.

The octopus connector can power devises which use a single button cell battery. I have used it to power:

• Calculator
• Thermometer
• Hygrometer