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I have an old RC car I'm trying to get running again. It takes a 6V 600mAh NiCd battery that has a discharge rate of 150mA but doesn't work any more. I wish to replace it with a 24V dewalt battery I have. Initially i thought I could just use a simple resistor or make a voltage divider but from what I've read online it's not that easy. If anyone could offer any help or advice or at least point me in some direction of how I could solve my problem that would be wonderful. Thanks in advance.

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    \$\begingroup\$ It might be easier to disassemble the pack into a low voltage array than use a DCDC regulator. But both options are available. \$\endgroup\$
    – D.A.S.
    Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 5:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ It would be far easier to replace it with a similar modern battery; NiCd is no longer easily available, but NiMH has very similar characteristics and is very easy to get. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 5:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ Don't mess with the DeWalt battery. Too much overhead for no return. As @Hearth suggests, replace it with a 6V NiMH pack. You can get them (and chargers) on Amazon for a few dollars. Lots of different sizes available. 150mA is pretty low for an RC car as well, you sure about that? Must be a very small car. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kyle B
    Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 6:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ Is your DeWalt battery Li-Ion or NiCd ? Both types exist and the NiCd variety will be rather easy to convert (destructively) into 6V pack (or even four 6V packs). \$\endgroup\$
    – fraxinus
    Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 9:40

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I would strongly recommend you to use 6V battery with similar ratings (maybe close to that as recommended by others). However, if you still determined to use 24V battery, I would suggest you to use 24VDC-6VDC buck converter to output the required voltage. You can check more about the buck converter here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thank you for the comment. I have no knowledge or experience on diodes could you please recommend what diodes I could use in my case to produce the 6V ? Also, say i made a buck converter, could i power it using a bench power supply and achieve the desired load power? \$\endgroup\$
    – nikola
    Commented Jan 10, 2022 at 3:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ If you have no prior knowledge of circuit design, I would suggest you to purchase an already available buck-converter from online stores. As far as power is concerned, YES, you can definitely power it from DC bench supply \$\endgroup\$
    – No Man
    Commented Jan 11, 2022 at 7:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thank you Norman this was very helpful. I do have some experience with circuit design and knowledge from school so I will definitely be building a buck converter! \$\endgroup\$
    – nikola
    Commented Jan 11, 2022 at 20:19

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