[SOC] Cell Phone Fire

[Fred Jensen]

ng3o at earthlink.net wrote:
> According to the press, a Vallejo CA man was badly burned when the cell
 > phone in his pants pocket burst into flame. Is this possible? It seems
 > extremely unlkely to me. If a cell phone could catch fire, could an 
iPod or
 > a hearing aid? Has anyone ever heard of a two-meter handi-talkie suddenly
 > going up in flames?

I suspect it was a Lithium battery ... they're sort of like a hand 
grenade with a loose pin.

My HT batteries are NiMH, and my hearing aids use Zn-air batteries. 
They have microscopic holes covered by a little sticky peel-off tab. 
They are inactive until you peel the tab, and then they make 1.46 volts 
until they go dead in about 8 days.

I'd be careful with an HT with Li batteries, and I sure wouldn't put 
them *inside* my KX1.  I've already had one Li-poly battery go up in 
flames while powering my KX1, but it was external with long enough leads 
that I could pull the plug and fling it off.

Fred K6DGW
Auburn CA CM98lw