Electro Specialties HT5 Battery Tester
The Model HT5 battery tester was manufactured by Electro
Specialties Inc. of Waukesha, WI around 1977.
It was designed to test a variety of hearing aid and other batteries
in common use at that time.
The HT5 battery tester measured 6¼" x 3¾" x 2 3/16" (15.2 x 9.6 x 5.6 cm) and weighed
16.3 oz. (462 g) including the internal battery.
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Front view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the meter (left) and the voltage selector knob (right).
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Close-up view of the meter of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester. This
meter did not give you the specific battery voltage. It just indicated whether
the battery was good (green) or bad and needed replacing (red).
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View of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester voltage selector
knob. This battery tester was designed to test a variety of batteries
including mercury batteries, silver batteries and carbon-zinc batteries
in a range of voltages.
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Close-up view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the portion of the voltage selector dial for testing mercury batteries.
There were three positions—all for 1.4 volt batteries, but the different
sized batteries had different capacities. At the top left was a general
1.4 volt position. In the center was the correct position for testing
No. 41, 625 and 675 mercury batteries. The bottom position was for
testing No. 13, 212 and 312 mercury batteries. |
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Close-up view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the portion of the voltage selector dial for testing silver batteries.
There were 2 positions—both for 1.5 volt batteries. The lower position
was for testing No. 13, 212 and 312 silver batteries. The upper position
was for testing No. 41 and 76 silver batteries.
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Close-up view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the portion of the voltage selector dial for testing carbon-zinc
batteries.
These batteries came in a variety of voltages, depending if they were
for vacuum tube hearing aids or transistor hearing aids or other
battery-powered devices. There were positions for testing 1.5, 2.8, 4.2,
9, 15 and 22.5 volt batteries.
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Close-up view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the button battery test terminal (the contact in the center of the
circle) below the voltage selector knob.
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Front view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the battery testing leads. The black lead is always the negative (-)
lead and the red lead is always the positive (+) lead.
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Front view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
where you would test button batteries. You only needed the black lead
when you tested a button battery by placing it in the circle. Note
that below the circle is a reminder that the button in the center of the
circle is the positive contact. It reads, "+ contact for button cells".
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Front view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing a
button battery placed on the positive "button" in the center of the
circle. You placed the battery with the positive terminal (bottom of
battery) facing down. Then you touched the black lead to the negative
terminal as shown to get the reading.
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You could always use both the red and black leads as shown, but it was
easier with small batteries to just place it on the "button" and use the
black lead as shown in the picture above.
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When testing other batteries, you just touched the black lead to the
negative (-) battery terminal and the red lead to the positive (+)
battery terminal to get a reading. You had to be sure you had the
voltage selector set to the correct voltage for the battery you were
testing.
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Close-up view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing
the voltage selector knob at the bottom where it could test hearing aid
cords for broken wires. This was unique among battery testers as far
as I know. In order to test for continuity, the battery tester needed an
internal battery (see last picture below). How to test for broken wires
is shown further down.
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Close-up view of the cord testing contacts below the meter of the Electro Specialties Inc.
HT5 battery tester. There were two contacts into which you plugged the
receiver cord of body-worn hearing aids. The receiver cord plug is shown
hovering above the right socket contacts.
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Close-up view of the cord testing contacts below the meter of the Electro Specialties Inc.
HT5 battery tester showing a receiver cord plugged into the right
testing socket.
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Close-up view of the left cord testing contact below the meter of the Electro Specialties Inc.
HT5 battery tester. The first pin of the receiver cord is plugged into
the left testing socket. If there is no reading, you know a wire is
broken and you need to replace the receiver cord. If the meter reads
"good" you know that at least one wire of the cord is good. Then you
need to test the second wire in the receiver cord as shown below.
While testing, you want to stretch and twist the cord in case there
is a transitory short or break in the wires that is ok at times and
pulls apart at times. |
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Close-up view of the left cord testing contact below the meter of the Electro Specialties Inc.
HT5 battery tester. This time the second pin of the receiver cord is
plugged into the left testing socket. If the meter reads "good" you
know that the second wire of the cord is also good. If there is no
reading, you know a wire is broken and you need to replace the receiver
cord. |
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Rear view of the Electro Specialties Inc. HT5 battery tester showing the
instruction sheet glued there. Unfortunately, this instruction sheet has
been damage and is partly unreadable, but I've given the gist of the
instructions above.
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Rear view of the Electro Specialties, Inc. HT5 battery tester with the back
taken off showing the electrics inside. Note the battery holder directly
above the meter (top right).
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Inside view of the Electro Specialties, Inc. HT5 battery tester showing the
type "N" battery in the battery holder. The battery used here was the
Beltone B401 1.4 mercury battery. Note that the positive terminal is
to the left. The battery provides the voltage to test whether a
hearing aid receiver cord is broken or not.
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