I recently aquired a 65d with ac "wall wart" and a battery pack with spent dry cell. While crusing this board, I saw someone mention the use of rechargeable NiCds. Can anyone fill me in on the set up to use the NiCds ? My dry cell rig came with the leather pouch and plactic battery connector and also the cords needed to connect to ac and batt. Do I need a separate way to connect the NiCds? Thanks in advance

The Honeywell 65D "Pressmaster" was supplied with a pack designed for use with a PF497 dry battery. Honeywell later made a nickel-cadmium battery pack system called "Permacad." This used a slip-in battery, so you could buy and carry several; of course, the system also included a charger for the batteries.

The "Permacad" pack was equipped with a two-position switch to select voltage output, either for the later guns with which the pack was made specifically to work, or for the "65D" (in this position, a blue indicator light came on).

My guess is that there are a lot of "Permacad" packs and batteries still out there. It was a good, durable, versatile system, like all Honeywell stuff. Its only limitation was that the pack was designed to clip onto your belt; no strap lugs were provided. This created problems if you were wearing a jacket. I made a little vinyl carrier for mine, so I could sling it over my shoulder.