5) Identifying correct thermistors in consumer probes.

In the particular temperature sensor we used, the thermistor was held in the black plastic with clear silicon, and could be clearly seen from the bottom. So visual identification wasn't very difficult - this wasn't very clear originally though. The sensor display is necessary regardless of what thermistors you happen to have. If the thermistor is encased in lots of plastic the reading won't be very good, and optimal placement will be difficult - thus removing the plastic carefully is a good idea anyway. Once the plastic is gone, the type of thermistor is clearly visible. If you are unsure of what temp sensor to get, look for the one pictured.

6) Knowing what kind of thermistor is in what kind of battery.

There are many types and makes of batteries out there, I am not aware of any sources which list the specs on the components they contain. If unwilling to try some different batteries in hopes of finding the right thermistors, look explicitly for the type of battery we used in this guide. It was made by IBM and used in their 486 Thinkpads. The part number is 66G0095.

Thermistors can also be found in many other locations, I have found them in some dead computer powersupplies for instance, and a reader pointed out that they are also in automatic transmissions monitoring fluid and parts temperatures.

7) Listing the thermistors in batteries, and in probes.

Again, there are many types of batteries and many manufacturers making sensors. Testing every brand to find the specifics is just not feasable.

This link will give an idea as to what anyone interested in attempting to tracking down specific parts within portable NiMH batteries, or sensors for that matter may face. I did a patent search on www.patents.ibm.com and found this patent relating to NiMH batteries, it's 32 pages long.....

https://www.patents.ibm.com/details?pn=us05652502__

"A smart battery device which provides electrical power and which reports predefined battery parameters to an external device having a power management system, includes: at least one rechargeable cell connected to a pair of terminals to provide electrical power to an external device during a discharge mode and to receive electrical power during a charge mode, as provided or determined by the remote device; a data bus for reporting predefined battery identification and charge parameters to the external device; analog devices for generating analog signals representative of battery voltage and current at said terminals, and an analog signal representative of battery temperature at said cell; a hybrid integrated circuit (IC) having a microprocessor for receiving the analog signals and converting them to digital signals representative of battery voltage, current and temperature , and calculating actual charge parameters over time from the digital signals, the calculations including one calculation according to the following algorithm; CAP_rem =CAP_FC -.SIGMA.I_d .DELTA.t_d -.SIGMA.I_s .DELTA.t+.SIGMA..epsilon._c I_c .DELTA.t_c wherein .epsilon._c is a function of battery current and temperature; and I_s is a function of battery temperature and CAP_FC. Superimposed on this equation is reset logic, that self corrects the value of CAP_FC with a capacity calculation at each full charge (EOC) and each end of full discharge. "