I’ve got extra tips if anyone else needs one.
i have one original VMS tip, but wanted to re-visit the internal battery pack option for 007
Todd, back when I was futzing around with VMS's alot, I made up like 10 or so DIY battery sleds to give away. I'd give you one but unfortunately, they're all stashed away in a box in storage up in PA and I've been in Cali for the last year and I'll be here until November. It's a long story, but when I leave Cali, I head back home to Virginia, so I have no idea when I'll finally get my shit out of storage in Pennsylvania.
If you're handy with a soldering iron and a multi-meter, you can do this yourself. It's not very hard to do. All you need is a pair of wire cutters or something that will snip some metal, some flat metal strips (maybe 1/4 inch wide and somewhat robust), solder and soldering iron, solder flux, and non-conductive epoxy. (For example, don't use JB Weld because it has metal shavings impregnated in it.)
I recall that I sourced the strips from ebay. I can't remember details about what I bought except that they're 1/4 inch wide and pretty robust. It can't be foil strips because you want the strips to be able to retain their shape and apply pressure to ensure the sled stays connected when pressed up against the clips on the inside of the VMS.
Basically, all I did was took one of the non-reverse polarity battery sleds and epoxied over the existing terminals to make them non-conductive. I can't remember if I had to do any snipping, but it seems like I had to do some minor modifications with the wire cutters to make everything fit. Then I soldered the 1/4-inch thick flat metal strips onto the opposite terminal. Once everything was soldered up, I sort of molded the 1/4 inch strips in an arc so that the new strips will apply pressure onto the tabs of the VMS. Obviously, you want to make sure that the new strips are soldered to the opposite pole as the original battery sled had.
Before you stick it into your VMS with batteries loaded, use your multi-meter to check continuity, check polarities, check voltage at the terminals, etc. Boom you're almost done! It'll take you two hours at most for the first one...45 minutes for each one thereafter.
After you slide the sled in, you'll probably need to re-bend or re-shape the 1/4 inch strips so that they optimally contact the clips inside the VMS. I ended up throwing my first version away because the strips needed to be repositioned slightly.
I recommend buying 2 or 3 of the battery sleds so you can practice on one before settling on a final design. Even more if you want to have a spare or two.
Good luck!