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Re-chargeable Batteries


Rebble

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I am a newbie to GPS and Geocaching in all matters.

 

I have started to use re-chargeable NiMh batteries in my etrex to save money.

 

As they operate on a lower voltage (1.2volt) will this affect signal quality or strength?

 

Sorry if its a dumb question but I thought I'd check. :huh:

 

Thanks in advance for any advice

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I have been using rectangle batteries in my yellow eTrex for a year now with great success. They are 1300 mAh cells and last for a good days caching. I always have a spare set of Duracell batteries in my packet just in case though.

 

I have a good supply of Energiser 2100mAh AA batt's which I use for my GPSr and Digital camera.

 

They last well and I tend to carry 6 spares plus 2 Duracell alkaline as well.

 

bought them from ebay a good while back and they last really well in my 60cs even with the back light on, so much so I never use the 12v lead supplied with the auto sat/nav kit.

 

Regarding the setting for Nimh/Alkaline in the GPSr that is purely so that the display gives the correct reading regarding the percentage of battery life remaining as far as I'm aware.

The unit doesn't seem to operate any differently with either type of battery on either setting.

 

Cheers

Dave

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MMV.

 

On my ancient GPS (GPS320) low battery power does seem to affect accuracy. I find that rechargeables show as very low in the display and do not last long before the dreaded "low battery " warning when no position is displayed. This is with 2500 and 2300 rechargeables. I thend ot have loads of rechargeables for the camera but only use the mi nthe GPSr when there is nothing else available.

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MMV.

 

On my ancient GPS (GPS320) low battery power does seem to affect accuracy. I find that rechargeables show as very low in the display and do not last long before the dreaded "low battery " warning when no position is displayed. This is with 2500 and 2300 rechargeables. I thend ot have loads of rechargeables for the camera but only use the mi nthe GPSr when there is nothing else available.

Information

 

This will be due to the lower voltage which an NiMH or NiCad produces, normal Duracell are about 1.5 volts and NiCad and NiMH are about 1.2 - 1.25 volts, this is why some GPSr's have the facility to change the battery type in their setup screens. Your GPSr probably measures the voltage output of the batteries, and therefore when rechargeable batteries are used it thinks that they are actually on the way out due to the lower voltage.

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I’m also a fan of rechargeable batteries; they might cost more initially but soon pay for themselves. My set up is a Magellan Explorist 100 and eight Uniross 2500 mAh Ni-MH batteries brought from EBay at a good price (2 in the GPS and 6 charged and ready to go). I get at least 8 hours use between recharges, but as with any battery they always run out at the most inconvenient time, hence I carry spares.

 

Once got to within 300 meters of a cache in a wooded area (lots of potential hiding places) when the batteries died and as I had no spares it was back to the car empty handed :huh: – lesson learnt the hard way, lol.

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I overcooked my last lot of rechargeables, but bought some replacement Panasonic 2100mAh Ni-Mh yesterday. Trouble is they don't give any idea of charging time on the battery or on the packaging, so hopefully 11 hours in my Uniross X-Press 150 charger hasn't ruined them too.

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On a related note, I've been using my yellow eTrex in battery save mode - assuming that the only thing I'm loosing is the coninual updating of the signal, so with patience its just as accurate - am i right in this?

 

Have tried changing the settigns to WAAS when out in the open, but the skyview doesnt seem to register the satellites - theres no difference then in battery save mode. Shouldi just give it longer to search, even when it says ready to navigate?

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We use an etrx legend and had the same question about using 1.2V rechargeables against the 1.5V standard batteries. After an e-mail to Garmin customer services we got the reply that the difference in voltage makes no difference to the operation of the GPSr, but to get the best operational time from the rechargeables (i.e. usage time between charges) obtain ones with the highest mAh you can afford. We currently use 1700mAh but you can now get over 2600mAh.

 

The legend has a setting telling it which batteries are being used. (Main menu>setup>system>battery. Choose NiMH) I believe this affects the accuracy of the battery monitor.

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On a related note, I've been using my yellow eTrex in battery save mode - assuming that the only thing I'm loosing is the coninual updating of the signal, so with patience its just as accurate - am i right in this?

 

Have tried changing the settigns to WAAS when out in the open, but the skyview doesnt seem to register the satellites - theres no difference then in battery save mode. Shouldi just give it longer to search, even when it says ready to navigate?

 

Hi, it impossible get waas in battery save mode as the gps signal is only updated every 4 seconds instead of 1 second in normal mode. what software version do you have on your yellow ??

 

Dave

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Another place you may find useful for batteries is here: www.7dayshop.com

They do 4 2500mah Nimh’s for £3.99 in a case, I’ve had a couple of sets from them and they last well in my 60CSx. They do good prices on Maglite torches as well.

Regards

Paul

I've used advantec http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Advan-Tec-UK-Ltd - excellent service

 

In my experience NiMH batteries are very good -although my etrex is very pessimistic on battery life

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i use uniross 2500 ni-mh in my legend. without too much tree cover walking i can get a full day out of one set, but like others i carry a spare set,thats just good practice. i think the battery type setting in the system set up section is just to give a more accurate reading of battery levels between various battery types.

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