Average Battery Life...

[+talkytoaster]

Hi,

 

I have just purchased an Oregon 200 to replace a Legend Hcx and have noticed that the Oregon seems to be rather power hungry! After 2 hours of use with newly charged 2500Mah NiMh batteries the battery guage is down to half way, is this normal?

 

What are your typical battery life findings with an Oregon? How many hours do you get from yours?

 

Would 2700Mah NiMh perform significantly better?

 

I look forward to hearing your experiences with different types and ratings of batteries.

 

Regards,

Martin

[hbdgaz]

I use 2450mAh batteries and they last around 7-8 hours with screen always on, backlight on full and the compass on. Are you sure your batteries are properly charged? They can take over 24 hours to charge on lower power/older Ni-Cd chargers.

 

Also, make sure you have the right battery type selected in system -> battery type. If it's set to a non-rechargeable type, the lower voltage from the NiMh batteries will make the gps think the batteries have less charge left than they really do.

Edited March 27, 2009 by hbdgaz

[+talkytoaster]

I use 2450mAh batteries and they last around 7-8 hours with screen always on, backlight on full and the compass on. Are you sure your batteries are properly charged? They can take over 24 hours to charge on lower power/older Ni-Cd chargers.

Yep, they are properly charged, I have tried 2 sets now. The charger I'm using is newish as are the rechargeables. They have also been used without any issues in my old Legend Hcx and they would happily power that for 18-20 hours+.

 

Also, make sure you have the right battery type selected in system -> battery type. If it's set to a non-rechargeable type, the lower voltage from the NiMh batteries will make the gps think the batteries have less charge left than they really do.

The battery type in the System/Battery Type is set correctly too, to Ni-MH.

 

I'm not a novice to GPSrs or electronics, so it shouldn't be a case of clueless-newbie syndrome.

 

Thanks for your data about your usage with similar capacity batteries.

 

Regards,

Martin

[+StarBrand]

I use some 2500maH rechargeables in my Oregon 200 and I average about 10 hours of use. Backlight set to just above half and backlight goes off after 30 seconds. Not near as good as the 22 - 26 hours the same batteries get in my legend HCx with no backlight use.

[+DeerChaser & Company]

Which firmware are you running?

[hbdgaz]

I use 2450mAh batteries and they last around 7-8 hours with screen always on, backlight on full and the compass on. Are you sure your batteries are properly charged? They can take over 24 hours to charge on lower power/older Ni-Cd chargers.

Yep, they are properly charged, I have tried 2 sets now. The charger I'm using is newish as are the rechargeables. They have also been used without any issues in my old Legend Hcx and they would happily power that for 18-20 hours+.

 

I doubt the GPS is the problem, the batteries are much more likely suspects. Perhaps they're past their best?

 

For those interested, http://www.csgnetwork.com/batterychgcalc.html is a handy calculator for NiMH batteries in different chargers.

Edited March 27, 2009 by hbdgaz

[+talkytoaster]

Which firmware are you running?

I upgraded to te latest official production release as soon as I got it, that was 2.80. I'm aware of the 2.94beta firmware but I haven't decided if I will install that yet. Does the beta firmware tweak the power settings in any way?

 

Regards,

Martin

[+g-o-cashers]

http://www.gpsfix.net/battery-life-compari...egon-and-60csx/

 

These test were all done with 2700mAh batteries in a Maha 9000 charger. You should be getting 8-10 even with backlight usage. The beta releases (esp 2.93) might be a little more power hungry but 2.85 did improve the battery metering. I would suggest running 2.85, at least the meter will be a little more accurate (you won't see the quick drop you do in 2.8).

Edited March 27, 2009 by g-o-cashers

[+kevenh]

OP, is your charger one that treats each battery independently?

 

I increased my battery life by switching from a simple timed charger to a Maha 9000 charger.

Edited March 27, 2009 by kevenh

[+Global_Inferno]

I'm aware of the 2.94beta firmware but I haven't decided if I will install that yet. Does the beta firmware tweak the power settings in any way?

 

Yes it does, it is one of the major changes posted in this release.

[+talkytoaster]

OP, is your charger one that treats each battery independently?

 

I increased my battery life by switching from a simple timed charger to a Maha 9000 charger.

The charger I use is a smart charger with over-charge protection circuitry.

 

I have left my Oregon 200 on since 09:30 this morning with a fully charged set of 2500Mah Ni-MH batteries installed, it has now been on for over 8 hours [with battery saving disabled] and is down to a single battery segment in the display.

 

From this I can works out that the battery guage is less than accurate in the 2.80 firmware, even when set to the correct battery type installed.

 

As I'm off down town tomorrow I will buy a new 4 pack of 2700Mah Ni-MH batteries and give them 2-3 cycles before using them in the Oregon. Those should see me right for the next 12 months or so.

 

Many thanks to all for their input, and the pointer to the Oregon FAQ/Wiki. I'll stop asking silly questions now

 

Regards,

Martin

[+pklong911]

I have been using Energizer 2500 mAh and get about 12 hours of usage. Backlight, compass, route planning etc really mixed use.