PN-40

[+geopups24]

Does anyone know how to do the "fix" that Delorme does for battery life?

[+embra]

Not clear to me what fix you're asking for...can you say more? On the face of it, it sounds like you're asking if there's a specific thing to do to get significantly more battery life...and I'm not aware of any such magic bullet.

[NordicMan]

Turn it off when you're not using it

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Turn it off when you're not using it

HA! Was gonna say that -- 'til I scrolled down.

 

But, it's true. For the life of me, I cannot understand why somebody has to have the unit on all day, as I have seen a lot of people do.

 

Us? We carry spare batteries, ALWAYS, just in case. A pack of 8 - 12 take little room in the geo-pack.

[+briansnat]

Turn it off when you're not using it

HA! Was gonna say that -- 'til I scrolled down.

 

But, it's true. For the life of me, I cannot understand why somebody has to have the unit on all day, as I have seen a lot of people do.

 

 

You might want to have a track of your whole day of caching, or people who are into stats might want to know the total distance traveled, stopped time, moving time, etc.

 

Others might not want to wait for the unit to boot up and get a sat lock every time they want to check it.

 

Also, when hiking I keep my tracks and send them to a cartographer who produces trail maps for our area, so I need to have it on all day.

 

I love my 60CSX partly because I can keep it on all day (and evening) without changing batteries.

[+SamSpade47]

Turn it off when you're not using it

HA! Was gonna say that -- 'til I scrolled down.

 

But, it's true. For the life of me, I cannot understand why somebody has to have the unit on all day, as I have seen a lot of people do.

 

 

You might want to have a track of your whole day of caching, or people who are into stats might want to know the total distance traveled, stopped time, moving time, etc.

 

Others might not want to wait for the unit to boot up and get a sat lock every time they want to check it.

 

Also, when hiking I keep my tracks and send them to a cartographer who produces trail maps for our area, so I need to have it on all day.

 

I love my 60CSX partly because I can keep it on all day (and evening) without changing batteries.

 

What he said...

[+Searching_ut]

Opps, posted to the wrong topic..... Hmmm, lets see, as everyone should know, I like to log the trails I hike, or ride with my atv much more than I use my GPS for geocaching. Having something that I can turn on and forget rocks....

Edited June 29, 2010 by Searching_ut

[+StarBrand]

Does anyone know how to do the "fix" that Delorme does for battery life?

Replace the akward screws for opening the battery cover with velcro - certainly speeds up the battery swap process.

[+dakboy]

Does anyone know how to do the "fix" that Delorme does for battery life?

Replace the akward screws for opening the battery cover with velcro - certainly speeds up the battery swap process.

I'm sure that would do wonders for the IPX7-rated waterproofness.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Does anyone know how to do the "fix" that Delorme does for battery life?

 

We use the NiMH Hybrid batteries in our 40 and get 10 to 12 continuous hours before needing to switch them out for fresh (recharged) batteries.

 

I suggest that you go to the main menu for the 40 and verify that the battery type selected is of the correct version for that batteries that you are using. Using the wrong setting can be why you are not getting full use of your batteries.

 

John

[+fheil]

I use energizer ultimate lithium batteries and they last alot longer.

Cutting the back light off and using the light only when needed will help the batteries to last longer also.

[+user13371]

Energizer Lithium

Yes, these batteries last several times longer than alkalines.

 

BUT... Do you really want to throw $3 to $5 of toxic waste into the trash for every weekend of geocaching?

 

Rechargeables make a lot more sense to me.

[+The Yinnies]

Energizer Lithium

Yes, these batteries last several times longer than alkalines.

 

BUT... Do you really want to throw $3 to $5 of toxic waste into the trash for every weekend of geocaching?

 

Rechargeables make a lot more sense to me.

What charger and type of batteries do you use?

Thanks

[+user13371]

I've got six Sanyo Eneloops and a charger that came with them in a kit. Plugs into a USB port -- on the one on my computer or on my iPhone charger.

[+geopups24]

I have Delormes lith. Do a complete charge and after 15 min. of use the battery bar is down 1 spot. I get probably 4 hours out of a "full" charge. When I was at the PN-40 training class that Delorme offered they were taking units and fixing the ones with battery issues. Maybe I just have a bad battery. Don't get much time out of my Energizers either. It is not left on all the time.

[+embra]

It's normal for that first bar to drop off very quickly. If you set one of the data fields to display battery strength, it will drop from 100% (if you can even get that) to 85% almost immediately. I think it's because the power curve for that kind of battery is pretty flat over the earlier part of the discharge cycle, and is consequently difficult to measure precisely. Also, it appears that charging the battery in the PN device doesn't top it off quite as much as if you recharge in a power sled.

 

Four hours is a bit on the low side. I used to get better when my battery was new, and with age and use I think it's getting down to that. You could give DeLorme a call to see if they think you're getting what you should out of it; maybe they'll send you another to try.

 

More information and suggestions for extending operation life here.

[+geopups24]

I've done all of the "help" changes. They specifically asked if anyone was getting short battery life and that there was a fix that they did for it.

[+Team_Searchgeo]

I just use energizer NIMH rechargables and get about 7-8 hours out of them on a 15 minute fast charger. That usually is enough for me. I have heard some different stories about the delorme LION"s. From what I have seen they get mixed reviews.

[+geopups24]

I have the energizers also. Get no where near your amount of time.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

I have the energizers also. Get no where near your amount of time.

 

Are you using the correct setting for the type of battery you have in the unit? Are you changing the batteries before they are spent? For instance, if you switch them out when the unit shows it has just gone down to the last bar, there is still a lot of juice left in the batteries (about 20%). If you have the unit set for alkaline but are using NiMH the unit will tell you the batteries are about done, when in fact there is still life left in them.

 

John

[+geopups24]

No, the settings are where they should be. Just poor life. I run the batteries until the unit shuts down.

[+TotemLake]

Does anyone know how to do the "fix" that Delorme does for battery life?

Replace the akward screws for opening the battery cover with velcro - certainly speeds up the battery swap process.

...and removes the IPX7 rating and will void the warranty. Not a good fix.