battery meter wrong for lithiums.

[gitarmac]

I decided to put lithiums in my astro to make sure I wouldn't have to change them for a few days. The astro is kind of like the 62 but it tracks dogs.

 

The first pair seemed to last a little longer. When it was time to change them I measured the voltage and it was 1.47 which is higher than my rechargable eneloops when fresh.

 

The next pair showed the battery not full from the beginning. I tested the voltage and it was something ridiculous, I can't remember exactly but I think it was 1.7 I'm not sure what lithiums are supposed to be, my experiance with my eneloops are that they will show a higher voltage than the specs.

 

I decided to set the gps to the rechargable setting so it wouldn't think it was dead and shut off or something.

 

Is this some kind of bug that needs fixing? I wonder if I should call garmin.

[+Woodstramp]

Not exactly sure but an Astro is very simular to the 60 models as far as form goes..... I do know that my 60csx does not have an option to use lithiums. I`ve read the initial peak voltage of a fresh pair of lithiums can damage this unit. Is there an option in your Astro for lithiums?

[+larryc43230]

Not exactly sure but an Astro is very simular to the 60 models as far as form goes..... I do know that my 60csx does not have an option to use lithiums. I`ve read the initial peak voltage of a fresh pair of lithiums can damage this unit. Is there an option in your Astro for lithiums?

I'm not sure whether this is relevant for the Astro, but I know the 60CSx I once used had problems with lithium batteries. I'm not an expert on this, but I seem to remember that the initial voltage was too high. If I tried to place fully-charged lithium batteries into the unit, the unit would partially power up, then immediately shut down. The only solution was to partially discharge the batteries for a while in some other device, after which they worked in the 60CSx.

 

My solution was to simply stop trying to use lithium batteries with that unit. I don't remember reading of any damage caused by the batteries, but I figured it wasn't worth the risk.

 

--Larry

[+Triple Crown]

The lithium batteries last longer, but the voltage drop-off when they die is abrupt so you get almost no warning...they just suddenly die. The battery meters have voltage dependent profiles for alkaline or traditional rechargables only.

[gitarmac]

I have the astro 320, which is supposed to be like the 62, not the 60. The astro 220 is the older model which was based on the 60.

 

Yes, there is an option for lithiums. It just doesn't seem to be right. I did not consider the rapid voltage drop of the lithiums. I didn't give it much thought till the new lithiums did not register full, that's when I checked voltages.