Batteries

[+Team Roman Geoskis]

I'm amazed that I'm buying double a batteries again. With the advances in technology I'm trying to figure out why the gpsr manufacturers didn't go with a cell phone type battery pack system. The Vista I bought is a good product that I'm very happy with, but the compasss eats batteries very quickly. Has anybody heard of plans to go to a battery pack in the future or are there technological problems that preclude this technology in gpsr's? Lost in space.

[+st_richardson]

quote:

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Originally posted by Team Roman Geoskis:

...With the advances in technology I'm trying to figure out why the gpsr manufacturers didn't go with a cell phone type battery pack system....

---

 

It sure seem overdue for a unit with a rechargable battery pack.

 

I use NiMH batteries and keep spare sets with me in my pack along with the backup compass and flashlight. (I have had the sun set on me more than once.)

[+Team Roman Geoskis]

We're the same as you. Always keep a spare set in the pack and carry a manual compass and led flashlight. I just think theres something wrong in buying a $360 gpsr then continually loading it with batteries whether nimh's, nicd's or throw aways. Theres got to be a better way.

[peter]

quote:

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Originally posted by Team Roman Geoskis:

With the advances in technology I'm trying to figure out why the gpsr manufacturers didn't go with a cell phone type battery pack system.

---

 

I'd much rather see things go the other way and have all electronic 'toys' powered by standard AA/AAA cells. Currently my GPSr, radio, camera, and flashlight are all powered by NiMH AA cells so on trips I can take along one charger and a few sets of cells that work in all of them. If needed I can swap between them (I'm willing to skip some pictures to find my way out of the woods at night). I can also stop by any convenience store and grab a few alkalines if I'm ever caught short.

OTOH, my cellphone and a few other gadgets each have their own proprietary battery pack which requires a dedicated charger and is inordinately expensive to replace. The various batteries and chargers add up when trying to travel light on business and other trips. And if the cellphone battery goes dead I'm stuck since I can't power it from any of the batteries used in my other devices.

The one change I'd like to see is for the battery and device manufacturers to get together and make rechargeable AAs with a special contact so the device would know it can recharge it safely from external power. They could also work on a 'double-AA' size rechargeable Lithium ion cell so new devices could use either one of these 3.6 V cells or a pair of regular AAs.

[Mexicanuck]

I'm planning the purchase of my first GPS... probably a Meridian. Are rechargable NiMH AA batteries practical for this unit?

 

It seems a bit ironic to me that GPSs would be used a lot by hikers and campers who (hopefully) would have an environmentalist bent, yet they may also be required to put non-reusable batteries into their GPS unit.

 

Ernie Gorrie

The Tropical Dream Maker

http://www.dreaminmexico.com

[MajBach]

My GM100 goes through 4 non-alkaline batteries in about 40 minutes! I managed to make my own 12V adapter which I have been using for my car and boat. But now that I'm into geocaching, I either carry a portable 12V power supply [cumbersome to say the least], or I have a lot of batteries left for my clocks & home remotes. Fortuneately, you can rig this unit to charge batteries as well; which I will endevour to do today.

You are right though about the technological lapse. Maybe Garmin is in bed with a pink bunny.

 

MajBach

 

You can't have everything.

where would you put it?

[Yunaderis]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mexicanuck:

 

It seems a bit ironic to me that GPSs would be used a lot by hikers and campers who (hopefully) would have an environmentalist bent, yet they may also be required to put non-reusable batteries into their GPS unit.

 

Ernie Gorrie

The Tropical Dream Maker

http://www.dreaminmexico.com

 

thats such aa good point

[peter]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mexicanuck:

I'm planning the purchase of my first GPS... probably a Meridian. Are rechargable NiMH AA batteries practical for this unit?

 

It seems a bit ironic to me that GPSs would be used a lot by hikers and campers who (hopefully) would have an environmentalist bent, yet they may also be required to put non-reusable batteries into their GPS unit.

---

 

I use 1600 mA-hr NiMH cells in my Garmin eMap and get about 12 hours per charge compared to 14 hours per set of alkalines. I'd expect the new 1800 mA-hr NiMH cells to last as long per charge as alkalines - so yes, they are very practical. The cost per charge is so small that I don't worry at all about how many hours my eMap is running. The hours might be a little different for the Meridians, but I'd expect the performance to be fairly similar.

 

As far as I can tell, no one is 'required to put non-reusable batteries into their GPS unit,' but it's still a nice option to be able to if you're travelling somewhere and run out of charge on your NiMHs.

[+st_richardson]

I've toyed with the idea of making an external battery pack. On the other hand, an external pack would be another wire in the way so I'll most likely stick with carring extra charged NiMH battery pairs.

[+The_Mariner]

I love the flexibility of AA-size batteries. I typically use Energizer ACCURechargeable NiMH batteries in my Garmin GPS76. We often do a weekend of geocaching (as many as ten caches) on a single set. I carry spare NiMH batteries and a solar battery charger. I also carry a spare set of regular alkaline batteries. And in an emergency almost every convenience store carries AA-size alkalines. I'm not a big fan of the expensive proprietary cell phone type battery packs. Long live the AA-battery!

 

[+The_Mariner]

I love the flexibility of AA-size batteries. I typically use Energizer ACCURechargeable NiMH batteries in my Garmin GPS76. We often do a weekend of geocaching (as many as ten caches) on a single set. I carry spare NiMH batteries and a solar battery charger. I also carry a spare set of regular alkaline batteries. And in an emergency almost every convenience store carries AA-size alkalines. I'm not a big fan of the expensive proprietary cell phone type battery packs. Long live the AA-battery!

 

[AJFate]

I am using rechargeable AA cells with a combination auto 12volt and household 110 Volt charger. works very well, came with 4 batteries. Now I always have a spare and can recharge anywhere. Bought it by referencing pages on Geocahce site. Unit is Powerx MH-C204F. Both recharges and conditions either nicad or NiMH batteries. Etrex unit doesn't seem to use much power so I probably went to a little overkill,but I also don't like buying AA batteries all the time.

AJFATE In AZ

[Pillage people]

I just purchased a GV and would like to use Ni-MH

instead of alkies. The GV does not have a setting

for Ni-MH, only for Alkies and Lithium.

Has any body here used Nims in the GV and if so

what setting did you use?

 

Thanks. Oh, and by the way, hello.

 

One of the Pillage People

 

[This message was edited by Pillage people on March 09, 2002 at 09:59 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by Pillage people on March 11, 2002 at 12:56 AM.]

[Pillage people]

I just purchased a GV and would like to use Ni-MH

instead of alkies. The GV does not have a setting

for Ni-MH, only for Alkies and Lithium.

Has any body here used Nims in the GV and if so

what setting did you use?

 

Thanks. Oh, and by the way, hello.

 

One of the Pillage People

 

[This message was edited by Pillage people on March 09, 2002 at 09:59 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by Pillage people on March 11, 2002 at 12:56 AM.]

[peter]

The GPS V works fine on NiMH cells regardless of the setting used. The setting only affects the calibration of the battery level meter and in practice this type of voltage-based gauge doesn't work well for NiCd, NiMH, or Lithium cells since these all keep a nearly constant voltage until nearly exhausted and then have a rapid decline.

 

I'd suggest keeping track of operating time instead, or just having a spare set of NiMH cells on hand.

[jfitzpat]

As many people pointed out, you can use rechargable AAs in most units. The problem with only accepting a charge pack type system is that you won't get the life and temperature range in more extreme outdoor environments.

 

Accepting standard cells give the user more options. For example, you can use rechargable cells in modest environments (day trips), lithium cells winter backpacking, and so on.

 

-jjf

[+Gimpy]

I use Panasonic 1600 Ni-MHs'& carry a couple of spare ones & some alks. as spares too. Really seem to hold up well.

 

Gary "Gimpy Strong

[+mookie]

I agree with Peter’s post above. I’m tired of every individual electronic device having their own proprietary battery and charger. I’ve got two Samsung cell phones and each one has a different charger and the batteries are not interchangeable. Then I have my Ipaq PDA, Bearcat scanner, and Canon digital camera each with their own unique chargers and batteries. It gets to be a mess keeping all the different chargers and batteries organized. I would much rather have them all run on the same AA battery.

Although I do have a backup battery for the digital camera, I can only imagine trying to find one outside of a fairly large metro area. You can find AA’s at almost every backwoods gas station, convenience store or hardware store.

So I’m glad that my Magellan Gold uses AA’s so I’ve got one less set of batteries and charger to keep track of.