Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Livonia, MI USA
Posts: 14

Does anyone know where Lithium Ion AAA batteries may be purchased?

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Urbana IL
Posts: 144

In another thread someone mentioned that a single Lithium-ion cell delivers 3 volts, so I'm not sure there are any batteries out there that run at ~1.5v

However, this _is_ a perfect voltage for a two pack (one cell that fits the form factor of two cells).

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 200

....you can use NiMH AAA cells. The use 1.20V and deliver around 550mAh - and quite easy to get.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Dayton, TN, USA
Posts: 66

No problems with the lower voltage? 1.2 vs 1.5? Apparently not, since people are using these things, but I was just curious.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Midland, TX USA
Posts: 95

Where can you purchase Li ion AAA cells (or packs)?

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Posts: 56

You might try looking in your local Radio Shack. It seems to me they sell lithium batteries.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 17

You can also check out www.igo.com.

They sell a variety of batteries including rechargable Alkaline, Nicads and NiMHs.

Sorry no LIon yet.

Cz

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Midland, TX USA
Posts: 95

That's my point: I don't think you can buy AAA cells or pack equivalents. NiMh is the best you can do at this point.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 200

We have a dept. which deals in rechargeables. They do AAA NiMH, but no Lithium.

They might be hard to get, but I'm sure somebody makes then somewhere.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 3

There are no Lithium Ion AAA cells. Besides, they have a nominal voltage of 3.6 volts per cell (unusable in this product's form factor). A single cell could take the place of both AAA's, but it would have to be in pack form and any lithium ion chemistry requires charging circuitry (in the pack) to maintain safety. There are some other primary Lithium chemistries out there, but most operate at the higher ~3V/cell level. Energizer makes a primary (non-rechargeable) Lithium Iron Disulfide AA cell (used in high drain applications like digital cameras and portable CD players) and may introduce a AAA version in the near future. These LiFeS cells last a LONG time in applications such as the Visor, A LOT longer than alkaline. However, they are more expensive. Your call. I think for those out there that want a rechargeable option (right now), your best bet would be to purchase some (4) AAA NiMH consumer cells and a charger. That way two will be powering your device and two will be charging. I'm not sure how the Visor will react to the lower operating voltage of the NiMH cells, though. Since Nickel couples operate at 1.2 V/cell and alkalines are at 1.5 V/cell, there may be some issues with the Visor's warning and cutoff voltage.

Later

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Urbana IL
Posts: 144

Many people use NiMH cells in PDAs, Palms included. The voltage isn't a problem. It does affect the battery warning though b/c NiMH has a sharper drop-off curve than alkaline. (this is actually a good thing; it means you are getting more of the available energy at or near nominal voltage. It's also why 1.2v is fine for AAA...lots of alkalines deliver less than 1.5v for a significant portion of their life.)

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 3

One other issue that might come up from using NiMH (or NiCd) cells is that their self discharge is much, much higher than alkaline cell types. NiMH and NiCd cells self discharge at about 20-30%/month (depending on ambient temperature), but most of this is at the beginning of each discharge cycle. In other words, the first 24 hours after being completely charged it will self discharge about 5-7% and then taper off to equal the 20-30%/month (rule of thumb is ~1%/day). Alkalines are something like 10%/year (lithium primary are about 1-3%/year).
What does all of this mean? If you don't use your device (Visor) for extended periods, it won't give you as much run time as if you used it continuously. So keep your usage patterns in mind when deciding what cells to buy.
One last tidbit, NiMH and NiCd also have much lower internal resistance than alkaline and lithium primary do. Which is why they perform so much better in high drain applications such as CD player, remote control car, etc.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Willow Grove, PA, USA
Posts: 23

This site has a good combo deal for a charger and AA's. http://www.thomas-distributing.com/maha-c204f-kit.htm
You'll have to buy the AAA's (650mAh) seperately from the Batteries link on the page. Wow! they even give you a cig cord for the car and a Billion Dollars!!!!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 5

Rayovac makes rechargeable Alkaline batteries that I had good luck using in my philips nino (AA's). I believe they have AAA's as well. Nice thing about them is that there's no memory effect and you can store them fully charged for quite a while.

They last slightly less than normal alkalines, but I would go about a month between recharges, instead of the week I would get out of ni-cads.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 5

By the way, I'm not trying to be the rayovac poster boy. Just relaying my experiences.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Posts: 195

Secret of NiMH. That was a great movie.

Sorry.