Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

1.How long do the batteries last not like 2 months but if you left it on and it stayed on...how long would it last.
2.When you first got the visor how long did the inculded batteries last. i hear 3wks. of major use.

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Greg Moore
[email protected]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Dallas, TX, USA
Posts: 26

My Visor gave its first 'low battery' warning today. I've had it 15 days, and use it quite a bit. It's running on the supplied (cheapo) batteries: "Industrial Panasonic". The battery is reading 2.21V, 17%

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Beaverton, OR USA
Posts: 87

1. Not sure.
2. Just about two weeks of heavy use - lots of backlight and book reading. I just put a new set in tonight.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 95

demiller9:
How are you getting the Voltage & Percentage readings?

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Beaverton, OR USA
Posts: 87

theo,

Look for an app called Launcher III -- it's quite useful, and, among other things, has a rotating memory and voltage display, in actual values and percentage. Check http://www.palmgear.com.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Burke, Virginia, USA
Posts: 21

Go to PalmCentral and download a free utility called "Runtime". It keeps track of the actual time the unit has been running for each of the last 10 battery changes. It also graphs the slow fall of your battery power. I'm down to 15% on my secnd set of batteries in only 8 days. More meaningfully: the unit has been on for 27 hours! That includes quite a bit of backlight use.

[This message has been edited by Sequitor (edited 12-04-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Sequitor (edited 12-04-1999).]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Tonka Bay, MN USA
Posts: 36

My initial set of batteries lasted 11 days under heavy use. The battery indicator bar was just a tad over half down the night before and then took a dive in the morning after a cold commute into work. I replaced immediately on the first warning since I do my synchronizing at night at home.

I'm on my second set now and am using Duracel Ultras. The Ultra batteries cost more than the standard alkaline. I question whether performance is proportional to the cost. I didn't get that much improved performance with my digital camera. But, you gotta try at least once.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Kutztown, PA, USA
Posts: 106

The Visor is not really a device that sucks up battery power. What about the good batteries that are in use for long term devices?

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Greg Moore
[email protected]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Gainesville, FL USA
Posts: 112

Sequitor: can you post a link to somewhere that I can down "runtime"? I can't find it at Palmgear.

Thanks!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Beaverton, OR USA
Posts: 87

Axeman,

I looked on Palmgear too, and couldn't find it. However, I did find it on PalmCentral:
http://www.palmcentral.com/product....7&catalog=1

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Burke, Virginia, USA
Posts: 21

Thanks mtn! I edited my post to reflect the corrected information. I get most of my software from Palm Gear and as I get older my memory tends to......

One more neat feature of Runtime is it also tells you how long it has been since your last reset.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 25

Has anybody checked out the Rechargeable AAA NiMH batteries? Any Comments on those?
http://www.energizer.com/promotion/gadgetguru

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 97

affirm: your question has been discussed in these previous threads:
http://209.212.140.21/Forum3/HTML/000003.html
http://209.212.140.21/Forum1/HTML/000916.html
http://209.212.140.21/Forum2/HTML/000188.html
http://209.212.140.21/Forum1/HTML/000313.html

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 95

Maybe I'm strange...I've only gotten about 1 week's use out of a set of batteries, sometimes less. I wonder if leaving my backup springboard in it all of the time causes a battery draw...

Does anybody know if the springboard draws power in the off state?

MJH <><

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Gainesville, FL USA
Posts: 112

mtn: thanks for the link. I guess I need to quit relying on Palmgear al the time.

Mike1in3: I would think that you'd want to NOT keep the backup SB in the Visor all the time. What if you dropped the unit in front of a bus or something? Not only would you lose the Visor, but you'd lose your backup, too!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

Mike1in3 said:

quote:

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Maybe I'm strange...I've only gotten about 1 week's use out of a set of batteries, sometimes less. I wonder if leaving my backup springboard in it all of the time causes a battery draw...

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Morristown, TN
Posts: 1

There is a very interesting article in the new Consumer Reports on batteries, including all types of rechargeables. Check it out.

This is my first post ever to a chat room so if I somehow screwed up, gimme a break!

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Dallas, TX, USA
Posts: 26

theo -
I got the voltage and percentage using a clock/timer/stopwatch program called Cesium (available from palmgear.com)

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 95

Axeman: We don't have buses in Philo, Illinois! I know a guy with a tractor, and another guy with a backhoe, though! We do have the occasional freight train with cars from Detroit, however!

Winchell: Thanks for the IR tip. With all of the battery discussion here in the past month, I didn't notice anybody mention that before.

I till wonder about the springboard battery draw, however...

MJH <><

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Gainesville, FL USA
Posts: 112

Mike1in3: small town, huh? So I think now I understand your screen name.

My point still stands, though. I don't think it's a good idea to store your backup *and* your original in the same place or you might loose both at once. I ordered a backup module yesterday and my personal plan is to keep it at work and do a backup at the end of each workday. That way if the house burns down or we have a hurricane and I loose the Visor, my backup should be safe. If work burns down, who cares!

I'm interested in the answer, too. If the backup module causes a constant power drain, other modules might also.