Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA Interests: Women, Drums, Visors, Computers, Home Theater and any cool gadgets.
Posts: 138

Hello all. I just ordered 14 nimh batteries.
I use a lot of batteries

I did not order a charger. I have a charger at home that charges regular off the shelf alkaline (also has a nicad switch) and it works okay. I ordered these, as they probably will work better (with no memory problems) than those.

What I wanted to know is will my charger charge the nimh's? I know it cannot in the nicad mode, however can it using the alkaline mode? Anyone do this? I don't want to buy another charger unless I have to.

Also how are your experiences with these nimh batteries so far?

Opinions?

[This message has been edited by Babylon5 (edited 12-01-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Babylon5 (edited 12-01-1999).]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: St. Louis, MO USA
Posts: 12

Just bought four sets: Two for my Palm Pro w/pager card (G/F is currently using it) and two for my Visor... Will let you know about battery life.. I think 14 sets for one Visor will be overkill but...

As to the charger... Hmmm... I bought a Rayovac wall charger as well... It says it that it supports Nickle metal Hydride rechargables.... Dunno if an older one will or not... Guess you'll find out tho

Chris

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: West Hollywood, CA 90069, USA
Posts: 126

While wandering the ether I came across this excellent battery FAQ. Although written with digital cameras in mind, it is 100% applicable to Visor users (and anyone else that uses batteries). It is well written, and explains the different types of batteries - Alkaline, Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd), Nickel-MetalHydride (NiMH), and Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) - their strengths and their weaknesses.

If you have any questions about batteries, follow this link: http://www.olfe.demon.nl/minolta/ and choose "battery FAQ" from the sidebar menu.

Dave

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

I've used NiMH batts on my Palm for about a year without any problems, with each set starting at 2.85v (the pda has a voltage/current converter) lasting about 12-14 days before reaching around 2.35-2.37v depending on usage. I chose that voltage to change and recharge batts because I notice that the voltage drops more rapidly somewhere around that number.

The AAA NiMH batts that I use spec at 1.2v at 550mAH so I've been succesfully using a Dynacharge NiCad batt charger that delivers 2.9v at 100mA for about what I figure should be approx 6-7 hrs per pair, to take into account the internal losses due to heat and power conversion inefficiency. For the charger specs, just take a look at the back of the charger itself. NiMH batts should not be overcharged because they are more heat-labile/sensitive than NiCads; so an alkaline recharger, for example, should not be used because it delivers about 2v *PER* batt at 200mA!! You can use it but it is not advisable, because that will definitely overheat and shorten the lifespan of NiMH batts.

BTW, Babylon5, your 7 pairs of NiMH batts will last you: 7pairs x 14days/pair x 1000recharge cycles/pair = 98000days or 268years!!!

[This message has been edited by visordoc (edited 12-02-1999).]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: KINGSPORT, TN, USA
Posts: 25

Hey Ronin,

And I thought I was the only guy to ever buy the pager card. I went through 3 cards before i figured out my "slim" case was touching the screen. As you know, when a page comes in the pilot goes on and guess what.....business cards touching the screen make it stay on!!!#$&8*** (cursing). It took me forever to troubleshoot and tons of batteries. Even went to the ecohack site that would slow your unit down to conserve power. Anyway.....I bought 6 NiMh from radio shack plus there charger (chgr cost about $20 bucks). Works great lasts about 2 1/2 weeks with the pager card. I plan to use them in my vdeluxe as soon as it comes. Nice to know that other pager card people exist. [email protected]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: St. Louis, MO USA
Posts: 12

Hehehe... Ya, I figured the pager card thing out for myself about 4 months after I got it: the case I carry my Visor in (and before, my palm pro) is a three fold design with slots for credit cards, a check book, drivers licence, etc... Fortunately, I work for a company that uses AAA's a lot and am able to *aquire* a set now and again...

I turned it off a while back tho... but the funny thing is that it still gets Info Pages...

oh well it IS nice to know I wasn't the only one who upgraded a Palm to OS3 via the pager card route

Chris

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

I've also heard that having the IR port turned on when you don't need it will also dramatically increase battery drain.