Battries

[shrek and fiona]

spring is here and after a couple years of use my batteries don’t hold there charge so lets start a discussion about what are the best ones out there now

[hogrod]

hybrid rechargeable batteries are hands down better than old conventional rechargeables. Normal rechargeable batteries loose up to 1% of their charge every day they sit unused, so you really need to charge them right before you use them to get the best results. hybrids even after a year hold about 75% of their initial charge.

The best way to tell if a battery is some sort of hybrid is check the package for its better claimed shelf life. I recently seen a topic on the geocaching.com forum that had a list of all the known brands that have these hybrid type batteries. here is a list taken form one of the posts…..

Rayovac Hybrid
Sanyo Eneloop
Sony Cycle Energy
Uniross Hybrio
Ultralast Hybrio
Kodak Digital Camera, Ultra Low Discharge
Maha Imedion
Nexcell EnergyOn
Accupower Acculoop
Ansman Max-E
GP ReCyko
Duracell Pre-charged
Pro Power Hybrid

[Buy_The_Tie]

Just recently I picked up a pack of Duracell “Pre-Charged” AA’s, along with a 15 minute charger. So far, they seem to be working really well.

Yesterday I picked up a set of AAA’s for my ancient PDA. I could never get the old Ni-MH to work very well in that thing.

[Mister Greenthumb]

We use Kenco rechargable nickel hydride batteries in both units. They are about 3 years old. I recharge them once a week and have never replaced them in the field. They’ll last all weekend for events if fully charged.

[shrek and fiona]

what do you think about the energizer e2 rechargeable
are they the new hybrid or just another battery

[hogrod]

@shrek & fiona wrote:

what do you think about the energizer e2 rechargeable
are they the new hybrid or just another battery

Unless they have changed things without any mention of it, I think they are just regular old rechargables. I had great luck with the energizer batteries, except after about a year they didn’t hold a charge like they did originally.

I had great luck with the rayovac hybrids even after a year, I just picked up a 4pack of the duracell precharged and they seem even better but ask me again after I have used them for a year.

[rogheff]

Oh boy, jump in and close eyes.

Is there a GPSr that can plug in to your cigarette lighter? That would seem to be a really nice option to have that would eliminate the whole battery issue.

[greyhounder]

I’ve just tried the Sony batteries and have been very impressed…..

Bec

[LMcGisme]

@rogheff wrote:

Oh boy, jump in and close eyes.

Is there a GPSr that can plug in to your cigarette lighter? That would seem to be a really nice option to have that would eliminate the whole battery issue.

I don’t know about Garmins, but my Magellan Meridian Color, my daughter’s Magellan eXplorist 500, and my son’s Lowrance iFinder H2O all have a cable that let you plug them into the cigarette lighter. It does save tons of batteries!

[Frizz]

@LMcGisme wrote:

@rogheff wrote:

Oh boy, jump in and close eyes.

Is there a GPSr that can plug in to your cigarette lighter? That would seem to be a really nice option to have that would eliminate the whole battery issue.

I don’t know about Garmins, but my Magellan Meridian Color, my daughter’s Magellan eXplorist 500, and my son’s Lowrance iFinder H2O all have a cable that let you plug them into the cigarette lighter. It does save tons of batteries!

Although Magellans can be powered from a lighter socket, it does not recharge the batteries. I use a cradle to hold the GPS which connects it to the power cable automatically while driving in the car.

[Team B Squared]

@rogheff wrote:

Oh boy, jump in and close eyes.

Is there a GPSr that can plug in to your cigarette lighter? That would seem to be a really nice option to have that would eliminate the whole battery issue.

Yes, I can plug my Lowrance IFinder into the cigarette lighter in my car.

[Jeremy]

@rogheff wrote:

Is there a GPSr that can plug in to your cigarette lighter? That would seem to be a really nice option to have that would eliminate the whole battery issue.

Most Garmin handheld units can be powered externally.

In the bad old days when GPS units burned through 4 AA batteries in less than 12 hours, hooking them up to DC power to conserve battery power was regularly done. Ancient Garmin units of this time period accepted straight or unregulated DC automotive power (which can be 15 V or higher) from a cigarette lighter. All you had to do was cobble together some sort of cable to get juice from the car battery to the proper pins on the unit. Some Garmin units like this are the 48 series, 12 series, GPS III/V, etc.

Later on, GPS units got smaller and less power hungry. Garmin units from this age still had provisions for being powered externally, but they required regulated DC power. You had to provide “clean” power of the right voltage or you risked burning out the external power circuitry. Gone were the days of making your own cables… you were forced to buy special regulated power cables. Some Garmin units in this category are the eTrex serial series, Rino, eMap, Geko, etc.

Nowadays, MOST Garmin models with USB can be powered via the USB port. You simply provide a USB connection that has power and you are all set. I’d recommend getting a cheap cigarette lighter to USB power adapter (like this), and then you can use the USB cable that came with the unit (or any USB cable for that matter) as the power cable.

The Garmin GPSMAP 60C(x)(s) and 76(x)(s) units are the exception to this general rule. They are a throwback, as they can ONLY accept unregulated external DC power through their round 4-pin connector, not their USB connector. So with these units you can use the same power cable you cobbled up for your GPS 48 in 1996…

And in all cases powering the unit externally does not charge the batteries, unless the unit has internal batteries like the Nuvi series.

Confused? 😀

[Buy_The_Tie]

@Jeremy wrote:

The Garmin GPSMAP 60C(x)(s) and 76(x)(s) units are the exception to this general rule. They are a throwback, as they can ONLY accept unregulated external DC power through their round 4-pin connector, not their USB connector.

I have a 60CSx, and as a test I pulled the batteries out while it was connected via the USB cable, and the unit stayed powered up.

So at least for mine, it can be powered through the USB cable.

[Jeremy]

@Buy_The_Tie wrote:

I have a 60CSx, and as a test I pulled the batteries out while it was connected via the USB cable, and the unit stayed powered up.

Cool, they must have changed this when they went from the 60CS to 60CSx? You still should be able to power it from the old 4-pin connector too if you want.

[hogrod]

@Jeremy wrote:

@Buy_The_Tie wrote:

I have a 60CSx, and as a test I pulled the batteries out while it was connected via the USB cable, and the unit stayed powered up.

Cool, they must have changed this when they went from the 60CS to 60CSx? You still should be able to power it from the old 4-pin connector too if you want.

Yes this was one thing they changed when they switched to the X models(76 or 60series), you can now power via the USB port just like the etrex color models always could.
I was using a USB adapter in the car until I seen a few people had pulled the USB port out of the back of their units. I still use the USB for PC transfers but bought the 4pin cigarette lighter adapter for the car.

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