Re: Recharging Alkaline Batteries
Max Mansour (mmansour@gis.net)
Mon, 17 Jun 1996 18:12:56 -0400
Phillip Kwong wrote:
>
> [Sent this out previously under thw wrong heading...of
> lithium batteries.]
>
> I've been using a set of Rayovac Renewal beginning
> April 4, 1996 and the following is a list of dates
> on which I changed my batteries. The number in the
> "()" are how long each set of battery lasted before
> they got thrown away or re-charged.
>
> 03/15/1996 MAIN INDUSTRIAL ALK (23)
> 04/08/1996 MAIN RENEWAL SET #1 (16)
> 04/22/1996 MAIN RENEWAL SET #2 (14)
> 05/06/1996 MAIN RENEWAL SET #1 (11)
> 05/17/1996 MAIN RENEWAL SET #2 (11)
> 05/28/1996 MAIN RENEWAL SET #1 (7)
> 06/04/1996 MAIN RENEWAL SET #2 (9)
> 06/13/1996 MAIN INDUSTRIAL (in use)
>
> Where "INDUSTRIAL" are standard Rayovac Alkalines
> supplied to me by my company and "RENEWAL SET #" are the
> Renewal batteries. Note that I bought two sets of Renewal
> (package of four) and how quickly they degrade in my system.
> Once the duration became less than one week, they were
> intolerable to me, and I have gone back to the old
> throw-away batteries.
>
> As I remember, a popular consumer magazine analyzed the
> use of both the Renewal system and the other alkaline recharger;
> they both performed similarly with the Renewal system slightly
> better. Both resulted in the batteries degrading over recharge
> cycles.
>
> IMHO, one set of Renewal with recharging last only a little longer
> than a set of "Industrial" alkaline. As a set of batteries
> looses charge, my OmniGo slows down (degrades performance). Hence,
just a note: this should not happen. The OmniGo probably uses a type
of crystal occilator to regulate speed (most devices use one, and I'm pretty
sure the intel proccesors (which the OG is based on) need one, other wise
functions like the clock would not work, among other things) and the speed
should not rely on battery power (it obviously needs 2.4 volts to function
at all, though, I'm saying that batt power should not vary omnigo speed if
it has 2.4 - 3.0 volts left)
> the two options are about the same to me. Now recharging the
> "Industrial" alkalines may be better than throwing them away,
> but I would expect them to degrade just as quickly if not quicker.
>
> System set-up: Nothing special, HotSync about once every two/three
> days.
>
> Regards,
> Phillip Kwong
> Opinion are my own, not my company's.
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