Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
I would be interested in how they work out for you. I have been trying some similar AA and AAA lithium by Tenavolts. They are the type which do not require plugging in a micro-USB cable into them. You just put 5V across them and they charge. I got the first set with a little USB connected charging cradle that holds four cells at once. They take 4 hours or so to charge which does not matter to me as I typically put them on before going to bed. I have noticed so far that we want to charge and use them as a set. Don’t let one cell get lower than the others. While this is true of all cells these seem to be particularly cranky and a bit warm. Jeff Birt From: M100 On Behalf Of Jason White Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 4:01 PM To: m100@lists.bitchin100.com Subject: Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries I’m currently (pun intended!) trying out a set of AA batteries from Pale Blue in my M100. So far I’ve got a bit better than 3 hours on them, with about half of them using the 100 to test out a TPDD. I am hoping these work out for me. According to the website they take two hours to recharge, so two sets ought to be able to power it continuously. J White Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone <https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS>
Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
A while ago I saw a howto on hacking a Tandy 200 to fit a fifth rechargeable battery but I can't for the life of me find it again. I'd rather not reinvent the wheel, so if anyone has any clues, I'd appreciate it. —b9 On Mon, Jun 20, 2022 at 11:31 AM you got me wrote: > One option might be to install 5 ni-mh cells. 4 in the regular place and a > 5th inside of the m100. Then have a ni-mh charging circuit (widely > available) in line with the 6v adapter socket of the m100. So, while the > m100 is plugged in, it charges the batteries. > > Also, I believe there were previous discussions about replacing the memory > ni-cad with a super capacitor. > -- > *From:* M100 on behalf of Allan > Zieser > *Sent:* Monday, June 20, 2022 12:55 PM > *To:* m...@bitchin100.com > *Subject:* [M100] Rechargeable batteries > > > I have noticed that with rechargeable batteries the active life for the > Model 100 is shorter. This is because most rechargeable batteries follow a > curved path for power drain. They only maintain the 1.5 volts for s short > time then tend to drop lower for the remainder of their power drain. When > the power drops low enough the Model 100 activates the low power light and > then goes down. > > > > There are some exceptions to this discharge path. The EBL rechargeable > batteries hold the 1.5 voltage across their drain, however then they drop > off sharply causing a shutdown when they are at the end of the discharge > cycle. Not really an issue for me as I use the Rex and Jeff’s backpack so I > can save often on projects. Just some of the tradeoffs I have noticed when > using rechargeable batteries. > > > > In regards to the backup battery, the advantages do outweigh the > disadvantages. If you are only running on installed batteries then the > backup battery will recharge from them continuously, reducing the battery > life. However if you use a wall outlet or usb power cable then it will > extend the life of the batteries by charging the backup off of the power > cable instead of the installed batteries. > > > > I have considered installing NiCad’s, however this requires a little > soldering, so I am not sure if it is worth it. For now I just use a > combination of the EBL batteries and a USB power cable I found on Ebay that > works really well. > > > > Just my observations on this. Please correct me if I am wrong in any of > this. Have a great week! > > > > -Allan Zieser > > >
Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
May not be the direction you are looking for, but I use one of those cheap USB battery banks with a USB to 6v power adapter. They are pretty easy to make but show up on Ebay pre-made quite often. I can run my M100 and some peripherals for months without having to re-charge and fall back to the AAs when I have to. Brian On Mon, Jun 20, 2022 at 3:13 PM wrote: > > > > > >>Also, I believe there were previous discussions about replacing the > memory ni-cad with a super capacitor. > > > > I have done that on one M100. It works fine but does not last nearly as > long as a new NiMh battery. > > > > Jeff Birt >
Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
>>Also, I believe there were previous discussions about replacing the memory ni-cad with a super capacitor. I have done that on one M100. It works fine but does not last nearly as long as a new NiMh battery. Jeff Birt
Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
One option might be to install 5 ni-mh cells. 4 in the regular place and a 5th inside of the m100. Then have a ni-mh charging circuit (widely available) in line with the 6v adapter socket of the m100. So, while the m100 is plugged in, it charges the batteries. Also, I believe there were previous discussions about replacing the memory ni-cad with a super capacitor. From: M100 on behalf of Allan Zieser Sent: Monday, June 20, 2022 12:55 PM To: m...@bitchin100.com Subject: [M100] Rechargeable batteries I have noticed that with rechargeable batteries the active life for the Model 100 is shorter. This is because most rechargeable batteries follow a curved path for power drain. They only maintain the 1.5 volts for s short time then tend to drop lower for the remainder of their power drain. When the power drops low enough the Model 100 activates the low power light and then goes down. There are some exceptions to this discharge path. The EBL rechargeable batteries hold the 1.5 voltage across their drain, however then they drop off sharply causing a shutdown when they are at the end of the discharge cycle. Not really an issue for me as I use the Rex and Jeff’s backpack so I can save often on projects. Just some of the tradeoffs I have noticed when using rechargeable batteries. In regards to the backup battery, the advantages do outweigh the disadvantages. If you are only running on installed batteries then the backup battery will recharge from them continuously, reducing the battery life. However if you use a wall outlet or usb power cable then it will extend the life of the batteries by charging the backup off of the power cable instead of the installed batteries. I have considered installing NiCad’s, however this requires a little soldering, so I am not sure if it is worth it. For now I just use a combination of the EBL batteries and a USB power cable I found on Ebay that works really well. Just my observations on this. Please correct me if I am wrong in any of this. Have a great week! -Allan Zieser
Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
I have been trying out AA sized lithium polymer batteries. They have the charge control and voltage regulation built into each battery a solid 1.5V out until it's flat. One downside I have noticed is that if you have one flat battery and 3 good ones in series it will try to force the current though the dead cell and heat it up. This can happen with any battery chemistry though. A colleague mentioned a particular brand of these which he thought were better (this is his research area, so I trust him), but I forget the brand name. When I find out again, I will compare them with the Tenavolts brand I'm testing now. Jeff Birt From: M100 On Behalf Of Allan Zieser Sent: Monday, June 20, 2022 7:56 AM To: m...@bitchin100.com Subject: [M100] Rechargeable batteries There are some exceptions to this discharge path. The EBL rechargeable batteries hold the 1.5 voltage across their drain, however then they drop off sharply causing a shutdown when they are at the end of the discharge cycle. Not really an issue for me as I use the Rex and Jeff's backpack so I can save often on projects. Just some of the tradeoffs I have noticed when using rechargeable batteries. -Allan Zieser
Re: [M100] Rechargeable batteries
Data loss has never been an issue for me. Internal battery protects the ram for quite a while. And I get about 20 hours of use out of Eneloop batteries. If you're actively using it you just have spare batteries topped up and swap them when the out. If I am not actively using it, it could weeks/months without losing ram contents because the main batteries keep the backup charged. If the backup batery is not good or there is some hardware problem YMMV I think I've only ever lost data because of corruption due to software faults. -- John.
[M100] Rechargeable batteries
I have noticed that with rechargeable batteries the active life for the Model 100 is shorter. This is because most rechargeable batteries follow a curved path for power drain. They only maintain the 1.5 volts for s short time then tend to drop lower for the remainder of their power drain. When the power drops low enough the Model 100 activates the low power light and then goes down. There are some exceptions to this discharge path. The EBL rechargeable batteries hold the 1.5 voltage across their drain, however then they drop off sharply causing a shutdown when they are at the end of the discharge cycle. Not really an issue for me as I use the Rex and Jeff's backpack so I can save often on projects. Just some of the tradeoffs I have noticed when using rechargeable batteries. In regards to the backup battery, the advantages do outweigh the disadvantages. If you are only running on installed batteries then the backup battery will recharge from them continuously, reducing the battery life. However if you use a wall outlet or usb power cable then it will extend the life of the batteries by charging the backup off of the power cable instead of the installed batteries. I have considered installing NiCad's, however this requires a little soldering, so I am not sure if it is worth it. For now I just use a combination of the EBL batteries and a USB power cable I found on Ebay that works really well. Just my observations on this. Please correct me if I am wrong in any of this. Have a great week! -Allan Zieser
