sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) (11/08/85)
When was the last time you changed the batteries in your meter or
camera? If you are like me, you won't remember unless you set up a
system for changing batteries. By having some sort of system, you
won't be left out in the middle of nowhere without electical power.
I always change the small button batteries on my birthday. These
batteries will last longer than this, but why take chances? For a few
dollars you can be sure that things will stay working.
I dump nicads every two years. I don't know how many times I have
recharged my nicads, but have noticed that some time after two years
they stop holding their charge. So, I throw them out and buy new ones
on my birthdays that occur during even years.
--
----------------
Marty Sasaki net: sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
Havard University Science Center phone: 617-495-1270
One Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (11/11/85)
> I dump nicads every two years. I don't know how many times I have > recharged my nicads, but have noticed that some time after two years > they stop holding their charge. So, I throw them out and buy new ones > on my birthdays that occur during even years. Nicads will last much longer if you: (a) allow them to discharge almost (but not quite) completely before recharging them. (b) deliberately discharge them almost (but not quite) completely every three months and then recharge them.
howard@sfmag.UUCP (H.M.Moskovitz) (11/11/85)
> When was the last time you changed the batteries in your meter or > camera? If you are like me, you won't remember unless you set up a > system for changing batteries. By having some sort of system, you > won't be left out in the middle of nowhere without electical power. > > I always change the small button batteries on my birthday. These > batteries will last longer than this, but why take chances? For a few > dollars you can be sure that things will stay working. > > I dump nicads every two years. I don't know how many times I have > recharged my nicads, but have noticed that some time after two years > they stop holding their charge. So, I throw them out and buy new ones > on my birthdays that occur during even years. > That's a good idea, but... What if you were born on February 29th? :-) -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Howard Moskovitz AT&T Info. Systems attunix!howard
ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) (11/11/85)
> When was the last time you changed the batteries in your meter or > camera? If you are like me, you won't remember unless you set up a > system for changing batteries. By having some sort of system, you > won't be left out in the middle of nowhere without electical power. > > I always change the small button batteries on my birthday. These > batteries will last longer than this, but why take chances? For a few > dollars you can be sure that things will stay working. > Here Here!! I decided to change the button battery in my Cannon (after ~8 years...) before a trip to Hawaii. Boy was I glad. The initial panic at seeing a battery starting to corrode was not fun. I was quite happy to discover that Cannon had plasic lined the battery compartment! I now go for two years on the button. :-) -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems 'If you can dream it, you can do it' Walt Disney This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything. (Including but not limited to: typos, spelling, diction, logic, and nuclear war)
haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS]) (11/13/85)
In article <486@harvard.ARPA> sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) writes: >When was the last time you changed the batteries in your meter or >camera? If you are like me, you won't remember unless you set up a >system for changing batteries. By having some sort of system, you >won't be left out in the middle of nowhere without electical power. Yeah, in the woods of Northern Ontario, a 30-minute plane trip away from other human beings... >I always change the small button batteries on my birthday. These >batteries will last longer than this, but why take chances? For a few >dollars you can be sure that things will stay working. Prior to that, my batteries had lasted for four years, so I sort of forgot about them. This is the small (non-button type) silver oxide battery used in the A-series Canons. They cost twice as much as alkalines, but last for ever. I think you should still change them every two or three years. My new T-70 is a diffeent matter, though. It uses two alkaline AA's to provide power for metering, shuttter and the winder. They are rated for 25-30 rolls (I think), and I think I'm up to over 20 since buying the camera, so it's about time to get new ones. Then there's the small backup battery which is not user-replaceable... >I dump nicads every two years. I don't know how many times I have >recharged my nicads, but have noticed that some time after two years >they stop holding their charge. So, I throw them out and buy new ones >on my birthdays that occur during even years. I've been too cheap to throw out nicads, but I'm really starting to notice a power loss on the older ones, which must be by now 5 or 6 years old. Come next paycheck, I think I'll pay a visit to my friendly neighbourhood battery store... \tom haapanen watmath!watdcsu!haapanen Im all lost in the Supermarket I can no longer shop happily I came in here for that special offer Guaranteed personality (c) The Clash, 1979
jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos) (11/15/85)
> My new T-70 is a diffeent matter, though. It uses two alkaline AA's > to provide power for metering, shuttter and the winder. They are > rated for 25-30 rolls (I think), and I think I'm up to over 20 since > buying the camera, so it's about time to get new ones. Then there's > the small backup battery which is not user-replaceable... Fortunately, you can see evidence of the batteries in the T-70 running down long before they actually fail, giving plenty of warning... the motor starts running slower (especially on rewind, it gets slow towards the end), and then, when this gets fairly noticeable, the battery meter bars that come on when you press the BC button show the battery is getting low. I think maybe that is an advantage of using the larger batteries; it takes longer for them to run out once they start to slow down, while the long period required to run the rewinder gives a good load-test of the batteries, compared to ones that just fire the shutter or advance the winder one frame. The small backup battery is interesting, though... does anybody know how it is replaced? I took my T-70 apart a couple of months ago to see how it was all put together, and found that the backup battery appeared to be spot-welded to the battery clip (though I didn't try hard to remove it, so I may be wrong). [I'll bet I see this fact restated for months in pro-Nikon/anti-Canon commentaries, so let me emphasize: I'm not sure this is the case, I just didn't want to try loosening it since something seemed to be holding it firmly in place. That's why I'm asking.] PS - regarding the 25-30 roll limit... I can generally get through about 200 feet of film before mine start to run out, so I think that their estimate in the manual is somewhat conservative, if you use good reliable alkaline batteries. -- Shyy-Anzr: J. Eric Roskos @ CONCURRENT Computer (A Perkin-Elmer Co.) UUCP: Ofc: ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jer Home: ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jerpc!jer US Mail: MS 795; CONCURRENT Computer Corp. SDC; 2486 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809-7642