Some more info for the battery life discussion . . .
There are some very good FAQs at the web site for Battery World. I
believe they will also rebuild MP and eMate rechargeable batteries. I
just bought some of what are the last eMate batteries I could find from
Newton Oz.
My understanding is that the "memory effect" is a myth to modern
batteries of any type. It did happen to early nicads and you can have
problems if they are overcharged. The big thing to worry about is
charging too frequently. Batteries have a limited number of charging
cycles in their life. I've heard it's about 500 for nimh types like the
MP and eMate ones. I have a personal experience to share that verifies
that. My business partner and I both purchased MP2100s when they first
came out. I started out with the Apple rechargeable nimh battery from
the start and always let it go down to the warning of low battery before
recharging. My partner started out using alkalines, but after going
through several large paks of them he started using the same
rechargeable. After about a year we were talking one day and he shared
that he would plug it in every night to recharge, whereas I only have to
recharge about once a week with normal use. After that discussion he
started letting his run down before recharging. Just about two months
ago he asked me for a new battery as his was only holding a charge for
about a day, and sometimes not making it through the day. But my
original battery is still going strong, and holding a charge for about a
week. We have four other people in our business using MPs or eMates, and
I trained them all to do as I do. None of them have had to replace their
batteries yet. I think this experience verifies the assertion about the
number of recharging cycles being the limit on rechargeable batteries.
I've had similar experiences with nicads I use in some portable musical
instruments.
Glenn Roe
"Caregiver to 6 MPs & 4 eMates"
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