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It may have to do with the waterproof characteristics of the units. Just a guess at best. As was stated too if all you have is internal rechargables, and they go dead when you out in the woods. You would be SOL as to getting back with that as your only means of navigation.
I have an FRS radio that is rechargable and if the battery pack runs out I can put in 3 (aaa)s and back in business. Some newer electronics support both. I'm not sure on the waterproff issue, may add a little weight though.
Hey Garmin & Thales are you listening.
LOL
The new Magellen eXplorist 500 has the rechargeable batteries:
Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery
This Li-Ion rechargeable battery pack can keep your eXplorist continuously powered-up for up to 17 hours. Recharge your battery directly through your receiver again and again without reducing its performance.
Sheesh, Ed! You just convinced Frank and I to get new Garmin GPSMap 60-series units... Don't tell us you're moving to Magellan!!! :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by EGSG
There's a story behind this that we will share with y'all. Sorry I can't say anymore now.
The only Garmin units that have rechargable batteries are the two wrist units they make. The Forerunner 201 and Foretrex 201. I have the Foretrex 101 which uses 2 regular AAA's, I get 15 hours out of a set and I keep a LARGE pack of replacements in my backpack. My Sony Clie PDA has a rechargable battery but with the color screen and always on backlite it doesn't last more than a couple of hours of constant use.
Rechargable batteries get a "memory" if they are not completely discharged before recharging, this shortens their total lifespan. We warn our laptop users where I work to occaisionally completely drain their batteries and then recharge them (about once a month) we have good results with this practice.
I'd rather trust in replaceables! IMHO, YMMV :)
Faolan
WhereRWe? : I don't understand why GPS units don't have an internal rechargeable battery like PDA's do.
Some do, but you'll discover why replaceable (and preferably rechargeable) AA batteries work MUCH better for certain devices, such as cameras, GPSrs, and flashlights...
First, you have the convenience factor - I can carry around a pack of eight AA NiMHs, and instantly "recharge" any device I carry. Compare that to needing to take each toy back to its designated charger, figure out which dedicated charger goes to that toy, find a place to plug it in, then wait a few hours.
Second, rechargeables eventually die. Replacing four NiMH AAs after a few hundred charges (yes, they will last that long, if you use a .1C charger (overnight) rather than a 4C charger (15 minutes)) costs about $10. Replacing a built-in Li-ion battery, if possible, will usually cost you at least fifty bucks and the end user (ie, us) might not have the ability to do it without paying a tech for the privilege.
Third, safety. AA batteries, even NiMH, just don't explode. Short out (or overheat, or get wet, or drop just the right way) a Li-ion battery, and consider yourself lucky if it only kills itself rather than the device in which it lives.
Fourth (related to #2), price. The batteries themselves cost more, and the recharging circuitry adds to the price of the device. If you use rechargeable AAs, you'll still need to pay for that, but just once rather than once per device you use.
So, for thing you generally use near a power source (ie, in your car or office) such as a cell phone or PDA or wireless mouse - a built-in battery makes sense. For things you expect to work for many hours away from civilization, avoid built-in batteries.
Well, I won't worry about the fact that your commenting on a post made over a year ago... LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by ribnag
I enjoy keeping my PDA and cell phone fully charged when traveling - just hook them up to the charger in the car. And while I can also use external power for the GPSr when traveling, when I unplug it to go outside to a cache, I have to check the battery status. Not like the PDA, which stays fully charged.
I had a old Palm I used years ago but stopped because the batteries kept going dead and I kept losing my data. With the Tungsten E2 I have now, it stays on the charger when not outside, so it never gets a chance to go dead.
:D :D
Proprietary rechargeable battery packs? No, thank you, I'll pass. I'll stick with standard-sized NiMH rechargeable cells as a power source.
I can get a 4-pack of NiMH rechargeable batteries for under $10 and use them for 3-4 years of continuous use before I have to start thinking about replacing them. Proprietary packs can be hard to find, if they can be replaced at all (many cannot even be replaced, rendering the unit disposable after a few short years).
And, worst case, if you are on the road and your batteries die, a quick trip into almost any store can get you going again.
I converted completely from disposable to rechargeable batteries almost 5 years ago, and I try to avoid proprietary batteries whenever possible. I've had too many good devices die out just because the battery pack was non-replaceable or nonstandard. I've also thrown away too many disposables over the years (a waste of both money and landfill space)
Most of the NiMH AA/AAA batteries I purchased 5 years ago are still in service, though their capacity is down around 50% of normal (but they still work great for low-drain applications like remote controls, or for short-use items like flashlights). You should be able to get 100% capacity out of them for a couple of years, then they start slowly dropping off.
As to the concept of "rechargeable with option of using disposable", why would any manufacturer include a battery pack and room for an alternate one? That's going to make the unit larger than it needs to be, and more complex. It would drive up size, weight, and manufacturing costs.
Now, if a manufacturer made a GPS that could run off one of the standard L-Ion battery packs, like the one my digital camera uses, I could see that as useful. Replacements are relatively cheap, you can keep a charged spare handy, and they hold a lot more power for a given size/weight compared to AA or AAA batteries.
Internal battery packs are one of the reasons I still use a Handspring Visor for Geocaching. It uses AAA batteries, and I don't have to worry about a proprietary internal battery dying on me. Unfortunately, most of the PDA manufacturers have gone internal battery, so once my Palm IIIc finally gave up the ghost, I went back to my trusty old Visor instead of buying a newer, nicer unit.
WhereRWe? : Well, I won't worry about the fact that your commenting on a post made over a year ago... LOL!
Oops - Sorry. I tend to read by "New Posts", and when I come to a thread I don't recognize, I'll read back a page or two (and not check the date). :o
But my thoughts stand - for most things, I prefer AAs over built-in rechargeables, for the reasons I gave. :)