>Its about battery life on the HHB. In my case its
really crap ...I'm using the rechargable Fujitsu
battery's that came with the kit and I reckon I'm
getting 50" max
Dear Suzanne,
The supplied Fujitsu batteries should give you over 3 hours in record mode
(and much more in standby mode) provided they are fully charged. A full
charge takes about 12 hours if charged within the Portadisc. If quicker
charging is required there are many, relatively cheap off the shelf AA
chargers available.
The green charge led (on the front panel) is not an accurate indication of
charge status of the batteries. It should be noted that re-chargeable
batteries do not have a linear charge and discharge characteristic,
therefore it is quite complex to calibrate battery level status for a wide
range of AA battery types as they all have different characteristics. To
include an accurate charge monitor status circuit for the Portadisc would
have added quite considerably to the cost of the machine, so instead we
decided to provide a basic system which would give an approximate indication
of charge status for a wide range of batteries.
Here are some suggestions for reliable battery performance:
1) Charge for about 12 hours
2) Best to fully discharge batteries before charging - reduces memory effect
even though this is not so pronounced for NiMH type batteries.
3) NiCD and NiMH will self discharge if left lying around, therefore to
achieve optimum battery duration, fully charge batteries and then use asap
(preferably within 24 hours).
4) Another characteristic of NiMH re-chargeable batteries: if fully
discharged and left for a period of time, the charge will partially recover
as the ions migrate to the terminals - this will appear as a partial
increase in the terminal voltage of the batteries which may cause the
battery level indicator in the Portadisc to show a high percentage and fool
the user into thinking that the batteries have sufficient charge. However
this partial recovery has 'no depth' and thus once Portadisc is powered up
the terminal voltage will drop quite quickly. e.g. on initial power up,
might read 99%, then within several minutes of recording drop to 40%.
Hope this helps
Paul, HHB
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