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Batteries
- How to Handle Them Properly
First, you need to know
a little about batteries. Battery life is affected by
many variables, including your charging procedures, the
type of battery, and the temperature at which it is
stored. A standard rule of thumb is that there are
200-400 charges in the average life of a battery
depending on the type of battery. Nickel Cadmium
Batteries have a longer life than a Lithium Ion
battery. Here are some tips about batteries.
Breaking In New
Batteries
New batteries come in an
uncharged condition. To break in a new battery, we
suggest charging and then discharging the battery 2 to
4 times so they can reach their full rated capacity.
You can discharge most batteries by unplugging the AC
adapter and leaving them turned on until completely
discharged. Some phones have a desktop
charger/conditioner, which will speed up the process.
Charging Your Battery
Never charge your
battery for more than 14 hours. If you are using a
Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMh) or Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)
battery, your charging time should be less than 14
hours. Manufacturers' manuals normally state not to
charge a battery for more than 24 hours, but if you
leave it on the charger for more than 14 hours you risk
damaging the battery by overcharging.
Eliminate Memory
Effects
Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd)
batteries suffer from an affliction known as the memory
effect. The battery will only charge to the level of
which the battery was last discharged due to an
accumulation of gas bubbles on the cell plates. If a
battery is discharged to 30% and then recharged, the
battery will only charge to 30% of its capacity and
thus shrinking the battery’s ‘gas tank’.
Burp Your Battery
The best way to
eliminate memory and remove the accumulated gas bubbles
on the cell plates is to "burp", or condition
it. This means draining the battery until your portable
phone shuts off, and then recharging it. Again, the
desktop charger/conditioner will speed up this process
Exercise Your Battery
To increase the life of
your batteries, don’t leave them dormant for extended
periods of time. Even if you use AC power most of the
time, use the battery periodically to keep it fresh and
healthy. Unplug your AC adapter when the phone,
computer, etc. is not in use.
Battery Storage
Store batteries in a
cool, dry place away from heat and metal objects.
Batteries left idle for extended periods of time will
self-discharge. Just remember to charge them before
use.
Battery Replacement
If your battery used to
last 8 hours and now only lasts 2 hours, it could be
memory effect or just time for a new battery. NiCd
batteries last approximately 700 charge/discharge
cycles, or about one and a half years on average.
However, NiMh batteries will normally last for only
approximately 400 charge/discharge cycles.
Need
a battery, click here
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Recycle Dead Batteries
Please be kind to the
environment and do not throw your batteries in the
trash. The environmental protection agency (EPA)
estimates that 200 tons of cadmium and 260,000 tons of
lead enter the waste stream annually. Please send
your old batteries to EarthVision
for safe recycling. (Address to "Recycling Dept.)
Batteries usually come
in different sizes which is based on Amps or what is
referred to as "standby time" in the general
industry. "Standby time" is the length of
time you have the phone turned on for use. General rule
of thumb on standby time in relation to the ratio of
talk time available. For every one hour of standby
time, you will average 8 minutes of talk time.
For example: An 8
hour NiCd battery has around 64 minutes of talk time, a
50 hour NiMh battery has around 400 minutes of talk
time.
Therefore, if you used
an 8 hour NiCd battery and talked for 8 minutes, your
"standby" time has just been dropped to 7
hours. If you were not to make another call and the
battery was left on, the battery would need to be
recharged in 7 hours. Or if you talked again for 8 more
minutes, then it would need a recharge in 6 hours, etc.
Another formula used to
determine just how much standby time or talk time
available is the following:
2 hours of Standby Time
per 100 mAH on the battery
20 minutes of talk time
per 100 mAH on the battery
Most NiCd batteries
including Extended NiCd batteries will not exceed
having 18 hours of standby time available. If a person
wants a battery with longer standby time they will need
to upgrade to a NiMh or Lithium Ion battery. The
exception to this is the Star Tac phone battery. Due to
the small size of the phone and battery, (Star Tac only
uses NiMh & Lithium batteries) regardless of the
battery purchased they will offer 1 hour of talk time
or 8 hours of standby time.
Star Tac phones are
unique in that they have the ability to have two
batteries attached, a main and an auxiliary. (This
doesn’t apply to the Star Tac 3000 phone.) You can
mix the NiMh & Lithium Ion battery packs however,
it would be best to keep the batteries used on the
phone the same as it will be more efficient in using
the power of the battery.
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