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Monday, March 24, 2003
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The other day I referenced a page with information on batteries. Mail indicates there is some confusion about the care and feeding of the more exotic batteries. Since Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in laptops, cameras, camcorders and other small electronic devices; here are a few tips...
- There is no memory effect on Li-ion batteries and scheduled cycling (as is recommended for NiCad batteries) is not required to extend battery life.
- The lifespan of a Li-ion battery is about 30 months independent of normal use. Carefully stored units might make it to 36 months.
- Deep discharging is not normal use and shortens battery life.
- The best storage and charging temperature is about 50 to 60 degrees F. High temperatures (over 100 degrees F) dramatically shorten battery life.
Based on these notes you should
- Check to see if your warranty or extended warranty covers your battery. The warranty may be longer than the battery lifetime and this may be a good way to get a replacement battery.
- Charge the battery often. Don't worry about overcharging as all Li-ion batteries have circuits that prevent it.
- Never allow the battery to freeze.
- Never leave the battery in a hot car.
- Don't buy a spare battery unless you need it for daily use. Always check the manufacture date when buying a Li-ion battery and consider a two year old battery worthless. I have seen eighteen month old replacement batteries at the major retailers going for list price. Caveat Emptor!
- If you buy a laptop that has been sitting on the shelf, ask that the retailer replace the battery with one from fresh stock or at least give you a better price for the degraded battery.
- Avoid deep discharges (there is a good deal of folklore that encourages this and it is very bad advice).
I have not found any sources of replacement batteries for the Apple iPod. At this point early units will become boat anchors in about a year to eighteen months and I would assume that someone could put together a good cottage business replacing batteries (it isn't easy opening an iPod).
Lithium-polymer batteries should have better storage characteristics than Li-ions, but all of the Li-polys I've seen are really Li-ion-polymer hybrids and it appears that they have similar limitations to Li-ions.
8:21:07 AM 
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How many times have you been hiking with friends only to waste a considerable amount of time and frustration when you are separated? Walkie talkies (generally portable citizen band radios) can be very useful and they have been replaced by smaller and more efficient Family Radio Service.
Garmin does global positioning and it made sense for them to combine a FRS band radio with a GPS. I was able to play with the Garmin Rino 120. It turned out to be more interesting than I first imagined.
You can efficiently send your position and receive positions of up to fifty Rino users if they are within range and plot their waypoints on your screen. Very cool and potentially very useful. Definitely a lust item for hikers, although they aren't inexpensive.
6:34:02 AM
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If you are really lost there is always Search and Rescue, Satellite Aided Tracking. Several manufacturers are working on portable units for serious users - probably around $500 a unit and with potentially serious consequences for accidental activation, these are only for people who venture out into the wilderness in "extreme" conditions and/or very isolated places.
6:33:46 AM
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While on the subject of satellites, I did some checking and it seems that Globalstar has some of the lowest rates should you need to be connected nearly anywhere on the planet. Not for your kids, but much more practical than it was a few years ago.
Even the phones are dropping in price. Qualcomm has one for $600. Not only is it cheap, but this one works in the desert.
6:33:17 AM
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Try this for a bit of interesting music ... It is Ulla Pirttijarvi and Frode Fjellheim on Rob Weisberg's WFMU show some time ago. It was weird - at the time I was actually familiar with a bit of Sami music and Ulla Pirttijarvi in particular due to the efforts of a young friend who was attempting to expand my vista in Northern European Music. Probably the first and last time that I knew about something before Rob featured it.
In any event WFMU is a national treasure. Their streaming close to as good as it get on the Net.
I've been listening to some great Celtic music lately by Flook. Don't pass up a chance to hear these guys - it is a fusion of jazz and traditional music with very very tight playing.
Here is a short sample I found on CDroots.
6:31:29 AM
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I normally comment about music in my other blog, but another CD I've been listening to is Whilia from Fernhill (inspired by hearing them live some time ago).
The standard image of Welsh music is a men's choir, but the place has a rich tradition of interesting folk music and a similarly interesting language. Great stuff, you can get a copy from CDroots.
A short sample from the CD...
6:31:12 AM
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