Richard's advice for Oudie is spot on - It does have a mechanical switch so the advice is to charge it, turn it off (not sleep), put it on a shelf (let it do the magic QT suggests). With any luck it will still be charged when the cumulus reappear.
Andrej Kolar
--
glider pilots use
http://www.Naviter.com
On Wednesday, January 9, 2013 10:23:23 PM UTC+1, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:49:14 -0800, Ron Gleason wrote:
What is the recommendation for storing the Oudie 1/2/Lite during the off
season when you are not using it for a number of months?
Let it sit on the shelf?
Plugged into the charger?
Occasionally take if off the shelf and charge it? If so, how often?
Others?
This is general, not Oudie-specific advice since I've not used an Oudie
and anyway the chances are good that you have other devices with
rechargeable batteries.
LiPoly and Li-ion
================= have very low self-discharge rates, so if the device
has a hard (mechanical) switch, fully charge it and put it away until
next season. Most cheap PNAs (Binatone, Navigon, etc - chepie car sat-
navs) have a mechanical slide switch. OTOH, if it has a soft switch, e.g.
an on/off button witch doesn't click and lacks a mechanical kill switch
like iPAQs had) it will use power even when its off, and so needs a
recharge every month or two. Thats like a laptop computer: shut it down
completely and it can be left for 2-3 months without a recharge, but
suspend it and you'll be lucky if it lasts more than 2-3 weeks without
flattening the battery.
NiCd and NiMH
============= are still found in older instruments and some loggers, e.g.
the EW Microrecorder. These battery types self discharge - a fully
charged NiCd will be almost flat after 6 months and an NiMH self-
discharges 2-3 times faster.
These types should be recharged at least every month or two: EW says the
Microrecorder should be charged every 3 months.
Alternatively, these battery types can be charged continuously at a 1%
rate, i.e. if you're using 1050 mAh NiMH cells (AA size) the 1% rate is
11 mA.
--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |