Rechargeable batteries on classic handhelds?

[RCM]

I couldn’t find a thread exactly like this and wondered if anyone had any experience with the following rechargeable batteries on either Nomad or Turbo Express:

Sanyo Eneloop AAA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries
http://www.amazon.com/SANYO-eneloop-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B000IV2YLY/sr=8-4/qid=1167233863?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

E8GE 1000 Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Battery with ABT
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UWLIUM?ie=UTF8&tag=metaefficient-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002UWLIUM

I hate using a/c adapters and would love to either buy one of these if they’re reliable or if you have any other recommendations that would be sweet, thanks.

[Ze_ro]

Those are some awfully cheap batteries, they don't even say how many mAh they provide. That's the number you're looking for with these things. look for something with around 2500mAh or so, otherwise they'll die far too fast... I'd recommend spending a little more for a better product. With NiMH, you really do get what you pay for. Specifically, I'd recommend this charger, which comes with batteries (http://www.amazon.com/Crosse-Battery-Charger-Recovery-BC-900/dp/B00077AA5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276531929&sr=8-1). I've had one of these for a while now, and it works great. Far better than the terrible charger I originally had, and it has a "refresh" function that actually managed to bring some of my older batteries back to life.

Even with the best batteries, you're probably still only looking at about a 6-hour life span in a Nomad.

--Zero

[jb143]

The Sanyo ones you linked to are AAA, you want AA. Other than that, I can't speak for a particular brand but I use NiMH's in my Nomad without any problem. Just find whatever you can with the highest mAh rating. The fact that they are 1.2V instead of 1.5V isn't a problem since alkalines die linearly and average out to 1.2V anyways while NiMH's deliver a pretty even 1.2V.

One thing to keep in mind though. Don't play them untill the Nomad dies. Because of each battery being slightly different, each one will discharge at a slightly different rate. If one dies before the others (pretty likely) then the others will give it a reverse charge and ruin it in the process. For this reason you should also match mAh and even the brand to keep the discharge rates as close as possible.

[Vectorman0]

Eneloops are great. They hold their charge longer than others if you are going to let them sit without use for a few months. However, if you are going to plow through the batteries quickly, other batteries will probably give you a bit more play time.

[Sabz5150]

I used NiMH batteries in my TurboExpress and when they started to get low on power, some really weird stuff started happening... level glitching in Super Star Soldier that would loop the level with no enemies or final boss for example.

Fact of the matter is: battery technology sucks.

[Aswald]

I use NiMH rechargeable batteries, 2200 MAHours. No problem.

[Oldskool]

Even with the best batteries, you're probably still only looking at about a 6-hour life span in a Nomad.

--Zero

Shhhh.. I wish. My Nomad has the modern LCD screen in it which provides a better image quality, AND better battery life. And I'd still be happy to get 2 hours out of it. Of course my batteries are a few years old now, but they are 2500mAh batteries. Only way to get near that (and still not 6 hours), is to have Jonjandran mod your battery pack with a lithium ion battery. Then you might get 4 or so.

Since we are on the subject of rechargeable batteries, stay away from the AA lithium ion batteries, they provide the wrong voltage.

[jb143]

You could probally rig up a D battery pack with a belt clip and get 6+ hours out of it, but at that point you might as well use an AC adaptor.

[imanerd0011]

Sanyo Eneloops are the best NIMH battery on the market. I use them in all of my controllers that use batteries, but none of them are classic. I use them in Wiimotes as well as my Wavebird. I just always charge them when the Wiimote battery indicator is at 2 bars, and I charge the Wavebird ones after 10 hours (or so) of use.

[physics223]

I have a question. I have a Super Micro and it says to plug in 1.5V batteries (AA) in it. Can I use NiMH batteries that are 1.2V? Can the system handle it without exploding or anything?

[jb143]

I have a question. I have a Super Micro and it says to plug in 1.5V batteries (AA) in it. Can I use NiMH batteries that are 1.2V? Can the system handle it without exploding or anything?

How many does it use? It's going to depend on that and whatever internal voltage regulation it might use.

But in general though it shouldn't matter. If you look at my previous post I mention that alkalines average out to 1.2V anyways and go even lower long before they die while NiMH's deliver a pretty constant 1.2V durring their discharge cycle.

[physics223]

It uses four batteries. So, is it safe? :)

[migo]

My girlfriend bought a set of Sanyo Enelops, haven't found anything wrong with them, although playing on a GameBoy Color doesn't really tell the story of how they'd do on a battery monster like the Lynx.

[Oldskool]

It uses four batteries. So, is it safe? :)

Yup, game on.

[Oldskool]

My girlfriend bought a set of Sanyo Enelops, haven't found anything wrong with them, although playing on a GameBoy Color doesn't really tell the story of how they'd do on a battery monster like the Lynx.

Yeah I don't think ANYTHING works well on the Lynx, Nomad, Game Gear, and Turbo Express. They are ALL battery hogs from hell.

It's amazing how far handheld battery life has gotten. My DS Lite amazes me sometimes, seems like it goes FOREVER! Hell, any Nintendo handheld has always had good battery life. Even the original Gameboy Classic (Good life for back then anyways, but still not too bad).

[physics223]

Thanks. It works without any problems.

[Oldskool]

Those are some awfully cheap batteries, they don't even say how many mAh they provide. That's the number you're looking for with these things. look for something with around 2500mAh or so, otherwise they'll die far too fast... I'd recommend spending a little more for a better product. With NiMH, you really do get what you pay for. Specifically, I'd recommend this charger, which comes with batteries (http://www.amazon.com/Crosse-Battery-Charger-Recovery-BC-900/dp/B00077AA5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276531929&sr=8-1). I've had one of these for a while now, and it works great. Far better than the terrible charger I originally had, and it has a "refresh" function that actually managed to bring some of my older batteries back to life.

Even with the best batteries, you're probably still only looking at about a 6-hour life span in a Nomad.

--Zero

Wow that looks like a hell of a charger you linked there. I might have to pick one of those up. I like the features.

[Wraith Storm]

Yeah I don't think ANYTHING works well on the Lynx, Nomad, Game Gear, and Turbo Express. They are ALL battery hogs from hell.

It's amazing how far handheld battery life has gotten. My DS Lite amazes me sometimes, seems like it goes FOREVER! Hell, any Nintendo handheld has always had good battery life. Even the original Gameboy Classic (Good life for back then anyways, but still not too bad).

I never owned a Turbo Express but I had all the other handhelds of the era.

I always got excellent battery life on my Lynx II. It seemed like I could play forever (compared to the other color handhelds of the time). On a fresh set of batteries I would guess I got 4 or 5 hours.

I played a TON of Shining Force on my Game Gear back in the day during school. I know I would usually get about 2 hours on a fresh set of batteries.

Then there was the Nomad. This sucker was like an M1 Abrams Tank. BAD ASS but only got like 3 miles to the gallon... LOL! I took Phantasy Star 4 with me everywhere back in 99' and even on a fresh set of batteries I'm not sure I ever got more than 1 and a half hours. At the time I always had a batch of Renewal batteries charging by my bed. I felt horrible for how many Alkaline batteries I was eating up and throwing away.

I have wanted to do a battery life test with my Energizer 2500 mAh NiMH batteries for a while. I'll give them a fresh charge and see what kind of life I get on my Nomad, Game Gear, and then Lynx.

[migo]

So of all the handhelds that went up against the GameBoy B&W directly, the Lynx II is most viable due to not having utterly terrible battery life? (4-5 hours sounds like PSP territory).

[Thrillo]

If you're looking to power a Game Gear, buy one of the official battery packs at a flea market/thrift store/internet for cheap (since they're ALL dead by now). Open 'er up and you'll see that the actual battery is literally the same as a RC car battery. Buy one of those from Rat Shack or wherever, do a bit of easy cable splicing (as the connectors are actually different), and badda-bing: you now have a battery pack which outlasts pretty much any set of AAs. To charge it, just use a Model 2 Genny power supply.
This is also a good way of powering the Nomad, as it doesn't have an internal battery compartment and the official compartment is hard to find. Before I heard of this trick, I built my own Nomad battery pack out of Rat Shack parts, NiMH batteries, and some rubber bands to hold it in place above the cartridge. It made my Nomad look like an IED bomb :) .

[physics223]

What's the best AA rechargeable battery to get?

[MarioMania]

How many hours does the GG get on 6 NIMH batteries??

[physics223]

How many hours does the GG get on 6 NIMH batteries??

I'm thinking four to five hours on a good rechargeable battery brand.

[Oldskool]

That would be nice. :-/

[Wraith Storm]

I gave my Energizer 2500 mAh NiMH batteries a fresh charge and tossed them in my Nomad last Saturday. I grabbed a stop watch, a few genesis games, and a comfy spot on the bed and played for around 2 and a half hours which was longer than I was anticipating.

I tossed the Nomad and the stop watch on my night stand and went to sleep. The next night I resumed playing and got just over an hour of play before it died.

All total I got 3 hours and 37 minutes of playtime out of my Nomad with those batteries. Very impressive IMO. With a new set of Alkaline batteries I don't ever remember hitting the 2 hour mark back in the day.

I'll give the Game Gear a shot this weekend followed by the Atari Lynx II.

[Wraith Storm]

Here we are again. Another weekend over and another test completed.

Earlier today I charged my Energizer 2500 mAh NiMH batteries and tossed them in my Game Gear. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as the results from last weekend with my Nomad really surprised me.

When it was all said and done my Game Gear died after 5 hours and 13 minutes!!! FREAKIN' AWESOME if you ask me. But, when the red light started flashing, it died within less than a minute. Not much time to save your progress. Fortunately I was playing Defenders of Oasis and that RPG auto saves for this very reason. Why can't all hand held RPGs do this?

Like I said before. This next weekend I will test out these batteries with my Atari Lynx II. I'm really interested to see how much of an improvement its battery life gets. So far the Nomad got more than double and the Game Gear came 47 minutes within tripling what I used to get with standard Alkaline. I expect I'll get around 8 hours with the Lynx II, but only time will tell. :D

[Oldskool]

So those are Energizer rechargeables that you are using? Those are some pretty good times. I think I made about that much time on my Nomad with the updated lower power LCD and OLD 2500 mAh batteries.

I think I need to just throw my batteries away or use them for remotes or something. Or maybe I just need them reconditioned I dunno.