Cumulus Support

Had a quick look on forum theres plenty of info about the batterys low etc did Steve do a webtag for the low tx icon on the 3080 f/o station ?

Just that i didnt notice mine come on the display till today

No, because the station doesn't make that information available, as far as I am aware.

Lasted 9 months before i the low battery icon, guess its not bad looking at some others, ive taken them out and charging them have put some 1.2v ones in for now its working but tx icon is on.

Not many places sell the 1.5v recharable batterys looking around, as one of my charges is saying the battery is faulty, could be just that its low on charge will see.

Hi scoobs,

Don't bother to waste your time or money on "Rechargeable" Alkalines, they're generally acknowledged to be a useless technology. Rather proved by yours since even standard alkalines should have lasted longer than 9 months (assuming the 3080 is working properly).

NiMH or NiCd cells may be alright (assuming you get adequate transmitter range) if you're happy to put up with the Low TX icon permanantly on (in my tests, about 2.7 volts was required to extinguish the icon, more than you're likely to get from two NiMHs).

Possibly the "best" technology is a single AA Lithium Phosphate (LiFeSO4) cell plus a "dummy" (short circuit) AA cell, which delivers about 3.2 volts (but the mAhr capacity can be rather limited). However, again with my measurements, the 3080 didn't actually charge the cells to as high as 3.2 volts, so you may as well just put in some normal (non-rechargeable) Alkalines or Lithiums which should be cheap and safe.

Cheers, Alan.

If you stick normal AA batterys in will it be ok with them being charged from the solar unit i guess it isnt charging as it should.

Hi,

The "rechargeable" and non-rechargeable alkaline cell technologies are said to be very similar. Rechargeables are supposed to be more resistant to leakage but I suspect that a good non-rechargeable is better than a cheap rechargeable. Certainly one of my (supplied) rechargeables was leaking within 3 months of being removed from the transmitter (because their voltage was too low). I replaced them with cheap alkalines which ran for at least as long, until my solar pod was replaced as being faulty (draining too much current).

The 3080 solar pod (or the transmitter) appears to have a voltage regulator (about 3 volts) so IMHO there is no risk of over-charging any type of cell, nor of the voltage getting so high as to damage the electronics (on the assumption that the voltage from lithium non-rechargeable AAs, which are recommended by many users, is acceptable).

Cheers, Alan.