RE: A Nickle Metal Hydride Mystery

DAB — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:50:28 GMT

I ran into a similar problem a year ago with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera. If you did not use a specific NMH battery, the unit would not function . I got around the problem by using a couple of D cell Alkaline batteries connected through a short cable, which had enough current to fool the circuit inside the camera.

I never got a good answer from Panasonic about the problem, but when I did some battery research earlier this year, I found out that there are subtle current draw differences between the various rechargable batteries. The circuit protection part of the camera evidently monitored the battery current rate and voltage to some very tight specs. I think that there has been some battery overheating issues with the circuit during high current draw conditions.

So while I do not know for sure, there is definately some current draw issues that some circuits are extremely sensitive to. Having your device work off a lab supply would tend to confirm that condition, because the lab supply would be able to handle any short duration current issues without causing any voltage drop. In a sense, that was the same issue that I got around by using the D cell batteries, they were capable of maintaining the voltage during high current situations.

It would be real nice if the manufacturers would let us know why they produce equipment with this level of sensitivity to specific battery requirements. I for one, would love to know the real cause in their circuitry. There has to be a better solution than just forcing you to use a specific battery.

DAB