2.3ah battery

[tacklebox]

Hi all

I'm looking at getting a smaller, lighter battery for my sounder. Would this be suitable?

[ebay]170384435655[/ebay]

[Feral]

You should be able to get one around the 4ah mark for slightly more than that - about $30 from Jaycar. (gee they have gone up in price, I paid less than that for my 7ah less than a year ago!) a 2.3 might be just a little small! The 4.3's are also a nice little square battery that are easy to find a home for

/>http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=SB2484&CATID=18&form=CAT&SUBCATID=250

[rayke1938]

What is the current drain of your sounder? For example if it draws 500ma in theory you should get 5 hpurs from the battery but in practice it will be less. You should NEVER run your battery dead flat as it drastically shortens its life. I cant remember the recommended safe voltage but think its in the region of 11.9v.

Cheers

Ray

[tacklebox]

the manual says

Supply voltage: 10 to 16V DC

Supply current at 13.8V: 170mA min - no backlighting, 250mA max - full backlighting

I always have the backlighting on.

thanks for the link Feral. I don't think there's much of a size difference between that and the one I've already got. Plus I'd have to set up a new lunchbox!

[rayke1938]

In theory you will get 10 hours with backlight on your arms will wear out before the sounder goes flat.Also dont use a high capacity charger to recharge the battery or you will boil it dry quick time

Cheers

Ray

[werewolf]

I think I have a 7.1 AH battery for my sounder. It fits nicely into the pocket on the back of my Viking seat, so if I stack it the battery isn't going anywhere. If I get the right cable I can run my GPS off it as well, but I think the garmin is a bit less water tight with the back seal of for the cable access, so I'll probably stick with AA's. The battery barely drops in voltage with a few hours of just the sounder! Mind you I know I could get away with a smaller battery for a single trip, but I want the battery capacity to last a few days away on a camping trip (with a bit of use), without it having to be charged.

[tacklebox]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll just stick with what I've got so that I don't have to remember to charge the battery before every trip.