I was wondering if people are using rechargeable batteries and how well these do. I am always worried on a long (upscale restaurant the the like) shop that my batteries will run out and I will miss all my timings, quotes and notes to self. I dont want to run to the bathroom to check every 10 mintues! When I first started out I did not want to spend the money for them for the pitiful $1-2 pay I was getting but now that I have moved up perhaps it is time. My recorder does not seem to give much warning about low battery...it is either low and off very soon or it is full..and I don't want to keep throwing out new batteries by changing them every shop. I always hope they will run out on a short shop but i am doing more and more long shops these days...So how are rechargeable ones working for you? If you charge them every day or few days do they last?

After receiving some bonus dollars from Best Buy I opted for a battery charger and have never looked back. So far I cannot tell a difference in life between them and comparable regular batteries. I can tell a huge difference between them and the cheap batteries which ended up not being so cheap Mine is a Duracell. It has also been used to charge Evereadys. It's always a good habit to take along extra batteries regardless of the device

Yes, I use rechargeables in both my Sony digital camera and in my dvr. Before I go out on shops, I stop by the bookshelf in the hallway where the recharger is, put freshly charged batteries in the equipment and return the partially used ones to the charger. Even after several years of use they will still hold enough charge to take me through the day. If I am doing a whole bunch of shops I will throw spare pairs into the zipper pocket of my purse 'just in case'.

Office Depot and Staples both run deals from time to time where batteries are completely reimbursed (except sales tax) in member rewards with their loyalty programs. These may include big packs of regular AA and AAA as well as rechargeables. Unfortunately the rewards cannot be used for payment on other shops, but the batteries can be bought on a shop and enter the receipt information on line at home later for the member rewards.

I have poor results with rechargeables only in my Kodak camera that 'eats' batteries. If I am doing a shop with that camera I need to clear all 4 pairs of AAs out of the recharger as a precaution because the camera stops functioning after a few photos. This is true of that particular camera whether they are freshly recharged rechargeables or fresh out of the package regular batteries.

I'm glad you mentioned the camera. My camera used to eat batteries so quickly it was costing more to feed it than me. The rechargeable batteries actually seem to last a bit longer and with them it is worthwhile buying one of the name brands.

The problem seems to be the camera itself rather than the batteries. It needs the full power of fresh batteries to operate. The batteries moved over to some other device still work fine.

And yes, it most frequently is Energizers I use as rechargeables and Duracell non-rechargeables because those are the ones that show up with member reward rebates. They show up with the reward rebates often enough that I have accumulated several packages of each in each size that have been sitting here a long time, unopened, waiting for my old rechargeables to wear out.

Thanks for the 411 about the rewards. Staples is not on my "rat track" as Mary would say, but Office Depot and Office Max are semi-regular haunts. Although between reducing my printing since the smartphone and using the rechargeable batteries those trips have become much less frequent and only for shops

Understood. Office Depot is, IMO, the worst of the three rewards rebates programs as the rewards are calculated quarterly and released well after quarter end and only if you have over I think it is $25 worth of them. They can't be recycled into new rewards rebates through purchases. Staples generally has more items up for rewards rebates, but it tends to be 1 package of paper for net 1 cent (plus sales tax). Office Max ones I love because the reward becomes available in about a month and can be recycled into new rewards yielding purchases. I really churn my rewards with them.

This is a thought..i have been looking for something I need to use up my giftcards before Best Buy bites the dust and they are worthless. I already have a charger...just need to spring for those expensive rechargeabe batteries.

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> After receiving some bonus dollars from Best Buy I
> opted for a battery charger and have never looked
> back. So far I cannot tell a difference in life
> between them and comparable regular batteries. I
> can tell a huge difference between them and the
> cheap batteries which ended up not being so
> cheap Mine is a Duracell. It has also been used
> to charge Evereadys. It's always a good habit to
> take along extra batteries regardless of the
> device

When I did an endless amount of Radio Shack shops, I stocked up on AAA batteries for my Olympus DVR and have enough to last years. RS batteries are really good too. My recorder goes a long time before it runs out. It always seems to make it through even the longest interaction before dying. It cuts off as soon as I stop it and try to replay. I don't know if it's been a coincidence or if it was by design, but I've been grateful for that. I keep a few extra batteries in my shopping "bag" and computer bag (if I'm on a road trip). If I know I will be using it heavily (ie airport or dining assignments) I always replace the batteries. As long as my RS supply lasts, I won't be getting rechargeables. My camera (Olympus) has its own rechargeable battery that works great, but I was not impressed when I used to use rechargeables for an old camera. They never held a charge for very long. JMHO.

Flash, I'm interested in you DVR - the only DVR I know about is a feature that comes with my cable TV. Would you please elaborate on it? You can PM if you want to save all the smart people's time and energy - I'm just the slow-learning newbie. Thanks!

Digital Voice Recorder. It is a small 'tape recorder' that doesn't have a tape but records to memory chips. They are designed and most frequently used for dictation, but are also used by students to record classes for later review and shoppers to record interactions (in states where it is legal) or record shop notes/timings etc.

DVR-Digital Voice Recorder. It can be used for you to take notes on shops and occasionally if you are in a one-party state you could actually perform an audio shop. Audio shops pay more than standard written shops and often have little or no report similar to video shops. You must have a DVR that is acceptable quality and allows you to upload. Most of use an Olympus.

Once again, GMTA!

I have an app for that!

Actually, it is illegal in my state, but I'm sure I could use it to dictate 'notes to self'.

Thanks, all!

Where I have a problem is with the microphone for my DVR. The DVR always shows when the charge is getting low but there is nothing on the mic. I've just started changing batteries on the mic when I change the DVR out. The mic batteries are expensive.

There are microphones that do not have separate batteries. In fact I have not seen one that has a separate battery. Mine just plugs into the DVR and is run from there.

Flash - I was leery of ordering a microphone off the internet as I was afraid it wouldn't plug into the DVR I purchased. So when I went looking for the mic I ended up buying from Radio Shack and it was the only one they had. I might try looking for another one on the internet now as I have time to check them out and can always return. 3 batteries for the mic cost about $15.

They all have that small plug which I think is referred to as a 'mini plug'. My favorite is a Sony ECM-CS10, which is an omni-directional lapel microphone. My first one was a genuine Sony one that set me back about $50. Subsequently I bought a bunch of them on eBay for a couple of bucks each plus shipping and they are, of course, knock offs mailed in from China. But they are good enough that for sound you can not tell the difference between the Sony and the knock offs. The knock offs actually have a more flexible cable than the genuine, which is good for my applications.

Flash Wrote:
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> The problem seems to be the camera itself rather
> than the batteries. It needs the full power of
> fresh batteries to operate. The batteries moved
> over to some other device still work fine.

Flash, you probably have checked this already, but just in case...

I had the same experience with expensive rechargeable batteries working fine in other devices, but not living up to their advertised potential in my DSLR camera. Research showed that newer cameras have a battery-type setting. When I located the setting in the camera menu and matched it to the batteries (which were NiMH)
voilà! (Or, as my DH likes to say, viola!)

Flash - I'll check out eBay as my DVR is a Sony. Thx. for the info. As always you are a walking encyclopedia of MSC knowledge.

minnie Wrote:
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> Flash, you probably have checked this already, but
> just in case...
>
> I had the same experience with expensive
> rechargeable batteries working fine in other
> devices, but not living up to their advertised
> potential in my DSLR camera. Research showed that
> newer cameras have a battery-type setting. When I
> located the setting in the camera menu and matched
> it to the batteries (which were NiMH)
> voilà! (Or, as my DH likes to say, viola!)

Thanks for the suggestion but my cameras are primitive enough they don't offer a battery type setting. What I find truly annoying is that the Kodak will cease to function with either a set of charged rechargeables or a set of brand new regular Duracells after a couple of photos. I can throw them into the Sony camera and they have plenty of 'juice' to run that camera. I suspect it is a flaw in the Kodak design that it just needs too much power to run the thing, even when I am not using its maximum megapixels or the flash. Sort of like trying to run a Hummer with a VW Beetle engine--could work great downhill but forget about trying to go uphill.

Flash, how does your lapel pin work...perhaps it is time to get a new dvr if I can pin something on my clothing...where do you put the recorder itself and do you run a wire up to the button? I generally keep my dvr in a small sling purse and put it on the table. I tried my bra for a while but i found if I was not careful I would turn it off accidentally if i bent over the wrong way. I lost one too many shops that way and had to rely on my memory but if i can have a discreet button somewhere up nearer my neck that sounds fantastic, esp if i can buy it for a heck of a lot less than $50. I will hold off on buying rechargeable batteries until i decide if this is good for me and what size batteries it takes. Thanks for the info.

I have a 15 minute charger for AA and AAAs. The battery chargers for C and D batteries aren't worth it. It'd take all night and they'd die in a couple hours. AWFUL! But I think they're more old school. The AA and AAAs I have will hold a charge for DAYS. They're awesome. And quick to charge. I paid $20 for a 15 minute charger (either Duracel or...what's the other big name battery?) and four batteries. Awesome. It's the only thing I used in my digital camera when I had one that took AAs. The regular batteries died WAY too quickly.

I haven't tried it for my digi recorder but that's a fantastic idea! Now I only have to buy more batteries or dig through my kids' electronics to find my batteries since they snitched them all on me. Little buggers.

sandyf Wrote:
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> Flash, how does your lapel pin work...perhaps it
> is time to get a new dvr if I can pin something on
> my clothing...where do you put the recorder itself
> and do you run a wire up to the button? I
> generally keep my dvr in a small sling purse and
> put it on the table. I tried my bra for a while
> but i found if I was not careful I would turn it
> off accidentally if i bent over the wrong way. I
> lost one too many shops that way and had to rely
> on my memory but if i can have a discreet button
> somewhere up nearer my neck that sounds fantastic,
> esp if i can buy it for a heck of a lot less than
> $50. I will hold off on buying rechargeable
> batteries until i decide if this is good for me
> and what size batteries it takes. Thanks for the
> info.

First you take the lapel clip that comes with the microphone off because you will not use it. The cord on my exteral microphone is about 42" long so works great going to a pants pocket. I pull the microphone under the center section of my bra and flip it over the front. The tops I wear are loose enough fitting that a microphone bulge will not show. Having the microphone flipped to the outside keeps it from getting sweat dampened in summer time. I wear my shirt tails out and most of my tops are long enough they cover the tops of my pants pockets. The cord plugs into the DVR, the DVR is in my pocket because I know where the controls are by touch to turn it on, pause and continue. Any excess cord loop just tucks into my pants waistband.

Any DVR that accepts an external microphone should work equally well as long as you can manage the controls without looking at the DVR, so you probably don't need to replace your DVR. On mine, the external microphone, once plugged in, overrides any signal from the built in microphone (which is an okay microphone, just inconvenient). And the microphone uses no separate batteries.

Once you wire up for the first time, practice a little with blind handling the controls and for the best volume settings to pick up your voice or a conversation if you are in a state where that is legal.

I buy batteries at .99 store, and for my camera they last a long time. I keep extra in car, so far so good, have never had to recharge anything.

Thanks for the full description. Sounds like something that will work better. It is very noisy in some locations and having the mike closer to me will really help I think. After I wrote the above I realized that the mike was a separate entity from the dvr...i guess i did not do my careful instructions reading when i first read..not a good ms technique. Luckily it does not get that hot here...at least not near the beach where I live...just need to wear my pants with pockets and find the ones where the pockets are not so tight. I was always wearing my shirts with pockets if i could but that looks definitely like there is something in my pocket other than a part of my body. I will need to practice the blind stop and start technique but I am not good at those types of things. Should be easy but somehow it is not for me.
Irene, I was so sad to find when i went to oregon that the 99 cent stores are in very few states. I was planning to deck out my kids college rooms in 99 cent store but was foiled and had to spend a lot more money. I have gone to several of the other 99 and under or whatever the knockoffs are called but they are not anywhere as great as the original. I bought a pack of 8 AAA delco batteries there but i have been afraid to try them out on a shop. Delco used to be a major brand before general motors went belly up and they do not expire for a few more years. So thanks for the heads up that they work...

Never thought of using rechargeable batteries. I got sooo many when Ray o vac was on sale for $1 and there were $1 coupons around. i filled up a whole shoebox.
How long do rechargeables work?

I find that a new rechargeable fully charged will last as long as a new regular battery. After 6 months to a year they probably last only about 3/4 to half as long as a regular battery, so over time there is some loss of capacity. That is why I just automatically take freshly charged ones out of the recharger and put the ones from the appliance that have not yet been fully discharged into the recharger.

At one time (a decade or two ago) it was recommended that you take any rechargeable down to absolutely flat or they would lose some of their recharge ability. Current technology, I have been reassured on numerous shops, makes this no longer an issue. Nevertheless, from time to time I will pop a rechargeable into a flashlight and leave it turned on until it goes out. I then will turn it off for a while and then turn it on until it goes out. 'Rinse and repeat' until the flashlight doesn't even glow and then fully recharge the battery. It may be my imagination, but it does seem to me that after that they take a fuller charge.

If you need AA rechargeables I just found out they have them at Costco for $19 for 10 rechargeables.....I need AAA and they did not have them yesterday so i will hold out for a sale at the office supply store.