How can I get more battery life?
Wednesday, 01 July, 2009
I have a Doro cordless phone system which I use for home and home-office.
It has two handsets and I take one with me if I'm working around the house or shed.
The phones are quite a few years old now and I find that the battery goes flat within an hour of removing the phone from the charging base. Sometimes I don't realise until I answer a call and it starts beeping (low n=battery) then hangs up.
Suggestions?
Ivan Jedvic, , Australia
 You could buy a nice new cordless phone system Ivan. That old Doro you have is an analogue phone and can be overheard by someone with a scanner. It's also susceptible to interference. (Have you noticed radio stations breaking through, or buzzing in certain locations?)
You could replace it with a nice new DECT system for under $100.
Or, if otherwise happy with it, you could replace the batteries.
I looked up your model and it has AAA NiCd cells in each phone. They're rated at 300mAh so even when new you wouldn't have got a tremendous battery life.
So your replacement options are:
- Buy a new set of the same NiCd cells.(good)
- Buy a new set of higher powered NiCd cells (better)
- Buy a new set of even more powerful NiMH cells (best)
Paul Zucker
 Reader solutions
Tony BrownPosted: 07/07/2009 re: How can I get more battery life? In reply to "Andrew Collins" Do you really think it's wise to drive around wasting all that petrol just so you can charge your phone :)
Besides :( I don't have a ciggy lighter thingie on my motorcycle :( andrew peter collinsPosted: 03/07/2009 re: How can I get more battery life? Hi Ivan. A lot of people do not understand that if you want to get the best life out of any rechargable battery, you must "deliberately" let the battery go just about flat before recharging it. Most of us have a mobile phone and i understand the panic of being on an important call while we get constant beeps in the headset that the battery is just about to give up on us. This is what happens when mobile phones have become so bloody small that battery life is just about zero. While you shouldn't have to do what i'm about to suggest, i find my system works quite well. Most mobile phones have a charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter (can anyone see the irony here). Try and balance the use of your phone by asking certain people to call you only if it's urgent. Keep your calls short. Mobiles are only to keep in touch, not replace face to face contact. Use a bluetooth headset. This way, the phones battery only runs the electrics, not the ear piece therefore extending the batteries charge. If you drive home in gridlock traffic, charge the phone then. You might as well do something useful as it only takes about an hour to fully charge a battery. The next bit of advice is to the manufacturers of portable media. Please make your product a realistic size with a battery big enough to last a working day. While some people like using a phone no bigger than a credit card, i'm not one of them and i know i'm not alone. If Nokia's phones get any smaller, you could use them as a hearing aid. Problem solved (kinda). Cheers Gang Andy :) MarcelPosted: 02/07/2009 re: How can I get more battery life? I recommend getting a new phone. The price of replacement batteries will be 50% or higher the price of a new one. The new phones have better batteries today. MikePPosted: 02/07/2009 re: How can I get more battery life? If as PZ says, the batteries are AAA NiCad they don't like partial charges and quickly loose capacity.
Check whether your base can handle NickleMetal Hydride - they get a lot hotter but don't have memory effect.
Cost about the same these days. |