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Am I the only one that just uses the Nomad's regular AA battery holder with AA rechargeables? It seems a lot easier than shoehorning it into an old defective rechargeable pack. They'll power the Nomad for about 4 hours and take less than an hour to recharge.
Well, it helps to actually have the 6AA holder. I'd love to have one. Right now, they are going for over $40 Cdn on eBay. The rechargable packs are cheaper (though they don't usually work) and more plentiful. How much did you pay for your AA holder?
Seriously? I had no idea, that's messed up. I bought my Nomad new from EB way back when they were on clearance, but I didn't fork over another $50 on the rechargeable battery pack.
Carry on.
So I took my extra game gear screen magnifier which would not originally fit on the Nomad, and pulled some stuff off of it, now with 2 rubber bands it stays on my Nomad and really helps the picture quality. This is only temporary though, the screen mag I am using is huge and really makes the already large Nomad seem about the size of a cinder block. I am going to find a high quality magnifying lens and build a better way of hooking it up to the Nomad so it is not so giant. The blurring and ghosting the Nomad is famous for doesn't seem nearly as bad when under the magnifying lens for some reason, it really helps the picture quality, I just need to find a nice small one to use which shouldn't be too hard.
I imagine that's the way most people do it, since it's way easier than rebuilding a rechargeable battery. Plus for sheer play time you can't beat the rechargeable-AA method, what with NiMH AA capacity reaching 3000 mAh now. Six fully-charged 3000 mAh AAs in an unmodified Nomad should last over 6½ hours.Quote:
Originally Posted by GohanX
snume said it - not everyone has the AA battery holder for the Nomad. As Nomads go through owners, the battery holders get lost or broken, or lose their covers. Most of the time they're very expensive on eBay. The ones available right now have a BIN of $35-40, and actually sell. :!: If you're very patient, one will come along with a low starting bid, and usually those end at $20-25 or thereabouts. All for an incredibly cheap, lightweight plastic box with springy cell contacts inside. It seems insane.
So if you can live with four hours' play per charge, a refurbed PowerBack (Sega's name for the rechargeable battery) is an alternative.
The PowerBack actually has a few minor advantages, the biggest one being convenience. No swapping cells into the charging unit, then swapping them back into the Nomad. Just plug the power adapter into the PowerBack for an overnight charge and it's ready to rock for the next day's gaming.
Also, to use rechargeable AAs in the Nomad, you need to invest in an 8-cell charger or use two 4-cell chargers, since the Nomad uses six cells. One problem with using two 4-bangers is that the cells may end up receiving differing charges. Using unbalanced cells can reduce performance and cell life. Granted, it's probably negligible, but I used to read about RC car hobbyists obsessing about using balanced cells all the time. The problem with an 8-banger is it's a lot more expensive.
I may have a bias toward the rechargeable PowerBack, since I've rebuilt several and it's no big thing to me to rebuild it again if needed. You may or may not infer further bias since I'm known to, uh, "mention" :mrgreen: on these boards, from time to time, that I am available for refurbing others' PowerBacks and I also sell ones which I have refurbed on spec.
Really? Where are you finding them? On eBay, about the only ones I see are included in an auction with a Nomad and games, etc. I don't see many individually sold any more, maybe I need to look around more... :)Quote:
Originally Posted by snume
-tet
I stand corrected on the avaiilability part. The last couple of times I checked, it seemed I couldn't even find a 6AA holder, but there were some of the rechargeables. The ones I had found were $35-40 as compared to $15-20 for the rechargeables. Now there are 3 or 4 6AA ones and no rechargeables. Still can't bring myself to pay what they're asking, tho.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetrode kinkReally? Where are you finding them? On eBay, about the only ones I see are included in an auction with a Nomad and games, etc. I don't see many individually sold any more, maybe I need to look around more... :)Quote:
Originally Posted by snume
No one should fall for the Duracell Ultra Powerpix batteries. Nickel Oxy Hydroxide
The ones that supposedly last twice as long in "high drain" devices.
I got the standard 3.5 hours out of them.
...I've also borrowed 6 AA 3000mah rechargeables from my friend.
I'm going to test them next.
...I'm really interested in that back light mod.