Battery choice: 9V vs 6 AAs

[Michael Black]

On Wed, 6 May 2015, Ralph Mowery wrote:

"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the coupon, and
then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap DMM I bought
at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery. "Everyone knows a DMM
should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

I don't know, I was thinking someone had mentioned Fluke used 9v
batteries.

But my 1984 Radio Shack DMM uses AA (two), my 1996 Radio Shack DMM uses 3
AA, but the cheap one from the hardware store uses a 9v. It surprised me,
that's all.

Michael

 

[Tim Wescott]

On Wed, 06 May 2015 13:18:39 -0400, Michael Black wrote:

On Wed, 6 May 2015, Ralph Mowery wrote:


"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the coupon,
and then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap DMM I
bought at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery. "Everyone
knows a DMM should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

I don't know, I was thinking someone had mentioned Fluke used 9v
batteries.

But my 1984 Radio Shack DMM uses AA (two), my 1996 Radio Shack DMM uses
3 AA, but the cheap one from the hardware store uses a 9v. It surprised
me,
that's all.

My Fluke uses a 9V. I think the el-cheapo from the Rat Shack uses 9V, too.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

 

[Ralph Mowery]

"John Fields" <jfields@austininstruments.com> wrote in message >>

Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

---
I think Michael Black's comment was supposed to be joke-ish since -
as far as I know - all battery-operated DMMs are powered by 9V
batteries.

Do you know of any exceptions which use AAs?

I took it as a joke. I also have a Fluke tester that is good for general
electrical work around a work place or home that is about $ 100. It uses
the AA batteries..It looks sort of like a bannana, yellow and all. Has a
gap in one end to measure AC current, does ohms to about 1000 and AC or DC
voltages. Almost blow out proof. I have put it across some fuses in the
ohm scale while 250 volts was on them.

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2015-05-05, Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

I'm fixing a kid's toy that was damaged by corrosion (stored with the
batteries). The only damaged part was the battery compartment, so I
opened it up, clipped off the internal wires to that bit, soldered
extensions on them & ran those through holes in the case, in order to
put an external 6 AA holder on. As it turns out, the 6 AA battery
holder I bought clips onto a 9 V battery attachment, which I had in
stock. As I was putting this together, I realized that 6 AAs in
series make about 9 V, so I'm wondering why a toy would run on 6 AAs
when 1 9V would be smaller & easier?

smaller, easier, more expensive long-term, less convenient.

a 9V has about as much energy as 1.5 AAs so you'd have replaced the 9v 4
times before the AAs would run out, the figures on retail price are
even worse.




--
umop apisdn

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2015-05-05, Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> wrote:

Take one of the old 27MHz license free walkie talkies, that all ran off
9v.

I've seen one that used 4AA

--
umop apisdn

 

[Ralph Mowery]

"Jasen Betts" <jasen@xnet.co.nz> wrote in message
news:mifiaq$ekr$2@gonzo.reversiblemaps.ath.cx...

On 2015-05-05, Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> wrote:

Take one of the old 27MHz license free walkie talkies, that all ran off
9v.

I've seen one that used 4AA

I had a set that used 8 AA in each one. That was around 1965.
Back then there seemed to be two types. One had a good receiver,and the
other type did not have a very good receiver.

 

[Michael Black]

On Thu, 7 May 2015, Jasen Betts wrote:

On 2015-05-05, Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> wrote:

Take one of the old 27MHz license free walkie talkies, that all ran off
9v.

I've seen one that used 4AA

There are always exceptions.

But I bet most of the cheap ones used 9v batteries.

You could get better ones, using superhet receivers but still 100mW input
to the transmitter, and those probably went to AA. But they were more
expensive, and less common.

Michael

 

[Frnak McKenney]

On 7 May 2015 11:25:21 GMT, Jasen Betts <jasen@xnet.co.nz> wrote:

On 2015-05-05, Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:
I'm fixing a kid's toy that was damaged by corrosion (stored with the
batteries). The only damaged part was the battery compartment, so I
opened it up, clipped off the internal wires to that bit, soldered
extensions on them & ran those through holes in the case, in order to
put an external 6 AA holder on. As it turns out, the 6 AA battery
holder I bought clips onto a 9 V battery attachment, which I had in
stock. As I was putting this together, I realized that 6 AAs in
series make about 9 V, so I'm wondering why a toy would run on 6 AAs
when 1 9V would be smaller & easier?

smaller, easier, more expensive long-term, less convenient.

a 9V has about as much energy as 1.5 AAs so you'd have replaced the 9v 4
times before the AAs would run out, the figures on retail price are
even worse.

And there's the rate-of-consumption factor. This externsive analysis of
the impact of current drain on measured capacity:

<http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?64660-Alkaline-Battery-Shoot-Out>

shows that how fast you suck electrons out of a battery/cell can have a
signficant effect on how many mA a device can consume for how long before
its voltage drops.

Unfortunately, the comparison doesn't include 9V "N" alkalines.

Hope this contributes to the discussion.


Frank McKenney
--
The really good idea is always traceable back quite a long way, often
to a not very good idea which sparked off another idea that was only
slightly better, which somebody else misunderstood in such a way that
they then said something which was really rather interesting.
-- John Cleese
--
Frank McKenney, McKenney Associates
Richmond, Virginia / (804) 320-4887
Munged E-mail: frank uscore mckenney aatt mindspring ddoott com

 

[Adam Funk]

On 2015-05-06, Bob Masta wrote:

One thing (maybe the *only* thing) in favor of 9V batteries
is that their snap-in contact system seems to be much more
reliable than that of standard cylindrical cells, especially
chains of cells.

(This may be an unfair comparison, since 9V batteries are
usually only found in low-current applications, and it may
be that the higher current in the multi-cell products is the
culprit causing the terminal corrosion.)

That's an interesting point. I can't recall ever seeing a toy or
gadget ruined by leaking 9V batteries, or not working because of poor
contact with them --- whereas I've seen both problems with sets of
AAs.


--
You measure democracy by the freedom it gives its dissidents,
not the freedom it gives its assimilated conformists.
--- Abbie Hoffman

 

[Adam Funk]

On 2015-05-07, Jasen Betts wrote:

On 2015-05-05, Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:
I'm fixing a kid's toy that was damaged by corrosion (stored with the
batteries). The only damaged part was the battery compartment, so I
opened it up, clipped off the internal wires to that bit, soldered
extensions on them & ran those through holes in the case, in order to
put an external 6 AA holder on. As it turns out, the 6 AA battery
holder I bought clips onto a 9 V battery attachment, which I had in
stock. As I was putting this together, I realized that 6 AAs in
series make about 9 V, so I'm wondering why a toy would run on 6 AAs
when 1 9V would be smaller & easier?

smaller, easier, more expensive long-term, less convenient.

a 9V has about as much energy as 1.5 AAs so you'd have replaced the 9v 4
times before the AAs would run out, the figures on retail price are
even worse.

So if I ran out of AAs but not 9Vs, I could run it on a 9V, just more
expensively & with more frequent battery changes. That's interesting
to know.


--
Consistently separating words by spaces became a general custom about
the tenth century A. D., and lasted until about 1957, when FORTRAN
abandoned the practice. --- Sun FORTRAN Reference Manual

 

[David Eather]

On Fri, 08 May 2015 20:27:49 +1000, Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

On 2015-05-07, Jasen Betts wrote:

On 2015-05-05, Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:
I'm fixing a kid's toy that was damaged by corrosion (stored with the
batteries). The only damaged part was the battery compartment, so I
opened it up, clipped off the internal wires to that bit, soldered
extensions on them & ran those through holes in the case, in order to
put an external 6 AA holder on. As it turns out, the 6 AA battery
holder I bought clips onto a 9 V battery attachment, which I had in
stock. As I was putting this together, I realized that 6 AAs in
series make about 9 V, so I'm wondering why a toy would run on 6 AAs
when 1 9V would be smaller & easier?

smaller, easier, more expensive long-term, less convenient.

a 9V has about as much energy as 1.5 AAs so you'd have replaced the 9v 4
times before the AAs would run out, the figures on retail price are
even worse.

So if I ran out of AAs but not 9Vs, I could run it on a 9V, just more
expensively & with more frequent battery changes. That's interesting
to know.

about 20 times more frequent, but if it saves you when your in a jam...

I did just think that the internal resistance is higher too, so for some
things that have intermittent high current draw it might not be workable
at all.

 

[George Herold]

On Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 1:16:09 PM UTC-4, John Fields wrote:

On Wed, 6 May 2015 10:58:28 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:


"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the coupon, and
then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap DMM I bought
at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery. "Everyone knows a DMM
should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

---
I think Michael Black's comment was supposed to be joke-ish since -
as far as I know - all battery-operated DMMs are powered by 9V
batteries.

Do you know of any exceptions which use AAs?

John Fields

I've got a fluke that uses 4 AA's.
(Damn thing chews through batteries about every month.)

George H.

 

[Dimitrij Klingbeil]

On 08.05.2015 18:37, George Herold wrote:

On Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 1:16:09 PM UTC-4, John Fields wrote:
On Wed, 6 May 2015 10:58:28 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:


"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the
coupon, and then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap DMM
I bought at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery.
"Everyone knows a DMM should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt
battery. Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

--- I think Michael Black's comment was supposed to be joke-ish
since - as far as I know - all battery-operated DMMs are powered
by 9V batteries.

Do you know of any exceptions which use AAs?

John Fields

I've got a fluke that uses 4 AA's. (Damn thing chews through
batteries about every month.)

George H.

My Sanwa "AU-32" uses neither 9V nor AAs, but 4 AAAs instead. But it's
not really a DMM either - more like an "AMM" with some digital parts
that do the auto-ranging and auto-polarity-switching with comparators,
latches and many discretes for timing. Also it looks like it uses the
mid-supply connection between the battery pairs for some purpose.

Dimitrij

 

[JW]

On Wed, 06 May 2015 12:16:00 -0500 John Fields
<jfields@austininstruments.com> wrote in Message id:
<fjikkadmdq1u2kj3kuc14hi91e7s92977g@4ax.com>:

On Wed, 6 May 2015 10:58:28 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:


"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the coupon, and
then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap DMM I bought
at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery. "Everyone knows a DMM
should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

---
I think Michael Black's comment was supposed to be joke-ish since -
as far as I know - all battery-operated DMMs are powered by 9V
batteries.

Do you know of any exceptions which use AAs?

I own a Fluke 187 that uses 4 AAs.

 

[Pimpom]

"John Fields" <jfields@austininstruments.com> wrote in message
news:fjikkadmdq1u2kj3kuc14hi91e7s92977g@4ax.com...

On Wed, 6 May 2015 10:58:28 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:


"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the
coupon, and
then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap
DMM I bought
at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery.
"Everyone knows a DMM
should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt
battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

---
I think Michael Black's comment was supposed to be joke-ish
since -
as far as I know - all battery-operated DMMs are powered by 9V
batteries.

Do you know of any exceptions which use AAs?

I have both. I have one DMM which uses two, not four, AAs. One
from ~35 years ago used four of them. I remember that zeroing had
to be done manually with a dedicated button at each power-on. But
*most* of the ones I know of use 9V packs.

 

[Michael Black]

On Wed, 13 May 2015, Pimpom wrote:

"John Fields" <jfields@austininstruments.com> wrote in message
news:fjikkadmdq1u2kj3kuc14hi91e7s92977g@4ax.com...
On Wed, 6 May 2015 10:58:28 -0400, "Ralph Mowery"
rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:


"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1505060232090.14480@darkstar.example.org...
Maybe he was suggesting getting the meter for free with the
coupon, and
then using the 9v battery in something else.

I was suprised a couple of years ago to find that the cheap
DMM I bought
at the hardware chain store here used a 9v battery.
"Everyone knows a DMM
should use AA batteries".



Maybe my Fluke meter is not any good because it uses a 9 volt
battery.
Guess that I should ask for my $ 350 back.

---
I think Michael Black's comment was supposed to be joke-ish
since -
as far as I know - all battery-operated DMMs are powered by 9V
batteries.

Do you know of any exceptions which use AAs?

I have both. I have one DMM which uses two, not four, AAs. One
from ~35 years ago used four of them. I remember that zeroing had
to be done manually with a dedicated button at each power-on. But
*most* of the ones I know of use 9V packs.

My experience, admittedly limited (and limited more because I wasn't
looking at the insides of a whole bunch of DMMs) was that they used AA
batteries.

I wasn't saying one way or another against meters that used 9v, just
suprrised when I got one that used a 9v battery.

Michael