Question about expected alkaline battery life on Vaquero

[locusman]

Hi fellow Tesoro users. I am here because I am concerned that my Vaquero's battery life is unusually short - and I am just concerned that there might be a small electrical problem, e.g. a short circuit or other reason why the battery just doesn't seem to last very long. I put in brand new, duracell 9V alkalines, and it seems like I'm only getting about 5-6 usable hours before I am down to two beeps on the battery check (5 or 6 is full charge, 2 or less, just about dead) and then I have to put a new one in again. I know that 9V batteries do provide a lot less current than AA's, but I didn't expect this - is anyone else experiencing this problem with their Vaq or Cibola machines. By the way, I do take out the batts now between hunts, but that didn't seem to lengthen the life any. It's a great machine otherwise, great recovery time, and I've found plenty of stuff with it, but just the battery life is my only problem. How long do your 9V's last for you other Vaq users?

Thanks, and any help would be appreciated.

Mark

 

[DiGGER27]

!0 to 20 hours max in literature, but I get about 10 hours using headphones before I get 2 beeps.
Estimation only, I will keep better track from now on.

 

[Ism]

If you are using the onboard speaker your battery life will be greatly diminished. If headphones, make sure they are the high impedance type.

 

[jabbo]

Ism, are high impedance be easier on the batteries?

 

[sqwaby]

6-8 hrs is what I get from Duracell 9v batteries. If I run super tuned(rarely do) it will kill a battery in 5hrs or less. Most times I replace at 3 beeps as the machine starts to loose stability and can become chatty.

 

[Ism]

Ism, are high impedance be easier on the batteries?

Yes, takes less current to drive them. They are also recommended by the MFG. I think all high end detector phones are all high impedance but I havent researched them so I'm not positive.

 

[tvr]

Detector Pro Jolly Rogers are16 ohms nominal while their Grey Ghosts are 150 ohms nominal. You just need to read the specifications for both the detector and the headphones before you buy. If the detector specifications don't state an audio amplifier or driver impedance, I tend to go to the high impedance phones reasoning that the circuit is probably a fairly high impedance op-amp driver. If the detector specification states an impedance for the headset audio amp, try to get close to it with the head set.
Cheers,
tvr

 

[calibil]

Interesting that someone mentioned less battery life in super tune, I noticed that too, guess thats just normal

 

[silverskidmarks]

iv'e experienced the drainage on super tuned mode also...running normal with headphones about 8 hours...i converted mine to AA's and got at least double the length i thought anyways..

 

[locusman]

I didn't really connect the super-tuning aspect with reduced battery life, but apparently that is a large factor. I do run in super tune setting pretty much all the time, and use regular Sony headphones (they are for stereo use, but seem to work fine for detecting). I don't know if they are 8 ohms or 16 ohms resistance or what. I will have to check. But this may also be a potential drain of power. Maybe I should consider grey ghost or some other brand to use for this machine. I would be curious to know how the "conversion" to AA batteries would work for the Vaq. I guess the only way would be to attach externally a AA pack of batteries somewhere, and run a wire to the terminals where the 9V would go. This would definitely be something to ask about on the Mods forum

Thanks for all the info everyone.

Mark