URC-8910 -- What should I expect for battery life?

htewam · Post by **htewam** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:23 pm

I picked up a couple of 8910s from Rob a few months ago. Since then I have found both remotes "dead" at least once each until I cycled in another set of batteries. At least one of the units ended up dead again about 2 weeks ago -- putting in a new set of batteries restored their health. My previous experience with the Radio Shack/OFA models were that they are very thrifty on battery power. Obviously usage patterns vary but is 2-3 months a reasonable life span for a set of batteries on an 8910? Any thoughts on what I should expect for a "sleeping" current draw? Presumably the 8910 has to keep the built-in RTC alive but I wouldn't expect this short of a battery life. My original set of batteries were probably not "pristine" but I was surprised at how little time they lasted.

Capn Trips · Post by **Capn Trips** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:29 pm

Do you usually leave the backlight activated? Routine use of the backlight will dramatically reduce battery life. Regardless, they should last a few months with routine backlight use, and up to 6-7 months otherwise.

Plus there's no "resting" current draw (as far as I know).

Post by **The Robman** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:03 pm

I'm surprised also as the LCD remotes don't use much more power than the regular remotes, so the batteries should last quite a while (ie, more like 6 months rather than 6 weeks).

htewam · Post by **htewam** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:28 pm

The backlight is off... I guess I will have to track the battery usage a bit more and try to characterize what I am seeing. I guess the chance exists that the batteries that I used were old but we are talking a total of 8 batteries in two different remotes.

htewam · Post by **htewam** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:19 pm

Update -- Well, the one remote (8910) has already consumed another two sets of fresh batteries since my July 06 original post. The other 8910 seems to be holding stable but it is rarely used. Need to program up the alternate 8910 up with my normal video configuration and start to use it regularly for a while... maybe one of the remotes has an internal short. If the problem is in one and not the other, I'll just try to order a replacement from Rob.

Can anyone tell me what the current draw should be for an 8910 in a quiet (off) state? Presumably there is some draw to keep the RTC alive.