Roberts Stream205 - Alkaline or NiMH batteries

[Harryo]

I have just ordered a Roberts Stream205 FM/DAB/Internet portable radio which can also be used with 'D' type batteries either alkaline or NiMH type.

Initially I will be trying Panasonic 'Evolta' 1.5v alkaline batteries but would be interested in hearing from anyone who is using NiMH rechargeable batteries with this radio.

Battery life whilst using FM should be pretty good but understand that DAB and especially Wi-Fi could be demanding of the batteries.

If anyone is using NiMH batteries what type and and what power rating are they and how many hours do they last before requiring charging?

Harry.

 

[superbike999]

I have used D type NiMH rechargeable batteries with a Roberts Stream 202. They don't last very long and most of them need charging for about 16 hours. I am currently using Sanyo Enloop AA size with cases to convert them to fit a D type battery case. They are excellent AA batteries but when used in a D type case, they are no better than the brand I was using before, the make of which I cannot remember. I don't use that radio much these days as I tend to use my mains powered Roberts 83i. If I need battery power, I use my Pure One Flow, with its' optional extra £30 battery, which lasts quite a long time. I don't think the Pure sets are as good as most of the Roberts range though.

 

[larkone]

The Sanyo eneloop D size batteries are 5700 mAh which is nearly 3 times the capacity of the AA size (2000 mAh), though they are difficult to find. Eneloop C-Sized & D-sized: Sanyo Introduces a New Super Battery « Akihabara News

At the end of the day the higher the capacity (mAh) the longer they will last.

There are these at 8500 mAh
RechargeableBatteries.co.uk - - D Size Ansmann 8500mAh maxE 2pk

but at £19 for two work out expensive for six.

 

[Harryo]

I am currently using Sanyo Enloop AA size with cases to convert them to fit a D type battery case. They are excellent AA batteries but when used in a D type case, they are no better than the brand I was using before, the make of which I cannot remember.

Thanks for your reply, I already have a number of Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries which I have been using in photo equipement and small headphone amplifiers.

I ordered some of the Eneloop 'D' type battery cases which you mentioned and they arrived this morning along with some more Sanyo Eneloop AA HR-3UTGA 1.2v batteries, these batteries are the improved version and can be identified by an image of a crown on the battery.

What I did not realise is that the battery case only accepts one AA battery so that the 'Ma-h' remains the same although I have seen a website that were selling 'D' battery cases that would accept two AA batteries which doubled the 'Ma-h' compared with just the one battery.

There is some technical info on the Sanyo Eneloop batteries at:-

SANYO eneloop | Ready to use Rechargeable Battery - The only battery you will ever need

Will see how long the 'D' type alkaline batteries last in the Roberts Stream205 and then consider whether it is worth the expense of getting a decent charger and a set of six 'D' type rechargeable batteries.

When I was looking for a radio I did consider the Roberts 83i but I already have a Logitech Touch so went for something more portable.

Harry

 

[Harryo]

The Sanyo eneloop D size batteries are 5700 mAh which is nearly 3 times the capacity of the AA size (2000 mAh), though they are difficult to find

I did read that they were only available in Japan.

There is an eBayer in Taiwan who is selling them but the price for one battery including postage is £31.69!

So the price that you mentioned of £19 for two Annsman 8500 mAh batteries could be considered as reasonable.

Will have to do some more checking on the web to see what is considered a decent set of batteries and charger. I do not think it is going to work out cheap!

Harry

 

[Harryo]

I was wondering how efficient are the inbuilt WiFi antenna in Internet radios.

When comparing my laptop to my Roberts Stream 205 the laptop WiFi signal strength meter shows 4 to 5 bars and the radio's strength meter shows just 2 bars, this is with laptop and radio in the same locations in the house.

My router is an oldish D-Link DIR-825 which is situated in an upstairs front bedroom while most of the time the laptop and radio are in a downstairs living room. As the house is pre-war it has well built brick interior walls which can restrict the WiFi signal, unfortunately the router has to remain in the upstairs bedroom.

As a stop-gap I have just ordered a pair of genuine D-Link 7dB omni directional antennas from America to see if I can boost the WiFi signal to the radio.

If this does not work will be looking to get a more modern 'cable' router possibly an Asus as I now find that I'm using more WiFi enabled gadgets!

 

[larkone]

You could get some Homeplug wireless adapters to increase the range. This is a more flexible solution because you can move the wireless end around to where you need it.

 

[Harryo]

Thanks for the suggestion, will check on the web regarding information on the
'Homeplug' wireless adapters.

Hopefully the router antennas that I've ordered will give a boost to the WiFi signal strength, if not will consider the 'Homeplug' route.

 

[larkone]

Hi - I dont know where that link came from but here is a more useful one

Wireless Homeplugs And Network Extenders

 

[Harryo]

Hi - I dont know where that link came from but here is a more useful one

Wireless Homeplugs And Network Extenders

Thanks for the latest link, that is an interesting website a Network Extender might be a useful device to investigate.

 

[Harryo]

In a previous posting I mentioned that the Roberts signal strength meter only registered two segments whilst listening to Internet radio inside the house, in the garden no signal registered.

I did try some 7dB antenna on my D-Link DIR825 wireless router to see if I could boost the WiFi output but it did not make any recognisable difference.

A previous poster larkone gave some good advice on 'Homeplugs' and 'Network Extenders', I took his advice and decided to purchase a 'TP-Link TL-WA830RE 300Mbps Wireless N Range Extender' which was delivered today.

It was supposed to be easy to set-up the Range Extender just a case of pressing the WPS button on my router then press and hold the 'range extender' WPS/QSS button on the TL-WA830RE for five seconds and then all would be well, only this method failed to work!

Using an ethernet cable I connected the Range Extender to my laptop used the supplied TP-Link resource CD and selected 'Easy Setup Assistant' inputted a few details when requested and was up and running very quickly.

With the Range Extender running there is a vast improvement in the WiFi signal, indoors the Roberts strength meter is now showing 5-segments when previously it only displayed two. Outdoors in the garden I am now getting a signal reading of three-segments when previously there was no signal being received.

Harry

 

[larkone]

 

[Harryo]

After a fair amount of time researching NiMh batteries and the various types of battery charger available on the web, I have finally bought some 'D' type rechargeable batteries and a couple of chargers.

Initially I was looking at a number of 'D' type batteries available from a well known auction site, unfortunately a lot of the brands that were being auctioned I had not heard of, and Googling a number of the brands brought no results. I did contact one vendor to ask him who manufactured the batteries he was selling, he was very honest and told me that he had no idea as he only bought and sold items.

I was further alarmed by a story I came across on the web concerning a company who had been using an 'AA' battery which was then encased in a 'D' type shell. The author of this article who also published photos of the offending battery advised buyers of 'D' type batteries to weigh them to make sure they were buying the genuine article!

There are some decent batteries available on auction sites but one has to do a fair amount of homework to make sure you are buying a decent product, this time around I decided to buy batteries and chargers that were well known brands.

For 'D' type batteries I purchased the AccuPower Universal Charger - AccuManager20 - which accepts AAA, AA, C, D and 9V 'in any combination at the same time'. I also purchased six AccuPower 11500 'Digital Power' D type batteries.

Charging 'D' type batteries can take a fair amount of time, the charger is fully automatic in operation and it decides how long to charge each battery, for example the battery in Channel 1: took 19hours - 18mins to be fully charged and the others took Channel 2: 19hours - 54min, Channel 3: 16hours - 56mins and Channel 4: 16hours. Then of course I had to charge the remaining two batteries! I might consider buying a further Universal charger so that all batteries can be charged at the same time.

Due to the length of time charging the 'D' type batteries I then went and purchased a La Crosse Technology Model: BC-1000 charger for my AAA and AA batteries, I chose this model as it came with a case and various batteries and it was on special offer!

Reading the Roberts Stream 205 manual it states that "If using batteries only alkaline types should normally be used. Battery life will vary according to the use of the radio, but between 40 and 80 hours should be possible. WiFi use takes much more power than DAB listening, for example."

They do mention NiMh batteries but mention that 'commercially' available batteries will only power the radio for a few hours before needing recharging.

I put the AccuPower 11500 batteries in the radio and monitored my listening times to gauge how long the batteries lasted before expiring.

As WiFi Internet radio takes the greatest amount of power I decided only to use that medium for my test and ignored DAB and FM, listening only to Internet radio I managed to get 26hours - 30mins out of the batteries before they required recharging. A mixture of FM/DAB/Internet radio listening would improve on that figure and of course just listening to FM would give the best return.

At a later date might try some of the batteries from the auction site to see how they perform although I might just buy a sample battery so that I can weigh it to see whether its a genuine 'D' type battery!

 

[larkone]

It would seem that a shortcoming of the design is that it cannot charge the batteries internally to the radio. It would have cost pence to add this feature. They are some seriously heavy duty batteries though, no wonder they take some time to charge.

 

[Thirst4Know]

This lack of charging capability is a common irritation with devices that use replaceable cell type battery packs, I strongly suspect it has a lot to do with avoiding litigation from uninformed users who might try to charge inappropriate battery types with "unfortunate" consequences...

 

[larkone]

This lack of charging capability is a common irritation with devices that use replaceable cell type battery packs, I strongly suspect it has a lot to do with avoiding litigation from uninformed users who might try to charge inappropriate battery types with "unfortunate" consequences...

Nothing wrong with a bit of Darwinism

 

[Harryo]

It would seem that a shortcoming of the design is that it cannot charge the batteries internally to the radio. It would have cost pence to add this feature. They are some seriously heavy duty batteries though, no wonder they take some time to charge.

I wonder whether an inbuilt charging facility could cope with some of the heavy duty batteries that are now becoming available, even using a high quality external charger it can take 16 to 20 hours to fully charge the batteries.

Also having used dedicated battery packs with certain gadgets I am not a fan of these or internal charging, I much prefer being able to use either AAA, AA, C or D type batteries which one can source at competitive prices.

Due to the radio taking six D type batteries I have just purchased another charger so that all batteries can be charged at the same time, I have just finished testing to see how long the batteries last whilst using DAB reception only and now using the radio on FM only and will see how long it take for the batteries to expire.

When using DAB the batteries lasted for 37hours 15minutes compared with 26hours 30minutes when using the WiFi Internet radio mode, it will be interesting to see what I achieve just using the FM mode.

 

[Harryo]

I have been testing some rechargeable batteries in my Roberts FM/DAB/Internet radio and was surprised at the results between FM and DAB.

Internet radio useage batteries lasted 26hours - 30minutes

DAB useage batteries lasted 37hours - 15minutes

FM useage batteries lasted 36hours - 39minutes

I was led to believe that using DAB would consume more power than when the radio was on FM, therefore with freshly recharged batteries I tried again with FM and this time the batteries lasted 36hours - 7mins.