View Full Version : How fast Nomad eats batteries ?
I managed to get my Nomad run 5 and a half hours on 6x 2100mAh rechargeable. I had the volume at maximum, my earphones plugged in and screen at quite bright settings...
Iron Lizard
09-22-2008, 02:54 PM
I think that sounds about right. I never timed mine when I had it. All i know is that i stuck to ac and car adapters when I the chance to play. Is there anyway one could be modded to run more efficiently? Could a switch to turn the back light off be added?.
Backlite switching off is out of question, you won't see anything then... you could make the backlite a bit dimmer, I need to put it back into my Nomad to see if it helps. I'm also planning to disable the RGB to Composite chip as I'm not hooking the system to TV (with composite cables) anyway. This will probably help a little too...
I usually use AC brick or car adaptor, but sometimes I don't have this option...
Iron Lizard
09-22-2008, 03:01 PM
Awesome. Well if you figure it out I think some of us would love to send our Nomads and cash to you . :)
Fonzie
09-22-2008, 03:07 PM
I remember getting 5h30 with 1800mha new batteries... And 3h30 with 1100mha... same result almost then!
With 2400mha bats, u should get very good results, around 7 hours...
When I see people saying the PSP is sucking bats "at almost same rate" as nomad or gg... I think they forget one detail... back in nomad day, the batteries were 600mha... Not 4000mha like the psp one ;)
haha! this rules!
Btw, Tiido. Most bats are 1.2v, what about having 7x1.2, you could get quite a bit extra power ? :D
I don't have room for 7th battery and I don't think the stock charger system can charge 7 batteries... 7th battery would make a big difference I think... 8 would be even better though :)
MN12BIRD
09-24-2008, 12:52 AM
One big misconception with many LCDs is the contrast or brightness adjustments and thinking it will save power. On most of these old LCDs (Game Gear etc) the backlight is ALWAYS on and ALWAYS at the same brightness. Changing the brightness only changes the darkness of the LCD shutter not the backlight. I would think having the screen darker would actually be worse for the batteries! The PSP on the other hand can change the backlight brightness.
Fonzie
09-24-2008, 03:23 AM
I see, that's why we get the strange "reversed color" effect when putting it too dark... Thx for the input.
"8 would be even better though "
Yeah, if the nomad have some kind of regulation system, sounds great :D ;P
Next step is the motorbike battery ;P
Motorbike battery sounds excellent :P
Adjusting the brightness should have some effect, more energy is required to "turn" the crystals in the LCD to have brighter screen. Backlite is the main eater though, I have freshly charged my battery pack and I'll do the backlite dimming mod again to see if there's any (big) difference. With dimmer backlite, using the Nomad in bright areas is not too good, but at least the black level gets much better, and hopefully the battery life aswell....
gamevet
09-24-2008, 02:44 PM
I brought a battery pack with me on my current trip. The battery pack is dead. :(
That's 2 out of 3 battery packs now dead. I should try to charge it again, to see if maybe it'll take some sort of charge.
The original battery packs need ALL their batteries in them replaced... I spent a quite big sum on the batteries....
17daysolderthannes
09-24-2008, 03:51 PM
One big misconception with many LCDs is the contrast or brightness adjustments and thinking it will save power. On most of these old LCDs (Game Gear etc) the backlight is ALWAYS on and ALWAYS at the same brightness. Changing the brightness only changes the darkness of the LCD shutter not the backlight. I would think having the screen darker would actually be worse for the batteries! The PSP on the other hand can change the backlight brightness.
I don't know about that, in order for my game gear to work I have to turn the brightness all the way down, power it on, and then adjust it, otherwise it will turn on for a second and shut itself off. On my older game gear (with broken D-Pad, thanks mom), if you turn the brightness past a certain point even after its on it will shut off.
Iron Lizard
09-24-2008, 03:57 PM
They sound broken to me.
ALL GameGears will stop working (properly) soon... many don't work even now. There' a fix for it, the sooner it is done, the better.
MN12BIRD
09-24-2008, 10:25 PM
I must be lucky I've had 4 game gears in the past few years and never seen a broken one... yet.
Pfft! Of the eight GGs I own, only one is fully working (a blue US GG) and I don't use it much for that reason - it's a bit sad. If only I had the tools / skill / patience to fix the others.
I've never used real batteries in the Nomad, only rechargables (which I think are dying - seem to hold less charge each time). I usually just plug the fecker into the mains. Sega's portables are not so :(
sega fan
09-24-2008, 10:42 PM
ALL GameGears will stop working (properly) soon... many don't work even now. There' a fix for it, the sooner it is done, the better.
Why ? I was hoping on getting one.
In order to reduce cost, Sega used some not so good type of capacitors in GG and now these capacitors are dying... if the GG has been not decently working for too long, it will become dead as the leakage from dying caps is corrosive... my GG, even after capacitors replacement, won't work correctly, screen flickers and no way around it other than using TV for video out.
Mr. Ksoft
09-25-2008, 07:40 AM
Did they use the same cheap caps in the Majesco GG's? They were made quite a while later and I'm wondering because I'd like to know if my GG will keep on going for the time when I finally buy some good games for it.
djtwok
12-03-2008, 01:59 AM
What does a nomad cost (i am looking for one)
A Black Falcon
12-03-2008, 04:08 PM
Did they use the same cheap caps in the Majesco GG's? They were made quite a while later and I'm wondering because I'd like to know if my GG will keep on going for the time when I finally buy some good games for it.
Good question... it's easy enough to tell the Majesco GGs apart (grey logo where the original one has the three colored strips, etc), but do they have the same bad caps in them, or better ones?
17daysolderthannes
12-03-2008, 08:32 PM
What does a nomad cost (i am looking for one)
about $50 give or take.
Aarzak
12-03-2008, 08:38 PM
I'd just get a PSP.......*hint hint*, and configure the controls in the same manner as they were for the official "Sega Genesis Collection". The Nomad is nothing but a novelty nowadays. Too bulky, eats batteries for breakfast, small screen, blurring........
molotovwars
12-03-2008, 09:36 PM
I'd just get a PSP.......*hint hint*, and configure the controls in the same manner as they were for the official "Sega Genesis Collection". The Nomad is nothing but a novelty nowadays. Too bulky, eats batteries for breakfast, small screen, blurring........
Yeah, I'd always wanted a Nomad since it came out way back when, especially since I've got such a large genesis collection, but since I got my PSP in the summer of 2005 I've had it able to play emulators and it plays the genesis roms so perfectly that now there is little point of me getting the nomad. But if I find a good deal on one I'm sure I'll pick it up.
ceibant
12-03-2008, 10:48 PM
I don't really want my Nomad...
Cauterize
12-04-2008, 01:24 PM
I really do think some people come down on the Nomad and Game Gear too hard when it comes to battery life.
For a 90's handheld with full colour display and sound, 5 hours on batteries as apposed to mains is pretty impressive in my opinion.
If a portable SNES was released im sure it would suffer the same fate, however Nintendo didnt take the dive.
Besides, you only need to look at the Ben Heck style hacks. Their battery life isnt fantastic unless a huge rechargable battery pack is attached.
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