At 3:44 pm the load has 12%.
At 3:45 p.m. I put it to load.
3:48 pm (three minutes later) The load has 73%.
3:51 pm 92%.
3:57 pm It’s already fully charged, 100%.
When I disconnect the USB cable the load goes down to 50% -60% and starts to decrease rapidly. None of that happens with my other antenna.
In emlid docs there is no estimated loading time to know how many hours they must be charging. Just mention that the orange LED flashes three times when it has “full charge” but I have never seen that happen.
I think it is a little drastic to suggest buying a new unit, just because a battery is failing.
I am quite certain that a dealer can replace the battery, or, if out of warranty, that is quite doable on your own.
Ja, My 2 RS units get used a lot. I use them about 3-4 times a week. They are really abused(as requested by the Emlid boys) to check for damages. I have one unit that I know has a dodgy battery. It charges way too fast and runs out very fast. I know that I should leave it on charge over night if I want to get a full day from it. It doesn’t seem to matter if I run the LoRa radio on or off, the draw is normally only a few hours.
The unit was never dropped or damaged. It was always like that from day one.
That’s why I am also asking if the battery is replaceable.
Can I purchase a battery from Emlid and replace it myself, which is what I would do before buying a new unit if that is offered.
A lot of things these days are totally disposable, so to buy a new fully working unit isn’t drastic, especially at the rate the OP is having with their battery life. I.e. my $1000+ Samsung Note 8. You used to be able to pop the back off and replace the battery on older models, but now the phone has to be totally torn apart due to the IP68 rating. Yes, it can be replaced probably by someone experienced if they can also purchase the battery. It’s a tradeoff. And the thing is most will only use these phones for 2 years and then get another new model… disposable.
Point is these days, batteries aren’t “easily” replaceable in devices that are sealed with ratings. Same goes for other equipment like laptops, RAM, WIFI, etc are soldered in, not easily replaceable. I am not entirely certain most of the dealers even work on these units? Seems they cannot even get any to sell much less? I would think they would refer you to Emlid for repair if possible, or if under warranty just order you another one to replace defective unit.
Is this the case with a RS unit? I don’t know, is why I am asking… I would like to know also so I have a answer when my battery starts drawing rapidly hindering work.
Me personally, it’s the cost of doing business… so I would just buy another one to keep going. Only problem is the huge order wait time which is not good, so therefore buy at least 1 extra ahead of time for backup purposes. But thing is, if not being used regularly, I am afraid the battery may not work like it would normally during regular charge / use cycles.
So the question is, can we purchase a battery, and how to replace it?
The first thing I would expect is a response from the emlid team about the possible causes and solutions that could exist.
Some days ago I asked about an error in reachview (negative age, disappearance of bars in the status window and freezing of the baseline), I had no answer only from Tore (user PRO).
Now for the answer of Luke (another user Pro) it seems that there is no simple solution, he has to charge the antenna all night long one day before using it.
If that is the solution that was given to a Pro user, what can I expect?
Well, that is what I have been doing and so far all is fine.
But from what I understand, bets to use the device fully and drain as much as possible, then FULL charge, then repeat. If you use a little bit, then charge to top it off, then keep doing this, from what I understand the battery retains memory and shortens the life. This all depends on the type of battery also.
Emlid is VERY good about participating here…MUCH more so than other developers. Other sites I have seen NO participation and they really do not have to. Keep in mind that Emlid is vey busy also. Most people come here with problems so, I can only imagine how full their plate is…and most of the problems are usually user error probably for the most part…but yes, some are cases like yours.
Just a little patience and hopefully you will get some of your problems solved. Sometimes things are quite no so instant.
Tore is also a BIG contributor here and one of the many that are VERY helpful.
Ja, I never raised the issue with the Emlid boys before, hence I don’t have an answer for you on what to do. It does hinder day to day work but I plan for that and as a standard run 2 bases for PPK or PP work. I almost never use RTK. My other base is a very old DIY Reach with solar battery setup. It never lets me down (except when the sun does down…!)
But on the other hand, a lot of my bigger projects requires different tools. For those projects, you cant have battery issues or any other problems. You have to have proper equipment to keep the client happy. (and your wallet). For that type of work, I whip out the old Leica GPS1200.
I have been taught to always have redundancy and double measurements. Having 2 setups is not a big deal for me. I think the nature of the Emlid products is inherently DIY. There is a lot that will work straight out of the box but maintenance and expansion wise, you can’t be afraid to hack / modify things. My plan when i get time is to shove some 18650 Li-Ion batteries in there with a simple charging board.
We are an Australian distributor and carry plenty of stock and some limited spares, although not batteries.
We can supply RS+ units very quickly.
For anyone with battery issues I would recommend upgrading to the latest version of Reachview and leaving your units on charge for at least over night (as a one time measure), regardless of battery status indicating 100% charge.
FWIW, we charge overnight and check each unit we supply prior to shipping to our customers. We’ve only had one returned and that was due to a diode that was I talked back to front, an issue peculIar to a small batch of Reach RS (not RS+) that prevented fix,
This doesn’t answer your battery replacement question but I hope this helps, Al
