I make a habit of looking at the battery charge indicator every time I turn on my Kestrel 5700 Elite. Usually it says 100%. But sometimes it is less...a lot less. I would expect to see a decline in the percentage. I don't understand how, or why, it would show low and then another time be back up to 100%. Or does the fluctuation indicate a battery I should no longer trust?
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Kestrel 5700 Elite Battery life
- Thread starter AbbyKatt
- Start date
Both my old 4500 and new 5700 do this. I suspect it may have something to do with the temperature of the battery on start up.
I notice that the percent indication is temperature sensitive. When below 50 degrees the percent will sometimes dip below 40%, only to have it be up to 100% when the temp warms up. Perhaps it is the lithium battery? It has never failed me thought.
Last time I used mine it was at 44% I just turned it on and it says 100%. It’s all over the place, I carry an extra battery in my pack just in case.
Yesterday I was out practicing, started up my 5700 Elite at -5*F and it said 43% remaining.
Broke it out today indoors and it said 100% remaining.
Only time it happened at room-temp was at re-start right after the recent firmware update.
I use the Energizer Ultimate lithiums.
Broke it out today indoors and it said 100% remaining.
Only time it happened at room-temp was at re-start right after the recent firmware update.
I use the Energizer Ultimate lithiums.
Batteries are temp sensitive. The indicator level is based on its output which can change with temp changes. For my Kestrels I just use NiMH rechargeables.
I'm having similar issue. Brand new batteries (Lithium and setting set to lithium) show 43-50%. This has happened since update to 1.23. tried with two sets of batteries and both do the same even at 70 deg. .
Any suggestions or ways to find actual battery life while device is on? Other than on boot screen?
Any suggestions or ways to find actual battery life while device is on? Other than on boot screen?
Battery life read outs are simply in response to the voltage output of the battery. If the battery is outputting less than ideal voltage, than the % will drop. These numbers are based on standards of what they "should" be outputting. Maybe the batch you have is pushing lower than normal voltage? The easy way to tell is just run them through a volt meter.
What voltages should return a 90-100% value for new batteries and what would correspond to a 40-50%? Happy to check a few batteries to see if that resolves. I haven't had one fail yet but its disconcerting to head out to match or practice session and have battery look like it could fail within the next few hours.
on side note, is it possible that the Lithium/Alkaline settings in Kestrel aren't being applied properly? I.e even when selecting lithium, the voltage/battery life calculation is still using another profile?
Will check batteries later today following your reply for optimal V outputs.
on side note, is it possible that the Lithium/Alkaline settings in Kestrel aren't being applied properly? I.e even when selecting lithium, the voltage/battery life calculation is still using another profile?
Will check batteries later today following your reply for optimal V outputs.
Should be 1.5 to 1.6 volts new. No, the settings shouldn't make a huge difference.
Mine is doing the exact same thing since updating to the latest firmware. Never did this before. I’m using the recommended batteries and have tried with different batches purchased from different stores.
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Oddly enough, somehow my Kestrel now reads 100% battery life even though it's still the same battery I've had for over a year.
Before continuing, I need to say that the Kestrel 5700 has quickly become one of my most valuable pieces of equipment: it flat out rocks!
However...
I went to match two weeks ago and slept in car overnight (15deg outside temp). When I woke, it was 20 deg in car and magically, my showed 100% battery even at 20degF for several hours. At the end of the match it still showed 100...Which leaves me very confused. 40-50% at room temperature and 100% at 20deg...???
Over the last 6 months on this battery I have gotten the following readings in order:
I am not too concerned about battery dying randomly because I always keep a spare battery with my Kestrel just in case. Its more about the fact that it doesn't seem to put out a consistent battery range.
It would be like having your gas tank fluctuate from 1/4 to full to 1/2 to full again even after driving several hundred miles...I don't care what the level actually is so long as I know when I need to fill up for certain.
It just seems like something in the software isn't giving a proper value and has either a bug in software or issues reading battery level. For a $700 weather meter and ballistics solver that can do so many great things, it should AT LEAST be able to give solid values of battery condition to within +-10% of actual value. Hell, I'd even settle for 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 10% as long as it actually could be trusted.
Again I love my Kestrel and it is awesome for in field solutions, but come on: at least give a battery indicator that works.
Before continuing, I need to say that the Kestrel 5700 has quickly become one of my most valuable pieces of equipment: it flat out rocks!
However...
I went to match two weeks ago and slept in car overnight (15deg outside temp). When I woke, it was 20 deg in car and magically, my showed 100% battery even at 20degF for several hours. At the end of the match it still showed 100...Which leaves me very confused. 40-50% at room temperature and 100% at 20deg...???
Over the last 6 months on this battery I have gotten the following readings in order:
- 43% @70deg
- 50% @40deg
- 40%@75deg
- 60% @70deg
- 42% @15deg
- 100% @20deg and 100% @45deg
- Today it reads 100% @65deg
I am not too concerned about battery dying randomly because I always keep a spare battery with my Kestrel just in case. Its more about the fact that it doesn't seem to put out a consistent battery range.
It would be like having your gas tank fluctuate from 1/4 to full to 1/2 to full again even after driving several hundred miles...I don't care what the level actually is so long as I know when I need to fill up for certain.
It just seems like something in the software isn't giving a proper value and has either a bug in software or issues reading battery level. For a $700 weather meter and ballistics solver that can do so many great things, it should AT LEAST be able to give solid values of battery condition to within +-10% of actual value. Hell, I'd even settle for 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 10% as long as it actually could be trusted.
Again I love my Kestrel and it is awesome for in field solutions, but come on: at least give a battery indicator that works.
