Where do you buy good quality gumstick battery for your CD or MD Player?

[Happy Hopping]

I have the Sony E-DJ2000, it's 1 of the thinnest CD player, a collector item

The battery is Nh-14WM, this same battery is use on a lot of MD player as well.

I bought some compatible from ebay. They are horrible, junk made in China

they don't hold charges. They hold for a few days or even a few hr., then the battery strength totally disappear

then there are these dealer that sells compatible, like do you take a chance w/ them, or what can you do?

http://www.gnbatteries.us/servlet/the-350/prismatic-gumstick-battery-Sony/Detail

how do you guys fix this problem?

[sfbp]

The real question is: how do you charge them? Do you have another battery that works decently in the E-DJ2000? Are you charging that by the same method you used to charge the replacement batteries?

If the answer to both the last questions is yes, but the same charger doesn't work on the replacements, try cleaning the contacts.

When that doesn't work, I recommend an MZ-R91 (or MZ-R90) as for some reason the charging circuits in that device seem to work better. You may find that the battery gets hot (only once!) on charging and then settles down.

You're welcome to slip one (I assume you bought lots) in the mail to me, as I see you live not so far away. Send me a PM if you like. I will pronounce on it, and send back. This will be quicker than ordering more from China.

[Happy Hopping]

I charge all those batteries via the charger inside my E-DJ2000 charger. I just assume it's the age of the battery that it fails.

How exactly do you clean the contact? w/ sand paper or alcohol wipe?

[sfbp]

I'd be more inclined to get a custom charger. Or an MZ-R90/91. You can try cleaning with isopropanol, and/or a very sharp knife (scrape a bit) or boxcutter.

[syn010110]

I'm also wondering where to get decent quality gumsticks. I see loads of the Vapex ones on eBay and they certainly look far more "legit" than the HQRP ones on Amazon (though I used some blue offbrand ones that looked very much like the HQRP ones back in the early 2000s, and they worked fine), but they're all shipping from the UK so that's annoying.

[Happy Hopping]

how many years is your HQRP lasts and how much did you pay?

See back 10+ years ago, I did buy the real sony gumstick battery made in japan. The truth is, they don't last long neither. I remember I have problems w/ it after say just over 1+ yr.

So going w/ what you guys said, what is a good quality charger? I prefer 1 that can charge 2 batteries at the same time

[SileEeles]

I bought a Vapex one from ebay, and one also came with my N710, I can tell you that they hold a decent enough charge, but longevity wise, couldn't say.

[Azureal]

I picked up a couple of NiMH gumsticks on eBay with the label "PowerStream", I don't see any for sale currently by the same seller but they seem to work great, hold a charge and run for nearly a week of 2 - 3 hours of use per day.

This seller was in the US but I am sure the batteries are made in China. Both I bought have been charging and discharging for 6 months or so without issue.

[MDietrich]

I´ve often read that those types don´t hold the charge... well, let me tell you something: they´re not able to. No NiMH battery is (with the exception of Eneloop). Furthermore, those NiMH need to be discharged (but not completely) before being charged again.

While they don´t have the 'Memory Effect' of NiCD batteries they have something else. Imagine you have a NiMH battery that´s still charged at 40%. If you charge it to a 100% it´s at a 100% minus the 40% it already had before charging. So effectively you´re now at 60% masking themselves as 100%. This happens every time.

For that reason I´ve bought this: http://www.technoline.eu/details.php?id=1400&kat=15

It´s the best charger on the market IMO (it´s available in other countries than european too under a different name). It discharges NiMH batteries before re-charging them, it also has a refresh function which works marvellous. But it isn´t able to charge Gumstick batteries. To do that I use two copper cables, elastic rubber band to firmly attach the contacts of those two cables to the poles of the battery and something to press the other end of those cables to the connectors of the charger. That way, my NiMH gumstick batteries have held up for more than two years - and they are the same cheap ones you bought.

[Happy Hopping]

When we said it wouldn't hold charge, we are saying that w/i a few days, if you don't use it, the charges drop drastically. OF course, w/i a 3 to 4 wk. time frame, we don't expect 100% of the charge to hold

[MDietrich]

When we said it wouldn't hold charge, we are saying that w/i a few days, if you don't use it, the charges drop drastically. OF course, w/i a 3 to 4 wk. time frame, we don't expect 100% of the charge to hold

Yes, it´s quite normal for any NiMH (again: except Eneloop) battery to loose the charge that fast. On the first day alone it´s usually 5-20 % and after that stabilizes around 0.5-4 % per day.

Warm temperatures? Faster discharge (at 45° Celsius 3 times faster).

Cold temperatures? Slower discharge.

Furthermore, the higher the capacity, the faster the discharge (exception: Eneloop).

[syn010110]

I bought one HQRP gumstick to see how it goes.

Kinda surprised really. The NH-10WM inside my "new to me" E520 is the original battery shipped with the unit... which means it's like almost 8-9 years old at this point, yet I spent probably 7+ hours listening to music on the player since I charged it up. Battery hasn't friggin' budged.

[SileEeles]

I used to put rechargable batteries in the fridge to help them retain a charge for longer

[zokuchou]

I´ve often read that those types don´t hold the charge... well, let me tell you something: they´re not able to. No NiMH battery is (with the exception of Eneloop). Furthermore, those NiMH need to be discharged (but not completely) before being charged again.

While they don´t have the 'Memory Effect' of NiCD batteries they have something else. Imagine you have a NiMH battery that´s still charged at 40%. If you charge it to a 100% it´s at a 100% minus the 40% it already had before charging. So effectively you´re now at 60% masking themselves as 100%. This happens every time.

For that reason I´ve bought this: http://www.technoline.eu/details.php?id=1400&kat=15

It´s the best charger on the market IMO (it´s available in other countries than european too under a different name). It discharges NiMH batteries before re-charging them, it also has a refresh function which works marvellous. But it isn´t able to charge Gumstick batteries. To do that I use two copper cables, elastic rubber band to firmly attach the contacts of those two cables to the poles of the battery and something to press the other end of those cables to the connectors of the charger. That way, my NiMH gumstick batteries have held up for more than two years - and they are the same cheap ones you bought.

Where did you actually buy the charger from and how much for? Thanks.

[MDietrich]

Where did you actually buy the charger from and how much for? Thanks.

I bought mine at amazon for roughly 25,- Euros.

[syn010110]

Got my generic gumstick battery in the mail. It's supposed to be 1450mAh; I'm charging it up right now. Like the old blue ones I used to get, the plastic is a little loose around the negative terminal and I had to trim it up a bit so it'd go into my E520 easily.

We'll see how the capacity is soon enough. :3 The NH-10WM that came with the E520 is only 900mAh and is the same age as the player (several years old) and still gets about 25-ish hours of SP playback. If the generic green battery can get ~35 hours I'll be pretty pleased.

[sescoscuba]

Hi MD,

Thanks for pointing that out

of the battery charger.

I have bought one.

It is really a beautiful object.

Have a nice day

S.

I´ve often read that those types don´t hold the charge... well, let me tell you something: they´re not able to. No NiMH battery is (with the exception of Eneloop). Furthermore, those NiMH need to be discharged (but not completely) before being charged again.

While they don´t have the 'Memory Effect' of NiCD batteries they have something else. Imagine you have a NiMH battery that´s still charged at 40%. If you charge it to a 100% it´s at a 100% minus the 40% it already had before charging. So effectively you´re now at 60% masking themselves as 100%. This happens every time.

For that reason I´ve bought this: http://www.technoline.eu/details.php?id=1400&kat=15

It´s the best charger on the market IMO (it´s available in other countries than european too under a different name). It discharges NiMH batteries before re-charging them, it also has a refresh function which works marvellous. But it isn´t able to charge Gumstick batteries. To do that I use two copper cables, elastic rubber band to firmly attach the contacts of those two cables to the poles of the battery and something to press the other end of those cables to the connectors of the charger. That way, my NiMH gumstick batteries have held up for more than two years - and they are the same cheap ones you bought.

[punkrockaddict]

nice little gadget. i use the charge terminal pro. an old device i bought in the 90´s but gets very well results. It is much larger than the one you´re talking about.

the alive function of mine is quite good.. i didn´t test any other chargers so can´t compare that well.

[syn010110]

Well I've been using my generic green gumstick battery for about five days now and it seems to be doing quite well. I've been listening to my E520 for about 2-ish hours a day on average and the battery hasn't been charged since the day I got it, and it's still at 3 bars (though it sometimes drops to 2 bars and then goes back up to 3).

[mdenter]

I picked up a couple of NiMH gumsticks on eBay with the label "PowerStream", I don't see any for sale currently by the same seller but they seem to work great, hold a charge and run for nearly a week of 2 - 3 hours of use per day.

This seller was in the US but I am sure the batteries are made in China. Both I bought have been charging and discharging for 6 months or so without issue.

I second the praise of the "Powerstream" batteries. Label shows "API Batteries" search of the API battery site does not show these gumstick batteries. Maybe the seller on Ebay had a special run of these gumstick batteries made? I bought two of these and was so impressed I ordered five more. These hold a charge like the original Sony gumstick. Watch Ebay if you find them get them.

[spitfire71]

I am seriously NOT at all impressed with a replacement gumstick battery I bought on ebay!

I purchased a High Power 1450mAh Vapex rechargeable battery which does not even hold a charge! I've charged it a few times now in the Sony MZ-N1 portable, start playing a disc, lasts about 4 songs then dies of low battery warning.

Even If I just charge the battery up, then return to it the next day without using the player, it's already dying.

If that's the so called quality of gumstick batteries nowadays, it doesn't look bright for the players that use them.

[Azureal]

I am considering divesting in all players/recorders which cannot be run from an AA battery directly or via a sidecar battery compartment.

That excludes the RH1 which is really like a mini-deck and I never run it from battery anyway.

[syn010110]

The generic green 1450mAh gumstick battery I got from Amazon holds a fantastic charge. I managed to get two and a half weeks of near-daily use, around 1.5-3 hours SP playback per day. The original Sony 900mAh gumstick it came with is quite old and thus holds only about a third of that (it still works, though).

[spitfire71]

Got a link to this? I just had a quick look on Amazon UK and all that's up there are Vapex ones.

[Bigcountry0209]

I have the MZ-M200 model and looking on eBay has the battery LIP-4WM 3.7v, 370mAh Li-ion battery for $58 not adding the shipping and handling. I should purchased a spare at the time I purchased the unit. The battery is in good condition; but, looking around comes up negative. Thinking eBay might be the only location and the battery is coming from Japan.

[sfbp]

I´ve often read that those types don´t hold the charge... well, let me tell you something: they´re not able to. No NiMH battery is (with the exception of Eneloop). Furthermore, those NiMH need to be discharged (but not completely) before being charged again.

While they don´t have the 'Memory Effect' of NiCD batteries they have something else. Imagine you have a NiMH battery that´s still charged at 40%. If you charge it to a 100% it´s at a 100% minus the 40% it already had before charging. So effectively you´re now at 60% masking themselves as 100%. This happens every time.

For that reason I´ve bought this: http://www.technoline.eu/details.php?id=1400&kat=15

It´s the best charger on the market IMO (it´s available in other countries than european too under a different name). It discharges NiMH batteries before re-charging them, it also has a refresh function which works marvellous. But it isn´t able to charge Gumstick batteries. To do that I use two copper cables, elastic rubber band to firmly attach the contacts of those two cables to the poles of the battery and something to press the other end of those cables to the connectors of the charger. That way, my NiMH gumstick batteries have held up for more than two years - and they are the same cheap ones you bought.

OK, I've got my hands on one of these. It's called a LaCrosse Technologies BC700.

You can get it on Amazon here

http://www.amazon.com/La-Crosse-Technology-Battery-Charger/dp/B000RSOV50

Here's my question: which (if any) of the functions do you use to REVIVE properly a battery such as the ones people have complained about? (Manual) discharge, test mode, or refresh? I lashed up some cables but have to try something a bit more permanent, once I have convinced myself that it really works on the worst of my batteries.

Just before I broke down and ordered it I managed to blow up my GP charger (which does ok) designed for "prismatic" (ie NH-14WM) batteries as well as AA's, by plugging into 230V. Sigh. I found a replacement in the USA. Amusingly this came with 4 AA batteries:

a. they were manufactured in Canada, and I ended up having to reimport them personally from US because the seller wouldn't ship the item (charger + batteries) to Canada

b. 3 out of 4 of them, after 1 cycle of the BC700, held about 1/4 of the charge they were supposed to. The 4th one held double that ie. half a charge.

Sigh. So I expect to be knowledgeable about the use of this device shortly. Any tips appreciated.

Stephen

[Sargaso]

For older NiMH batteries or those not used in a long time, use the refresh mode to restore them to optimum capacity. Did your BC-700 come with any instructions?

I have the BC-1000, Maha C9000 and the BT-C2000 charger/analyzers. For charging gumstick batteries, I modified an old sony BC-7DC2 charger to work with these charger/analyzers. I gutted the BC-7DC2 and soldered wires to the battery contact terminals and brought them out to connect to the BT-C2000 charger (or either of the other two charger/analyzers I mentioned). I can now charge two gumstick batteries at a time using a battery holder built for them. My old home made holder worked but not as good as the modified BC-7DC2 solution. I personally prefer the BT-C2000 charger because it can measure battery internal resistance which seems to be problematic with these gumstick batteries.

[sfbp]

Brilliant. I think my dead GP charger will be perfect for the job of host to offer connectors for patching through to the bc700. Your comments about the fancier versions of this device duly noted.

[Azureal]

For older NiMH batteries or those not used in a long time, use the refresh mode to restore them to optimum capacity. Did your BC-700 come with any instructions?

I have the BC-1000, Maha C9000 and the BT-C2000 charger/analyzers. For charging gumstick batteries, I modified an old sony BC-7DC2 charger to work with these charger/analyzers. I gutted the BC-7DC2 and soldered wires to the battery contact terminals and brought them out to connect to the BT-C2000 charger (or either of the other two charger/analyzers I mentioned). I can now charge two gumstick batteries at a time using a battery holder built for them. My old home made holder worked but not as good as the modified BC-7DC2 solution. I personally prefer the BT-C2000 charger because it can measure battery internal resistance which seems to be problematic with these gumstick batteries.

Do any pictures of this FrankenCharger exist perchance? Sounds fascinating, would love to see it.

[Sargaso]

If you are referring to the chargers themselves, just do a google search and select images to see a billion pics of any of these charger/analyzers.

The full names are: Opus BT-C2000, Powerex MH-C9000 WizardOne and La Crosse BC-1000

The links below are not the only places to get these (some have better prices) however I wouldn't get an Opus BT-C2000 anywhere else.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Opus-BT-C2000-Battery-Charger-Tester-Analyzer-NiMH-NiCd-AA-AAA-C-D-12-Volt-US-/331042777396?pt=Battery_Chargers&hash=item4d13afe934

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/MAHA-MH-C9000-Charger-with-4-Maha-AA-2700-Batteries-and-Holder-_p_1002.html

http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/bc1000/

If you are referring to my particular setup then here are some pics of that:

One set of wires are connected to a AAA to AA cell adaptor with a wooden dowel representing the AAA cell inside the AA housing. The other wires are bare but can be placed at the ends of one of the AAA to AA adaptors when its put into the charger slot.

[Azureal]

Nice, thanks Sargaso!

[civitano]

Got a few replacement batteries for my R900 a year ago from this company's ebay store:

http://www.vapextech.co.uk/

They do just fine, still going strong, so I guess can be recommended.

[footmobile]

I sourced original Sony gumstick batteries from Japanese electronics stores like yamada denki (yamada denkiweb) as recently as 3 years ago but it looks like stock is drying up these days.

 

Still mint in packet Sony nh-14wm floating around Japanese webstores for not too crazy prices:

 

http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/sound11/1-756-194-12.html?sc_e=afvc_shp

 

Use a proxy and order 2 or 3 for legacy.

[Happy Hopping]

that's $32.  I think I'm going in circle.  I used to have those sony original battery, and they don't last all that long.  Then I switch to those cheap battery.  Just yesterday, I charge 1 of those battery that I haven't use for about 6 mth., it charges for 2 hr. or so, but when I press play, the battery is dead.

 

So for me to use my CD player again, I need some new battery

 

On an unrelated matter, I was at  sony store yesterday, there is a $750 MP3 player coming out, if I buy it, then I don't need to look for battery

[sfbp]

You may want to get an NW-F886 or similar. The Japanese model actually plays ATRAC.

To fix your gumstix you need the right charger. It's not the battery's fault.

[Happy Hopping]

Here's an update: I am not go to waste time to try yet another brand name of NiMH battery.  The original discman that I own c/w a AA battery casing that allows 1 x AA battery.  I'm going to buy 4 x AA rechargable for $17, and I already have a charger long ago.  The Energizer brand guarantee hold charges at 2300mAH for at least 1 year if you don't use it.  So my total cost is $17  and if there is any problem, I send back to energizer.

[sfbp]

None of this has anything to do with the brand, so I agree with you. We have had people (in this thread, even) complaining about certain brands, and other people saying the same battery is marvellous.

 

It's all in how you charge it, and with what device. Some MDs simply don't charge their batteries very well (this may be a matter of adjustment, or it may be in some cases bad design), some units (notably most of those actually made in Japan) do a great job.

[Happy Hopping]

In that case, as to my MD player / recorder, I make the right choice by buying a made in japan unit.  But my CD player, is made in malaysia, so I don't know if that's a good choice, but there is no player made in japan

[sfbp]

Which CD players use a gumstick? I thought they were all AAs........

[kalkie]

Which CD players use a gumstick? I thought they were all AAs........

I own (and don't use any more) a CD Walkman D-NE800 which use 2 gumsticks and plays very very long until a new charge is necessary.