some battery timings for 66st

Discussion related to the Garmin GPSMAP 66s/st GPSr
987
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some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by 987 »

GPSMAP 66st software 4.10, gps 2.70
Battery timings for anyone interested.

Battery Varta NiMH 2100 mAh and 2600 mAh.

Normal operation.
Display at 30 second timeout 40 % backlight, battery save mode off. GPS+GALILEO+WAAS/EGNOS.
About 3 hours of active usage. Logging every 2 seconds.
Battery time: 14:30 (hours:minutes) with 2100 mAh, 17:00 with 2600 mAh.

Battery save option.
Display at 30 second timeout 40 % backlight, battery save mode turned on. GPS+GALILEO+WAAS/EGNOS.
About 3 hours of active usage. Logging every 15 seconds.
Battery time: 15:00 (hours:minutes) with 2100 mAh, 17:45 with 2600 mAh.


Expedition mode.
Display at 30 second timeout 40 % backlight, battery save mode turned on. GPS+WAAS/EGNOS.
About 1,5 hours of active usage per 24 hours. Logging every 15 seconds while active.
When in expedition mode, the logging occurred every 3 minutes.
Battery time: 85 hours (2100 mAh). As i turned it on after approx 83 hours, the battery indicator was down to one bar.
At this stage the unit would not re-enter expedition mode because batteries were too low, so it remained on till the end of batteries.


What strikes me the most is how little saving it is to use battery save mode for the display.
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GPSrChive
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by GPSrChive »

Thank you for sharing your test results.

This reminds us we still need to do some battery run time testing also.

During these tests, did you have Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled? ANy ANT+ sensors connected? Was ANT+ enabled?
987
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by 987 »

Ant off. Bluetooh off. Wifi on about 5 minutes in total per test. All in all one can say all sensors were off. I use the GPS standalone.
g66
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by g66 »

Did you test inside or outdoor
I thing, if signal is fine, it takes less bat
987
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by 987 »

60 % indoor. 40 % outdoor.
When indoors i made sure to place the unit in a position where signal was found, this was made to avoid excessive logging (1 point per second, as described in a different topic).

But, perhaps it is a stupid question from my end, why would poor GPS signal drain more battery or when GALILEO and GLONASS are enabled?
Isn't the unit receiving the signals it can find and calculates the location from those?

The "battery save" mode and the lower frequency of tracking does not seem to extend the battery life very much.
My experience for this and other garmin GPS units is that battery life is about the same, no matter how good or bad the satellite signal is.
g66
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by g66 »

I read about some tests years ago...indoor testing had more battery drain then testing under the sky with same settings
987
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by 987 »

Hi.
Returning to this post after a long time.
The original test was on GPSMAP 66st software 4.10, gps 2.70. Since then i have noticed that on newer software (with 4.70 or 4.80 as exception) battery timings have improved.

Therefore with GPSMAP 66st software 6.00, gps 2.80 i made one stationary test and one active test.
I only did normal operation, which means:
Display at 30 second timeout 40-50 % backlight, battery save mode off. No expedition mode. GPS+GALILEO+WAAS/EGNOS on.
Logging set to Auto and Most often. FIT and GPX.
ANT+, bluetooth, wifi; all off.
Batteries: Varta NiMH 2600 mAh rechargable (same as in the previous test).

Stationary test.
The unit left indoors next to window with good reception.
Checked the device now and then but minimal usage.
Battery time 19 hours 50 minutes.

Active test.
Device was outdoor and indoor. Moving.
Hiking about 5 hours, driving about 4 hours, the rest of the time mostly idle/stationary.
While hiking checked the map here and there, marked waypoints. about 1 hour of navigation.
Battery time 18 hours 30 minutes. Which is 90 minutes better the the equivalent test earlier or about 8-9 % better.

My test are not laboratory test, the feeling and measurements indicate about 5-8 % better battery life than with earlier software versions (earlier = 4.10).
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GPSrChive
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by GPSrChive »

Thank you for the excellent information.

I wish you could repeat the same tests but with battery save enabled (turns display off completely when backlight times out). I think the results would be noticeably better!
987
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Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by 987 »

Normally i don't use the battery save mode. If i use the GPS, i anyway want to see something on the GPS. :-)
If battery save mode is used, ON/OFF button must be pressed to see the status. If lock screen is used one can press any button to light the screen, i consider this more convenient.
In the first tests, with firmware 4.10 using battery save mode gave around 45 minutes extra time. If i get the chance in this or the next week i may re-make the tests.
987
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Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 5:40 pm

Re: some battery timings for 66st

Unread post by 987 »

Hi.
I managed to make a second stationary test with the same batteries (re-charged).
This time with battery save mode on. Timeout of 30 seconds.
In this and the previous test, the compass was set to auto,


Stationary test with battery save.
The unit left indoors next to window with good reception.
Checked the device now and then but minimal usage.
Battery time 22 hours. Minus 2 minutes to be precise. A bit more that 2 hours longer than without battery save.

While i find the stationary test non-realistic, i will not have a chance to make an active test that resembles the previous one.
For now this is all i can offer, but at least one should be able to expect about 1 hour longer battery life while using the GPS in a more active manner with battery save, than without battery save.
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