Remember Duracell’s PowerCheck? The idea was that a strip built into the battery would show if the battery was good or not. Sure, you could always get a meter or a dedicated battery tester &#…
What with the weird freebooting article? This ‘article’ is just a description of Alec’s video with the clickbait cranked up to ten. Gotta love a major corporation using small creators’ work for free ad revenue…
Well the pros and cons of the multimeter are addresses in the video! He uses a meter on a dead battery and it still shows a deceptively reasonable voltage when not under load. The built-in tester draws more current.
My technique is to use the 10a mode on the multimeter and check the battery. A full AA will do nearly 10 amps and dead ones much less. Careful with larger cells or rechargeables since you might blow the fuse in your meter.
It turned out that batteries randomly lying around are always empty. Functioning batteries are still in the device it’s operating or in the box it was sold in.
I mean I’d rather Alec get the direct views than this weird hackaday article that’s just a description of his video with a link. Not trying to knock hackaday but this is real close to freebooting.
Ok now I am trying to knock hackaday after learning the ownership chain goes up to Siemens. Frigg off with this corpo garbage.
But the video purports that normal people don’t really test batteries.
Yeah, it was a novelty that increased the price to manufacture and didn’t actually add anything of value to users.
Either you put batteries in something and they worked or they didn’t, and if they stopped working the next step is try different batteries whether or not the little gauge showed it had charge left.
Now if it was added to rechargeable batteries, it would be pretty useful because tou could do something with the knowledge of a battery being at 50%. But a lot of systems with rechargeable batteries have them built in and some other way to show remaining charge like a percentage on a screen.
It was pretty useful as a kid for feeding my Gameboy and Game Gear with batteries I rescued from the junk drawers of friends and family. If they were low, I knew I had to save more often to avoid losing progress if they went dead while I was playing.
I concur about rechargeables - it doesn’t seem common for devices that take AA or AAA to have a battery gauge and it would be nice to be able to check the level on my rechargeables stock so I can know if I should top them off without needing to put each of them into the charger.
It failed often enough that it wasn’t all that useful. A cheap battery tester is better. And for 9volts you can also use the tongue test, lol (don’t really though). My grandfather used to do that all the time.
It’s not much power, so it’s not likely to cause major or permanent damage, but it may affect others differently and could cause burns if left on too long like if someone is less sensitive and doesn’t think it’s live.
And if the person is grounded and if they touch the hot side of the battery first there’s a chance the charge could travel through the body rather than just the tongue. It’s not enough to affect a heart, but might disrupt a pacemaker or other embedded device.
And of the battery is leaking, it could cause permanent damage from chemical burns from the alkaline and poisoning from heavy metals which while unlikely to be deadly with just one battery, heavy metal poisoning is cumulative across a lifetime.
So under ideal circumstances it is safe, but there are always risks with electricity and toxic chemicals, though relatively small.
The tongue test works great. Be warned, though, that a full battery will make your tongue go numb. It’ll feel like you have a big hole in the middle. Try it.
Ouch, I never had that problem, but I only barely touch it, lol. It’s a little shock and slightly numb briefly. But fortunately I never had full numbness that lasted more than a second or two. But I haven’t done it in a long time since I have a tester now. 😁
You can do that with the 9 volt batteries and feel how much “tingle” they have, but never heard of it working with aa batteries. Wouldn’t he have to stick the whole thing in his mouth to complete the circuit?
I do this with AAs. Basically put the
side with the bump (positive) on the tip of the tongue and touch the flat (negative) side with a wet finger. It gives out a mild but distinctive ‘taste’, not enough to tingle but definitely something I am able to notice, when the cell has decent juice.
Yeah. Doesn’t make any sense honestly. I think he thought he could power check it but didn’t understand the actual mechanics of how it works. Glass onion eh.
I remember those.
Would be nice to have them on my 18650s
What with the weird freebooting article? This ‘article’ is just a description of Alec’s video with the clickbait cranked up to ten. Gotta love a major corporation using small creators’ work for free ad revenue…
You could add the link so people don’t contribute to ad revenue if you feel strongly! https://youtu.be/zsA3X40nz9w 💜
That’s enough YouTube videos just recapping an article. But I agree it’s lazy
Huh?
I think they mean the same thing happens alot in reverse: YT vids about news articles. Not wrong, but whataboutist.
also not relevant to Alex’s content either.
I was a kid then, but I remember that I had to push so hard my fingers hurt… I used a multimeter.
Well the pros and cons of the multimeter are addresses in the video! He uses a meter on a dead battery and it still shows a deceptively reasonable voltage when not under load. The built-in tester draws more current.
My technique is to use the 10a mode on the multimeter and check the battery. A full AA will do nearly 10 amps and dead ones much less. Careful with larger cells or rechargeables since you might blow the fuse in your meter.
That sounds a little like testing matches “Yes, that one works. I mean: worked.”
as a kid I would shove them up my nose not to be seen again until out they would pop from the other side…miraculously charged.
Let me introduce You to these spent uranium fuel rods.
It turned out that batteries randomly lying around are always empty. Functioning batteries are still in the device it’s operating or in the box it was sold in.
Does anyone remember the battery testers that were built into the packaging? I think they were based on the same concept.
They are mentioned in the video.
I do
It broke too many thumbs.
Video on technology connections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsA3X40nz9w
“Wait, is that a Duracell battery check?”
Oh man that transition. Chef’s kiss. Amazing
Nice try, Alec Watson…
I mean I’d rather Alec get the direct views than this weird hackaday article that’s just a description of his video with a link. Not trying to knock hackaday but this is real close to freebooting.
Ok now I am trying to knock hackaday after learning the ownership chain goes up to Siemens. Frigg off with this corpo garbage.
Yeeaah I drew the line at the printscreens, it was a really interesting video with a lot of effort and research put in, unlike this article.
Yeah, it was a novelty that increased the price to manufacture and didn’t actually add anything of value to users.
Either you put batteries in something and they worked or they didn’t, and if they stopped working the next step is try different batteries whether or not the little gauge showed it had charge left.
Now if it was added to rechargeable batteries, it would be pretty useful because tou could do something with the knowledge of a battery being at 50%. But a lot of systems with rechargeable batteries have them built in and some other way to show remaining charge like a percentage on a screen.
It was pretty useful as a kid for feeding my Gameboy and Game Gear with batteries I rescued from the junk drawers of friends and family. If they were low, I knew I had to save more often to avoid losing progress if they went dead while I was playing.
I think the reason we haven’t seen that is that NiMH rechargeables have fairly stable voltage during discharge while alkalines don’t.
I think all of your points were covered in the video, sometimes almost verbatim.
Neat!
I didn’t bother watching the video, so I guess the reasons were pretty obvious.
How dare you ignore Alec’s video? 😤
Select one or more of the following.
I selected all and it’s still not enough of a reason!
Bow to Alec! Let Alec consume you!
I concur about rechargeables - it doesn’t seem common for devices that take AA or AAA to have a battery gauge and it would be nice to be able to check the level on my rechargeables stock so I can know if I should top them off without needing to put each of them into the charger.
And pairing them correctly for paralel charging too!
He used old batteries, but I actually had new Duracell batteries with this feature very recently, in 2022 or so (Germany).
You could’ve saved him so much movie magic!
This guy is great. He can make anything sound interesting.
He makes everything sound interesting.
Ftfy
It failed often enough that it wasn’t all that useful. A cheap battery tester is better. And for 9volts you can also use the tongue test, lol (don’t really though). My grandfather used to do that all the time.
What’s wrong with the tongue test for 9 volts? I know it tickles some but is it actually harmful? I’ve been doing that for over 30 years…
It’s not much power, so it’s not likely to cause major or permanent damage, but it may affect others differently and could cause burns if left on too long like if someone is less sensitive and doesn’t think it’s live.
And if the person is grounded and if they touch the hot side of the battery first there’s a chance the charge could travel through the body rather than just the tongue. It’s not enough to affect a heart, but might disrupt a pacemaker or other embedded device.
And of the battery is leaking, it could cause permanent damage from chemical burns from the alkaline and poisoning from heavy metals which while unlikely to be deadly with just one battery, heavy metal poisoning is cumulative across a lifetime.
So under ideal circumstances it is safe, but there are always risks with electricity and toxic chemicals, though relatively small.
The tongue test works great. Be warned, though, that a full battery will make your tongue go numb. It’ll feel like you have a big hole in the middle. Try it.
Ouch, I never had that problem, but I only barely touch it, lol. It’s a little shock and slightly numb briefly. But fortunately I never had full numbness that lasted more than a second or two. But I haven’t done it in a long time since I have a tester now. 😁
Everytime i test a battery like this, my wife just shakes her head and reminds me that I’m definitely from Kentucky lol
It never went away. I have a duracell battery with power check sitting next to me on my desk
USA?
also germany, actually
So the US said later, indicator, while Germany said $punchlineRemainderPls
What sizes are still sold with the on-battery tester? AFAIK it’s now only available on the multipack box.
I think it was a 4-pack
There were cheaper ones with a tester attached to the box, maybe they were energizer?
Oh, I remember that! It was inside the little packet
My dad used to just put them on his tongue for a power check. Not entirely sure how that worked. Personally I just use a multimeter.
You can do that with the 9 volt batteries and feel how much “tingle” they have, but never heard of it working with aa batteries. Wouldn’t he have to stick the whole thing in his mouth to complete the circuit?
I do this with AAs. Basically put the side with the bump (positive) on the tip of the tongue and touch the flat (negative) side with a wet finger. It gives out a mild but distinctive ‘taste’, not enough to tingle but definitely something I am able to notice, when the cell has decent juice.
It’s pretty shocking, but I can fit 2 Ds in my mouth.
Your mother must be so proud.
ah, I love it when mothers teach their kids valuable skills
-Are you testing batteries again? -(with my mouth full) nogh
Yeah. Doesn’t make any sense honestly. I think he thought he could power check it but didn’t understand the actual mechanics of how it works. Glass onion eh.
I did know a girl in college …
Even if you did (don’t eat batteries), the voltage range is much lower and you probably wouldn’t feel anything.
We just can’t have nice things
IDK. It never worked that great and TC guy makes a good case why it went away.
The battery industry made rechargeables good instead of decorating disposables.
I remember having to squeeze hard to make the ends contact
I had to squeeze so hard it hurt my fingers. I see no loss here.