Insignia / MightyRed dead battery - with radio powered off???

[DaveBayArea]

OK - I know there's others besides me reading this board who got one of these little portables to see how they work. They claim 8 hours of listening time to one battery charge, but has anyone else experienced the phenomenon where they go dead just sitting around? I mean - powered off? I've only had mine for a month, but it's gone unused for maybe a week or 10 days since I gave it a full charge. No battery. It happened once before where I didn't use it for about 4 days and I got less than an hour of listening time. Is mine a fluke or does this happen to all of them?

Dave B.

 

[RadeoEngineer]

Yes.

 

[pocket-radio]

Yes. The battery only lasts a couple of hours, it that.

 

[kc1ih]

Most rechargeable batteries loose their charge when not being used. The effect varies by type of battery but is common to most types. There is a new type of NIMH batteries that hold their charge longer but that is not what the Insignia radio uses.

That said, it is best to keep NIMH and Lithium Ion batteries (The Insignia uses Lithium Ion) at or near full charge when not in use, which means putting the unit on charge occasionally.

 

[BRNout]

Yes, what kc 1ih said. Of course, in this particular radio it is irksome that - after sitting a while - the damn thing won't even turn on, nor can you install a fresh battery.

You just have to plug it into your computer and wait...... :

 

[Savage]

The HD transmitters suck energy and cash even when there is no measurable audience and little hope there ever will be. Why should the receivers be any different?

 

[nd2023]

My HD radio will probably have a dead battery the next time I use it. Which will be a long time from now, because there's nothing good on the radio anymore.

 

[wgliradio]

Mighty Dead

 

[nd2023]

My HD radio will probably have a dead battery the next time I use it. Which will be a long time from now, because there's nothing good on the radio anymore.

I haven't touched my HD radio since Friday afternoon, today I turn it on, lo and behold, the battery died within 5 minutes.

 

[Savage]

Ooopsy!!

Earth to Eric Rhoads: "how's that shilling-for-HD-Radio thing working out for ya?"

 

[Carmine5]

And then to compound the problem the red dye the Chinese used in the casing of the special edition Insignia can cause a severe rash and impotence (only kidding ).

 

[Play Freebird]

And then to compound the problem the red dye the Chinese used in the casing of the special edition Insignia can cause a severe rash and impotence (only kidding ).

How do we know this isn't part of a Communist plot? Think about it:

1) The receiver is made in China

2) It's not just painted red, but called the Mighty Red

3) IBOC signals resemble those of jamming transmitters -- like the Soviets deployed east of the Iron Curtain to block the Truth

Better dead than red!

 

[Don Juan]

Earth to Eric Rhoads: "how's that shilling-for-HD-Radio thing working out for ya?"

Of course he's a shill. No one could possibly come to a different conclusion than you, right?

Just not possible!

 

[Carmine5]

And then to compound the problem the red dye the Chinese used in the casing of the special edition Insignia can cause a severe rash and impotence (only kidding ).

How do we know this isn't part of a Communist plot? Think about it:

1) The receiver is made in China

2) It's not just painted red, but called the Mighty Red

3) IBOC signals resemble those of jamming transmitters -- like the Soviets deployed east of the Iron Curtain to block the Truth

Better dead than red!

Say, you may be on to something.

How do we know this radio isn't really a veiled message from the Chinese to say that they're gaining on us economically? How do we know Eric Rhoads isn't in bed with Beijing? What is the real reason the Chinese adopted DAB instead of HD Radio?

Hmm, this Insignia Mighty Red is taking on far more sinister implications then just battery problems. Glad I didn't buy one. ;D

 

[Bpiddle]

I also was experiencing the issue of charging the radio and then putting it aside for a day or two and discovering that the battery was dead. I discovered that the reason for this is that when you charge the radio it automatically turns on. When you pull out the radio from the USB port, the screen goes dark. It appears that the radio is off. In fact, it is still on! Press one of the keys and you will see that the radio is on. Turn the radio off! If you turn the radio off, the battery will remain charged. At least this is the case with my radio.

 

[JohnnyElectron]

A nice 'hard-wired' power switch would be nice. A sleep timer would be nice. A battery that lasts more than 2 hours would be nice.
At least RadioShack's "SlotRadio" has a for real slide switch for power, but no automatic shutoff or sleep timer to keep the battery from taking a dump.

 

[nd2023]

My battery dies after 4 days of no use, even if it's fully charged. I make sure the radio is off after unplugging it from the charger.

 

[Savage]

Unlike Don Juan, who stays fully charged for over three months after the initial post. Don...I can't even remember what the context was when I posted that comment about the Mighty Red and Eric Rhoads...umm, on JANUARY 26th.

Your HD time delay is seriously out of sync....

 

[JJS]

Unlike Don Juan, who stays fully charged for over three months after the initial post. Don...I can't even remember what the context was when I posted that comment about the Mighty Red and Eric Rhoads...umm, on JANUARY 26th. Your HD time delay is seriously out of sync....

Guess you didn't catch the date on Don's post. Or the post itself, when it first went up.

 

[tomservo]

I also was experiencing the issue of charging the radio and then putting it aside for a day or two and discovering that the battery was dead. I discovered that the reason for this is that when you charge the radio it automatically turns on. When you pull out the radio from the USB port, the screen goes dark. It appears that the radio is off. In fact, it is still on! Press one of the keys and you will see that the radio is on. Turn the radio off! If you turn the radio off, the battery will remain charged. At least this is the case with my radio.

I've found that if I charge the unit while the radio is on, it stays on. If I charge it from an off-state, it stays off.

That's not to say the behavior makes sense. Once, after it charged fully, it would turn itself on, say fully charged, turn itself off. Then do the whole cycle again. I bet it sat like that for an hour before I noticed. I've also had it be completely dead after a few days of non-use. But after the first week with it that problem seems to have disappeared.

I also have to wonder if the short battery life has something to do with people having to charge the unit from a computer USB plug. Not all computers output the same wattage through the USB ports, apparently. All I know is my initial charge was via computer and it lasted maybe two hours. Subsequent charges via cigarette lighter or wall plug (I found a few USB to AC/DC converters lying around) improved things considerably.

I can't say I get the full 8 hours on HD programming, but I've gotten at or better that with analog programming.