Mcmurdo PLB battery replacement

G

Gazza

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 Jul 2001
Messages
218
Location
Cornwood near Plymouth, Devon
Visit site
I have a fairly elderly (2003) McMurdo Fastfind Plus PLB and the battery has an expiry date of April, 2019. I replaced the battery myself on the last occasion, and this cost me about £65; however, the only source I can find after searching online is quoting £120 for a battery that I would replace myself.
Has anyone found a more reasonably priced deal anywhere else - or a cunning plan to replace the battery with something cheaper?
 
At that sort of price, you're not far off the price of a new PLB. New ones are smaller and lighter, and tend to have slightly better battery life. I'd be tempted after 16 years to go for a new one.
 
All that really happens with the battery is that the manufacturer will not guarantee it will last 24/48hrs.

Keep the unit as a spare as it will take a decade to lose the battery power where it will not transmit for a few hours at least. In the UK if you are not located and picked up within a few hours of setting it off I'd be surprise.
 
Looks identical to the car alarm battery on my Volvo. the pack is just 6 'penny' 1.2v batteries to make a 7.2V rechargeable battery. My small pack, admittedly rechargeable, failed at 13 years.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-Car-Siren-Alarm-Battery V40-V50-S40-S60-S70-S80-V70-C30-C70-XC90-/152151139597 checkout the price of £14.99............methinks someone is taking the Pxss at £120.00
 
I tested mine for the first time in ages and the batteries are completely dead. They still have 9 months left on the “replace by” date. Now I wonder how long I have been using a useless bit of kit!

Anyone else had this issue?
 
Zippysigma said:
I tested mine for the first time in ages and the batteries are completely dead. They still have 9 months left on the “replace by” date. Now I wonder how long I have been using a useless bit of kit!

Anyone else had this issue?
Click to expand...
What, batteries going flat or not testing their plb? :)
I wouldn't dream of starting a season without testing it.
 
The price of the self-replace batteries for original Fastfinds shot up a few years ago.
Replacements for the newer 210/220 type were available to end-users for some time. Now replacement is only through service centres. Most of them don't charge much more than the retail price of battery kit.
 
Bitterend said:
Looks identical to the car alarm battery on my Volvo. the pack is just 6 'penny' 1.2v batteries to make a 7.2V rechargeable battery. My small pack, admittedly rechargeable, failed at 13 years.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-Car-Siren-Alarm-Battery V40-V50-S40-S60-S70-S80-V70-C30-C70-XC90-/152151139597 checkout the price of £14.99............methinks someone is taking the Pxss at £120.00
Click to expand...
About as wrong as you can get.
 
pvb said:
At that sort of price, you're not far off the price of a new PLB. New ones are smaller and lighter, and tend to have slightly better battery life. I'd be tempted after 16 years to go for a new one.
Click to expand...

After 16 years, I wouldn't trust a piece of fairly cheap electronics.
Particularly when it's already been got at by an amateur.
What is the point of things like PLBs and EPIRBs if you're not prepared to pay a few quid a year to keep them reliable?
 
ctva said:
All that really happens with the battery is that the manufacturer will not guarantee it will last 24/48hrs.

Keep the unit as a spare as it will take a decade to lose the battery power where it will not transmit for a few hours at least. In the UK if you are not located and picked up within a few hours of setting it off I'd be surprise.
Click to expand...

Ignorant dangerous nonsense.
 
ctva said:
All that really happens with the battery is that the manufacturer will not guarantee it will last 24/48hrs.

Keep the unit as a spare as it will take a decade to lose the battery power where it will not transmit for a few hours at least. In the UK if you are not located and picked up within a few hours of setting it off I'd be surprise.
Click to expand...

In the UK, if you are not picked up within a few hours you will be beyond caring:(
 
Zippysigma said:
I tested mine for the first time in ages and the batteries are completely dead. They still have 9 months left on the “replace by” date. Now I wonder how long I have been using a useless bit of kit!

Anyone else had this issue?
Click to expand...

I have the opposite. I have an ACR EPIRB which still passes its self test just fine but is now four years past its use by date. To replace or not?
 
JumbleDuck said:
I have the opposite. I have an ACR EPIRB which still passes its self test just fine but is now four years past its use by date. To replace or not?
Click to expand...

If you are basically happy that you don't need or desire an EPIRB, then fair enough, one which is past its sell by date can't do you any harm.
But if you are relying on it, or you or your guests are taking comfort from it being there, you should replace it.
A self test does not make great demands on the battery. An old battery could pass self test, but not power a transmission for long enough to get a fix in the satellite system.

If it's a GPS model, you also might consider whether it will take longer to fix or worse, due to the rollovers since it was made.
 
lw395 said:
If you are basically happy that you don't need or desire an EPIRB, then fair enough, one which is past its sell by date can't do you any harm.
But if you are relying on it, or you or your guests are taking comfort from it being there, you should replace it.
A self test does not make great demands on the battery. An old battery could pass self test, but not power a transmission for long enough to get a fix in the satellite system.

If it's a GPS model, you also might consider whether it will take longer to fix or worse, due to the rollovers since it was made.
Click to expand...

Good points, thanks. If I was designing one of these things I would include a battery test in the self-test, but perhaps ACR did not. It does acquire a GPS position rapidly, if its series of flashes and beeps is to be trusted, but the rollover issue could well be the clincher. Yes, I think it's time to bite the bullet and get a new one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top