When I was in high school I made a fuze tester. It consisted of a small plastic box with a screw-down lid, its about 2 inches wide, 3 long and 1 deep. I drilled 3 holes in the side of it. One of these was a hole for a green LED to stick through. The other two were the distance apart of the contacts on most common domestic or auto fuzes. Through those I put a small pair of screws, with nuts on the other side clamping the wires onto them. The screws then served as the contacts for testing a fuze. I then soldered together the LED, contacts and a battery holder for a couple of AA's, so that putting a good fuze (or any other metal thing) across the contacts lights the LED. I put a couple of batteries in it (I've long ago forgot what brand or chemical type they were), screwed the lid shut and took it home to show mom + pop. This was in 1992 or 93. I still have the fuze tester, it's been used now and then down the years, and those two AA cells have never been changed from that day to this. It still works as well as it did the day they were inserted.
Hmm, I figure I get about 5 years out of my remote controls before they go. And that's from furious use. The DVD player remote in the living room, that gets used like, once every couple months, will probably never go out.
I go through the whole band at least 3 times when there ain't shit on. And there ain't shit on a lot.
TIVO! TIVO! TIVO! TIVO! Batteries on my MP3 last about 16-17 hours. I never get the volume more than halfway up. Battery on my iPod... no idea. Last TV remote's batteries lasted a bit over 3 years, IIRC. Satellite radio's remote is a year and 2 months old, not a hint of the batteries dying. Calculator batteries last nearly 1 school year. Replacement recommended in early February, or during Christmas break if calculator is being used for 2 classes.
1976, roughly. I took four AMT Space:1999 Hawk kits and kitbashed a trimaran spaceship out of them. I SEALED four AAA-cells inside each hull with a Christmas light in each exhaust bell. It was never meant to last longer than the Super-8 sci fi film I was making at the time. The starboard engine STILL LIGHTS to this day! I wish I knew what brand they were in there!
My iPod lasts about 10 hours. My phone varies on usage, if its just talking it will last 3 straight hours, it will last about a day or two in standby, and will last about an hour and a half with heavy application usage (Opera Mini or AOL Instant Messenger). My laptop is the worst, it gets about 25 minutes anymore. The battery got toasted somehow, because everytime it charges it says its at 101% . Consequently, my battery manager program doesn't work because it tells itself its at 101% and has a fatal error. Remote control batteries last forever.
Practically speaking, probably my film camera's 2xCR2's, since I don't use my remote control much, except for the DVD player's, whose batteries don't last more than a few months for some reason. My film camera batteries have only been changed once in 2 and a half years.
My cell phone can go more than a week w/out charging it. I kept it on for 8 consecutive days a year ago (trip to Houston, forgot the charger) and it was still at (I'm guessing) 20% or so when I got home. I suppose that's all perfectly normal.
