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Roger Pen.. Rechargeable vs Standard


mgfiest

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I have my roger pen connected to the TV using the rca adapter with a Sonnet.

When I use the standard batteries, I get the sound from the TV.

When I use the rechargeable batteries, I get the sound from the TV speakers.

There is a noticeable difference. It appears that the rechargeable is a smaller unit, it does not fill the cover and I am guessing there is some kind of connection not happening.

Anywho.. do the rechargeable work?

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I have the Sonnet and the Roger 21 battery cover to go with the Roger Pen. Both types of batteries work for me and I only use the pen to listen to TV. I do find trouble getting a connection to the pen if either type of battery is about ready to beep, perhaps 30 minutes or so to go before beeping

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I don't get that beep on the rechargeable.. that why I am asking.. 30 minutes too long for me... lol

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@mgfiest and @Hicksy

Interesting.  

Roger does require battery from the Sonnet to power the Roger 21 receiver.  It makes sense that a battery -rechargeable or disposable- near the end of its usefulness will not be strong enough to power the Roger 21 receiver correctly.  Using Roger drains the batteries faster than not using Roger.

Both the standard rechargeable batteries and the disposable batteries with the Roger 21 battery cover should work.  Technically the micro rechargeable batteries work too with the Roger 21 cover BUT the life of the battery is way too short to be worth using it that way.

I believe our audiologists can deactivate those weak battery beeps.  I have the weak battery beeps turned on.

Weird thing is how those beeps work with the different processors!

OPUS 2 and Sonnet (with disposable batteries)- those beeps go on and on and on.  I know because once it happened while I was driving home and I timed it.  

Sonnet with rechargeable batteries- beeps and within a few minutes are dead.  Not really enough warning.

Any processor in waterwear with silver oxide or alkaline batteries- beep rapidly and die immediately.

 

One of my friends has AB.  Her battery beep warnings are more helpful.  Beep to alert her and then stay quiet so she can hear.  Then beep a different pattern a few moments before they will die.  She has plenty of time to change her batteries and is not bothered by so many beeps so close in time.  @MED-EL Moderator This would be a nice change to have in future processors so we can hear well while we are timing the battery exchange.

 

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A couple of weeks ago a friend and I went to high tea at a restaurant in Minneapolis.  I'd had a rechargeable battery not charge properly a day or two before and didn't have another, so I put in disposable batteries.  And then since I had used them, I left them in to use them completely.  And when I drove downtown to meet my friend, I didn't want to carry a bunch of stuff so I left my CI stuff in the trunk of my car.

Sure enough it started beeping while we were sitting there talking.  But the batteries never did die - well, they did, but not till I was back in my car.  I'd get beep-beep-beep periodically but could basically hear fine in between.  It was annoying but better than removing the CI.

I will NOT be doing that again, though.  Change the batteries or carry a spare.  ALWAYS.

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@Mary Featherston

Yeah with disposable batteries it goes on and on for 20 minutes! Crazy that it keeps beeping though that whole time. I would prefer warning beeps 20 mins ahead, then no beeps so I can hear well, then different pattern of warning beeps 5 mins ahead.

Since I use disposable batteries all of the time, I carry a full spare dial in a tiny case in my pocket always.  I usually never need them since I proactively swap batteries every other morning but like in the middle of the Broadway show, sometimes it happens.

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@Mary Featherston

I had the same experience more than once of a rechargeable battery not charging correctly.  Even though Med-El swapped out the batteries and the charger.  It made me feel anxious that I may think I have spare rechargeable batteries with me but there is a chance they didn’t actually charge correctly.

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4 minutes ago, Mary Beth said:

@Mary Featherston

I had the same experience more than once of a rechargeable battery not charging correctly.  Even though Med-El swapped out the batteries and the charger.  It made me feel anxious that I may think I have spare rechargeable batteries with me but there is a chance they didn’t actually charge correctly.

@Mary Beth I've just started carrying three of them in my little battery wallet instead of just two.  And I do still have the disposables and the thing you put them in, so worst case I just do that again.  My main mistake was to think they'd make it through the third day.

 

Nyet.

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hmmm... this has gone off topic... the battery life span not my issue.

the rechargeable do not work with the Roger Pen... when the normal batteries are used I get the beep that it's connecting... I do not get that with the rechargeable.

 

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@mgfiest - mini or regular rechargeables?  I've used my Roger pen with rechargeable batteries and didn't have a problem.

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12 hours ago, Mary Beth said:

@mgfiest and @Hicksy

Interesting.  

Roger does require battery from the Sonnet to power the Roger 21 receiver.  It makes sense that a battery -rechargeable or disposable- near the end of its usefulness will not be strong enough to power the Roger 21 receiver correctly.  Using Roger drains the batteries faster than not using Roger.

Both the standard rechargeable batteries and the disposable batteries with the Roger 21 battery cover should work.  Technically the micro rechargeable batteries work too with the Roger 21 cover BUT the life of the battery is way too short to be worth using it that way.

I believe our audiologists can deactivate those weak battery beeps.  I have the weak battery beeps turned on.

Weird thing is how those beeps work with the different processors!

OPUS 2 and Sonnet (with disposable batteries)- those beeps go on and on and on.  I know because once it happened while I was driving home and I timed it.  

Sonnet with rechargeable batteries- beeps and within a few minutes are dead.  Not really enough warning.

Any processor in waterwear with silver oxide or alkaline batteries- beep rapidly and die immediately.

 

One of my friends has AB.  Her battery beep warnings are more helpful.  Beep to alert her and then stay quiet so she can hear.  Then beep a different pattern a few moments before they will die.  She has plenty of time to change her batteries and is not bothered by so many beeps so close in time.  @MED-EL Moderator This would be a nice change to have in future processors so we can hear well while we are timing the battery exchange.

 

Hi @Mary Beth, Thanks for the suggestion! We will pass this feedback on to the right teams here at HQ! Kind regards, Mary 

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it is not the low power beep that I am talking about... it the beep that says you are connected to the Roger Pen.. I get it with the standard battery not the rechargeable... assuming that the beep tells me everything is ok.. the rechargeable do not work. My assumption.

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@mgfiest

The rechargeable batteries are supposed to work with the Roger 21 receiver.  Even the micro rechargeable batteries are supposed to work with the Roger Pen as long as you have the Roger 21 battery cover in use.  Standard rechargeable are recommended because they last longer.

If you are using the same Roger Pen, same Roger 21 battery cover on the same Sonnet and it works with disposable batteries but not with rechargeable batteries, the only thing that comes to mind is if the rechargeable batteries are fully charged when you try to use this set up.

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@mary beth

I have the standard rechargeable not the mini... 

The only thing that you have mention is … are they fully charged.. they are but my question... are they as strong as the standard batteries... like most rechargeable batteries they loose their strength over time... is there any test on these rechargeable batteries I can do?

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@mgfiest

Med-El recommends changing out the standard size rechargeable batteries when they are only getting 7 hours or less.  Other than using the number of hours they last, I do not know of any way to assess the rechargeable batteries.

They are only under warranty in the US for one year.

I have not had the best luck with rechargeable batteries.  And Med-El has replaced the batteries and the rechargeable battery adapters and the actual charger and the same thing keeps happening.  They start out lasting 10.5 hours but then quickly decrease.  Anything under 9 hours just doesn’t work for me.  I do not mind swapping out the batteries in the mid afternoon but I am not willing to swap out the batteries two times throughout my listening day.  I also had two experiences when a fully charged battery was not actually charged at all when I swapped it in.  So I had a dead battery in my battery wallet even though it had charged overnight and the lights on the charger showed that it had charged.  So I returned to using disposable batteries.  It is refreshing never having dead battery beeps.

I can’t figure out what is happening with your Roger experience with the rechargeable batteries.  Have you removed the Roger from the TV connection and just checked that it worked with the rechargeable batteries?

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@mary beth

The rechargeable works with my Sonnet.. I get about 8 hrs with them... I don't used them a lot. I just thought when I am at home use the rechargeable with the Roger Pen instead of the standard battery. Roger Pen technology eats battery life fast. Wireless technology in general eats battery life. When I not using the Roger Pen I would get 3 days on the standard battery but as soon as I started playing with the Roger Pen... bam.. maybe 2 days... so use rechargeable to save on using standard.

Anyway... I got one of the rechargeable to connect... I had to be on top of the Roger Pen to get it connected. Will keep testing this out more to see what else it can't do.

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@mgfiest

Roger receivers do drain CI batteries quickly because they are using the CI battery power too.

Roger MyLink neckloop receiver does not have that effect on CI batteries because it has it own rechargeable battery.  The CI is merely using its own telecoil to pick up the sound from the neckloop.

Artone 3 MAX BT neckloop also has its own rechargeable battery so it doesn’t impact CI battery life either.  Again, the CI is merely using its own telecoil to pick up the sound from the neckloop.  Artone has a transmitter which can be connected to the TV for TV sound streaming.

Anytime we attach a receiver to our processor, that receiver drains power from the processor battery.

This has been a problem for children in school using the Sonnet 21 Roger receivers.  Many children run out of battery power before they return home when using the standard rechargeable batteries.  This presents the need to swap out the batteries mid school day.  That has not been easy for some parents.  Many have returned to using disposable batteries which easily last an entire day even while using the Roger 21 receivers.

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@mary beth

Just throwing this out... could the cover on my battery be the problem child?

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@mgfiest

Cover on your battery.......are you referring to the Roger 21 battery cover that you must use in order to pick up the sound from the Roger Pen?

If that Roger 21 battery cover works perfectly fine with your Roger Pen when using disposable batteries, I don’t think it is the problem.

 

https://www.phonakpro.com/content/dam/phonakpro/gc_hq/en/products_solutions/wireless_accessories/roger_receivers/documents/datasheet_roger_21.pdf

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@mary beth

when I use the Roger Pen the cover I have is the Sonnet FM battery cover. Does that make a diff?

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@mgfiest

Sounds like there may be a problem with your FM battery sleeve.  Are you able to contact your Med-El CSR or CI center to see about replacing it?

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