When I put freshly-charged batteries in mine, it boots up, shows "low" in the battery icon, then turns off and won't start up again. These batteries run other things just fine. The way the NG sucks batteries dry, I don't want to keep shoveling regular batteries into it.

I've read some other posts regarding problems with rechargables. Does the NG not accept the lower voltage (1.2V vs. 1.5V) or what? Geez this thing has been a pain in the butt.

From the symptoms you describe, it must not accept the lower voltage of NiCad rechargables.

There are rechargable alkaline batteries, that you can get at a slightly higher price than NiCad. (The only store I know that consistently has them in stock is Walmart). They have the same voltage as disposable alkalines and have higher power capacity than NiCad (last longer between charges when you use the remote) and much lower leakage (last much longer between charges when you don't use the remote). But they do wear out after fewer recharges than NiCad.

There are also rechargable NiMh batteries. I'm not sure of the voltage. The cost and the capacity are both even higher than rechargable alkaline.

Make sure your charger is compatible. Don't use alkaline or NiMh batteries in a charger designed only for NiCad.

Purchase the DS-3000 docking station. It includes a rechargable battery and a dock to charge the unit in.
There may definately be problems with it not liking the particular NICAD's you are using, but it definately works with rechargables such as its own (which, if like the TSU-6000 is a 1.2v rechargable).
I haven't switched to the docking station yet because I have a huge load alkaline batteries at home I haven't bothered.

The Docking station comes with a 4.8v 600 mAH (four 1.2 NI-MH cell) battery pack. There is a separate 3-wire connector for this battery pack, so it might not just be wired in parallel with the throw-way battery terminals.

Remember too that in general it's not just battery voltage but the internal resistance of the battery which matters. This determines how much the voltage decreases with a given current draw.

I have used NiMH rechargables 1.2V and only 650mAh. These worked fine in my ru950 (uk versionof tsu3000)

I used Radio Shack NiMh AAA (1.2v 700mah) batteries. They worked OK but didn't last very long. I like the docking station a lot better, but it's pricey compared to separate rechargeable batteries. All NiCad & NiMh single cell batteries are 1.2v.

The main appeal of the docking station is convenience: no more replacing drained batteries, be they alkaline or after-market rechargable. Just pop it on the charger now and again.

There was a LOT of discussion on whether the docking station was worth it or not for the original Pronto - and I mean a LOT!

As pointed out by others, regular batteries are 1.5V, and rechargables are 1.2V. The batteries in the NG are in series, so stds provide 6.0V, and rechs provide 4.8V. The system needs to know which type are being used, so it can adjust its voltage expectation and not consider 4.8V to be a low battery condition.

Ideally, a manuf would provide a switch for this purpose. In Philips case, they'd rather not provide this switch, and instead charge a lot of money for 4 rechargables wrapped in plastic with a connector, and a charger.

The best way to use your own rechargable batteries is to find out how the Philips battery pack signals the NG that rechargables will be used, and do that yourself.

I've looked at the 3-pin connector. Pin 1 is at the bottom, and is connected to ground. Pin 3 looks like it is the positive connection for rechargables, separate from the pos conn for std batteries. I can't see where pin 2 goes.

Would someone with the rechargable battery pack like to check it and report what's connected to the 3 pins? Also, is any connection made to the 2 spring battery connectors that remain in the battery compartment after removing the insert.

This information would allow a person to "fool" the remote and get it to properly allow for the use of rechargables.

Thanks to anyone willing to do this.

I could be flippant and say that pin 1 connects to a black wire, pin 2 connects to a white wire, and pin 3 connects to red wire, and all three disappear under the black plastic which encapsulates the rechargeable cells.

I don't particularly want to dissect my battery pack.

There is no connection to the left over springs when using the rechargeable pack. My guess is that the middle white wire connects between cells 2 and 3. Something like:

black ---- |+ |+ white |+ |+ --- red

But that's just a guess.

The trick may well be that the power is coming in via the connector rather than the spring connections.

Thanks for your post.
Certainly I'm not asking anyone to take theirs apart. I'm hoping for someone with a voltmeter to take measurements.
Your info confirms that red is positive and black is ground, which is typical. The white pin might have no connection, it might be a temperature sensor to stop charging if the battery overheats, or it may be connected to ground to indicate that a rechargeable battery is installed.
I'm going to try just connecting pins 1 and 3 and see what happens.

I'm using NiMH batteries, but the battery life sucks, but its no worse than a set off alkalines though. One charge lasts 2-4days. I thought I had a bad battery so I measued the voltage of the batteries the last time the pronto gave up on them. The batteries still seemed mostly charged, they were all around 1.31V. Which is a bit strange for a battery with a nominal voltage of 1.2V.

A freshly charged set was all in the 1.4V range, so it seems like the pronto is only using the first flush of the charge in the batteries in there. It seems to be rediculously sensitive to voltage and really does need 6V, not the usual 4.8V that most equipent could manage.

I do notice that if you take the battery holder out of the pronto you have enough space to fit 5 AAA batteries in there. I'm wondering about making a holder to run it off 5 NiMH batteries. Either that of try hooking it to the rechargeable socket instead.

Does the rechargeable pack really only hold 4 cells? Or is it really 5 cells?

That's a great observation! If you're right, and the Philips pack uses 5 cells to get 6V, then maybe the 3-pin connector is just a connection to the charging circuitry.

So, rdenatale or someone, can you answer the 4/5 cell question?

Thanks again.

Buy the docking station at www.bluedo.com for about $50, and you will never have battery problems again. The unit should last virtually forever.

There's four cells in the battery pack. You would have to modify the case to hold 5 cells, as there's a lump of plastic sticking out to prevent putting the batteries that direction.

Thanks for the info, Daniel. In my NG, at least, with the battery insert removed, 5 batteries fit in with no modification. They go in the same orientation as they are with the insert in place.