UNiROSS Hybrio: Better than Sanyo Eneloop

I accidentally discovered the UNiROSS Hybrio earlier this afternoon after one of the sales staff at the customer service deficient CDR-King in SM Sucat drew my ire by telling me in a condescending manner that they didn't have any more stock of their self-branded Eneloop-type AA rechargeable battery. Needless to say, customer service at that branch really sucks. They ask you to fall in line, but there really isn't any system to entertain clients, and a closer look at the staff will show you that they're taking their time despite all the people patiently or impatiently queued.

I decided to check out Ace Hardware at the ground floor. In stark contrast with CD-R King's, customer service at all the Ace Hardware stores that I've been to is way much better. I found my way to the battery display shelf, which was locked to prevent shoplifting. I then asked the sales guy if they sold any Eneloops and if not, whether they had a battery that uses similar technology.

Lucky for me, Ace Hardware carried one such brand -- the UniROSS Hybrio. It was cheaper -- 495 pesos for a pack of four compared to the more expensive Eneloops, which sold for 680 pesos (4 batteries) or even more, depending on which store you go to. I was told that the batteries that came in packs of 2's were only rated at 1900 mAh while those that came in packs of 4's were 2100 mAh. I opted for the latter.

As you most likely already know, the Eneloop is a technology that uses an optimized separator and electrolyte to drastically reduce self-discharge rates. Currently, there are three manufacturers of these batteries; a couple of these manufacturers sell it to companies who brand it as their own. Anyway, these batteries are, for me, the way to go, but I really believe that I should also go get myself a set of four Ansmann batteries and a four-hour charger to go along with it.

Here is a shootout that I think you'll find interesting:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1023&message=24756026

You might also want to check this out:

http://www.users.on.net/~mhains/Reviews.html

Fixing the Canon PowerShot A540

When I saw the ad saying a Canon was for sale at such a price, I couldn't believe it. Just a few days ago, I read that the Canon PowerShot A540 had a safety issue and a major defect -- the camera would overheat, and battery life was extremely short. This was due to a spring that was long and angled vertically in such a way that it would cause a short circuit, which in turn would drain the battery and cause overheating.

The price was too much had the unit been damaged indeed beyond repair, but since I knew I could fix it, I guess it was pretty cheap. Thinking about how much the camera originally cost makes me feel like a winner. I didn't spend much time deciding to make the purchase.

The first thing I did after taking the Canon PowerShot A540 into my hands was to open the lid and check the spring. I felt discouraged. It didn't resemble any of the pictures at the Canon Web site. The spring's left end looked like it had sneaked behind the metal plate on the lid; I don't know what's behind there, but I guess it did short the circuit. Anyway, I had to pluck it out of the metal plate with a pair of tweezers, carefully moving it to the left at about a 45-degree angle until I freed the end and it looked just like one of the photos in the Canon Web site safety advisory. It's the photo saying that the Opening/Closing spring sticks out.

I took a pair of tweezers and a small long-nose (needle nose) pliers, held the lower part of the spring's left end (2 mm. above the point where the spring wire exits its spiral) by the tweezers, and used the pliers to bend the spring at a right angle to the right, making sure it doesn't cross the plastic "divider." You don't want the spring to touch the metal plate that comes into contact with the batteries.

If you can't make out the photos in the said advisory, check out these macro shots I made using a DIY lens taken from a junk Sony video camera and my tiny 3.1 megapixel Yakumo Mega-Image VII.









The first owner of this PowerShot A540, the guy I had bought it from, had brought it on a number of occasions to the local Canon repair center, but the technicians couldn't fix the problem and insisted that the problem was with the battery and/or the charger. I think he brought the camera to the said center about three times, got fed up and finally gave up. He even said in his ad that he couldn't bear with the camera any longer, that's why he's letting it go.

Dude, I'm really grateful that you're so busy with your programming work at Accenture that you don't have any more time to surf the 'Net. Otherwise, I wouldn't have this puppy in front of me right now. This is bliss.

Thanks!