Battery Consumption - RTS2 vs DPP

[racer-x]

I've been chewing through batteries on my RTS2's for the last year and a half now and decided to try the DPP. Now that I have one, I was curious how the DPP battery consumption compares to the RTS2, so I set up a test to compare. Here's the overview of what & how I tested and the results.  

 

Objective:    Quantify and compare battery consumption characteristics of C-More RTS2(v4) and Leopold Deltapoint Pro.  

 

Overview:    Starting with new batteries, leave both optics on for 1 hour increments at full brightness, alternating with equal periods of power-off rest before starting next session. Used two new Duracell 2032 batteries from same manufacture & expiration lot.

 

Challenges:  DPP goes into power saving mode after 5 minutes of no motion. This requires that optic be moved every 4 minutes to keep dot active. I wore the gun on belt throughout each DPP test. RTS2 does auto power-off at 8 hour point which does not present a challenge in this test.

 

                                                  total hours
description    RTS2    DPP    full bright
----------------------------------------------------------------
test1-v1    3.297    3.293    0
--- 1 hour full brightness ---
test1-v2    2.783    3.028    1
test1-v3    2.923    3.067    1
--- 1 hour full brightness ---
test2-v2    2.706    2.962    2
test2-v3    2.903    3.034    2
--- 1 hours full brightness ---
test3-v2    2.689    2.933    3
test3-v3    2.884    2.993    3
--- 1 hours full brightness ---
test3-v2    2.669    2.901    4
test3-v3    2.863    2.950    4
--- 1 hours full brightness ---
test3-v2    2.631    2.896    5
test3-v3    2.854    2.929    5
--- 1 hours full brightness ---
test3-v2    2.593    2.890    6
test3-v3    2.849    2.919    6
------------------------------------------------------
v1=battery start voltage
v2=battery voltage after 1 hour full bright operation
v3=resting battery voltage 1 hour after v2 measurement

[MemphisMechanic]

I’ve had the same battery in my DPP for all of this season, and I leave it on in my holster, moving around on match day, for roughly 12 hours a month.

 

Edited November 11, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[teros135]

Nice work.  That ought to save us a lot of 50-cent 2032 batteries!

 

Sorry ... 40-cent batteries. 

 

Edited November 11, 2018 by teros135

[jkrispies]

Dang, nice work!  FWIW, I feel like different folks get better life out of their batteries than others.  Obviously amount of use matters, as well as level setting, but I've been told environmental considerations such as temperature variations have large impacts on battery life.  It seems like I can get my RTS2 to last forever on batteries compared to the complaints of others.  I practice with mine about 2.5 hours per week, and I leave it run throughout the full match, and it's been several months since I've changed it.  Others complain that they have to change thier RTS2 battery all the time.  I do tend to run mine on its lowest or near lowest settings for dryfire, as I do it indoors.

Edited November 11, 2018 by jkrispies

[B_Seehawer]

Nice work.  That ought to save us a lot of 50-cent 2032 batteries!
 
Sorry ... 40-cent batteries. 
 

Where are you buying quality 2032s for that cheap?

[teros135]

17 minutes ago, B_Seehawer said:

Where are you buying quality 2032s for that cheap?

 

Amazon.  Energizer, blister packed, 25 for $10.12.  They appear authentic, test at 3.3 volts, keep well in the fridge.  Haven't had any trouble with them.  As they're used the voltage slowly decreases (as tested on a multimeter), and at around 2.7v the dot "strobes", as designed by CMore to say "change the battery".  I have several RTS2s, and they each seem to have their own battery life.  

[B_Seehawer]

Thanks!!

[highhope]

Thanks a lot! Need to buy battery too.

[racer-x]

5 hours ago, teros135 said:

 

Amazon.  Energizer, blister packed, 25 for $10.12.  They appear authentic, test at 3.3 volts, keep well in the fridge.  Haven't had any trouble with them.  As they're used the voltage slowly decreases (as tested on a multimeter), and at around 2.7v the dot "strobes", as designed by CMore to say "change the battery".  I have several RTS2s, and they each seem to have their own battery life.  

 

I'm still pushing these batteries to see where the failure points are. Have my RTS2 down to 2.427v at the 10 hour mark, but have not seen the dot strobe yet?

I tried power off & on a few times as well and still no strobe. I've seen this strobe on previous occasions shooting, but not yet on this particular RTS2. BTW, this one is a fresh replacement from C-More about 2 months ago. Max dot intensity at this reduced voltage is still very usable for an overcast day like today. Wouldn't be ideal in full sun though.

 

I've been checking my RTS2 batteries before matches and replacing them if they were below 3.0v, thinking this would help match reliability. I've observed that the RTS2 max brightness at 2.9 resting v is nearly indistinguishable from a new battery. In fact, I haven't seen any dot weirdness at all yet (blinking, turning off, etc.). At this point, I don't think the low voltages I've reached (2.89 - 2.91 range) had anything to do with the failures I've had.

 

[theWacoKid]

2 hours ago, racer-x said:

 

I'm still pushing these batteries to see where the failure points are. Have my RTS2 down to 2.427v at the 10 hour mark, but have not seen the dot strobe yet?

I tried power off & on a few times as well and still no strobe. I've seen this strobe on previous occasions shooting, but not yet on this particular RTS2. BTW, this one is a fresh replacement from C-More about 2 months ago. Max dot intensity at this reduced voltage is still very usable for an overcast day like today. Wouldn't be ideal in full sun though.

 

I've been checking my RTS2 batteries before matches and replacing them if they were below 3.0v, thinking this would help match reliability. I've observed that the RTS2 max brightness at 2.9 resting v is nearly indistinguishable from a new battery. In fact, I haven't seen any dot weirdness at all yet (blinking, turning off, etc.). At this point, I don't think the low voltages I've reached (2.89 - 2.91 range) had anything to do with the failures I've had.

 

 

The led circuit is driven at about 2.27V (2.3V per data sheet) at max brightness on all the ones I've checked. Thus if the in-system battery voltage is above 2.3V you shouldn't notice a lack of brightness. The voltage of the battery alone isn't going to match the in-system voltage, but 2.7V at the battery is a good rule-of-thumb. 

Edited November 11, 2018 by theWacoKid

[zzt]

Neither of my two remaining RTS2v4s will last an entire steel challenge match without dimming.  One of them requires turning down after each stage.  The other can stay on.  They are both 6 MOA and I run them at max brightness for steel.  Starting with new 3.27v batteries, the voltage at the end of the match (after I get home) is between 2.8 and 2.9.  So I just replace the battery before each shoot.  I buy them 25 at a time.  I moved these sights to other guns that I don't shoot for steel.

 

I have three DPPs in 2.5 MOA.  I use them for my steel guns and an Open gun.  I run them at max brightness.  I have no idea how long the batteries last.  I haven't had to change one.  On a lark I swapped out a battery halfway through the season, just to see if it made a difference.  It did not.  The dot was no brighter.

[racer-x]

On 11/11/2018 at 5:17 PM, theWacoKid said:

 

The led circuit is driven at about 2.27V (2.3V per data sheet) at max brightness on all the ones I've checked. Thus if the in-system battery voltage is above 2.3V you shouldn't notice a lack of brightness. The voltage of the battery alone isn't going to match the in-system voltage, but 2.7V at the battery is a good rule-of-thumb. 

Good info - thanks.

 

20 hours of full brightness testing completed and still no failures, strobing or significant loss of brightness. This is much better performance than I expected out of the RTS2v4

 

• RTS2v4 dot brightness diminished a little in the first 6 hours of operation, but has not reduced any since then. A 'little' being around -10% or like reducing intensity with 1 adjustment on down arrow.
• DPP dot intensity at end of test was same as with a new battery.

 

* regular rest periods were reduced to 10minutes and overnight full rest periods are 10 hours - noted on graph

The RTS2v4 graph line demonstrates a much wider range in measured voltage between when battery is first removed from optic and after 10 minute rest. This indicates a higher loading on RTS2v4 battery during operation compared to DPP.

 

[jkrispies]

Maybe I missed it above, bit I’m wondering which MOA’s of the dots are we talking about, and if it matters?  For ibstance if it’s an 8moa  RTS2 vs a 2.5moa DPP or vice versa. 

[racer-x]

RTS2 is 8MOA and DPP is 2.5 MOA.

 

With both optics set to full intensity in this test, the MOA's should not matter.

 

In practical terms though, small MOA optics usually consume batteries faster because the user sets the brightness higher than if they were using a larger MOA dot.

There's just more to see with a larger dot, so it doesn't need to be as bright.

[IDAHOAASHOOTER]

There's so many variables to battery life, especially when you factor storage, temperature, and Dot size. If you just leave a box of batteries in your range bag and they sit in the garage all summer they will not last as long, if you run full bright all the time compared to someone who might shoot inside or in less direct sunlight conditions. 

[B_RAD]

Is sitting them in the freezer the best way to keep them?

[IDAHOAASHOOTER]

If you keep any battery in the freezer it will take a few minutes to get full draw out of them. Just refrigerated they will be capable of full draw quicker. Why we keep aircraft emergency batteries in a freezer! 

[Foxbat]

As someone already indicated - every sight sample is different.  I don't know the internal circuit, hence no idea how, and if they control the current, or just let it be whatever it is for a particular LED.  I also know for fact that two different samples of the sight may have vastly different brightness - whether it is the result of the LED efficiency or voltage fluctuations, or current - no idea. 

 

Bottom line - trust your eyes and always carry a couple of spare batteries. 

[dvc4you]

This ^

For what they cost just carry spares and change when necessary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[38super]

Dot MOA is determined by a mask, same LED.

[racer-x]

Finally ran the battery down on RTS2 to where it began to strobe (replace battery indicator).

This was after a total of 58 hours set to full bright with the ending voltage at 2.067. Resting voltage was back up to 2.844 the next day. 

Strobing dot intensity appeared around 50-60% as bright as with a new battery.

And of course, this is with a specific RTS2 and battery, results will vary with different components. 

 

 

[highhope]

deleted 

Edited November 30, 2018 by highhope