Stages Power Meter Battery Tips

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When doing my 3 month test on Batteries and SB20 Power Meter Accuracy I did many power meter battery changes. Here are some interesting things I found.

Button Cells



Stages power meters use CR2032 button cell batteries. Their naming is logical enough. 


The first letter for chemistry: C=Lithium, L=Alkaline and S=Silver, is a bit confusing.     






"Mark" Batteries Before Using Them




I paint unique markings on all new batteries before installing them.  

I changed batteries from new to old - and back - dozens of times in the past few months. I dropped batteries on the floor more than once. A unique mark lets me distinguish new from old.





Easy Battery Removal





I stumbled on this Stages battery removal trick: 

Push the battery inward, opposite the side contact. 







Rejuvenating Battery Contacts

My power meters are 3 years old. Its battery contacts have become slightly flattened. Pushing them back to their original position is a delicate but easy task to complete.



Steps:

1. Hold down the rear (negative) contact.

2. Gently nudge the centre prongs outward.

3. Rear contact itself can then be lifted.

4.  The side (positive) contact can also be pushed inward.




 

Genuine Batteries?

Some riders report that a few well-known brands don't work well - particularly those with a "bitter" child-safety coating. I have read dozens of battery test results. Battery coating was never mentioned. I suspect the problem could be counterfeit batteries that don't meet specifications. FWIW: The coating can be removed with isopropyl alcohol. Cleaning batteries is not a bad idea in any case. 

Favorite Batteries

There are many online videos comparing CR2032 batteries. They are worth checking out.

My favourite: I did my recent Power Meter Tests with Duracell batteries. I have also used Panasonic batteries successfully. Most recently I tried generic LiCB batteries and probably like them the best. Testing  continues in 2024.

📣 My personal experience here is far from scientific.  Please tell us about your favourite batteries in the comments. 

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Many people ask: How do I get battery levels for my power meters? Popular answers are the BT Inspector and StagesPower apps. Both work fine. You find each power meter individually and then ask for a battery estimate. Repeat for any other battery powered devices.  

This tedious process inspired me to write BattView: A single app that reads battery levels for all Bluetooth devices in range. One click for all. 

BattView for iPad and iPhone is available in the Apple App Store. 
Download BattView


https://apps.apple.com/app/battview/id6502578166


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