Orbita announces new Beta test!

[India Whiskey Charlie]

[MINIAC]

Too good to pass up. Order placed

[kevin@orbita.com]

Question Will these units also have a AC adapter or at least work with one????


Gregg

Like John said, no adapter because of the battery life. I was searching around last night for lithium batteries online and the cheapest I could find for a "D" cell was about $18 for one. We will have a estimated price of $30 shipped to replace both.

Kevin

[India Whiskey Charlie]

Like John said, no adapter because of the battery life. I was searching around last night for lithium batteries online and the cheapest I could find for a "D" cell was about $18 for one. We will have a estimated price of $30 shipped to replace both.

The online batteries may not be compatible as the Orbita batteries are proprietary and carry different voltage and amperage specifications. This from Chuck:

"The proprietary design of the Orbita Lithium batteries that finally emerged actually provides an output voltage of 3.6 volts, 240% higher than the 1.5 volts obtainable from normal alkaline batteries. Of course that higher voltage necessitated a number of changes in our Watchwinder circuitry but, by coupling two of these batteries together in parallel, we were able to achieve a power source with more than 10 times the battery life of our original winders which were powered with alkaline batteries. We knew this would keep our watch collector customers happy and so, at that point, we decided to supply factory-installed Lithium batteries on all of our Sparta Watchwinders. Now we happily offer a 5 year battery service life guarantee on any winders so equipped. These Lithium batteries are installed at our factory and will require no attention for at least 5 years, and probably several years more. When these batteries are finally depleted, easy to install replacements are readily available from ORBITA."

[BrooklynMinute]

Wouldn't it be easier to get a pair of rechargeable D batteries? If these batteries are proprietary than would it be fair to say that Orbita is creating dependency on the batteries? Either intentional or not.

[ulackfocus]

If these batteries are proprietary than would it be fair to say that Orbita is creating dependency on the batteries?

At that price it's a great deal. Rechargeable batteries don't last as long as these do in my experience. It looks like they are creating future repeat business at a fair price - nice idea IMO. For what you save compared to the price it will be after the test you're WAY ahead of the game. If they were offering a similar discount on a winder with 6 heads I'd be all over it.

[BrooklynMinute]

Perhaps you're right. I wouldn't mind an entry level dual or triple winder comparably discounted.
Mike

[YoungGun]

Ditto a dual or triple would be much better.

[tomc1944]

Great products!!!

[kevin@orbita.com]

Just a little follow up info on the batteries. We do provide and sell replacement batteries and would appreciate if you purchased them through us. However, everyone has a choice and if you find batteries cheaper some where else, you may buy them. You just need to make 100% sure all the specs match our batteries. They are out there and cost between $18 & $22.

Kevin