NY formulated on Tuesday :
Ah, if the battery can be recharged, either by what JWK refers to as "wrist
action" (!) or by photocell, then I can understand the battery lasting a long
time - indefinitely unless the battery gradually loses its ability to hold
its charge.

I had to fit a new rechargeable to my watch a month or two back. Its
analogue hands would loose time compared to the digital side which was
always correct - MSF receiver.


Talking of batteries losing their ability to hold charge... I'm not sure what
I do wrong with laptop batteries, but they only seem to last about 2 years
before they stop holding their charge. Each time, I try to plug the laptop
into the mains only while I'm actually using it (to keep it fully charged) or
when the battery has become discharged, and I run it off battery to about 1/3
charged every so often even though I have access to mains. I don't leave the
laptop on charge 24/7 for months on end. And yet my battery dies after a
couple of years whereas other people who abuse their batteries by leaving the
laptop on permanent mains seem to get much longer battery life.

My old Compaq's battery is fine, as is my 2 year old Acer's battery. I
don't usually run on battery at all, rather I have them on charge, when
I'm actually using them/ unplug when finished. That usually means on
maybe 16 hours per day, when I'm at home.