VERY late followup - Why batteries in Walkmans don't last for very long.
 

I can't remember who supplied the only knowledgeable reply to my
question (of about a year or two ago) about why Walkmans eat
batteries like they were candy, while a small Sony *radio with a
5" speaker* works for a year on its set of batteries. The answer
was, basically, "inefficiency". I didn't /quite/ buy it in spite
of the person's obvious knowledge of electronics etc.

I accidentally found the REAL reason. On this page:

http://www.walkmancentral.com/products/wm-10

In case you don't want to bother going there (very nice
nostalgia site!), the answer is they use a DC-DC voltage step-up
circuit required to run the extremely tiny and sophisticated
electronics and motors. One component of the WM-F10 required 12
volts! And it ran on ONE 1.5V AA battery (for about 5 hours).

(My question was specifically about that one, one of the {IMO}
greatest Sony inventions ever, cassette-box size, and the first
- along with the (no radio) WM-10 - to use the earbud phones.)


--
The only cure for stupidity is death.
The only cure for brilliance is death.
The only cure for love is death.
The only cure for hate is death.
Indifference needs no cure.
The only cure for life is death.
{© 2007 thanatoid}