Furby Battery Problems?

[Quezovercoatl the Feathered Boa]

Er, hi. This is my first time posting, and I've seen some comments in the
newsgroup that were vaguely derogatory towards newbies, so I'm a tad
nervous... but here goes.

When I got my first furby (penguin-like furby with black fur and white
tummy, in case this becomes important) on May 17th, I tested out its
functions using Duracell alkaline batteries borrowed from a friend. There
appeared to be no problems, and I went on to use "Pure Energy Rechargeable
batteries", also with no problems.

Since a brief perusal of the newsgroup indicated that rechargeable
batteries might be a bad idea, or might make my Furby go haywire after 10
weeks or so, when I impulse-bought my second furby yesterday (giraffe-like
furby, again in case this is important) I bestowed upon it a fresh pack of
Duracell Ultra batteries. It then spent a jolly half-hour making horrible
screeching noises, beeps, rapid jerking motions and uttering sinister
sounding jibberish (Not Furbish. Rapid,
"country-song-being-played-backwards" jibberish.), and abruptly stopped
after the third time I reinstalled its batteries.

Being a furby newbie, I'm a bit worried whether:
a) my first furby is "guaranteed" to have problems in another few weeks
b) my second furby is just lulling me into a sense of false security before
it starts beeping and screeching again, and
c) if there's any particular brand of batteries that seems to give less
Furbys less "indigestion", or if I'm doomed to try feeding my Furbys a
variety of yummy batteries to see which work.

Any illumination you can shed on the situation will be greatly appreciated.

Quezovercoatl the Feathered Boa

[Nita]

I've used the regular Duracell batteries in all of mine and have had no
weird reactions at all.

--
Nita

Quezovercoatl the Feathered Boa <two...@canada.com> wrote in message
news:01beac4d$acbbca40$5aa034d1@default...

[CopperScale Dragon]

On 1 Jun 1999 09:33:21 -0800, "Quezovercoatl the Feathered Boa"
<two...@canada.com> wrote:

>Er, hi. This is my first time posting, and I've seen some comments in the
>newsgroup that were vaguely derogatory towards newbies, so I'm a tad
>nervous... but here goes.

I'm sorry you feel this way, but I do understand why.
>

>
e
>furby, again in case this is important) I bestowed upon it a fresh pack of
>Duracell Ultra batteries. It then spent a jolly half-hour making horrible
>screeching noises, beeps, rapid jerking motions and uttering sinister
>sounding jibberish (Not Furbish. Rapid,
>"country-song-being-played-backwards" jibberish.), and abruptly stopped
>after the third time I reinstalled its batteries.

This sounds like a computer problem to me. Static electricity can do
much to "fry" poor Furby's little computer brain, (as with any
computer) and I think it is just possible that many of our favorite
furry toy have been so affected. I would probably take him back to
the point of purchase for exchange, or return him to Tiger for repair.

Jane

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the
right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

CopperSc...@mindspring.com
www.dragoncon.org

[FurbyKiwi]

I used standard 1.5 volt AA alkaline batteries from Costco. I think it is
their Kirkland brand. Consumer Reports did some testing recently and they
found that GE/Sanyos were among the least expensive and most durable. That
is, you don't necessarily get more by paying more. 10 weeks is pretty good
for a Furby that is regularly used.

There's no guarantee that your Furby will malfunction in short order. Some
people have reported problems like yours, but not everyone gets a problem
like that.

My only Furby problem is that my grey and white Furby used to have very
quiet motors, but now it has become noisier, and when it speaks I can smell
machine oil.

Quezovercoatl the Feathered Boa <two...@canada.com> wrote in message
news:01beac4d$acbbca40$5aa034d1@default...

> Er, hi. This is my first time posting, and I've seen some comments in the
> newsgroup that were vaguely derogatory towards newbies, so I'm a tad
> nervous... but here goes.
>

> When I got my first furby (penguin-like furby with black fur and white
> tummy, in case this becomes important) on May 17th, I tested out its
> functions using Duracell alkaline batteries borrowed from a friend. There
> appeared to be no problems, and I went on to use "Pure Energy Rechargeable
> batteries", also with no problems.
>
> Since a brief perusal of the newsgroup indicated that rechargeable
> batteries might be a bad idea, or might make my Furby go haywire after 10
> weeks or so, when I impulse-bought my second furby yesterday (giraffe-like

> furby, again in case this is important) I bestowed upon it a fresh pack of
> Duracell Ultra batteries. It then spent a jolly half-hour making horrible
> screeching noises, beeps, rapid jerking motions and uttering sinister
> sounding jibberish (Not Furbish. Rapid,
> "country-song-being-played-backwards" jibberish.), and abruptly stopped
> after the third time I reinstalled its batteries.
>

[ROBERT J SPONAUGLE]

In general (not specific to Furby) rechargeable batteries are usually more
dependable than throw aways, because they give a constant 1.2 volts, as
opposed to a throw away battery which starts at 1.5 volts and then
constantly declines. It sounds like your Furby may be defective, or just
has a glitch.

Bob (Dah on MSN chat)

Quezovercoatl the Feathered Boa wrote in message
<01beac4d$acbbca40$5aa034d1@default>...

[Huklebrry]

>In general (not specific to Furby) rechargeable batteries are usually more
>dependable than throw aways, because they give a constant 1.2 volts, as
>opposed to a throw away battery which starts at 1.5 volts and then
>constantly declines. It sounds like your Furby may be defective, or just
>has a glitch.

...but rechargables AREN'T as reliable with Furbies. They tend to act
strangely. Using Alkaline (is that how it's spelled?) seem to do better.

- Huklebrry

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[Sven van der Meij]

>>In general (not specific to Furby) rechargeable batteries are usually more
>>dependable than throw aways, because they give a constant 1.2 volts, as
>>opposed to a throw away battery which starts at 1.5 volts and then
>>constantly declines. It sounds like your Furby may be defective, or just
>>has a glitch.
>
>...but rechargables AREN'T as reliable with Furbies. They tend to act
>strangely. Using Alkaline (is that how it's spelled?) seem to do better.
>
>- Huklebrry
>

I've seen rechargables with 1500mAh power (but 1.2V). These batteries are
not normal NiCd but NiMH. Is there someone who has tried this kind of
batteries in a furby?

Grtz, Sven & Nava

[J&T Egan]

just got my furby yesterday and i'm trying to learn furbish,etc. also
i just found this newsgroup.
i want to find out if it is unusual for them to fall asleep if
you don't play with them for a few minutes?
also, how often must i feed him so he doesn't become ill? i have the
instruction book,but still have would like to talk to other owners.
thanks,
t.

[Bob Q.]

t. - Not unusual at all for them to fall asleep if they're ignored. As a
matter of fact, sometimes they fall asleep even while you are playing
with them. Just turn 'em over to wake them up again. You don't have
to feed them to prevent them from becoming ill, unless they actually
tell you that they're hungry. If they do become ill, they'll start
sneezing, that's when you start feeding them. If they continue
sneezing, feed 'em again. Nobody said Furby parenthood was easy. :
- Bob Q.

[aria...@my-deja.com]

I have used these kind NiMH in my furby and he is always fine...I would
recommend them for use in furbys ;-)

Jenn

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