Skip to main content

Understanding mAh

In this episode -  Understanding Milliamp Hours (mAh) . . .



Adapted article from the How-To-Geek Newsletter by Kris Wouk.


When shopping for backup power (portable charger) for your phone, you're sure to encounter the term milliamp hours or the abbreviation mAh. Not sure what this means, let's examine it.


What Are Milliamp Hours?


Milliamp hours (mAh) is a unit that measures power over time.


A milliamp is a measure of electric current, precisely one-thousandth of an amp. Amps and milliamps measure the strength of the electric current. Add hours to this, and you get a measure of how long this current can flow at that strength.


Let's use a battery as an example. If your battery can maintain a current output of one milliamp for one hour, you would call it a one mAh battery.

You will see mAh used in many electronic devices with a battery, from phones, and watches, to Bluetooth devices. These devices range from hundreds of milliamp hours into the thousands in terms of capacity, but they're all measured the same way. One thing to note here is that milliamp-hours are only a measure of capacity. They don't dictate how fast your backup battery will charge a device.


Device Capacity -


The average smartphone has a battery capacity ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 mAh. But as phones have advanced, demand for batteries has increased, thus diminishing battery life overall. This means portable chargers are more popular than ever. To be of any practical use, you'll want a compact charger that has at least as much battery capacity as whatever you'd like to charge. After all, an older charger with a 2,000 mAh capacity doesn't do much for an iPhone 13 with a 3,227 mAh battery.


A charger with roughly the same capacity as your phone or tablet is better than nothing, but bigger is almost always better. Even if you don't use the maximum capacity of your charger, it's often better to have the extra power and not need it than find yourself without it.


For example, if you need to charge your smartphone while wilderness camping, you'll want a higher-capacity charger since you will have no opportunity to recharge. Look for a battery of about 20,000 mAh, especially if you're planning more extended trips.


Another option is to harness the power of the Sun - Solar power banks are starting to come down in size and price.


Here's a mountaineering tip: if you're like me, you use your smartphone as a camera, take videos, document ideas in Notes, listen to audiobooks, music, and so much more. Place your phone in airplane mode, especially when you know there is no cell signal. This will extend your battery.


More Power!


Charger capacity continues to increase as our devices' batteries get larger. That brings up the question, is it possible to have a charger with too much capacity for the devices you are charging?


While there are some downsides to larger capacity chargers, there aren't many, and none of them are dangerous. A charger with many more milliamp hours of capacity than you require won't damage your device.


The main downside of a charger with more capacity than you need is size. More capacity means larger batteries, which sometimes require more space for cooling. This can add additional bulk and steal valuable backpack space, but clever packing can solve this problem.


The other downside to a battery with a larger capacity is that it will take longer to recharge.


The bottom line is this; determine your phone's battery capacity and adjust accordingly. So, let's hit the trails this summer fully charged!


If you have a suggestion for a future podcast, email me at pball@sbcglobal.net or click the link  https://anchor.fm/patrick-ball/message and leave us a voice message.


I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

Feeling Human Again

In this episode, The Unexpected Thankfulness of Feeling Human Again I’ll be honest with you: My triumphant return from France was not the glamorous homecoming I had imagined. No graceful glide back into routine. No cinematic jet-setter moment where I lift my suitcase off the carousel and wink at life like we’re old pals. Instead? I came home and immediately launched into a two-week performance piece titled The Great American Couch Collapse. My days blurred together in a haze of soup, hot tea, tissues, and desperate negotiations with the universe for just one nostril—one!—to function properly. The living room sofa became my emotional support furniture. And any creative idea that dared tiptoe into my congested brain was gently shown the exit with a firm but courteous, “Not today, friend. Try again later.” When life hits the pause button like that—when you’re exhausted, sick, and mentally unplugged—how do you find your spark again? Somehow, today, I felt it. A tiny shift. A clearing of th...
1 comment
Read more

Patience – the Only First-Class Ticket

In this episode, Why Patience is the Only First-Class Ticket They say travel broadens the mind. After eight days sailing the Rhône with 140 fellow luxury vacationers, I can confirm it also tests patience, calf strength, buffet strategy, and one's tolerance for people furious that France insists on being French. Don't get me wrong—I adored this trip. The river shimmered like liquid optimism. The villages looked hand-painted. The pastries could negotiate world peace. But somewhere between Ship Horn Hello and Bon Voyage, we'd inadvertently boarded a floating behavioral research study disguised as a holiday. Our ship was less a cruise and more a ferry for the Sailors of Status. ⌚ The Wristwatch Wars Some passengers approached relaxation like yogis. Others treated leisure like a final exam with extra credit. I came to believe certain luxury watches emit ultrasonic signals that only their owners can detect. A frequency calibrated to trigger rapid movement toward any line forming...
1 comment
Read more

Up the Rhône

Up the Rhône by Patrick Ball We booked a fine cruise up the Rhône — what a treat! With iPhones, lanyards, and schedules so neat. They promised us peace and a mind that would mend, But each calm beginning had chores at the end! "Now breakfast at seven! At eight, take the view!" At nine, there's a lecture on ' What Tourists Do!' At noon, there's a tasting (you must love the cheese), Then hurry to nap time — as corporate decrees! I followed that plan till my patience ran dry. The Rhône softly chuckled, "Oh my, oh my, my! You've missed half my sparkles, my ripples, my tone— You're busy pretending you've peacefully grown!" So I fired my planner and banished my clock. I tossed my agenda right off the dock! I let the wind tickle my schedule away, and drifted through hours that danced where they may. I chatted with swans, had no notion of when, I'd nibble, or nap, or go roaming again. No Wi-Fi! No meetings! No planning! No fuss! Just me and ...
1 comment
Read more

When "Not Working" Becomes Your Actual Job

✨ In this episode. The Unscheduled Life: When "Not Working " Becomes Your Actual Job L'horloge du café est détraquée, le serveur s'en fiche et moi, j'essaie. Somewhere between the third sip of espresso and the second croissant, it occurs to me: doing nothing is the hardest work of all. The question on the table this morning, as I sip this slightly-too-strong French espresso, is deceptively simple: How does one define "vacation"? The conventional answer—an enduring triumph of corporate minimalism—is: "Not Working." But that tidy phrase immediately opens a philosophical can of worms. When is life working , and when is it not ? If the highest measure of vacation is simply the absence of labor, then most of our existence amounts to a relentless, unpaid internship for a job we never applied for. We've been conditioned to believe that life works when it's maximally efficient, tightly scheduled, and aimed at the shimmering horizon of "...
Post a Comment
Read more