What's wrong with my gadget?

I have a calculator-like gadget that I’ve been using daily since mid-September. (I bought it some time earlier but it stayed in the box until September.) It requires two of one kind of battery and one of another kind, which have to be replaced about once a month. I replaced the two big batteries around 2/20, and about a week later noticed that the display was fading (to the point where I could barely see the display). Around 2/28, I replaced the other battery. By 3/1, I noticed the display was fading again and, in desperation, replaced the two big batteries again! It worked like new for one day and now it is fading again. It has never done this before.

Is it time to replace my gadget?

If it’s not all that expensive of a gadget, I’d say it’s time for a replacement. It would appear that there is some sort of internal ‘short-circuit’ if you will that is causing a constant drain on the batteries.

If it is a pricey gadget, it may not hurt to send it to the manufacturer for a repair estimate.

Most calculators will give you low-battery warnings if you are running low, and not just manipulating it to make its display lighten. The part about `two batteries of one kind and one battery of another’ makes me think the device must save internal state in a RAM that requires refreshes, just like most programmable graphing calculators do. (I’m assuming the odd battery out is a long-life lithium cell or the like, and the other two are run-of-the-mill double-As.)

As the question stands, it’s hardly as helpful as it could be. You don’t mention low-battery warnings, but the only devices I know that would need a third battery are complex enough to maintain RAM and, therefore, would tell you when your batteries are running flat. I’m sure someone could contradict me, but it would be very helpful if you’d just say what you’re talking about.

Yeah, if you will specify the particular gadget, a35362, I bet there are people who will have the same thing and will be able to help you. Or, at the very least, we will be able to find a mailing list, or some other group of users, who are familiar with the device and will know whether or not this is a common issue.