I got plain tired of feeding the gaping battery maw of various
portable radios, especially that of the power-mad DX-398, and broke
down and purchased Ray-O-Vac's four slot NIMH IC3 charger with the
included set of four 2000 AH batteries at Sam's Club for around $20.
This price was $7 better than Walmart. Sam's does not sell the IC3
batteries separately, so I bought two more sets of four at Walmart for
around $12 apiece. Needless to say, I am very favorably impressed
with Rayovac's gizmo and it works as advertised. These rechargeables
will run the 398 at moderate to loud volume for 15-20 hours. Goodbye
Duracell. I think I am on my fifth charge which would be at least $15
in Duracells and $10 in Dollar Store alkies.

It should be noted that considerable main strength is required to
properly seat the positive terminals in their correct slots. (If
you're not paying attention it is easy to place the positive terminals
in the AAA slots and the batteries won't charge.) I think however
that the monster springs which hold the batteries in place will lose
some of their tension over time and the procedure will become easier.
Also, the batteries become quite hot while charging (which I
understand is normal) so it is probably adviseable to let them cool
off before using them. The charger has a built in fan to help
dissipate the heat. Theoretically, these batteries are good for a
thousand cycles. Is the plastic charger up to the task when so much
force is required to insert the batteries?

The batteries really truly charge up in fifteen minutes. When the
power indicator on the radio starts getting low I just charge up
another set of batteries, play the radio until it shuts off for lack
of juice, and swap out the old cells. Very convenient, and I will
never again worry about wasting expensive alkalines.

Regards,

Grumpus