Johnny Borborigmi wrote:

I use them in everything except smoke/C02 alarms and clocks.


Smart move, especially in the smoke and CO alarms. A regular battery has
a different discharge curve and will give you lots of warning before
it's inoperative.

A rechargeable nicad or NiMh may go dead while you are out of the house
and don't the hear the few warning beeps.



mike

m II wrote:
Johnny Borborigmi wrote:

I use them in everything except smoke/C02 alarms and clocks.



Smart move, especially in the smoke and CO alarms. A regular battery has
a different discharge curve and will give you lots of warning before
it's inoperative.

A rechargeable nicad or NiMh may go dead while you are out of the house
and don't the hear the few warning beeps.

I noticed a similar problem when I use NiMHs in a portable scanner. The
battery voltage drops so fast at the end of their discharge cycle, the
scanner's low battery alarm only beeps once. It's easy to miss it if
you're not paying attention.

Joe Analssandrini wrote:

Do not even consider NiCads. They are a "pain." I used them for years
and, when NiMHs came out and I tried them, I went over completely to
using NiMHs. There are just too many advantages of NiMHs over NiCads -
the most notable being virtually no "memory" effect. You can charge
NiMHs any time you like and, while they should be "conditioned"
(discharging completely and then recharging) once in a great while, in
general that annoying step can be skipped.

The downside to NiMH's is they self discharge faster when not in use
than NiCd's.

HFguy wrote:
m II wrote:
Johnny Borborigmi wrote:

I use them in everything except smoke/C02 alarms and clocks.



Smart move, especially in the smoke and CO alarms. A regular battery
has a different discharge curve and will give you lots of warning
before it's inoperative.

A rechargeable nicad or NiMh may go dead while you are out of the
house and don't the hear the few warning beeps.

I noticed a similar problem when I use NiMHs in a portable scanner. The
battery voltage drops so fast at the end of their discharge cycle, the
scanner's low battery alarm only beeps once. It's easy to miss it if
you're not paying attention.


I first noticed it in a digital camera. I learned that when the warning
light comes on, it really means it. Now!




mike

ve3... wrote:

About ten years ago I got a batch of heavy-duty Radio Shack Ni-Cads
rated at 5,000 mah. They were quite satisfactory but were a bit fiddly
to recharge correctly.

Are you sure about the 5000-mah capacity of those Radio Shack NiCd's?
The highest capacity 'D' cell NiCd's I ever saw at Radio Shack were
4500-mah. I still have a set of Panasonic 'D' cell NiCd's which are
rated at 5000-mah. They're about eight years old and still going strong.
I payed about $11.00-US each. Now you can get NiMH's in that price range
with much higher capacities.

I have a Radio Shack Pro-91 Scanner.(I am listening to it right now,the
cops are on the trail of somebody,name of Latoya) It beeps for a long
time when the Ray O Vac Alkaline batteries get low. www.rigpix.com
cuhulin

Joe Analssandrini wrote:
In my Grundig Satellit 800 (a "battery-eater") I use C. Crane NiMH "D"
size batteries - they are rated 9000 mAH. They cost $9.95 each here in
the US which is rather high now. (When I bought them several years ago,
they were "the only game in town.") There are others which have ratings
up to 11000 mAH and which cost less. C. Crane's Quick Charger, which
can charge all sizes of NiCads and NiMHs, sells for $39.95 in the US.
There are now other chargers which are at least as good and possibly
better for the same or less money. You'd have to check what is
available locally for you.

I use Maha, but the NiMH D cells are awfully expensive, if I may say so,
both the 7000 and the 11000. On the other hand, alkaline D cells are pretty
pricey too.

The C Crane Quick charger is old but has the advantage that it charges
flat-dead batteries where newer chargers refuse to recognize them, which
you need if you have run one dead accidentally. Having started the charge
in the old C Crane, switch over to a newer charger. Also it has a voltmeter
that's handy, in case you need to test which battery is which or something.

--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

In article ,
Bart Bailey wrote:

In posted on Mon, 16 Oct 2006
10:17:45 GMT, Ron Hardin wrote: Begin

I use Maha, but the NiMH D cells are awfully expensive, if I may say so,
both the 7000 and the 11000. On the other hand, alkaline D cells are pretty
pricey too.

Have you tried the Maha MH-C808M?
It's a bit pricey but looks like a real sweet unit.
http://tinyurl.com/yg53y6

I just ordered the C800S model. It's basically the same except that it
only does AA/AAA. Since I have no C or D rechargeables, I saved about
$40.

Mike

Dear HF Guy,

You are absolutely correct in your comment about self-discharging.
However, if you use your radio on a daily basis for any length of time,
you will never have that problem. NiMHs lose about 1% per day - 30% per
month if not used. The way I use my radios, I have to recharge the
batteries well before any self-discharging effects are noted.

But your comment is quite correct and is something perhaps a casual or
infrequent user might want to consider.

Best,

Joe

HFguy wrote:
Joe Analssandrini wrote:

Do not even consider NiCads. They are a "pain." I used them for years
and, when NiMHs came out and I tried them, I went over completely to
using NiMHs. There are just too many advantages of NiMHs over NiCads -
the most notable being virtually no "memory" effect. You can charge
NiMHs any time you like and, while they should be "conditioned"
(discharging completely and then recharging) once in a great while, in
general that annoying step can be skipped.

The downside to NiMH's is they self discharge faster when not in use
than NiCd's.