NiMH batteries going fast

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tkenny53

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I use Ni-MH 2500amphr batteries, They get fully charged from an external charger by the same maker of the battery., but they only last about 90 minutes while scanning.
Is there a better setting to allow better use of the batteries?
 
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darunimal

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NiCd really, try Ni-MH batteries instead they are less prone to the memory symptoms of NiCD, try Eneloops and a Maha c9000 charger for hours of listening pleasure. 2500mah,individual cell charging and a slow charge equals better capacitance and life also.
 

GTO_04

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I use 2500amphr batteries, They get fully charged from an external charger by the same maker of the battery., but they only last about 90 minutes while scanning.
Is there a better setting to allow better use of the batteries?

How old are your nicads? Maybe they are getting old and wearing out. Like the others said maybe it is time for some Eneloops.

GTO_04
 

marksmith

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Eneloops will last 8-10 hours on a charge while scanning, depending on the radio, activity and number of batteries the radio uses.

Mark
WS1095/536/436/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/325P2/396XT/PRO668/PSR800/PRO652
 

ka3jjz

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One or more bad batteries can also cause a short time span. A good charger can sometimes reverse this...like has been said earlier, get some Eneloops and an external charger like the Maha that can, at times, recondition the batteries.

Mike
 

tkenny53

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Sorry guys I do have the Ni-MH batteries, less than a year old.
 
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JamesO

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There are plenty of high Amp rated batteries that I have purchased that rarely last long or have the rated capacity.

Post the brand of the battery, model of the battery and how old they are.
 

gewecke

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How old are your nicads? Maybe they are getting old and wearing out. Like the others said maybe it is time for some Eneloops.

GTO_04
Nicads?? RE-read his post, he's not using nicads, he's using NiMh cells. Nickel Metal Hydride cells. :). 73, n9zas
 

gewecke

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I use Ni-MH 2500amphr batteries, They get fully charged from an external charger by the same maker of the battery., but they only last about 90 minutes while scanning.
Is there a better setting to allow better use of the batteries?
What model scanner do you have ? Some units have a menu setting allowing the choice of Alkaline batteries Or NiMh. It sounds like yours might be on the Alkaline setting? That may be the reason. The radio believes its using 1.5volt cells, instead of 1.25 volt NiMh cells. 73, n9zas
 

marksmith

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The OP titled the thread about Nicad batteries, and then proceeded to discuss NiMH batteries. Threw me at first too.

Mark
WS1095/536/436/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/325P2/396XT/PRO668/PSR800/PRO652
 
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darunimal

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Can you correct edit and delete the multi parts about NiCAD including the title of the thread.
 

russellmaher

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I would try using new batteries that have been fully charged and see how many hours of usage they give you. If you don't see a significant increase in the amount of time they last, then it might be time to check out the scanner itself.

As previously asked - what type of scanner are you using the batteries in???

Russell
 

Rred

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tkenny-
The battery industry is full of fraud and counterfeits, so the most important question is WHAT BRAND of battery do you have, and did you get it from the same company whose name is on it? Or a third party vendor?
For instance, the folks at Ultrafire rate all their batteries as xx amps, xx volts, but literally every single vendor on ebay and Amazon is selling counterfeit products that are rated slightly differently on both scores. (And sometimes, 30% higher than the greatest amphour capacity that is made by anyone.)

So my first question would be if you were cheated. I've bough "genuine" Motorola cell phone "extended" batteries, only to find that under the hologram and label, was another label--a genuine Motorola NOT extended battery. And by then, the seller is gone.

I've bought radio battery packs that did not fit properly (respected seller says "Oh, just bend your battery contacts, they must be bad". Uh, no, they're fine thank you and that will just break them.)

All sorts of problems.

And unless you buy crap, the "memory effect" is a myth that refuses to go away. Back in the 90's I was talking to a SAFT engineer about that. SAFT owns the NiCad trademark. They said "Memory? No, not unless someone is using really old obsoleted technology, that's just not an issue for brand names any more." NiCd or MiMh.

So, first tell us just what you have. The charger could be "dumb" and the batteries could have cooked. Or there could be a simple manufacturing flaw. But the simplest answer? Is that it could be a 1200mAh battery pack with a lying label. You'd never know without tearing it apart or load testing it.

Or as gewecke said, is your radio SET for rechargables?
 
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