BCD396XT Battery life

[K4MCO]

Evening all...

Hey 396XT users ...how's your battery life???? mine im lucky if i can get 8 or 9 hours out of it before i have to charge it thought it was maybe a bad set of rechargables but had almost the same results with Alkaline as well I monitor a digital system almost exclusively with the occasional excursion to some of the other analog freqs near me im wondering if this is another "firmware" issue ... (anyone remember the 235's going to "sleep" in hold mode??? ) any hel would be appriciated

73's
K4MCO

 

[XTS3000]

Is the battery saver option enabled?

One thing I have noticed with rechargable batteries is no matter how good the batteries are, the charger is just as important. A slow charge is better for the batteries and charge them to a higher capacity than fast chargers. I've experimented with a few chargers and found the Engergizer 8 AA family style charger charges batteries the best. Takes around 4 hours to charge 4 batteries, then it keeps the battery on a very slow trickle charge. Also I notice that If I remove these batteries right off the charger and put them into the scanner to start using it, I get 1/2 hour more run time vs. having batteries sit out of the charger for a day or two before using them.

As for battery life, with Rayovac Hybrid 2100mAh batteries, I'm getting almost exactly 10 hours before hitting the 3.4V and the radio shuts off. 10 Hrs WITH the green lamp (mid brightness) on all the time, and scan alert lamp of various colors. Not bad if you ask me. If I turn off the green backlight, and just have the scan alert lamp, a fresh charged set of Rayovacs get me 11hrs.

My 396T, then XT is on bacically 24/7, so I go through 2 sets of batteries a day. I put a fresh set of 6 Rayovac Hybrid batteries into service on 1/1/2009. Even after roughly 270 cycles, these Rayovacs still going strong - just like they were on day 1.

With all the talk about which batteries are the best, that's only half of the equation. The good charger is just as important as a good brand of batteries, maybe even more important!

The internal charger in the T and XT 396's seemed to do a decent job at charging all rechargables I threw into it. I'm just not sure how long to charge certain batteries in the XT. No where can I find a "charge rate" for the 396XT. Depending on how low my batteries are, I just estimate (more like guestimate) how long to chage them. When the battery gets to 4.31V while charging the batteries, they are done and charging should be stopped to avoid over charging the batteries.

 

[judas12]

i use the Sanyo 2700mah best batteries i've ever had

 

[sjlamb]

La Crosse BC-9009

Do yourself and your batteries a favor and get one of these: Google Image Result for http://www.thomasdistributing.com/shop/images/lc-bc-9009.jpg

Great investment for $36 bucks

 

[K4MCO]

oooooohhh... i like...looks like just what the Dr ordered thanks all!!

 

[Dewey]

...
(anyone remember the 235's going to "sleep" in hold mode??? )
...
73's
K4MCO

Boy do I remember this. Uniden always denied it, but it is very easy to reproduce.

 

[jjudson]

...im lucky if i can get 8 or 9 hours out of it before i have to charge it...

8 or 9 hours is pretty good life as portable devices go. I don't think you'll see anything like that with 8 hours of continuous calling on a cell phone. In fact, you're lucky to see two hours.

Remember, this thing's receiving and sounding off constantly for 8 to 9 hours. That's a lot to ask from a couple of small batteries.

 

[K4MCO]

agreed however if uniden knows this why in god's name did they put a 14hr charger in the radio?? if i kill my cellphone batt.. i have it back in a hour or two i do like the face you can swap out with standard AA's but that gets expensive after a while me thinks im gonna just have to use the aforementioned idea of getting a 2nd /,or possibly 3rd> set of Nimh's and some Alkialine's as an emergency backup

 

[UPMan]

Because rapid charging is neither feasible nor safe for multiple NiMH AA cells in series.

 

[DaveIN]

When in doubt, use an external charger for your NiMIH batteries.

 

[DaveIN]

Do yourself and your batteries a favor and get one of these: lc-bc-9009

Great investment for $36 bucks

I have two of these and highly recommend them.

 

[al95]

Where did you buy this charger?

Is the battery saver option enabled?

One thing I have noticed with rechargable batteries is no matter how good the batteries are, the charger is just as important. A slow charge is better for the batteries and charge them to a higher capacity than fast chargers. I've experimented with a few chargers and found the Engergizer 8 AA family style charger charges batteries the best. Takes around 4 hours to charge 4 batteries, then it keeps the battery on a very slow trickle charge. Also I notice that If I remove these batteries right off the charger and put them into the scanner to start using it, I get 1/2 hour more run time vs. having batteries sit out of the charger for a day or two before using them.

As for battery life, with Rayovac Hybrid 2100mAh batteries, I'm getting almost exactly 10 hours before hitting the 3.4V and the radio shuts off. 10 Hrs WITH the green lamp (mid brightness) on all the time, and scan alert lamp of various colors. Not bad if you ask me. If I turn off the green backlight, and just have the scan alert lamp, a fresh charged set of Rayovacs get me 11hrs.

My 396T, then XT is on bacically 24/7, so I go through 2 sets of batteries a day. I put a fresh set of 6 Rayovac Hybrid batteries into service on 1/1/2009. Even after roughly 270 cycles, these Rayovacs still going strong - just like they were on day 1.

With all the talk about which batteries are the best, that's only half of the equation. The good charger is just as important as a good brand of batteries, maybe even more important!

The internal charger in the T and XT 396's seemed to do a decent job at charging all rechargables I threw into it. I'm just not sure how long to charge certain batteries in the XT. No where can I find a "charge rate" for the 396XT. Depending on how low my batteries are, I just estimate (more like guestimate) how long to chage them. When the battery gets to 4.31V while charging the batteries, they are done and charging should be stopped to avoid over charging the batteries.

Where did you buy this charger Engergizer 8 AA family style charger? Can you post a picture or give us a model number.

 

[sjlamb]

Where did you buy this charger Engergizer 8 AA family style charger? Can you post a picture or give us a model number.

Four hours is too fast of a charge rate if you want your batteries to last. Chargers such as the La Crosse and Maha do MUCH more than just charge. They also have a discharge before charging feature, selectable charge/discharge rate, battery test and battery refresh feature for "reconditioning" of older batteries.

Simple fact of life with rechargeable batteries" Fast Charge=BAD .... Slow Charge=GOOD. BTW... the La Crosse BC-9009 includes (4) AA cells, (4) AAA cells, C & D size adapters and a carry case. For $35 bucks; it's almost FREE!!

 

[jjudson]

Here's a question for you battery geniuses out there. Is there any real difference between these NiMH batteries out there? Can a Duracell battery be charged in an Energizer charger and vice versa. By the same token, could both of those be charged in the La Crosse charger?

Do it really matter?

 

[sjlamb]

Here's a question for you battery geniuses out there. Is there any real difference between these NiMH batteries out there? Can a Duracell battery be charged in an Energizer charger and vice versa. By the same token, could both of those be charged in the La Crosse charger?

Do it really matter?

Is there a difference between brands??... YES. Does it matter which battery brand you put in any specific charger??... NO.

Generally speaking... the higher the milliamp rating on the NiMH battery; the longer it takes to fully charge and the longer it will run on a full charge. Think of the ma. rating in terms of volume.... the bigger the number, the greater the charge capacity. Some highly recommended ones are Sanyo Eneloop, Duracell (2650 ma) and Energizer (2450 ma). The AA batteries that come with the La Crosse are rated at 2600 ma and give a nice long runtime also. Avoid the "bargain" NiMH batteries but, whatever you use, make sure they are NiMH for best performance.

 

[GTR8000]

Generally speaking... the higher the milliamp rating on the NiMH battery; the longer it takes to fully charge and the longer it will run on a full charge. Think of the ma. rating in terms of volume.... the bigger the number, the greater the charge capacity. Some highly recommended ones are Sanyo Eneloop, Duracell (2650 ma) and Energizer (2450 ma). The AA batteries that come with the La Crosse are rated at 2600 ma and give a nice long runtime also. Avoid the "bargain" NiMH batteries but, whatever you use, make sure they are NiMH for best performance.

Battery capacity is measured in amp-hours (Ah)/milliamp-hours (mAh), not amps (A)/milliamps (mA).

 

[sjlamb]

Battery capacity is measured in amp-hours (Ah)/milliamp-hours (mAh), not amps (A)/milliamps (mA).

Forgive my faux paus on the correct abbreviation.

 

[K4MCO]

Thanks for all the info guys special thanks to UPman as i was totally oblivious to the charging/safety restriction makes perfect sense now

 

[N8DAD]

Powerex MH-C9000

anyone use this charger? and can anyone tell me if you can charge 3 batteries at a time and not in pairs of 2 or 4 only need 3 charged at once...

and i dont understand this:

What is 0.1C, 0.2C, etc?
“C” stands for the battery capacity and the number in front of it is the
fraction of the battery capacity. For example, 0.1C means 0.1 times the
capacity for the battery. For a 2700mAh battery, 0.1C would be 0.1 times
2700mAh which equals 270mA.

im lost on this capacity 0.1C or what not any one help would be great thinking about getting
one for my 396xt to charge batteries....

Thanks,

 

[davidmc36]

You can charge any number of batteries at a time with the MAHA charger. No need to do pairs or anything. It charges each of them individually.