396T Current Draw?

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kb0nly

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Anyone know the specs or have measured the current draw from this unit?

Just doing some math on battery life and some new 2600mAh batteries sure aren't lasting me very long. I realize it varies with audio output and backlight on or off, etc...

But any info such as average battery life, current draw, would be appreciated. Also, what is everyone running for batteries?

I have tried a few different brands, capacities, even some no-name batteries from eBay for the heck of it. Just in search of the best battery vs runtime that i can get.

I have a smart charger that i use for charging the batteries so no concerns there.
 

Danny6569

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Batteries

What do you mean youre not getting a long use from them, how long are they lasting ? if youre using 2600 mah batteries they should at least last you all day and night, i use the energizer 15 min charger for my 396 xt and the batteries are 2450 mah and they last like 15 to 20 hours if i leave it on constantly! you might have some bad batteries if there only lasting a couple hours ?
 

TGP

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I have to tend to agree with Danny.
I use the 2450 mah batteries also, on my 396T's monitoring digital channels only.
Analog may cause more of a draw,not sure.
The light is set to key press, and the scanner will last at least eight to ten hours easily.
Using the light draws a lot of power.
TGP
 

Essexscan

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Take a look at Rayovac 4.0's from batteryjunction.com they are low self-discharge NI-MH and I get 20 hours easy from them. I bought 16 of them and tossed my Sony 2500mah. They were ok if you used them alot but the self-discharge rate was murder. The rayovacs sat for a month in my 396T and were as good as new when i needed it.

Batteryjunction was running a special on them for a while 4 or 5 bucks a pack of 4 not sure if its still on but they have good prices all the time
 

WA3CSX

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yeah I have the same problem,I to have the energizer wall charger and 2450.now maybe a couple of the batteries are bad,but some i can get a few hours usage out of them,but others i just chargered and like an hour later the batteries are dead.
 

John_M

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If your scanner is drawing more than it should most likely some functions will not work right. On the other hand if everything is working fine it is time for some new batteries. All it takes is one battery in your battery pack to shorten the run time of the scanner.
 
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kb0nly

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The scanner works fine, just noticing battery life is pretty short with the ones i have tried. I got some new Kodak brand batteries that i originally bought for my camera, 2600mAh, and they last about 4-6 hours in the scanner. But they seem to have pretty good life in the camera, but the camera doesn't have as high of a draw i guess.

Anyway, thanks for the info, checking out that Battery Junction website. I see they carry the Tenergy batteries also, a few have reported those batteries really last and last on some photography websites i have read battery reviews on.

Guess its time to buy some more batteries and experiment some more!
 
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kb0nly

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I don't see the Rayovac rechargeable's on that website, or am i missing something?

I ordered some Tenergy 2600's from them, 12 actually, and some battery cases. Will see how they do!
 
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