Battery life on the 396

[red8]

Recently I have been having problems using batteries on my 396, these were some 1 hour batteries that I had purchased at Wal-Mart.
I did an overnight charge in a battery charge to get them ready to use
however when I put the batteries in they maybe last about 3-4 hours.
And then they die. Am I doing something wrong? I even tried to use a
broken in set of energizers that were fully charged. And it did the same. Or could it be that the batteries already has memory in them?
I wish these manufacturers would make a charger/reconditioner
that would not only charge but discharge any memory that has accumulated in the battery.

 

[dgoodson]

another consideration to watch out for...

Its important to use a charger that's compatible with the cells, that is, a "rapid" charger shouldn't be used with standard cells. Since the chargers seem to last longer than cells, I usually find myself buying new cells and using them with existing chargers, which is not optimum, and can impair performance.

dg

 

[n4voxgill]

The best charger I have found is the MH-C801D at Thomas Distributing. It charges 1 to 8 batteries at a time. You can mix up different atteries as it is 8 independant chargers in one. It will also recondition with the push of a button. Also check out the Sanyo 2700 MAH batteries. They are super. You can see these at

http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm

 

[scanrrman]

What's a good top end and low end charge usually. I see I peak around 4.45 when I unplug from power supply and seem to rapidly decrease down to about 3.85 before it slows down about 3.80 - 3.65

 

[red8]

Thank ya'll for your help in this matter, I really appreciate all your
input and help. And I am going to add Thomas-Distributors.com to my favorites on my computer

 

[JTMax]

Batteries

I have been using the 2700 mh Energizers with good results in all my scanners. They are widely available. But I think I will give the new Sanyos a try when I buy again after reading a little about them and see if they discharge slower.

 

[thewenk]

JTMax,
Just curious what your sources are for the 2700 mAh Energizers. I have not seen Energizers in anything but 2500 mAh, except some 2650's on eBay from non USA sources. I know Sanyo 2700's are currently available. I have heard that Energizers are actually made by Sanyo. They both appear to have very similar external construction - at least in the 2500 mAh rated batteries.
Dave

 

[JTMax]

Enegerziers

You're right. I don't know why I thought they were 2700. I just checked mine and I have about 30 fo them and they are all 2500's. In any case they have been working OK for me. The energizer charger that I have charges 4 at a time in 30 minutes or less so I'm never without a spare set even if they might discharge a little faster that a 2700 might discharge.

JTmax

 

[wesct]

Recently I have been having problems using batteries on my 396, these were some 1 hour batteries that I had purchased at Wal-Mart.
I did an overnight charge in a battery charge to get them ready to use
however when I put the batteries in they maybe last about 3-4 hours.
And then they die. Am I doing something wrong? I even tried to use a
broken in set of energizers that were fully charged. And it did the same. Or could it be that the batteries already has memory in them?
I wish these manufacturers would make a charger/reconditioner
that would not only charge but discharge any memory that has accumulated in the battery.

sometimes it takes 4 to 6 charge/ discharge cycles for the batteries to come up to capacity if they are new. be patient.

wesct

 

[bigcheez69]

When I first got my scanner I bought an Energizer 4-battery & Charger kit plus four more batteries. If I did not use the batteries immediately when charging was complete they seemed to discharge. I thought the problem was with the charger so I bought the same kit again figuring I could use four more batteries anyway. Still the same problem. Then I bought a better model charger from Energizer. Still the same problem. Then I bought some Duracell batteries. WooHoo ... Finally it works flawlessly!!! Now I have one 8-cell universal charger, two smaller 4-cell travel chargers, four good Duracell batteries, and a dozen Energizer batteries I do not trust.