battery life

[RohnsRadio]

i know it depends on many things but, about how long do the batties last? i have had many years with radios .
when i first got this radio charge seened to last all day now i am lucky to get 4 hours. my wife has the same radio and she is having the same problem.

 

[Kingmobileaudio]

Batteries are probably going bad so probably time to change them

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[RohnsRadio]

yeah, thats what i figured.
radio is not even a year old but, who knows how old the batteries are. and since both radios are the same age , and he we both use seperate chargers it is logical the problem lies with the batteries.

 

[rbm]

I long ago switched to low self discharge (LSD) batteries and I haven't had a problem since.

Eneloop batteries are one example.
One source is here:
AA Low Discharge Rechargeable Batteries including sanyo eneloop aa batteries, nimh batteries, maha imedion batteries, rechargeable batteries, lenmar batteries

I've bought more than 100 of them since 2006 and only had one battery go bad since then.

Rich

Edit: With the standard batteries I started out getting around 8 hours of use, then they dropped to 4 hours, then 2 hours, etc.
LSD batteries don't do that.

 

[jaspence]

Batteries

There are many factors that cause battery life to vary. Just charging a battery pack can shorten their life because they are in series, and a weak cell can drag down the rest. If they are individual cells such as AA rechargeables, a charger that charges each cell individually is a good investment. So called "memory" is not an issue with newer battery types, but charging too often with a timed charger can shorten battery life.

 

[W8RMH]

I get around 10 hours per charge in my BCD396XT with daily use, depending on how busy the fire dept is. I do not use the scanner's charger.

I use Eneloop batteries and charge them in a La Crosse BC700 charger. I have 4 sets of 3 which I rotate daily (and have spares if needed). I put fresh batteries in the scanner everyday and allow the previous day's batteries to discharge completely before charging. The batteries are 3 or 4 years old and going strong.

 

[RohnsRadio]

have bought some new batteries and dug out a "smart charger" i had stored away.
second day and what a difference! i have enough to keep a "hot" set on standby.
if this keeps working like this will buy some more batteries and a larger charger so my wife and i will always have a hot stand by set of batteries.

thanks for the help and suggestions

73

 

[kc2kth]

I long ago switched to low self discharge (LSD) batteries and I haven't had a problem since.

Eneloop batteries are one example.
One source is here:
AA Low Discharge Rechargeable Batteries including sanyo eneloop aa batteries, nimh batteries, maha imedion batteries, rechargeable batteries, lenmar batteries

+1 for the vendor as well as the low discharge batteries, I've bought my rechargeable batteries and chargers from them exclusively for probably a decade or more now. I only use the Maha branded (Powerex, Imedion) batteries and chargers, more of a personal choice probably. I am probably up to 60 or 70 batteries and a couple chargers including the 801. Never had a battery fail yet, although my oldest 1800s are relegated to wireless mice now. My 436 has Powerex 2700s installed as I type.