pro 97 and using rechargeable batteries

[enine]

get yourself some rechargeable batterys and a charger NIMH batterys work very well, walmart has both. I use 2500 mah in my pro 96 and they last for hours.

Don't buy batteries and chargers from walmart. They will work for a while but not as well as decent batteries. The best chargers are maha and lacross, sure they cost a bit of $ but you'll save in the long run. I've spent $30 on chargers from walmart and still didn't get decent performance from them. Don't buy them from radio shack or best buy or whatever either, they are all crap.

 

[enine]

Wait a second, I don't get that second part. Doesn't the pro-97 act as a charger when you plug it in with rechargeable batteries in it? If so, what would be the advantage to using a seperate charger over the internal charger (besides this specific problem)? And how would this affect the portability of it at all?

It does have a built in charger, however it is a simple trickle charger which _should_ be safe for all batteries but isn't the best way to charge them and will usually shorten the working life of the batteries and shorten their lifespan as well. A decent charger can get over 500 full cycles from modern NiMH's
I bought a second yellow holder and keep my rechargeable in them, one in the scanner and the second for a backup so I can just swap rather than waiting on them to charge.

 

[tommyandamanda21]

What was the voltage rating on the charger you were using and how many milliamps was it?

yup, ^^^^^^, you are correct, never new that milliamps would do it, so watch what you buy, i bought a universal from wally, never paid any attention to milliamps, only voltage, one i got from wally 1300 mamps...

pro 97 calls for 300mamps 9volts.... got the right one now though...

 

[stevecubfan]

Don't buy batteries and chargers from walmart. They will work for a while but not as well as decent batteries. The best chargers are maha and lacross, sure they cost a bit of $ but you'll save in the long run. I've spent $30 on chargers from walmart and still didn't get decent performance from them. Don't buy them from radio shack or best buy or whatever either, they are all crap.

that's just your opinion i've never had any problems and it is a maha charger.

 

[enine]

that's just your opinion i've never had any problems and it is a maha charger.

You can't get maha chargers at walmart there are only a couple places that sell them and they are typically out of the price range of a walmart shopper.

Sure its only my opinion but why waste your $ on crap chargers, your just going to throw away the batteries early because they don't get properly charged. Learn from my mistakes, I wasted $ on quite a few before getting a decent one.

 

[splash1]

Well my Pro 97 just melted the whole lower back half of my radio. It melted the yellow batery pack with almost brandnew rs batteries, the inside of the bettery area and the lower cover. It was only on charge between 4 to 5 hrs and i checked the radio only 25 minutes earlier and all was good.

Not a happy camper
rick

 

[PC_Medic]

You can't get maha chargers at walmart there are only a couple places that sell them and they are typically out of the price range of a walmart shopper.

Sure its only my opinion but why waste your $ on crap chargers, your just going to throw away the batteries early because they don't get properly charged. Learn from my mistakes, I wasted $ on quite a few before getting a decent one.

Was not aware they (Maha Chargers) were available at Wally-World. Good to know as mine was damaged in a recent move and was just about to order a new one from Thomas Distributing. Best charger I have ever had.

Makes a quick charge for the Pro-96 much easier.

 

[n2mdk]

It says you can't get them at walmart.
Sorry to hear about your problem with the Pro-97, it's one reason I never charge the batteries inside of the radios.

 

[PC_Medic]

It says you can't get them at walmart.
Sorry to hear about your problem with the Pro-97, it's one reason I never charge the batteries inside of the radios.

Doh!... My mistake