Pro95 Rechargeable Batteries

[RAA9595]

I have been using the same rechargeable batteries from R.S. for the last 16 months. Thought I would buy some new ones that I found at Wal Mart. They have Duracell and Energizer. On the side of mine, it reads 1.2v 1800mAh. They are Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries. The Duracell and Energizer read1.2v 2300mAh also DC 1500. Can I replace my R.S. batterise with those? Will my charger for my Pro95 charge them while I have the scanner on and also not burn them up when it is off? I have a 9V 300ma charger.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LEH]

Both the Duracell and the Energizer will work in your 95. They can be charged with your wall wart charger, though expect the charge to take longer. This is because the batteries have a higher capacity.

The milliampere rating tells you how long the batteries will last (well not exactly that, but). The higher the rating the longer they will run your scanner.

Typically NiMh batteries take longer to charge than NiCad's of the same rating. They also charge better with a bit stronger charger, but 300ma will do the job.

The smartest thing to do is buy the rapid charger that Wal Mart sells for the battery type you buy. Then charge your batteries outside the scanner. This does the best job.

Not sure about the Duracell, but the Energizer does charge a 2300 MH battery in 15 minutes (I've got the Energizer one). What I have noticed is that Wal Mart sells both chargers, but not the AA batteries for the Energizer anymore (at least that is the case in my area).

 

[N5MRK]

I was told that putting rechargeables in the scanner was a bad idea. They said they can blow up and i would really not want that happening to my scanner. But then again, i could be blowing it out of proportion.

Btw, i got a Universal 300mA power adapter from radio shack. I set it to 9v and plugged it in, but the scanner wont power with it in. If i take it out, it powers just fine. Do i need to take the batteries out? Or is it the stupid power adapter?

Thanks!

-Matt

 

[K5MAR]

I was told that putting rechargeables in the scanner was a bad idea. They said they can blow up and i would really not want that happening to my scanner. But then again, i could be blowing it out of proportion.

I don't know who told you that, but it's incorrect. As long as you follow the directions, you shouldn't have any problems.

Btw, i got a Universal 300mA power adapter from radio shack. I set it to 9v and plugged it in, but the scanner wont power with it in. If i take it out, it powers just fine. Do i need to take the batteries out? Or is it the stupid power adapter?

Thanks!

-Matt

Don't know what scanner you have, so I can't say if the specs for the power supply are correct. But if the scanner is designed to use a 9V, 300ma supply, then I'd check and make sure the polarity is set correctly. That's what it sounds like. OTOH, the unit you bought could be bad, it happens.

As for the batteries, read the manual. If you are using a scanner that has a switch to select between alkaline and rechargable, make sure it's in the proper posion for the batteries you are using. Trying to charge alkaline batteries can be dangerous to your scanner's health.

To repeat; Read the manual, follow the instructions.

Mark S.

 

[OkRob]

Speaking of Pro-95 batteries, has anyone seen anything documented on how long to charge them? I never found anything in the manual on it. I'm not a math or electronics whiz, but if I divide the battery capacity by the charger current, then do I need to multiply that by 4 since I charge them in the radio?

I'm using the Energizer 2300 MAh NiMH batteries, with the 9V 800 MA charger, so is it 2300/800=2.875 hours, or 2300/800*4=11.5 hours. I know that 2.875 hours wouldn't be long enough, so the 11.5 sounds about right, or is the charging circuit in the Pro-95 regulated and it's not getting the full 800 MA anyway?

I usually charge them for 8 to 12 hours, but have always wondered how long I really should be. :shock:

- Rob :wink:

 

[K5MAR]

See Pg. 11 of the manual - Charging Rechargable Batteries. It says when charging 1600mah NiMh batteries using the recommended 9V, 300ma power supply, it takes about 16 hours to fully charge the batteries. With your 2300mah batteries, I'd suggest about 50% longer, say 20 hours or a little less.

Remember, most wall warts are not regulated, so if your scanner is loading your 800ma power supply at only 300ma, yopu are probably putting 11-12 volts into the scanner, which is not a good idea. Operating under the better safe than sorry principle, you should get a 9V, 300mah supply such as the ones listed in your manual.

Mark S.

 

[OkRob]

Thanks Mark. Now I'm wondering how I missed that in the manual, as it's pretty obvious after you pointed out the page number. Must have been one of those days I guess.

The shack was out of the 300 MA power supplies, thus their 800 MA version. I'll see if they have any 300 MA's in next time I'm by there.

- Rob

 

[CommShrek]

Thanks Mark. Now I'm wondering how I missed that in the manual, as it's pretty obvious after you pointed out the page number. Must have been one of those days I guess.

The shack was out of the 300 MA power supplies, thus their 800 MA version. I'll see if they have any 300 MA's in next time I'm by there.

- Rob

I think I have a spare that I can give you. I don't own any scanners anymore. I didn't know you were looking for one.

 

[Concrete1]

Remember, there is a step-down circuit in all scanners that steps the charge rate down, regardless of the mA of the wall charger.
In that scanner it's probably about 150ma to charge the battery, regardless of weather you use a 300mA or a 500mA adapter.
So as the other poster mentioned, give 2200mA batteries about 20 hours charge, if you need a quicker charge, an external charger will be what you need, changing the "wall cube" to a higher mA will have no effect on the charge time.

 

[nd5y]

The 300 mA rating for the AC Adapter is just the minimum.
I have a 800 mA AC adapter and it works fine.
The charger circuit in the scanner regulates the current down to 150 mA (on mine, anyway).

I bought the Energizer blister pack at Sam's that has 8 2500 mAH AA cells
and an 8 hour charger (charges 4 at a time) for less than $20.
These are great and they will charge in less than half the time it takes with the PRO-95's built in charger.

BTW the standard recommended slow charge rate for NiCd or NiMH
batteries is .1C for 10 hours. C = Capacity so for example you
would charge a 2500 mHA battery at 250 mA for 10 hours.
If you overcharge them occasionally a few hours at that current or lower it shouldn't hurt them.
If you get into rapid charging at high current, then the
battery current, temperature and voltage has to be monitored so that
they don't overheat and explode.


Tom ND5Y

 

[K5MAR]

It's not the current, it's the voltage. If the power supply was regulated for voltage, it wouldn't be a problem, obviously. The problem is when a voltage is specified on a unregulated PS, that voltage is at the rated current load. So if you don't load the supply properly, the voltage will be higher. Now Radio Shack says to use a DC adapter that drops the voltage to 9VDC to power the unit in a vehicle. That tells me that the scanner does NOT like a voltage level higher than 9VDC. And based on my experience, I'm guestimating that an unregulated 9volt, 800ma supply thats only being loaded to 300ma will be putting around 12volts into the scanner. This could cause a failure down the road which probably won't be covered by Radio Shack.

So, you have two choices (or three, actually): 1) use the recommended power supply (P/Ns in the manual), or equivilant 2) buy a regulated 9 VDC power supply that puts out more than 300ma.

The third choice is to continue using the incorrect supply. I believe Radio Shack's minimum repair charge is $60.

It's your call.

Mark S.

 

[OkRob]

I think I have a spare that I can give you. I don't own any scanners anymore. I didn't know you were looking for one.

Thanks, but hang on to yours. I've got a box full of them, I'll just have to dig it out and see if I have a 300 MAh in there, probably do.

Very weird scene last night, huh? Would be interesting to know the real story on all of that. :shock:

- Rob

 

[CommShrek]

I think I have a spare that I can give you. I don't own any scanners anymore. I didn't know you were looking for one.

Thanks, but hang on to yours. I've got a box full of them, I'll just have to dig it out and see if I have a 300 MAh in there, probably do.

Very weird scene last night, huh? Would be interesting to know the real story on all of that. :shock:

- Rob

Very wierd indeed. I think I know what Jerry Fletcher must have felt like in the movie Conspiricy Theory. Thanks for the assist regardless. It was much appreciated.

 

[OkRob]

No problem. I never heard anyone but your truck go enroute, sounded like the trooper had his hands full and I didn't know how many other patients you may have needed help with. Just trying to help bail you out if needed.

- Rob

 

[CommShrek]

No problem. I never heard anyone but your truck go enroute, sounded like the trooper had his hands full and I didn't know how many other patients you may have needed help with. Just trying to help bail you out if needed.

- Rob

When it was all over I was the only one there with a truck. 1 banjo player and a new guy who's never been on a scene before showed up. Might as well have been just me.

Feel free to bail me out anytime! No complaints from me. The guy in the big house north of me was tickled when I told him you came to help. Very much appreciated once again. I checked the news again tonight but didn't see anything or hear any mention of it.

I think there really was something that went wrong there.

Good luck this weekend. Looks like there will be some good games on TV at least.

 

[RAA9595]

I have been using the same rechargeable batteries from R.S. for the last 16 months. Thought I would buy some new ones that I found at Wal Mart. They have Duracell and Energizer. On the side of mine, it reads 1.2v 1800mAh. They are Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries. The Duracell and Energizer read1.2v 2300mAh also DC 1500. Can I replace my R.S. batterise with those? Will my charger for my Pro95 charge them while I have the scanner on and also not burn them up when it is off? I have a 9V 300ma charger.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks again for all the help with the rechargeable batteries.