Rechargeable batteries

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n4voxgill

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take a look at Thomas Distributing or maha.com for batteries and chargers. Thomas sells the maha chargers and powerx batteries. you can buy 2700 MAH batteries that are great. I use the maha C801D that charges 1 to 8 batteries at a time and you can mix nicad or nimh and different amphours. great charger. I don't charge any batteries in the scanners.
 

scannersnstuff

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very happy with energizer 2500's aa. very,very happy with duracell 2650's aa's.can't seem to kill them in the 396.
 

gmclam

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NiMH Batteries

I normally use Energizer 2500MaH NiMH AA batteries in my PRO-92. I also keep a set of Panasonic 2300MaH NiMH AA charged and ready to go. I use a smart charger from Panasonic to charge them when not in the scanner. I paid $15 for it with 8 batteries from Costco. Of course good luck finding it there now.

Best,
George
 
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bwhite

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Note: If your original batts were (for example) 1000 mah and charged in 12 hours you'll need to charge your new 2000 mah batts about 2x as long.
 

gmclam

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Battery charging

bwhite said:
Note: If your original batts were (for example) 1000 mah and charged in 12 hours you'll need to charge your new 2000 mah batts about 2x as long.
That is assuming you are charging them with the same amount of current.
The charger I have is made by Panasonic, and charges 4 AAs at one time. It is a "smart charger" and is able to deliver a high current to the battery (when appropriate) to charge them more quickly. It charges the Energizers quickly too, but they do take a little longer. I have noticed that some older designed NiMH (1500 MaH or less) take even longer to charge than the 2500 MaH; as they do not have the logic in them.

George
 

bwhite

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I'm talking about charging them in the same radio.
Yeah, I know, better to take them out and put them in a standalone charger.
Smart chargers will indeed throttle up and down as needed.
 
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I want to charge only 3 batteries at a time, not 2 or 4 at a time

As you know, the 396T uses three AA batteries. Where can I find a charger that will charge three batteries at once? The chargers in WM and other stores in town has chargers that will charge multiples or two at a time. For instance, the Eveready I have has four slots. The is an LED indicator light for the two in the front and another for the two in the back. If I charge only two batteries (either use the front or the back), only one LED will light up, indicating the two are being charged. If I want to charge three batteries at a time, I put the third in one of the slots of in the back, but the LED for the back slots does not light up, indicating that perhaps the batteries are being charged in series. I want to avoid sending away for a $50 + charger. I do not want to charge the batteries in the radio without having a fan blowing on the radio while charging. Thanks.

Peter
 

W4KRR

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ILikeHatchChili said:
As you know, the 396T uses three AA batteries. Where can I find a charger that will charge three batteries at once? The chargers in WM and other stores in town has chargers that will charge multiples or two at a time. For instance, the Eveready I have has four slots. The is an LED indicator light for the two in the front and another for the two in the back. If I charge only two batteries (either use the front or the back), only one LED will light up, indicating the two are being charged. If I want to charge three batteries at a time, I put the third in one of the slots of in the back, but the LED for the back slots does not light up, indicating that perhaps the batteries are being charged in series. I want to avoid sending away for a $50 + charger. I do not want to charge the batteries in the radio without having a fan blowing on the radio while charging. Thanks.

Peter

Try Thomas Distributing, http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm

They sell the Maha MH-C401FS which will charge from one to four AA batteries.
 

GTO_04

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W4KRR said:
Try Thomas Distributing, http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm

They sell the Maha MH-C401FS which will charge from one to four AA batteries.

That's a great charger, especially with a 396 where you need to charge 3 cells at a time.
The Maha C801D 1-8 cell charger mentioned by n4voxgill is even better, but is bigger more expensive. What I find interesting is that my batteries don't get as warm fast charging them in the C801 as they do in the C401 charger. For travel the C401 would be better with its smaller size.

GTO_04
 

gmclam

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I want to charge only 3 batteries at a time, not 2 or 4 at a time

ILikeHatchChili said:
As you know, the 396T uses three AA batteries. Where can I find a charger that will charge three batteries at once? The chargers in WM and other stores in town has chargers that will charge multiples or two at a time. For instance, the Eveready I have has four slots. The is an LED indicator light for the two in the front and another for the two in the back. If I charge only two batteries (either use the front or the back), only one LED will light up, indicating the two are being charged. If I want to charge three batteries at a time, I put the third in one of the slots of in the back, but the LED for the back slots does not light up, indicating that perhaps the batteries are being charged in series. I want to avoid sending away for a $50 + charger. I do not want to charge the batteries in the radio without having a fan blowing on the radio while charging. Thanks.

Peter
The specific external charger I use has Panasonic's name on it. IT can charge any number of batteries at once from 1 to 4. I have seen this type of charger manufactured by several companies. It only cost me $15 new from Costco and that was with a set of batteries. I have seen similar chargers in Best Buy and places like Longs.

Good luck,
George
 
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