Is there a better NiZn implementation out now? I was very disappointed with their charge retention and ultimate life when I tried them about two years ago, and I gave up on them. In any event, the KX3 charger is unlikely to charge them properly like you suggest.
Definitely go for Sanyo Eneloop cells for the internal battery pack, they will last much longer than typical Nimh cells. I used to have a load of Energizer Nimh 2500 mAh cells that all developed high internal resistance and very high self-discharge rates over time despite having had only tens of cycles on them and careful charging. The Eneloops have been very stable. Normally when portable I use a 4S LiFePO4 pack with my KX1 and now KX3. These will deliver close to 14V when fully charged, and still give 12V when near the end. When they were available, I was able to make 4S packs by buying DeWalt battery packs on clearance that contained 18650 (1100 mAh) LiFePO4 cells. Over the past three years these packs have been great, but I think the DeWalt supply has dried up. You may be able to find genuine A123 cells from other vendors, but any other brand and anything from China will be hit or miss. I'm batting about 50% on attempts to get good LiFePO4 battery packs from China. At least half have come to me with one or more weak cells which bring down the whole pack capacity. Hobbyking sells "Zippy" brand LiFePO4 packs which have been hit or miss. They also claim to sell genuine A123 26650 (2300 mAh) cells with solder tabs for $13 each plus shipping- I have an order in for some of those and am hopeful they are what they say! This will let me make Buddipole equivalent packs for about 60% of what they charge. Safest bet to avoid a lot of aggravation is to use the Eneloops internally in your KX3, and buy the Buddipole 4S1P pack made with A123 brand cells for use as an external battery when you want more than 5 watts portable. It is expensive, but properly cared for should last a long time and give very good service. On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 9:28 AM, Rich <reh...@ix.netcom.com> wrote: > KX3 2135 is alive and well, and hungry for energy. I'm feeding it with > AA Alkaline batteries now, but am looking for a more permanent set of > internal batteries. I have a KXBC3 installed. > > I'm considering low discharge1.2v 2500 mAH NiMH AAs because they may be > recharged by the KXBC3. Regular 2700 mAH NiMH AAs can lose as much as > 20% of their charge in the first 24 hours. That drops their available > power to about 2150 on the second day. Low discharge seems a better path. > > Also considering NiZn batteries. Newer stabilized NiZN seem like a > useful alternative. Discharge curves seem similar to NiCd or NiMH, but > they offer 1.65 nominal voltage. I'm thinking the KXBC3 will not be a > suitable charger. > > I'm thinking that the 13v of the NiZN AA batteries will allow 10W output > from the KX3, where the 9.6v of the NiMH only allows 5W output. > > I also have 11.1 LiPo batteries I can use as external sources, but will > likely consider a 4S1P 14.8v 25C LiPo as a potential external battery. > > Anyone go through this exercise already? I'm interested in comments. > > Thanks. > > -- > Rich > NU6T > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
