I have 8 of the Sanyo XX 2400 mAh cells in my KX3. Testing capacity with the MAHA C-9000 gave me more than 2300 mAh for each of the 8 at a 500 mA discharge rate. They seemed to cluster round 2350 mAh. This was after performing the "break-in" cycle on the C-9000 and a 200 mA top-off charge for a few hours and after a 20 minute rest.
Chip AE5KA On Fri, Jan 4, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Greg Troxel <[email protected]> wrote: > "Fred Smith" <[email protected]> writes: > > > As in larger size, exact type, brand, number on times they can be > recharged > > even best place to buy them. Is an external charger/conditioner needed or > > helpful to have? Have never bought rechargeable batteries before so > thought > > I would turn to the group for input. > > My advice, perhaps a little more definitive than it should be: > > Do not get agitated about cost. We are talking 8 * AA, and the good > ones are only $20-30. I have had bad experiences with cheap NiMH > (Nexcell, early failure). It's not worth risking trouble from by > buying junk (see the archives for 'smoke came out of my kx3', which > seems at least possibly due to bad batteries). > > Buy only name-brand batteries from one of the well-known brands, which > is at least: Maha/Powerex, Sony/Sanyo (and perhaps more). (I remember > eneloop being made by Sony, but it seems to be Sanyo now.) > > Buy only Ultra-low discharge, because NiMH batteries used to have a > moderately high self-discharge rate, and then over the last 7? years > the race for higher claimed capacities led to really high > self-discharge rates, to the point where a battery was totally useless > two weeks after charging. The actual capacity you will experience > from non-ULD batteries will very likely be much less because of this, > unless you really do charge one day and use the next (always). > > Do not be overly concerned about capacity, as the difference between > high and low isn't that great. Also the actual capacity you'll see > will not quite be the nominal. > > If you're in the mood, get a tester, so you can measure capacity. > Otherwise you don't really know if the cells are still ok. I > recommend the Maha C9000. It takes too many button presses to > operate, but otherwise I like it. > > Expect to replace them after a few years. When one in the group of 8 > doesn't work so well (test them yearly, or if you notice trouble), buy > a new set for the KX3 and use the remaining good ones for random other > things. > > I have some unlabeled green Sanyo-made batteries that I bought surplus > in 2001 from Hosfelt. These are mostly (13/16?) still ok, and hold a > charge for a few months. You can't buy these any more, and wouldn't > want to, but it's an interesting comment on batteries before the > capacity craze, and a postive Sanyo experience. > > Specific recommendations are: > > Sanyo Eneloop, nominal capacity 2000 (I tested these, and they were at > 1850 mAh (200mA rate) new, and after sitting 129 days, provided 1703 > mAh). That's 92%, and assuming constant-fraction loss, 79% after a > year, which meets their 75% spec. > > Maha Imedion, nominal capacity 2100. I have had 8 of these for > several years, using them in pairs in GPS receivers. One has failed, > and the others are fine. I have not done the 129-day experiment, but > they really seem to hold a charge over time fine. But it seems that > now the nominal capacity is 2400. > > I would be tempted to try the Eneloop XX, but they seem quite a bit > more expensive than the regular ones, for only 25% more capacity. (If > someone has them, it would be nice to post C9000 results.) > > Thomas Distributing is a good place for maha (also sells via amazon). > I've bought things from them over the years with good experiences. > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > 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:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
