Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

I was in Wal-Mart yesterday and saw a new (or maybe just improved?) rechargeable NiMH by Energizer. If I remember correctly, they were still called Accu-Rechargeables but the were in a blue package as opposed to the ugly green and yellow one I'm used to seeing. The thing that caught my eye was the 700 mAh rating on the battery! That's the highest I've seen in a AAA (my NEXcell's and MAHA's are only 650 mAh and the old Accu's were 500 or 550 mAh). A 4-pack was selling for $11.97 and they even had a wall charger (I don't remember the specs though) for $9.99. They also had all the other sizes, too.

On my next visit I think I'll pick up a pack and give them a try. Is it me or are the battery companies finally coming to their senses and giving us what we want (need)? I recently saw Ray-O-Vac NiMH's in AA, C, D, and 9v sizes.

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 40

quote:

---

The thing that caught my eye was the 700 mAh rating on the battery!

---

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Pembroke,MA
Posts: 307

MarkEagle,

I just happened to buy some rechargables last weekend. I just noticed your post.. . These are the ones that I bought. I'm not too impressed with them at all though. I found out that they are rated for 1.2 volts, not 1.5 volts, like other rechargables. So, even if they are fully charged, they only register 75%. I'm wondering if that's why they have the extended mAh rating (taking into account the lower voltage).

Also, since the battery meter starts warning you at 10% remaining (I think), you get messages prematurely. With the MiniJam, I find myself having to change batterys every day, since I'm down to 30% each night. I listen to mp3's for about 2 1/2 hours (during commute), and also read ebooks simultaneously. So, rechargables were a must...

Under these circumstances, prior to my new rechargables, I was getting 3-4 days out of e2 batteries.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Midland, Texas
Posts: 231

Actually most rechargeables are NOT 1.5V, rather they are usually 1.2V. Thus the option to change the setteing for the battery meter in the Visor to NiCad or rechargeable alkeline (using the .7 shortcut).

I typically use NexCell NiMH rechargeables, and I do have to swap them out more often than alkalines, but the price difference makes the more frequent changes very worth it to me.

tyler

[Edited by tyler on 10-10-2000 at 03:24 PM]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Posts: 790

quote:

---

Originally posted by LarryN
I found out that they are rated for 1.2 volts, not 1.5 volts, like other rechargables. So, even if they are fully charged, they only register 75%...

Also, since the battery meter starts warning you at 10% remaining (I think), you get messages prematurely.

---

__________________
Jeff

Registered: Jun 2000
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 216

750mAHr NiMH batteries

I was reading an engineering trade magazine the other week and saw that the current state of the art in AAA sized NiMH batteries was 750mAHr. This is amazing since the capacity of your standard AAA alkaline is 1200mAHr. So the NiMH rechargeables now have 63% of the capacity of non-rechargables in the AAA size.

Where can you get the 750mAHr batteries off-the-shelf? I don't know yet. Sanyo was the only company in the article that was listed with a 750mAHr AAA. Panasonic and Saft both had 700mAHr, like the Energizers.

If anyone finds out where regular consumers get the Sanyo 750mAHr NiMH batteries, please post it here.

When I can get the 750mAHr ones, I'll buy - I'm getting tired of continually buying alkalines.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 40

Damn, I just used the .7 shortcut to change my profile from Alkaline to NiCd (I use NiMH). The battery meter actually went LOWER! Is the NiCd profile in the Visor actually suitable for NiMH, or is it just a gross approximation? I know that the newer PalmOS (3.5?) has an NiMH profile, but is this is just the same profile as NiCd under a different name, or do the two types of batteries actually have different profiles?

What profile seems to let the batteries last longer in practice?

Also, has anyone found problems with using NiMH over alkalines? I started getting lots of crashes since I started using mine. I thought it might be because of the lower voltage. On the other hand I also started filling up the memory on my Visor quite a bit around the same time, and I thought the crashes might also be due to fauly memory (I did install the patch but what if it doesn't work?).

Finally, I noticed in the readme for the memory patch that it might affect your battery life. Has anyone noticed this?

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
Posts: 790

Re: 750mAHr NiMH batteries

quote:

---

Originally posted by MPM
When I can get the 750mAHr ones, I'll buy - I'm getting tired of continually buying alkalines.

---

__________________
Jeff

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 40

Re: Re: 750mAHr NiMH batteries

quote:

---

You may as well use the 700mAh AAAs, moving to 750 is only a 7.1% improvement. [/B]

---

It's not a question of improvement, some people simply want "the best"

__________________
Belzebutt

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

quote:

---

Originally posted by Belzebutt
...is just the same profile as NiCd under a different name, or do the two types of batteries actually have different profiles?

What profile seems to let the batteries last longer in practice?

---

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 40

quote:

---

Originally posted by MarkEagle
I was in Wal-Mart yesterday and saw a new (or maybe just improved?) rechargeable NiMH by Energizer. If I remember correctly, they were still called Accu-Rechargeables but the were in a blue package as opposed to the ugly green and yellow one I'm used to seeing. The thing that caught my eye was the 700 mAh rating on the battery! That's the highest I've seen in a AAA (my NEXcell's and MAHA's are only 650 mAh and the old Accu's were 500 or 550 mAh). A 4-pack was selling for $11.97 and they even had a wall charger (I don't remember the specs though) for $9.99. They also had all the other sizes, too.

---

__________________
Belzebutt