On Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:33:18 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:
The memory effect isn't really a myth, but it's so widely misunderstood
that is might as well be. AIUI, less than perfect charge/discharge
cycles lead to a reduction in fully-charged voltage. That reduction is
approximately 5%.

Here's another one for you: I've noticed at least 4 times in my
lifetime, that when a nicad/nimh set isn't in regular use, that it
gets ruined. I can have a set of 8 nicads, 2 batteries of 4 cells,
that I can be swapping into a digital camera for 2-3 years, and if
that digital camera gets retired and the batteries sit in a drawer,
self-discharged for 6 months, they're mostly ruined. Is just being
self-discharged that deadly? I've gotten in the habbit of recharging
the batteries at least every other month even if I don't use them.
Otherwise they might as well go straight into the trash.