In article ,
William Sommerwerck wrote:

I would recommend the MAHA (Powerex) MH-C9000, which I _have_ used and am
very enthusiastic about.

Agreed. The degree of control and information it provides is
wonderful.

I don't understand this business about "low self-discharge" NiMH batteries,
as I'ven never noticed any particular problem with them.

My own experiences are otherwise. "Traditional" NiMH batteries I
have used, would tend to lose a substantial fraction of their charge
within a few weeks, and would be nearly "flat" after three months of
storage.

The problem seems to be worse with the higher-capacity cells... a 2600
or 2700 mAh classic-NiMH cell would lose charge at a faster rate
(both absolute and percent-per-day) than an 1800 or 2000 mAh cell of
the same brand.

This isn't an absolute rule, though. I had a set of Lenmar "NoMEM
Pro" 2000 mAh cells which lost almost a third of their charge after
sitting around for only a week!

In certain applications - e.g. in the camera or flash unit of a very
busy photographer - the high-capacity "classic" NiMH cells may be the
best choice. It doesn't matter very much if they lose 2% of their
charge per day, if you're going to be running 'em down within a week
anyhow.

For low-rate or standby applications, the new ultra-low-discharge
cells are wonderful. I keep two sets of six in my ham-radio "go-kit"
for my spare dual-band handheld radio... each set will run the radio
through two 8-hour shifts of typical operation, and giving the a brief
topping-up charge every six months seems to be all that's required.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
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