On 4/14/2018 1:42 PM, John-Del wrote:
I have this device which uses 14 AA rechageable batteries. It was originally shipped from the factory with nicds and a charger.

The instructions show it has two recharge modes switchable from the front panel; recharge and store. The store is a very low trickle charge. Because it's from the early 80s, I'm assuming it's just a current limited charger (dumb charge) as it takes 14 hours to charge the entire group.

I would have like to install eneloops in it, but anecdotal evidence suggests they don't like this type of charge, so I'm back at looking at regular nicads for it.

So, is it true that Panasonic eneloop cells need a smart charger and does anyone know if anyone is making a quality nicad battery anymore? In the old days, I'd buy Sanyo nicads and although they'd often advertise less mah per cell than others, they seemed to last almost forever.

There are a LOT of variables here.
It would be helpful to know what it is.
Are the batteries in series, parallel, separate supplies?
Is the OFF power drain really zero?
Is it gonna sit for a long time between uses?

'80's nicads were probably about 500maH.
With eneloops, that 14 hour charge might become 56 hours.
If there are 14 cells in series, there's a lot of opportunity
to have at least one cell reversed by the time you sense
any symptoms. Keep doing that and you'll kill 'em all eventually.

The best strategy is to charge the cells externally in a proper
charger and put 'em
back in when you're ready to use it.

There are many charging strategies, but depend heavily on
the usage patterns and actual cell configurations.