"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote:

Peter Hucker wrote:

LESS THAN A YEAR?!?!?! I have Duracells with a use by date of about 4
or 5 years in the future.


So do I. They rarely last more than a year before they leak, and some
brands even less. Before they changed from some anonymous Chinese
manufacturer to GPT, the Office Depot brand sold here lasted 3-4 months.


Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm


There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:

So do I. They rarely last more than a year before they leak, and some
brands even less. Before they changed from some anonymous Chinese
manufacturer to GPT, the Office Depot brand sold here lasted 3-4 months.


Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.

Are those times for cells that have been stored in unused condition,
or for cells that are in a device which is in occasional use?

I believe that the former (shelf life when fully charged) is often a
good deal better than the latter (lifetime once partially discharged).
I've read that even a modest partial discharge of an alkaline cell
starts an electrochemical reaction that can lead to corrosion of the
case after a year or so.

--
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
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

In article ,
Dave Platt wrote:
Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.

Are those times for cells that have been stored in unused condition,
or for cells that are in a device which is in occasional use?

I believe that the former (shelf life when fully charged) is often a
good deal better than the latter (lifetime once partially discharged).
I've read that even a modest partial discharge of an alkaline cell
starts an electrochemical reaction that can lead to corrosion of the
case after a year or so.

I'd say you need to change your brand.

--
*Two many clicks spoil the browse *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Are those times for cells that have been stored in unused condition,
or for cells that are in a device which is in occasional use?

Unused, of course. Using the cell, even "occasionally", drains it.


I believe that the former (shelf life when fully charged) is often a
good deal better than the latter (lifetime once partially discharged).
I've read that even a modest partial discharge of an alkaline cell
starts an electrochemical reaction that can lead to corrosion of the
case after a year or so.

I've never seen this. Sounds like another myth started by someone who
doesn't understand.

The electrochemical reactions in batteries continue at all time, whether
they are "new" or used.

On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:21:10 -0800, Dave Platt wrote:
In article , Michael A.
Terrell wrote:

So do I. They rarely last more than a year before they leak, and some
brands even less. Before they changed from some anonymous Chinese
manufacturer to GPT, the Office Depot brand sold here lasted 3-4
months.

Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.

Are those times for cells that have been stored in unused condition, or
for cells that are in a device which is in occasional use?

I believe that the former (shelf life when fully charged) is often a good
deal better than the latter (lifetime once partially discharged). I've
read that even a modest partial discharge of an alkaline cell starts an
electrochemical reaction that can lead to corrosion of the case after a
year or so.

I have a Fujicam that takes AAs - I used to use NiMHs, but they turned
out to be crap, so I got a couple of alkalines, which have lasted now for
at least a year in intermittent duty - the camera is a real current hog,
even when it's off, so I just store the cam with the battery door open.
This means I have to set its clock every time I use it, but I consider
that a small price to pay for the kind of reliability I'm getting.

YMMV, of course.

Cheers!
Rich

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.

I think it has more to do with who makes the batteries and where
than how they are stored. We get lots of things from Hong Kong,
Singapore and mainland China.

If you think the people who put melanine in powdered milk, or used lead
paint on toys are the only ones who produce cheap junk and label it
has high priced well known brands, you are mistaken.

Here, were most UK and US brands are not officially sold, and grey market
goods are perfectly legal, you never know what you are buying, even if you
buy it in a well known store.

I expect that it's now the same way elsewhere, except that the name
brands usually are really what you think you are getting.

For example, last Christmas one of the major UK retailers sold a DVD player
for 10 quid. In the box was a remote and I assume batteries. How much did
those batteries cost, and how many of them surfaced with "brand names" on
them?

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.

I think it has more to do with who makes the batteries and where
than how they are stored. We get lots of things from Hong Kong,
Singapore and mainland China.

If you think the people who put melanine in powdered milk, or used lead
paint on toys are the only ones who produce cheap junk and label it
has high priced well known brands, you are mistaken.

Here, were most UK and US brands are not officially sold, and grey market
goods are perfectly legal, you never know what you are buying, even if you
buy it in a well known store.

I expect that it's now the same way elsewhere, except that the name
brands usually are really what you think you are getting.

For example, last Christmas one of the major UK retailers sold a DVD player
for 10 quid. In the box was a remote and I assume batteries. How much did
those batteries cost, and how many of them surfaced with "brand names" on
them?


I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me. Most remotes here seem
to be shipped with crappy carbon zinc, or no name alkaline cells. Some
are so bad they leak before the item is sold.

Right now you can buy a DVD player for US $14 after a $5 rebate. I
saw plenty of them in the 19 to 29 dollar range through the year.

I buy only name brand US made cells when I can. I keep a good
supply on hand for power outages, flashlights & hurricane season. I use
my oldest stock between seasons, and some got quite old. They were well
past the use by dates, but all were still good.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm


There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me.

Bit like 'buck', then, to the rest of the world. ;-)

Quid is slang for 1 gbp.

The way things are going 1 gbp = 1$ = 1 Euro. At least it will make
foreign holiday calculations easy. Except no one can afford them.

--
*All generalizations are false.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me.

Bit like 'buck', then, to the rest of the world. ;-)


A young buck or an old buck?


Quid is slang for 1 gbp.

The way things are going 1 gbp = 1$ = 1 Euro. At least it will make
foreign holiday calculations easy.


Thanks. It wasn't worth the time to look up the exchange rate over a
cheap commodity item.


Except no one can afford them.


I spent less than $50 on Christmas this year. Being disabled, I don't
put up a tree or lights since I have trouble with ladders.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm


There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in
:

I spent less than $50 on Christmas this year. Being disabled, I don't
put up a tree or lights since I have trouble with ladders.



Likewise, near enough (I haven't looked it up either). Not disabled, exactly,
but two broken bones from running and a subsequent fall haven't helped. But I
intend to get the best damn box of apples money can buy. That will improve my
mood.

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I spent less than $50 on Christmas this year. Being disabled, I don't
put up a tree or lights since I have trouble with ladders.

I'm afraid we now use one of the fibre-optic "trees". It's around 18" tall
and sits on small table near the front window. A rotating filter above the
light in the base gives changing colours. We think it's quite attractive
and it's minimum fuss and effort.

We never had "real" trees anyway, my wife used to hate the job of
hoovering up the dropped needles every day.

--
Stuart Winsor

For Barn dances and folk evenings in the Coventry and Warwickshire area
See: http://www.barndance.org.uk

Stuart wrote:

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I spent less than $50 on Christmas this year. Being disabled, I don't
put up a tree or lights since I have trouble with ladders.

I'm afraid we now use one of the fibre-optic "trees". It's around 18" tall
and sits on small table near the front window. A rotating filter above the
light in the base gives changing colours. We think it's quite attractive
and it's minimum fuss and effort.

We never had "real" trees anyway, my wife used to hate the job of
hoovering up the dropped needles every day.


I haven't put up a tree since I left for the US Army at 20.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm


There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

? "Michael A. Terrell" ?????? ??? ??????
m...

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Are you storing them in an oven? I have used Alkaline cells that
were over six years old.

I think it has more to do with who makes the batteries and where
than how they are stored. We get lots of things from Hong Kong,
Singapore and mainland China.

If you think the people who put melanine in powdered milk, or used lead
paint on toys are the only ones who produce cheap junk and label it
has high priced well known brands, you are mistaken.

Here, were most UK and US brands are not officially sold, and grey market
goods are perfectly legal, you never know what you are buying, even if
you
buy it in a well known store.

I expect that it's now the same way elsewhere, except that the name
brands usually are really what you think you are getting.

For example, last Christmas one of the major UK retailers sold a DVD
player
for 10 quid. In the box was a remote and I assume batteries. How much did
those batteries cost, and how many of them surfaced with "brand names" on
them?


I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me. Most remotes here seem
to be shipped with crappy carbon zinc, or no name alkaline cells. Some
are so bad they leak before the item is sold.

The VCR which I got in Kozani (eastern Macedonia, greece's province, not the
country), a Sony, in 1995, had its remote supplied with 2 carbon zinc Sony
AA cells. Well, they lasted until a couple of years ago, the VCR got another
problem and I decided to throw it away to get a sony dvd player (50
euros).:-)
A merry Christmas to everyone!

Right now you can buy a DVD player for US $14 after a $5 rebate. I
saw plenty of them in the 19 to 29 dollar range through the year.

I buy only name brand US made cells when I can. I keep a good
supply on hand for power outages, flashlights & hurricane season. I use
my oldest stock between seasons, and some got quite old. They were well
past the use by dates, but all were still good.




--
Tzortzakakis Dimitrios
major in electrical engineering
mechanized infantry reservist
hordad AT otenet DOT gr

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:33:27 +0000 (GMT), the renowned Stuart
wrote:

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me.

Quid = Pounds, at the current exchange rate = $1.47

If you remember the 3-letter ISO currency codes, Google will do a lot
of the slogwork for you, and more.

For example, if I would like to know the price of gasoline (petrol) in
China using the obsolete units of my youth, I need only type:

5.1 CNY per liter in CAD per imperial gallon

and it responds with

5.1 (Chinese yuan per liter) = 4.08944735 Canadian dollars per
Imperial gallon

Or combined reciprocal and units conversion:

6.3 liters per 100km in miles per imperial gallon

responds with

6.3 liters per 100km = 44.8382624 miles per Imperial gallon

or

6.3 liters per 100km in miles per gallon

responds with

6.3 liters per 100km = 37.3356481 miles per gallon

(careful, the default "gallon" is some kind of undersized quaint wine
gallon for unknown reasons).


Here is the list of ISO codes (Google does not have them all
available, but the major ones should be there).

http://www.xe.com/iso4217.php


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Spehro Pefhany wrote in
:

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:33:27 +0000 (GMT), the renowned Stuart
wrote:

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me.

Quid = Pounds, at the current exchange rate = $1.47

If you remember the 3-letter ISO currency codes, Google will do a lot
of the slogwork for you, and more.

For example, if I would like to know the price of gasoline (petrol) in
China using the obsolete units of my youth, I need only type:

5.1 CNY per liter in CAD per imperial gallon

and it responds with

5.1 (Chinese yuan per liter) = 4.08944735 Canadian dollars per
Imperial gallon

Or combined reciprocal and units conversion:

6.3 liters per 100km in miles per imperial gallon

responds with

6.3 liters per 100km = 44.8382624 miles per Imperial gallon

or

6.3 liters per 100km in miles per gallon

responds with

6.3 liters per 100km = 37.3356481 miles per gallon

(careful, the default "gallon" is some kind of undersized quaint wine
gallon for unknown reasons).


Here is the list of ISO codes (Google does not have them all
available, but the major ones should be there).

http://www.xe.com/iso4217.php


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

That's neat. Thanks. I didn't know it was that sophisticated. if it's
tolerant of errors, especially cool. Makes up for many of the annoyances of
Google.

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:49:23 -0500, Spehro Pefhany
wrote:


If you remember the 3-letter ISO currency codes, Google will do a lot
of the slogwork for you, and more.

If you have Vista and the sidebar applet for currency, you can always
see it, and you can always type a figure in and get the exchange value.

Not using what is available is part of what creates slog work, and is
itself slog work, ready made.

On Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:27:00 -0000, ItsASecretDummy wrote:

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:49:23 -0500, Spehro Pefhany
wrote:


If you remember the 3-letter ISO currency codes, Google will do a lot
of the slogwork for you, and more.

If you have Vista and the sidebar applet for currency, you can always
see it, and you can always type a figure in and get the exchange value.

Not using what is available is part of what creates slog work, and is
itself slog work, ready made.

I have never met anyone who wants that blasted sidebar.

--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com

Cindy once remarked to her dentist that she didn't know what would be worse - having a baby, or having a tooth pulled.
The Dentist replied, "Well make up your mind, Cindy - because I need to know which way to position the chair."

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:49:23 -0000, Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:33:27 +0000 (GMT), the renowned Stuart
wrote:

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me.

Quid = Pounds, at the current exchange rate = $1.47

If you remember the 3-letter ISO currency codes, Google will do a lot
of the slogwork for you, and more.

Or just use http://www.xe.com/ucc/


--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people
appear bright until you hear them speak.

Stuart wrote:
In article ,
Spehro Pefhany wrote:
(careful, the default "gallon" is some kind of undersized quaint wine
gallon for unknown reasons).

Cos it's the US gallon and the yanks own google :-)

Worse than that, when the US changed liquor bottles to metric, they made
a half-gallon into 1.75 liters! Looks the same size, but lost a bit of
booze!

--
Virg Wall

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:16:23 -0800, VWWall wrote:
Stuart wrote:
In article ,
Spehro Pefhany wrote:
(careful, the default "gallon" is some kind of undersized quaint wine
gallon for unknown reasons).

Cos it's the US gallon and the yanks own google :-)

Worse than that, when the US changed liquor bottles to metric, they made a
half-gallon into 1.75 liters! Looks the same size, but lost a bit of
booze!

Yes. A liter is more than a quart, so isn't a popular size, since one
is more expensive than a quart. But then they've got a 375 mL bottle,
which is just under a fifth (at the price of a fifth) and 175 mL, just
under a pint, at the price of a pint. So I just buy the 1.75L "half
gallons". Usually, one of the grocery stores will have some store brand
"on special" for about $8.99 + tax. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:16:23 -0800, VWWall
wrote:

Stuart wrote:
In article ,
Spehro Pefhany wrote:
(careful, the default "gallon" is some kind of undersized quaint wine
gallon for unknown reasons).

Cos it's the US gallon and the yanks own google :-)

Worse than that, when the US changed liquor bottles to metric, they made
a half-gallon into 1.75 liters! Looks the same size, but lost a bit of
booze!

Google: 1.75 liters in half gallons

1.75 liters = 0.924602183 half US gallons

Google: (1 - 0.924602183 ) half gallons in fluid ounces

(1 - 0.924602183) * (half US gallons) = 4.82546029 US fluid ounces

This one is fun:

Google: 12 U in mm

On Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:33:27 -0000, Stuart wrote:

In article ,
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I'm in the US, so quid is meaningless to me.

Quid = Pounds, at the current exchange rate = $1.47

What happened? I thought wer were approaching $2 per quid.

--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com

What do Disney World & Viagra have in common?
They both make you wait an hour for a five-minute ride.

In article ,
Peter Hucker wrote:

What happened? I thought wer were approaching $2 per quid.

"International financial meltdown". It hasn't just been the US that
has been affected.

When I went over to London for a few days in late October, the pound
was a bit under $2 when I started the trip... right about where it has
been for a long time. About two days after I got there, the UK
financial markets hiccoughed so loudly you could hear 'em from orbit,
and the pound plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar in
decades... I think it was around $1.55 when I left.

--
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
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:16:22 -0800, Dave Platt wrote:
In article , Peter Hucker

What happened? I thought wer were approaching $2 per quid.

"International financial meltdown". It hasn't just been the US that has
been affected.

When I went over to London for a few days in late October, the pound was a
bit under $2 when I started the trip... right about where it has been for
a long time. About two days after I got there, the UK financial markets
hiccoughed so loudly you could hear 'em from orbit, and the pound plunged
to its lowest rate against the dollar in decades... I think it was around
$1.55 when I left.

So, you lost money on the trip just changing your money over and back?

Ick! ;-)
Rich

Here is how to tell if a 9 volt battery is good.Stick your tongue on
there.
cuhulin

In article ,
Rich Grise wrote:

So, you lost money on the trip just changing your money over and back?

Ick! ;-)

I would have, if I'd changed more money than I really needed.

As I was, I was lucky. Most of what I spent went on a credit card,
and there was enough of a delay in actually posting/clearing the
charges that most of the charges were processed after the pound did
its nose-dive against the dollar. I think I got the favorable
exchange rate on about 90% of what I spent over there.

--
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
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:16:22 -0000, Dave Platt wrote:

In article ,
Peter Hucker wrote:

What happened? I thought wer were approaching $2 per quid.

"International financial meltdown". It hasn't just been the US that
has been affected.

When I went over to London for a few days in late October, the pound
was a bit under $2 when I started the trip... right about where it has
been for a long time. About two days after I got there, the UK
financial markets hiccoughed so loudly you could hear 'em from orbit,
and the pound plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar in
decades... I think it was around $1.55 when I left.

I'm enjoying this "recession" - all my interest rates have fallen, and so have the minimum credit card payments. And shops keep lowering their prices.

--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com

The only differences between lawyers and prostitutes are that prostitutes are generally better looking and more honest about how they make a living.

Peter Hucker wrote:

On Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:16:22 -0000, Dave Platt wrote:

In article ,
Peter Hucker wrote:

What happened? I thought wer were approaching $2 per quid.

"International financial meltdown". It hasn't just been the US that
has been affected.

When I went over to London for a few days in late October, the pound
was a bit under $2 when I started the trip... right about where it has
been for a long time. About two days after I got there, the UK
financial markets hiccoughed so loudly you could hear 'em from orbit,
and the pound plunged to its lowest rate against the dollar in
decades... I think it was around $1.55 when I left.

I'm enjoying this "recession" - all my interest rates have fallen, and so have the minimum credit card payments. And shops keep lowering their prices.


Till they go out of business.

--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm


There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.