Re: ogo-digest V1 #115

Chuck Cairns (chuckc@hpfccwc.fc.hp.com)
Thu, 27 Jun 1996 4:56:54 MDT

> From: Roy Wagner <jodynroy@glo.be>
> Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 22:12:09 +0100
> Subject: Longer use from Ni-Cd's
> In order to get longer use from Ni-cd's, , I discharge them completly
> before charging again. (I just stick them into an old walkman andn run
> it untill it stops. When I re-charge the No-Cd;s I get one week of use.
> If I do not discharge them, I only get 1-2 days of use.
Hmmm. Now I'm curious. Everything I have read on NiCads says that it
is really _not_ necessary to discharge them fully before recharging them!
See: http://www.paranoia.com/~filipg/HTML/FAQ/BODY/F_Battery.html
for lots of batter info.

If the NiCad battery faq and other info is correct then something must
explain your longer use after discharge. How are you charging them?
Home-style charger? In series or one cell at a time ? Are the cells
"matched" in any way (i.e. same brand, age, usage? )For example, I
could see a weaker cell not being charged while a stronger cell topped
off and "tricked" the charger in to a shutoff. Hmmm. I'm not doubting
what you see - NiCads _are_ odd - but I'd like to explain it! Having
to discharge each time is a pain and shortens the life of the cells
too!
> I have been using Ni-Cd's on my OG since I got it in November, it still
> works fire. Can't really tell any performance difference between Lithium
> cells and Ni-Cd's. > Jan-Skiman :-)
>
> Jan
> All I can say is remarkable. You must be a very frugal user of the
> OmniGo. When I tried Ni-Cads I only got 1 day's use out of them. Lithium
> last me one to two weeks. Ordinary alkalines 5-7 days.
> Wes Jan
Are you two gents referring to the same capacity NiCads. The run-of-the-mill
AA ones are 450mA-Hrs and the highest capacity ones are ~900mA-Hrs. I think
the Radio-Shack Hi-capacity oes are ~800 mA-Hrs.

Regards,
cc