Mark Hindley wrote:
Thanks, I have opened the battery pack, and it is 8 AA in series, as
predicted. If The pack is labelled 600mAh. Presumably they are NiCads.

If I changed to 1200mAh or more NiMH, is the charger going to need
changing? It is nominal 12V supply, and just has a large ceramic
resistor and a diode inside. Do NiMHs need a different charging
current/voltage?

Mark

Mark,

I'd go with brand-name cells and a new, intelligent charger.
NiMH's will have more capacity then NiCD's, but the self-discharge rate
of NiMH's is worse. After 3 months off the charger the NiCD's will have
more charge left then the NiMH's. If you recharge regularly the NiMH's
have more capacity and no memory effect.

I'm using a Maha-C777 Plus-II for my charging needs. You can convert the
old charger into a accessory to the Maha (mechanics and contacts).

Markus