VHF battery rebuilds
 

I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life will be
double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds? It sure
was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

VHF battery rebuilds
 

Replacing the battery type but not the type of charger?

Potential for trouble -Danger Will Robinson!!!!

Can I use an older NiCd battery charger to charge NiMH batteries?






The answer to this question depends on the type of NiCd charger. Depending
on the type of NiCd charger you have, the older NiCd charger may undercharge
NiMH batteries (most likely), it may overcharge them (less likely), or it
may charge NiMH batteries properly (but it's not likely to do so
automatically and could take a very long time). Let's take a look at the
three cases.






Many of the older NiCd chargers are the simple timed type charger which will
charge batteries for a fixed amount of time and then shut off.
Unfortunately, since NiCd batteries have a much lower capacity than NiMH
batteries, the timer is likely to shut off long before the NiMH batteries
are fully charged. This won't harm the batteries, but the NiMH batteries
won't be fully charged since the timer will have stopped the charge cycle
too soon.






Also common among older NiCd chargers are the so called "overnight" chargers
which charge batteries at a low rate as long as the charger is plugged in.
This type of charger can fully charge NiMH batteries, but it might take a
very long time to do so. It's possible that an old NiCd charger could take
as long as 48 hours to fully charge new high capacity NiMH batteries! This
type of charger is not likely to damage NiMH batteries unless the batteries
are left in the charger for weeks at a time, but it may not be very
convenient to use. If you have this type of charger you can get an idea of
how long you'll need to charge your batteries by using the calculator found
above.






The final possibility is that the older NiCd charger is a rapid charger that
will charge NiMH batteries but will not have the necessary circuitry to stop
the charge cycle once the NiMH batteries are fully charged. If the NiCd
charger is designed to charge batteries in less than two hours it may be
this type. In this case the risk is that the older charger will overcharge
NiMH batteries. This will be apparent if the batteries get very hot during
the charge cycle. (It is normal for NiMH batteries to get warm as they
become fully charged, especially in a rapid charger). If the NiMH batteries
get too hot to handle and stay that way for more than 20 or 30 minutes, then
the NiCd charger is most likely overcharging the NiMH batteries and may
shorten their life. You would be most likely to encounter this type of
charger if the charger was designed for rapid charging radio control (RC)
vehicle batteries. We would recommend that you not use an NiCD rapid
charger to charge NiMH batteries.

VHF battery rebuilds
 

"Vito" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds? It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices. This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps it was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't hold a
charge.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

VHF battery rebuilds
 

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
.. .
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds? It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices. This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps it was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't hold a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.

VHF battery rebuilds
 

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
. ..
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds?
It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices. This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps it
was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't hold
a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.



You mean internal to the battery pack right... the electrode seats inside
the VHF are fine as far as I can tell.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

VHF battery rebuilds
 

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:31:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
.. .
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds?
It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices. This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps it
was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't hold
a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.



You mean internal to the battery pack right...

Inside a cell between anode and cathode.

the electrode seats inside
the VHF are fine as far as I can tell.

VHF battery rebuilds
 

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:31:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
. ..
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life
will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds?
It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices. This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps it
was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't
hold
a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.



You mean internal to the battery pack right...

Inside a cell between anode and cathode.

the electrode seats inside
the VHF are fine as far as I can tell.



Ah... thanks for the clarification. All know/care when I need it is it's
charged and it works.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

VHF battery rebuilds
 

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:13:50 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:31:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life
will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with rebuilds?
It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices. This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps it
was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't
hold
a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.



You mean internal to the battery pack right...

Inside a cell between anode and cathode.

the electrode seats inside
the VHF are fine as far as I can tell.



Ah... thanks for the clarification. All know/care when I need it is it's
charged and it works.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc...nicad+whiskers

VHF battery rebuilds
 

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:13:50 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:31:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
m...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
m...
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life
will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with
rebuilds?
It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some
years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to
half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices.
This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps
it
was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't
hold
a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.



You mean internal to the battery pack right...

Inside a cell between anode and cathode.

the electrode seats inside
the VHF are fine as far as I can tell.



Ah... thanks for the clarification. All know/care when I need it is it's
charged and it works.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc...nicad+whiskers



Interesting... I would have to open the battery case though?

I have the charger that originally came with the VHF, but I don't recall if
it's a fast or slow charger.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

VHF battery rebuilds
 

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:25:32 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:13:50 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:31:33 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Goofball_star_dot_etal" wrote in message
om...
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

"Vito" wrote in message
om...
"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
I just got my HX350S battery back from primecell. I really like the
handheld, even if it's a bit heavy.

They replaced the NiCd with a NiHh and claim that the battery life
will
be double or more. Anyone seen this or have experience with
rebuilds?
It
sure was a lot cheaper than replacing the whole handheld.

On Ham Radios, NiHh has been outperforming the old NiCd for some
years
because it has far less tendency to gain a "memory". A NiCd that
originally has 1000Ah capacity (for example) will quickly drop to
half
that if only half discharged before being recharged.



Hey Vito... you're right, and I've noticed that with other devices.
This
particular VHF battery (the original) was fairly incredible (perhaps
it
was
the radio itself). It never seemed to die. Then, suddenly it wouldn't
hold
a
charge.

Nicads can grow metal crystals which short across the electrodes. It
is possible to fuse these with a short, heavy burst of charging
current and get your battery back.



You mean internal to the battery pack right...

Inside a cell between anode and cathode.

the electrode seats inside
the VHF are fine as far as I can tell.



Ah... thanks for the clarification. All know/care when I need it is it's
charged and it works.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc...nicad+whiskers



Interesting... I would have to open the battery case though?


You can find out if a cell is shorted if it measures 0V (after
charging) only really by opening the case but you could also zap the
lot in series 'just in case'. I would not suggest how to do this
however, in case someone gets a face full of battery.. but you could
Google for info.

I have the charger that originally came with the VHF, but I don't recall if
it's a fast or slow charger.