Rechargeable batteries for your new RIO 500 and PDA

[Mixxen]

I found that the RIO 500's consume AA batteries like water (almost 1 every other day). Well, the solution to this is using NiHM rechargeable batteries.

Chargers and batteries...
Overnight/Fast chargers ~ $15
AA Batteries 1600 mah ~ $2.50 each

These sites carry tons of NiMH batteries...
http://www.sunnbattery.com/ (Nexcell and Maha are top quality)
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ (Whole bunch)

If you do not want to shop online then go to CompUSA B&M and look for their Rayovac line of batteries (I did this). They have:
Overnight Rayovac chargers - $9.99
4 Rayovac NiMH 1600mah (look on back of package for battery rating as some are 1300mah) - $12.99

The mAh rating is milliamps per hour. This tells you know how much juice the battery has. So the higher the rating the longer they will last. I think 1700mah is the best on the market now, and 1600mah is relatively new.

Now the best part. NiHM batteries can be charged up to 1000 times!!! They have no memory effects (charge them anytime without degrading the battery charge). Plus they last longer than regular alkaline batteries (up to 2x in some cases). So you will save about $1000 per battery (or something like that ) in the long run. So this is a pretty good deal.

[edit]couple spelling error, ack...[/edit]

 

[Maverick319]

Without getting into who makes the best battery or who has the cheapest deal, do yourself a favor and buy some NiMh batteries for your hog. Digital Cameras, CD Walkman and MP3 players all eat batteries like they are going out of style. Mixxen is correct and has listed two good companies to look at.

 

[whizbang]

Suggest the 1600mAh NiMH rechargable Sanyo AAs from TNR Battery and the Maha C204F charger/conditioner. They add tons of life to my MP3 player and digicam. TNR occasionally offers these in dutch auctions on e*ay.

 

[Wolverine27]

I have bought batteries and rechargers from both Sunn Battery and Thomas Distributing. Both have good prices and fast, friendly service. I have a couple of the Maha C204F chargers with Powerex and Nexcell batteries...great for high drain devices like mp3 players, mini disc players, digital cameras, etc. If you own any of these or similar devices, do yourself a favor and go get some good NiMH rechargeables...they'll pay for themselves in no time. Nice informative post Mixxen.

 

[Taligent]

The GP 1700's are a good buy - GP also produces a 1800mAh AA, but I haven't sourced it yet. Recommended charger: Maha C204F (charger/conditioner).

 

[Cryo]

well i just got the panasonic one with charger for $25- $5 = $20 at BJ's B&M. I know its an old deal but its still good. u get 6 AA and 2AAA and these adapter so u can make ure AA, C or D batteries kinda koo ^_^

 

[LukFilm]

I got my charger and batteries from this place and I highly recommend it! Might be a little more expensive, but the batteries are the BEST out there (equal to Kodak) and the charger is much better than any other, including Maha. Fast shipping too!

 

[Flatpicker]

Sanyo makes MAHA , Olympus batteries. They are very good.

 

[tigerbait]

I got the Maha C204 charger and 4 Maha 1550 MaH batteries from Thomas-Distributing and have been quite pleased. The order shipped promptly and well packed, and this charger is soooo much better than any overnight one from CompUSA or Walmart. About 3 hours for full charge.

 

[Nitzylpick]

One thing to remember is that the fast chargers will decrease the life of the battery. So if you want to maximize your use of the battery get the MAHA as it has a trickle charger. And get 2 sets of batteries so you can just switch them out without having to wait for the used ones to recharge.

 

[RDMustang1]

My palm specifically says "DO NOT USE RECHARGABLE BATTERIES"
Anyone know why?

 

[Jugernot]

RDMustang1, that has to do with the purity of the power produced by rechargeables. The power level can go up and down depending on when it needs to be recharged. Personally I think the power produced by alkalines is likely to vary more than with a good nimh battery.

The weird part is that my Philips Nino 510 pda says the exact opposite in the instructions. It says don't used alkalines because the power produced can vary from manufacturer, time of life, etc. unless its an emergency.

 

[sunnbattery]

I just wanted to clear up a couple things. Right now on the web, many battery websites are making claims that are simply untruths or of bending of the truth.
1. Many websites are claiming that the AA Nexcell NIMH cells they offer are 1600MAH. This is untrue in many cases. The Nexcell AA NIMH batteries rated 1600MAH have an orange label with 1600MAH printed directly on the battery label. If the Nexcell battery you get does not have this new orange label then you have been lied to about the rating. Please view the pictures of the cells on our site to see the new label. This new label is due to our persistance(Sunn Battery's) in pushing Nexcell to change the labeling when they upgrade the MAH of their batteries. Also, beware of companies who claim they are "culling" the cells to find the cells that test out higher and then offering only the cells that test out at 1600MAH or above. If that is what they are doing then what are they doing with the cells that test out lower and also how do they justify the labor cost to test the cells.

2. The idea that fast chargers hurt the life of the battery is not altogether true at this time. The battery industry has advanced at this time to the point that most fast chargers have some sort of protection against this, so this is not much of a worry anymore. I do agree however that the MAHA 204F charger is one of the best on the market at this time.

3. As far as I know NIMH batteries have no substantial negative effect on PDA or palm pilots that alkaline batteries won't have.

4. No matter what anyone may claim, Sanyo does not rate ANY of their AA NIMH batteries as 1600MAH. They do make AA NIMH batteries with the part number 1600AA however if you examine the package closely you will notice there is no mention of a MAH rating anywhere on the package. If a company claims to offer 1600MAH rated NIMH cells in a green shrink wrap that are supposedly made by Sanyo then please be aware that they are not really made by Sanyo. I agree that Sanyo makes a great AA NIMH battery, however be aware that you are not really getting a 1600MAH battery no matter what the seller claims they test out at.

5. As to the comment that MAHACELLS are made by Sanyo, I find it hard to believe that Sanyo would allow MAHA to offer those cells at such a high MAH rating when Sanyo itself does not offer them at that high a rating. I would be interested in knowing the source that told you that Sanyo makes the MAHACELL.


If anyone has any further questions please feel free to email me at sunnbattery@hotmail.com or visit our site. If anyone would like to copy or repost (etc...) the explainations in this post please feel free as long as you make sure to post a link to our site. Check us out and let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Jerry Watterson
Sunn Battery Co.Sunn Battery's website

 

[Zucchini]

so what rating do the sanyos really have? 1500? 1400??

 

[RossMAN]

I have a simple question which I'd like one of you battery experts to answer.

What is the BEST QUALITY AA rechargable battery I can buy for my Fuji Finepix 1400 Digital Camera and Handspring Visor Deluxe?

I have heard several people recommend Raoyvac rechargable batteries in this thread, but it seems those are CONSUMER (lower end) level batteries? Is this true?

Basically I want the Toyota or Honda of rechargable batteries. Something which is the best in it's class.

Also are there any great web sites with good resources/FAQ's/reviews of rechargable batteries?

Thanks a lot!

 

[yodayoda]

for the record, the proper units for the batteries are mAh, not MAH. they stand for milliampere-hours. it is a unit of charge, like the C (coulomb). as always, yodayoda acts to ameliorate the intellectual level of anandtech discussion =)

 

[K-squared]

I have a question - which type of rechrgeble batter is better NiMH or Alkaline rechargebles?

 

[ride525]

These guys looked like they had some good prices Aspencer1

Any comments?

 

[Sesopedalian]

RossMAN, I am no battery expert, but I have done some limited testing and find Kodak 1600mAh to be hard to beat. It would be nice to see someone round up all the 1600mAh brands and simply test the time they last in a high drain device like a handheld TV. For one example, the difference between Quest 1300mAh and Kodak 1600mAh was very close to 1 hour in a hand held TV. Far longer for the higher rating than I expected.

 

[RossMAN]

Sesopedalian - Even though you admit you're no battery expert you do seem to know more than I do. I'm going to see if any recent issues of Consumer Reports magazine has reviews, I'm hoping they do. It would be nice if there were like a battery.org web site chocked full of information, reviews, tests, FAQ, and forums. I'll check out Kodak though they seem to excel in most fields.

 

[Siamskunk]

RDMustang1,

This PAGE might be helpful for your palm setup.....I plan to do this once I get my MAHA batteries and charger on my Palm IIIx.

 

[Setral]

Ok, I have no idea on the mAH raitings. But why are there 650mAH and 1600mAH for the AAs but only 650mAH for the AAAs?

 

[Sitinh]

I was at Target the other day and got some NiMH batteries on clearance. It is from Samsonite, but I don't really know who makes them. They come as part of a package for your "digital" camera. Comes with a camera bag, 4 NiMH batteries, and charger for $14. These are 1300 mAH batteries. I think it's a very good deal considering the extra stuff that comes with it.

 

[djk]

AA batteries in 650 mAH are NiCADs
1600 mAH batteries are NiMH.

for AAA, the batteries are obviously smaller size, so they'll only hold much less.. typically around 650 max.

As for one of the previous poster, I Own a couple pairs of Sanyo 1600. They're INDEED 1600. I can take a picture for you if you don't beleive me. If any of you are wondering about battery qualities, I've tried almost all of them, and they all have about the same life. Besides, they're so cheap anyways. I personally, own the maha C204F, with the 1600 powerex batteries, maxell batteries, quest batteries, energizer batteries, sanyo batteries. I like quest, energizer, and the sanyos the best, why? because they friggin look good. HAHA, they're all the same.. hope this helps.. dont waste your time searching for the best brands, you'll end up with the same run-time. Good luck..

Andy

 

[Mixxen]

djk,

lol...especially when you've got devices with the clear plastic