Checked the voltage on both my Sov battery packs...

[jbow]

I have had Panasonic Oxyrides in the AA pack for, well... I don't remember... sometime in August and I used it some in the test garden.
I've used it a about an hour this past week.

I checked it with my multimeter and was amazed to see it reading between 13v and 12.99v... that is really good considering the pack has been in the detector since I put those batteries in it.

I charged the rechargable pack around the same time and have had it in a bag with some other stuff, crackers, rags, and just odd stuff. I checked it and after about 6wks of being in that bag it read 12.3v. I was really impressed, especially with the AA pack. I wish they still made those Oxyrides. I know there are some other comparables, i'll be getting some when my stock of Oxyrides runs out and I have some 2900mah rechargables I have not yet charged because i haven't gotten myself an Accucel-6 yet (I am waiting for the price increase) J/K... but probably my luck.

I just wanted to share this because it surprised me. I was sure the AAs had run down a bit from being in the detector for so long... but no! I'll try to keep some idea of how long I use them and how long they last.

Does anyone know the max voltage of the rechargable pack? I might try charging it and checking and see how high I can get it manually.

Julien

 

[Critterhunter]

If you have a dummy charger that doesn't tell you when the pack is peaked, then stick a volt meter on the two battery leads. Keep checking the voltage every hour (why it's hooked up to the charger) and when it no longer is climbing any or has dropped some then the pack has peaked. Once the pack is peaked it will show higher voltage on the charger than it will when it rests for like an hour or so. Still, from my experience nimhs and nicads will hold well over 1.2V per cell, which is an industry average for those. From memory I think an 8AA 2500ma Nimh Energizer pack fully charged on my RC radio will show just over 12V a few hours after peaking it and turning my radio on. Usually the voltage will stay well above 11V for most of the day flying planes. The main thing is to peak the pack before use that day. Nimhs or nicads will drop some in voltage as they sit for weeks. I really think that's why Minelab put 10 cells in the GT. They didn't want people complaining that they have to peak the pack before they go out every time. With two extra cells even if the pack has sat for weeks it should power it fine. That and the fact that they used old Sub A cells and only 1000ma, which means they'd drop in voltage fast having that low of capacity. So long as you peak 8AA nimhs the day you hunt in the regular battery holder on the GT I think it should be just fine.

 

[fir469]

I had batteries plus rebuild my 1000mah pack for the sov for about $45. Sadly due t the 10 cell design they were unable to use a better Mah rated cell. I may hafta just go with better rechargeable in the alkaline pack instead. Even rebuilt the stock rechargeable pack only lasts about 8-10 hours fully charged... Stupid low amp hour cells.

 

[kered]

A good battery charger rather than the minelab crap could make a difference, also new rechargables take a few charges to reach their best, most people that rely on nimh/nicad recomend cycling(charge-discharge) them 4-5 times before use.

 

[Critterhunter]

I think you can get Sub A cells like those in the stock rechargable pack in probably about 1500 to 2000ma capacity if not more these days. It's been a while since I've checked but if they've progressed like Sub Cs and AA capacities then that would make perfect sense. You could also stick 10 AAA cells in the rechargable pack, but again I don't know how big those little guys go in capacity. Probably at least as high as 1000ma I would think. If you know how to solder you can head to your local RC hobby shop and check out what they have in sub As. Make sure you match the same cell type if you are using the stock "charger" circuit. There is a little board inside the holder that I think might be a peak detection circuit and if so would be type dependent. The cells can be bigger or different types (AAA, Sub A, etc), but they would need to be the same chemistry (nimh or nicad). $45 to re-build the pack is I guess OK for anybody who doesn't know how to solder, but I could probably get that number of cells for well less than $20 otherwise.

I remember a while back on here somebody had pictures and instructions for doing a 10 cell AAA pack in the stock rechargable holder. If anybody digs that up post a link.

Personaly I'd rather just go lipo. Buy the Accucel 6 for $25, but a few lipos for $7 or so a piece, and with a quick two minute solder job to add a plug to the stock 8AA holder you are in business. Much lighter and cheaper, and lipos have so many other perks.