> > Am I okay, or would it be better to leave it on overnight to drain, and then recharge the next day? How many days/weeks should I let it go before purposely draining and recharging? > It depend on the type of batteries that are used, and the circuitry in your equipment: If the radio has some circuitry that switches it off when battery power gets low, there is no risk of damaging the batteries by emptying them too much. Similarly, if the charging circuitry is smart enough, charging will stop or go into "trickle" mode when the battery is full. (usually you can tell the smartness of the charging circuitry, if there is some indication of the state of charging it's smart, if there is not, be careful, read the manual and do not overcharge too long). For NiCd it is advisable to charge and discharge in full cycles, i.e. fully charge and then fully dischage, otherwise they'll "remember" the shallow cycle and keep less charge. For other types like Lithium or NiMh it does not seem matter much what pattern they are charged and discharged. Only because of their high self-discharge I keep NiMh batteries in a trickle-charger until I actually need them, and I usually top-up my Lithium cells before a trip as well. regards, Kees *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 18 2002 - 15:21:20 PDT
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