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47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

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47717768 (banned)

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Rechargeable batteries Vs. Alkaline

While most people are familiar with regular batteries and rechargeable batteries, there’s still some confusion when it comes to the appropriate application of one over the other. To make the decision a bit easier, it helps to have a basic understanding on the differences between the two. »www.electronicproducts.c ··· ery.aspx

I have just tried Alkaline batteries in my wireless mouse and for some odd reason the pointer speed response is more responsive than with mAhs.
dave
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join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

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dave

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Do you mean NiMH rather than mAhs? The former is nickel-metal hydride, a type of battery. The latter is milliampere-hours, a unit of electrical charge.

But to address your main point, I somehow doubt that the battery voltage difference makes the microprocessor report changes at a faster rate. How did you determine this? Just switch batteries once, or back-and-forth to verify that what you were seeing was repeatable?
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

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Sorry about that. Yes mean NiMH.

darcilicious
Cyber Librarian
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Forest Grove, OR
·Ziply Fiber

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said by 47717768:

I have just tried Alkaline batteries in my wireless mouse and for some odd reason the pointer speed response is more responsive

Have someone switch out the batteries without you know which are which; decide each time which is "faster" and which is "slower"; do this 8-10 times and then come back here and post your findings. Otherwise, it's not worth posting about.
dave
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join:2000-05-04
not in ohio

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dave

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Even without the blind testing, it's worth making the switch back-and-forth yourself to verify you still think you're seeing the effect.

darcilicious
Cyber Librarian
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join:2001-01-02
Forest Grove, OR

darcilicious

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Accept for the whole placebo / subjective testing bit...
dave
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not in ohio

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dave

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No question that is needed for a watertight conclusion, but I'd certainly try to decide whether an effect was repeatable before needing blind testing. One observation of "I changed the batteries and I think it was faster" is insufficient. If you can't reliably demonstrate it to yourself on a repeated basis, you can skip the blind testing, since you already know there's nothing to test for.

(I do that in tricky cases in software: can I reliably repro the bug? Did it vanish with my fix? Can I still reliably repro the bug without my fix? Does my fix still fix it?)
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

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said by 47717768:

I have just tried Alkaline batteries in my wireless mouse and for some odd reason the pointer speed response is more responsive than with mAhs.

Be aware that the no load voltage on an NiMH Battery is 1.2 Volts while the no load voltage on an Alkaline Battery is 1.5 Volts.
19579823 (banned)
An Awesome Dude
join:2003-08-04

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Re:  

I thing I dislike about rechargable batteries is if you dont charge it fully,it can mess the whole thing up!!

NoOneCares
join:2000-09-16
Portland, OR

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Re: Rechargeable batteries Vs. Alkaline

I had bought a "ton" of rechargeable batteries over the years and I just found that I was having to replace them as they would fail all too often. So for me back to alkaline as at least I can rely that they have a charge when I need them.
If the rechargeable tech gets better I might consider going back.

Ghastlyone
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join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

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Panasonic Eneloop rechargables are the best batteries you'll ever purchase.
golfer55
join:2009-12-25
Grottoes, VA

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golfer55

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I second the call for Panasonic Eneloops they are by far the best i have used
zephyrus8
join:2014-04-22

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Honestly I feel that any household that has even a single device that uses a high quantity of batteries should look seriously into rechargeable battery. It takes some time to overcome that initial investment, but after that the savings is quite nice – it’s basically batteries for free.
Expand your moderator at work

ilikeme
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join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

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Re: Rechargeable batteries Vs. Alkaline

Agreed, the Enloop batteries are the best!
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

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tmc8080 to Mr Matt

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to Mr Matt
talking about AA, AAA form factor.
1.4x V just after a charge (which slowly grinds down to 1.2v)

As far as rechargeables most applications are good, UNLESS it's safety such as a 9v battery for a smoke detector / carbon monox detector.

Jackorama
I Am Woman
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join:2008-05-23
Kingston, ON

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What's the difference between EN-MH2 rechargeable Ni-MH and EN-MH1 rechargeable Ni-MH batteries?

My Nikon Coolpix L840 camera say EN-MH1 can't be used, only EN-MH2.

InCLW
@rr.com

InCLW

Anon

I was about to say it is a totally different battery, but upon googling, it appears they are both 2x AA NiMH batteries with the MH1's capacity is 2000Mah vs the MH2's 2300Mah.

They will likely work fine, although not last as long.
said by Jackorama:

What's the difference between EN-MH2 rechargeable Ni-MH and EN-MH1 rechargeable Ni-MH batteries?

My Nikon Coolpix L840 camera say EN-MH1 can't be used, only EN-MH2.


printscreen
join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR

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Rechargeables make sense for high current applications such as digital cameras and portable devices. I have had alkalines last 10 years on a remote control and NiMH rechargeables in other remotes that need to be recharged every few months. 10 years is longer than most electronic devices last these days but this particular remote is for my cable box which over that period of time has been replaced like 3 times but I have retained the same remote which I got brand new from the cable company on one of those replacements.

Rechargeables are not good for flashligthts either. They will have self-discharged by the time you need to use it. On the other hand I have a few of those stick-on LED lights that came with AAA alkaline batteries and are about 6 years old. They still shine brightly.

Mark12547
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join:2015-10-06
Salem, OR
Cisco DPC3941

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My use are flashlights and remote controls.

I gave up on rechargeable cells. I had used some for a while, but by the time a cell died in a remote, the other rechargeable cells I had charged up had lost their charge so I would use alkaline cells and recharge the rechargeable cells. But by the time the next remote's cells had died, the rechargeable cells had lost their charge.

Even with a set of freshly recharged rechargeable cells, my LED flashlights were never as bright as using alkaline cells. (And, yes, I would put in freshly recharged cells, try the flashlight, pop those cells and put in new alkaline cells, try those, swap the cells back, so it wasn't just me relying on memory.)

mm
I Did It My Way
Premium Member
join:2001-04-07
Summerville, SC

mm

Premium Member

said by Mark12547:

I gave up on rechargeable cells. I had used some for a while, but by the time a cell died in a remote, the other rechargeable cells I had charged up had lost their charge so I would use alkaline cells and recharge the rechargeable cells. But by the time the next remote's cells had died, the rechargeable cells had lost their charge.

The newer rechargeable batteries have about a 1 year shelf life after they are charged and will remain almost fully charged - eneloops and the Duracell 'Stay Charged' for example. I use them a good bit now, alkaline AA batteries are getting insanely expensive.