They were ok for some applications, but not for others. I looked into using them a long time ago for a GPS which drew around 200 mA from AA cells. Looking at the data sheet for the rechargeable alkaline cells, I discovered that, first, the capacity was quite a bit less than for a primary cell at that current drain. And second, the capacity decreased dramatically with even the first few discharge/charge cycles. By the time you put a few tens of cycles on them, their capacity had dropped to just about zero. In the meantime, I found I could get good quality alkaline cells from Costco for about 25 cents each. Then NiMH cells came along with capacities exceeding primary alkaline in moderate to high drain applications. So for me, the rechargeable alkalines remained a solution in search of a problem, and I never found a use for them.
I first became aware of this technology in the '70s -- an Eveready battery engineering handbook of that era describes rechargeable alkalines with about the same properties as the ones marketed by ROV much later. Apparently Eveready sold them briefly back in the '70s -- one of those would be a collector's item I would think.
c_c
Still have my big 8 bay charger too.
