Best D cells for C.Crane radio!
- Thread starter lrp
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hopkins
Enlightened
Which kind of radio?
model # ? how many cells?
Current drain when radio is on?
Hours of use per day?
Use method , ie home or remote location where getting new
D Cells is difficult?
May be cost effective just buy a 12pack of Alkaline D cells for $10 if your use time is low.
Solar Panel option to power and recharge radio batteries may be something to consider
if it fits in with your intended use.
model # ? how many cells?
Current drain when radio is on?
Hours of use per day?
Use method , ie home or remote location where getting new
D Cells is difficult?
May be cost effective just buy a 12pack of Alkaline D cells for $10 if your use time is low.
Solar Panel option to power and recharge radio batteries may be something to consider
if it fits in with your intended use.
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Provided you have a charger... I've been really happy with the AccuPower Evolution (now AccuEvolution) LSD NiMH D cells.
However, the deal that BatterySpace has on 8 Powerizer NiMH D cells would be hard to pass up.
However, the deal that BatterySpace has on 8 Powerizer NiMH D cells would be hard to pass up.
StarHalo
Flashaholic
If you enjoy radio listening enough to have bought a CCrane, you'll probably be best served by NiMH cells.
My radio is on from anywhere to 2 to 8 hours a day, but thanks to NiMH cells that I only need to replace every couple of years, I'm paying about $10/yr for unlimited use. NiMHs are also a better deal than an AC adapter, which can adversely affect your AM reception.
My radio is on from anywhere to 2 to 8 hours a day, but thanks to NiMH cells that I only need to replace every couple of years, I'm paying about $10/yr for unlimited use. NiMHs are also a better deal than an AC adapter, which can adversely affect your AM reception.
Mr_Light
Enlightened
I have a couple of radios that take 4-C cells that I use with AA Eneloops in AA to C adapters. These will run for many days of continuous use before needing to be recharged. Typically we only use them maybe 10 hours a week and I seem to only charge them every few months.
TakeTheActive
Enlightened
You beat me to my FAVORITE series of questions for those asking about rechargeable D cells!
:sigh: 
lrp, if you're not going to regularly exercise ALL of the chemicals in those $$$ D cells (i.e. every ~2-4 weeks), you're not going to keep them VIBRANT.
:toilet:By answering user hopkins' questions, you can determine the mAh Capacity of the cells you'll need. Maybe they'll be D cells. Or maybe C or AA cells in adapters. :thinking:
There's MORE money to consider. Just like maintaining an inventory of NiMh AND Li-Ion cells, you need a charger that can (properly) handle D (or C) cells.
Good luck with your choice!
(I found an application for Multi-QUOTE!)
Turbo DV8
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have a Sony radio with very sensitive tuner. It is the only radio I have that can pick up a favorite low power, FM high school station about 15 miles away. Even though it is FM, I get less hiss using the batteries than using the AC adapter. It's not 60Hz noise the adapter causes, but it seems more like just having the extra wire of the power cable nearby the tuner causes a bit more background hiss than when using the batteries. You'd never notice it with a station with a little more power. I use NiMH AA batteries only in that radio. It runs 16 hours a day and only needs recharging every six weeks or so.
Bullzeyebill
Flashaholic
To stay on track and answer your question from my perspective, use any D cell alkaline on the market that is made in the US. Duracell, Enerigizer, Rayovac, etc. I have used such cells in my CC Crane radios through years, and have never ever had a problem with them. I am a NiMh kind of guy, and do not feel the need to use them in my CCrane radio.
Bill
Bill
Radiophile
Enlightened
I'd guess that there is a strong station near that frequency that is causing some adjacent channel interference, and the additional wire is making the signal reception for that strong station even stronger.
Out of curiousity, what model is your radio? I've got a Sony Clutch ICFM410 that is amazingly sensitive on FM as well as AM, but the selectivity just blows. I opened it up and it's got a Toyo 230kHz filter that I haven't gotten around to replacing yet with a 110kHz or 80 kHz filter.
Turbo DV8
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have a Sony Clutch. It'll pull in the suspect station, but is very finicky about antenna orientation, and when you let go of the antenna after aiming it, the signal drops out. The Sony which pulls it in amazingly well is the Sony ICF 36, similar to the one linked to below. Manual tuning. Only downside is drift when the room gets very warm. Yes, there is a strong station one peg up the dial from my fav.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...alog_result&ct=image&resnum=5&ved=0CCYQ8gIwBA#
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Light Sabre
Enlightened
Several years ago I ran some battery comparison tests mostly on alkaline batteries. I ran the tests becasue there were so many battery types at the B&M stores that it was confusing to know which manufacturer and battery type was the biggest bang for the buck. I have a RS DVM that has a RS-232 interface and can plug it into my computer and log anything the meter can measure. For the D batteries, I used a 2 ohm fixed power resistor which gives you 3/4 amp on a fresh battery and gradually drops from there. The tests were continuous until the battery reached 9.5 V. I tested Duracell CopperTop, Energizer Max, Rayovac, and Radio Shack batteries. Only 1 battery of each brand was tested, not a good sample I admit. I just wanted to get a general idea of what was going on. I looked at all the data from a several different angles: which one ran the longest, which one had the hightest battery voltage the longest, which one had the best runtime/cost ratio, and so on. Here's a quick summary of what I found:
Radio Shack: Ran the longest (21 hours), beat the next longest runner by 2+ hours. Most expenisve of the 4. Came in last for 0.8V to 0.5V.
Duracell Copper Top: Had the highest voltage output for the longest time. Longest run time from 0.8V to 0.5V.
Rayovac: Biggest bang for the buck cost wise, came in 2nd on runtime. 2nd longest runtime from 0.8V to 0.5V.
Energizer Max: All around poor performer, but had the 2nd biggest bang for the buck. 3rd longest runtime from 0.8V to 0.5V.
The reason for the 0.8V to 0.5V info was because some LED dropins that run on 2 to 9 volts will still be running if 4-6 batteries are used. Very important for very very long power outages. Battery leakage becomes a big concern at this low of a voltage. Use a cheap $2 flashlight with a NiteIze drop in and if the batteries leak, get a new flashlight. The drop in, which is the expensive part, will be protected and still useable.
As you can see, it's a mixed bag between batterys. Pick what parameter(s) are most important to you and use that brand of battery. YMMV. I didn't run any tests at lower currents since the runtime would be so long. Something like 8 days for each battery.
Radio Shack: Ran the longest (21 hours), beat the next longest runner by 2+ hours. Most expenisve of the 4. Came in last for 0.8V to 0.5V.
Duracell Copper Top: Had the highest voltage output for the longest time. Longest run time from 0.8V to 0.5V.
Rayovac: Biggest bang for the buck cost wise, came in 2nd on runtime. 2nd longest runtime from 0.8V to 0.5V.
Energizer Max: All around poor performer, but had the 2nd biggest bang for the buck. 3rd longest runtime from 0.8V to 0.5V.
The reason for the 0.8V to 0.5V info was because some LED dropins that run on 2 to 9 volts will still be running if 4-6 batteries are used. Very important for very very long power outages. Battery leakage becomes a big concern at this low of a voltage. Use a cheap $2 flashlight with a NiteIze drop in and if the batteries leak, get a new flashlight. The drop in, which is the expensive part, will be protected and still useable.
As you can see, it's a mixed bag between batterys. Pick what parameter(s) are most important to you and use that brand of battery. YMMV. I didn't run any tests at lower currents since the runtime would be so long. Something like 8 days for each battery.
StarHalo
Flashaholic
Your body is acting as part of the antenna when you're holding it; if the signal goes away by letting go, you just need a bigger antenna. But if there's an adjacent station that begins to interfere when an external wire is attached, you need a better radio.
Sony's excellent with smaller/cheaper radios and larger/expensive radios, but there aren't really any standouts in the middle, so even though I'm a Sony guy, I prefer Sangeans for that particular range; if you've got $50-ish to invest in a new radio, the DT-400W (seen here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012YHQVE/?tag=cpf0b6-20) has excellent FM selectivity, and will have no problem nulling out that nearby station.
If a NiMH cell were to match this figure (which would be easy since alkalines sag much faster), and you recharged the cell only 100 times before replacing it, its result on that scale would be 2,100 hours; definitely a good choice for bang-for-the-buck long-term radio listening.
