Handheld CB batts?

[Buck91]

Well, its been a good couple years since I've dug these guys out, but I wanted to listen to some weather reports, so I pulled out my Radio Shack TRC-234 (its a 40chnl hand held CB with 10 NOAA channels).

Well, without much suprise I found the alky batts totally dead (not one of nine above 1.0V); but no leakage!! Anyways, checked out the owners manual and it says alkies or NiCd are just fine (9xAA), so I'm at a turning point. I rarely use this although I want to be sure its usable on the rare occasion I need it. Would a NiMH work? I dont see why it wouldnt since NiCd does. I don't think I'd risk running L91's (e2 lithium) since the extra .2V per cell could really stack up.

So I guess the question becomes... What are the cheapest alky AA you would trust to storage? Both with respect to least self-discharge and least leakage. Are there any LSD NiMH (I know they dont have the same shelf life, but I have 12vdc adapters) that beat the kodiak LSD from wally world?

 

[Mr Happy]

I've left alkaline AA's in devices for years and never had one leak (9 V is another matter). My impression is that brand is not the only factor; there may be some other factors that affect leakage like temperature fluctuations or extremes, excessive drain due to micro leakage current, humidity, or something.

For good prices I look out for deals. Home Depot cleared out a lot of Duracell AA's at 50¢ a pair in December, so I stocked up on a bunch of those. (I should have just bought their whole stock. They're gone now.)

Right now my local Big Lots seems to have a good price on Fuji batteries (made in Japan).

NiMH should work fine. I think the Rayovac Hybrids are often found at a good price, but the Kodak ones seem hard to beat for value.

 

[scott.cr]

I would have to give my highest recommendation to the Eneloop cells. I use them in my handheld ham radio, which has 5 watts of output, so current draw is probably similar to your CB. Before the Eneloops I was using 2700 mAh Titaniums, but they'd self-discharge too quickly, and I was constantly changing and charging the cells. With the Eneloops, the radio is ready-to-go all the time, and I can get some really long talk times. I use my ham radio every day while sitting in L.A. traffic and only charge it up about once a month!

Eneloops aren't cheap (paid $15/4 pack at Fry's) but well, well worth the $ imho. (BTW be sure to use a good charger... Maha!)