I got my first rechargeable batteries ("accumulators") about 20 years ago; I remember they were made by SAFT, NiCd chemistry, AA, 500 mAh, and a nice white label similar to eneloop today. I charged them at 50 mA for 16 hours. They lasted in my flashlight about 1-2 hours, depending on which bulb I used. I even built my first dumb charger out of an older flash light, a 5V supply, and a resistor and an LED. Oh man, those old times...
Tell us about uour first rechargeable batteries
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I bought my first about 15 or so years ago and they were D sized NI/CAD,they were my last until they came out with NIMH.To me NI/CAD are a joke,love those NIMH though.Those NI/CAD I had may have been a bad battery,and other makes might of been alright but I wont buy anymore.I had a dumb trickle charger that took forever,that charged at 50mah,still have it and use it on my NIMH after they have been charged.
Skeeterbytes
Newly Enlightened
I guess (rocks back on heels, reminiscing) that'd be the four-cell NiCd packs for the venerable Vivitar 283 flash. They'd recharge in about 15 minutes, so three packs could keep me shooting all day. Circa late '70s-early '80s.
I also had an older potato-masher style rechargeable Honeywell flash, and when it went kaput I opened it up. There was an enormous stack of disc-shaped cells in the handle, presumably also NiCd. Today, they're toxic waste in some landfill.
I also had an older potato-masher style rechargeable Honeywell flash, and when it went kaput I opened it up. There was an enormous stack of disc-shaped cells in the handle, presumably also NiCd. Today, they're toxic waste in some landfill.
Brighteyez
Flashlight Enthusiast
My poor first rechargeables were so badly abused by me since I was young and gullible, and doing everything that the radio hobbyists were telling me (and every 'authority' had a different story.) This would have been in the 60's and the batteries would have been NiCds of some sort. In any case, I think I killed them inside of a year.
dulridge
Enlightened
NiCD probably about 300mAh in the late 70's early 80's. Anyone taking a lot of pictures with flash had to have quite a lot of them. Oldest surviving ones are AA's (450mAh) and D's (4000mAh) bought in 1985 after their predecessors were stolen at gunpoint (along with a lot of other stuff).
I still have the D's and they are still in use.
I still have the D's and they are still in use.
dulridge
Enlightened
I seem to remember that some older ones are still in use, there is a thread around here somewhere.
I still have (some of) the AAs as well, but they have little or no life left in them. They were my only source of electricity from 1984-6 and were regularly recharged by a motorcycle alternator which can't have been good for them - the D's survived, the AAs have no useful life left in them.
I still have (some of) the AAs as well, but they have little or no life left in them. They were my only source of electricity from 1984-6 and were regularly recharged by a motorcycle alternator which can't have been good for them - the D's survived, the AAs have no useful life left in them.
carbine15
Flashlight Enthusiast
moontroll said:
I had these NiCad D batteries for use in my first D flashlight. I still have the charger for them. they made my flashlight float and I thought it was so cool that they were so light weight.
No longer did batteries have to be heavy, they could be filled with this magic NiCad stuff that makes them light enough to float on water. (lol little did I know my D cell was just a AA NiCad in a holder and wrapped) I think the brand name was GE.
coppertrail
Enlightened
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I had a NiMH charger back in the early 80s when I received my first "real" RC car for my birthday. I can't even remember the brand of charger/cells.
Cydonia
Enlightened
I remember clearly those ghastly old Dynacharge rechargeables from the mid 80's. I was a kid of about 7 when my dad got the first ones. All AA sizes we had... and those small wall wart plug in chargers for 2 or 4 charging at once. Must have been 400ma? Always poor, never seemed to last long (!) and yet for some reason I never remember why we simply didn't get a big pack of alkalines. More stupidity and not knowing any better than a money issue.
Then I got 4D Dynacharges for Christmas (1988?) and a big charger that could handle 4 cells at once and even the 9v. Well, the idea of 9v rechargeables were so exotic to me! A year or so later I even got one for use with the LEGO light and sound kit I had! I had that battery for a good 7 more years, threw it away in the mid 90's.
Had the old D's for about that long too. Finally they seemed to hold less and less... and when the old MB Robotics kit (took 4D in the base unit) was abandoned and given away, there was nothing to use D's for.
In 1998 I bought 8 of the Radio Shack 4.0ah D cells and the blue archer charger. Mainly for my 4D Maglite. Didn't pan out... and the batteries were old stock when I bought them, date code of 1986! They worked, were good, but I gave them away in 2003. I regret that of course. Waste of $100, really stupid mistake.
In the meantime I had a bunch of AA radio shack ones I used for my Sony Discman. They worked good and I was happy with them.
In 2000 I tried NiMh, 4AA from Radio Shack. The rat shack charger must have been junk, never charged them fully. Held less than my hi Capacity AA niCd's. I was really burned and disappointed by them. (not actually burned, I mean the waste of $50 made me hopping mad!) Anyway, soon got rid of them, and since 2003 I've never used any rechargeable battery except the 15 Sanyo Sub C NiCd in the 18v Bosch Drill I have. Other than that I don't plan on getting any AA, D etc ever again either. Just don't use many batteries... Alkaline too cheap and always ready when you need them. Strange but true. Far cheaper and no recharging hassles by simply keeping a big pack of AA and D alkalines around. (And I keep a cache of AA lithiums around for emergencies too. In fact all my flashlights exist only for black outs or when I need to peer into a dark place, not as expensive toys!)
So there is my story
Then I got 4D Dynacharges for Christmas (1988?) and a big charger that could handle 4 cells at once and even the 9v. Well, the idea of 9v rechargeables were so exotic to me! A year or so later I even got one for use with the LEGO light and sound kit I had! I had that battery for a good 7 more years, threw it away in the mid 90's.
Had the old D's for about that long too. Finally they seemed to hold less and less... and when the old MB Robotics kit (took 4D in the base unit) was abandoned and given away, there was nothing to use D's for.
In 1998 I bought 8 of the Radio Shack 4.0ah D cells and the blue archer charger. Mainly for my 4D Maglite. Didn't pan out... and the batteries were old stock when I bought them, date code of 1986! They worked, were good, but I gave them away in 2003. I regret that of course. Waste of $100, really stupid mistake.
In the meantime I had a bunch of AA radio shack ones I used for my Sony Discman. They worked good and I was happy with them.
In 2000 I tried NiMh, 4AA from Radio Shack. The rat shack charger must have been junk, never charged them fully. Held less than my hi Capacity AA niCd's. I was really burned and disappointed by them. (not actually burned, I mean the waste of $50 made me hopping mad!) Anyway, soon got rid of them, and since 2003 I've never used any rechargeable battery except the 15 Sanyo Sub C NiCd in the 18v Bosch Drill I have. Other than that I don't plan on getting any AA, D etc ever again either. Just don't use many batteries... Alkaline too cheap and always ready when you need them. Strange but true. Far cheaper and no recharging hassles by simply keeping a big pack of AA and D alkalines around. (And I keep a cache of AA lithiums around for emergencies too. In fact all my flashlights exist only for black outs or when I need to peer into a dark place, not as expensive toys!)
So there is my story
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