Saturday, April 13, 2002, 6:33:54 PM, Len wrote: LP> Well, being able to top off any battery before use is a definite LP> plus. You are right about all you said about NiCd batteries and LP> using a smart charger. But, smart chargers are not cheap and [...] LP> Maha charger that does this but it costs about $80.00 US, the LP> last time I looked.
Hi Len, you are of course right. Good doesn't come cheap these days! Well, I got an Ansmann charger, very similar to the Maha (but less something - it charges a minimum of 4 cells, unlike the Maha's 2 cells), for about 40$, but it's a pack-charger, so I had to solder few connectors and wires to a separate batteryholder. But 40$ plus some little soldering work is not bad, is it? Of course this isn't for everybody, not everyone can solder (I am not much good at it). The good thing is, this charger lets me top off the batteries! It measures delta V or similar technique, and when I want to discharge the batteries before charging, I press a button, it (fortunately) isn't automatic discharge each time. I discharge completely the NiCds only every once and then, about every 5-7 uses. I feel that's enough. But of course NiCds have a very enviromental defect - the Cadmium is not much env. friendly... I actually use NiMH in my flash battery pack but that's another story ;-) Right now I have power enough, I am making another pack to power the digital camera. The worst thing are all those coiled cables dangling about me... ;-( Frantisek - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
