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Old 09-02-2010, 08:50 AM   #3
Lady Fitzgerald
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Posts: 2,013
Karma: 251649
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tempe, AZ, USA, Earth
Device: JetBook Lite (away from home) + 1 spare, 32" TV (at home)
I recently wore out the alkaline batteries that came with my JBL and popped in a set of Sanyo Eneloops. I've got maybe two hours on them so far and the battery gauge hasn't budged yet. I didn't bothered to track the number of hours of battery life I got on the original set of batteries but they lasted quite a while.

I've been using the Eneloops for between two and three years now and have yet to have any fail on me. These are precharged batteries that will not lose a major portion of their charge over time while just setting unused. I used to to use regular NiMH cells and they would have to be recharged every month whether I used them or not. Even if you don't want to go to the trouble of ordering the Eneloops (I get mine from Amazon), make sure you get the ones you do buy say precharged on the package.

Also, steer away from fast chargers. Those will literally cook your batteries. Batteries should never be charged any faster than 700 mAh, 200 is much better. It takes a lot longer but the batteries will last much longer. It is worth it to buy a good charger to protect your battery investment. I have two, the LaCrosse BC-900 and the BC-700. The BC-700 will charge at 200 mAh, 500 mAh, and 700 mAh and is all you will ever need. I originally got the BC-900, which will also charge at 1000 mAh (also 1500 mAh and 1800mAh when charging only two batteries; both chargers hold four batteries). It was only $10 more and came with a carrying pouch for the charger with a zippered pocket for extra batteries. Both chargers have a screen that shows the voltage, charging current, etc. of each battery independently and charging current can be set independently for each battery. The charge can also precondition NiCads, discharge partially discharged batteries before charging (necessary for NiCads) and restore some batteries that appear to be dead.

The early BC-900s had a reputation for melting down that was corrected by the later units. I was fortunate enough to get one of the later ones. It has been replaced by the BC-9009 which, curiously, has had the same history of the earlier units having meltdown problems. The jury is still out on whether the problem has been resolved but it seems to have been. Still, since one doesn't need the higher currents of the BC-9009 (unless one likes BBQ batteries for lunch), I recommend the BC-700 since it hasn't had any problems. It also can be obtained from Amazon.

I have a boat load of both AA and AAA eneloops because of all the electronics I have that use batteries. I keep 16 AAs and 8 AAAs in my purse. The rest are in the BC-900's pouch (the BC-700 also fits into the pouch) which is convenient to toss in my luggage when I travel. I have a camera that uses two AAs I carry in my purse. The JBL uses four AAs. I also have lighted magnifier (old age sucks) that uses 3 AAAs, an audio recorder that uses 2AAAs, and a little flashlight that uses 3AAs in my purse. My good camera uses 4 AAs and its external flash also uses 4 AAs, which is why I carry so many extras. If all you carry is the JBL, it would be easy to drop 4 AAs in your pocket when the batteries start running down.

The initial investment for rechargeable batteries and charger is high but will they will pay for themselves many times over.
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