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You are correct, the NiCd batteries are a dying breed. HOWEVER, NiCds will retain their charge on the shelf whereas NiMh batteries will continually
discharge slowly. After a couple of weeks your battery will not have any charge. The best of both worlds (no memory, no charge loss) is Li-Ion batteries
but they are expensive still.
Don't confuse 'milli-amp-hours' with instantaneous current. A 1200mAh battery can supply 1.2Amps for one hour generally, but the rating is only
approximate (it differs depending on how fast you discharge them).
The comment:
Currently it has been hard to keep a charge in the Nicad
>batteries I am using at 700 mAh, because I am also running a Basic
>stamp and four servo motors.
Doesn't make a lot of sense as written, do you mean that your batteries don't stay charged when your robot is turned off ("holding a charge") or that is
doesn't run long enough on a full charge ("insufficient energy") if it is the former then NiMh batteries will be worse, if it is the latter then going to a battery
with a higher mAHr rating will give you more duration at equal current draw.
A big caveat is that charging NiCds is done differently than charging NiMh batteries, thus a charger that is designed for NiCd batteries won't work well on
a NiMh battery and a NiMh charger will destroy a NiCd battery. (NiMh charges at a faster rate generally)
--Chuck
5/17/01 1:34:28 AM, Damian <damian_trujillo@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hello folks,
>
> I want to implement 8 Nimh (nickel metal hydride) batteries instead of
> Nicads on my robot. I have read that these are lighter, have more
> capacity and don't retain charge memory. The batteries I am looking at
> are 1200 mAh. Currently it has been hard to keep a charge in the Nicad
> batteries I am using at 700 mAh, because I am also running a Basic
> stamp and four servo motors. Is this too high of a current for any
> sensors or processors? Is there any problems that anyone has found with
> using nimh's with the handy board. I am also wondering if it would be
> possible to use the handy board's serial interface/charger unit to
> recharge these Nimh batteries. Am I stuck with relying on a store bought
> charger or can I make some sort of adapter to charge the Nimh's, if the
> case is that I cant use the HB's own charger.
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Damian
>
>
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