I just found out about these rechargable 1.6 volt Nickel Zinc AA batteries from PowerGenix. http://www.powergenix.com/?q=products
The charger and batteries are available from Amazon.com Has anyone tried these out in a KX1? Seriously thinking about giving them a try. K8QI |
A look at wikipedia says the volumetric energy density of NiZn batteries is lower than NiMH batteries. This was confirmed at a web site for strobe users. They are more like NiCd batteries in this respect. You MUST use a specifically designed charger. No using what ever is available.
Wikipedia says NiZn batteries have an open circuit voltage of 1.8 volts and a nominal voltage of 1.65 volts. The numbers for NiMH batteries are nominal, 1.4-1.45 volts and ten percent discharge to 80 percent discharge of 1.25 volts. My question is, how many NiMH batteries can you put in series before you get in trouble running a K3 or such. It looks like ten NiMH in series is going to be OK. Do you design with the nominal, no load voltage in mind? How many NiZn batteries could you put in series and not worry? Mark, NØOKS ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
Mark,
The discussion is about the KX1, and not a battery powered K2 or K3. You want higher terminal voltage cells in the KX1 internal battery pack because there is space for only 6 batteries. 6 times 1.25 volts is only 7.5 volts while 6 times 1.65 volts is 9.9 volts - a significant difference. That is why the higher voltage Lithium (non-rechargable) batteries work so well in the KX1. Yes, if using an external battery pack, 10 NiMH batteries is desirable, 11 would be usable too. 73, Don W3FPR On 10/3/2011 9:43 PM, Mark Kachel wrote: > A look at wikipedia says the volumetric energy density of NiZn batteries is lower than NiMH batteries. This was confirmed at a web site for strobe users. They are more like NiCd batteries in this respect. You MUST use a specifically designed charger. No using what ever is available. > > Wikipedia says NiZn batteries have an open circuit voltage of 1.8 volts and a nominal voltage of 1.65 volts. The numbers for NiMH batteries are nominal, 1.4-1.45 volts and ten percent discharge to 80 percent discharge of 1.25 volts. > > My question is, how many NiMH batteries can you put in series before you get in trouble running a K3 or such. It looks like ten NiMH in series is going to be OK. Do you design with the nominal, no load voltage in mind? How many NiZn batteries could you put in series and not worry? > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
I've used the NiZn cells in the KX1 battery pack, and they do provide better
power output. My biggest problem with them is with the charging options. Its hard to determine the state of charge of a given cell just by measuring its open cell voltage, and the charger doesn't seem to want to "top off" cells that aren't nearly depleted. This makes them more difficult to use in my opinion. I've gone to using a couple of 6.6v LiFePO4 700 mAh packs wired in series. They fit into the KX1 just fine and provide ample power output for the period of time I will usually spend using the KX1 portable. The disadvantage of these are the lower total capacity of course, and the need for a balance charger and proper connectors to best charge them up. Chip AE5KA ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[hidden email] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html |
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