AA Batteries

"Michael C"

** This gives you 6 NiMH cells, 1 hour fast charging and mains of car charging options:

Very good deal.

........ Phil

Just be aware the batteries don't become too discharged. For example leaving the torch on and forgetting to switch it off, this particular Eveready charger won't recharge the cells. The charge light for the cell under charge will simply sit there and flash and NOT recharge the cell.

Opinion is based on personal experience with this particular charger.

The only option to "resurrect" the cells that have been overly discharged is to charge them in a charger that doesn't "think" the cell is damaged or over discharged.

If you ensure you recharge the cells before the terminal voltage gets too low, the said Eveready charger works quite well. Unfortunately I don't know of any torch that automatically switches off before the batteries are exhausted.

Cheers, Alan

Much cheaper on eBay:

Dave.

"David L. Jerkoff "

** No it is not.

The $8 difference is not worth the risks associated of dealing with a dodgy eBay dealer.

....... Phil

Ah, they are charging a fortune for the "bonus" batteries then, that's the one I looked at as it was the product number in your original link (S4423P):

$95

not the $70 S4423 you posted this time.

Not everyone is out to get you Phil. Feedback of 50 is pretty good, hardly a dodgy eBay seller, and it's delivered to your door.

Dave.

(S4423P):

------------ If you are concerned about the ebay seller - pay with paypal on your CREDIT CARD. if the item doesnt come, contact the card company and they will credit you, after checking your claim

I had this happen about 6 months back when buying a development kit (that never arrived) from a Canadian ebayer, had no problems getting reimbursed from the card company. Paying by bank deposit you are probably stuffed as to compensation for non-delivery etc.

Paypal/ebay offer some form of customer protection in some circumstances, but have never used it so cant say how good or bad it is.

Have bought in excess of 200 items through ebay in the past few years, this is the only problem I have had to date. The savings over stores (particularly with electronic components) are often substantial.

"kreed"

** That is only ONE of many issues with back yard operators purporting to sell new goods on eBay.

The BIG Q concerns the origin and provenance of the goods ............

Are they from reject batches, old and defective stock sold at auction or maybe goods stolen from shops or warehouses ??

Are they the genuine brand as advertised - or as is sometimes the case a highly inferior clone or counterfeit of the original ?

Do they meet compulsory electrical safety and EMI regulations ?

What if any warranty is available ??

The list is endless.

....... Phil

Thanks for the tip Phil, that looks pretty cool as the incar option would be a bonus. Do you know though if these batteries outperform others or is there little difference between various brands? I though it was possible to get

3000mAh batteries?

Regards, Michael

"Michael C"

** They do exist, but are not easy to find and may well suffer serious drawbacks compared to the more common 2 & 2.5 Ah types - ie they are not compatible with 1 hr fast charging.

Engineering is all about making trade offs and what makes the best trade off for each particular application.

BTW

You may find good deals on NiMH cell / charger combos at Woollies and Coles supermarkets and places like K-Mart too.

....... Phil

"Alan Rutlidge" leaving the torch on and forgetting to switch it off, this particular

I've had this problem before and had to put the batteries in a charger I no longer use just the get it going. The reason I don't use that charger is it doesn't switch off and you have to remember to take the batteries out yourself. But the one I have that switches itself off doesn't charge dead flat batteries either.

I have seen the same ones (energised) at coles, I check the price next time I'm there. The other thing I didn't think of was converting it to LED, something I should investigate.

Michael

That was meant to be energizer, not energised. :-)

Michael

FWIW, I've found that the Duracell 2650mAH NiMH AA cells they flog at Woolies and Coles are very good. Their rate of self discharge seems to be lower than the Energizer 2500mAH ones, and they cost the same. I've seen chargers for them around the place but didn't take much notice. They might have been the kind which take ~15 hours to charge them.

Bob

One of the magazines available in the UK recently published plans to convert a diving torch to LEDs, I think it may have been Elektor - try a search on their website, if not it could have been Everyday Practical Electronics (EPE).

"Phil Allison"

I agree! I made the mistake of buying some Lithium batteries from an eBay seller. Good feedback & all. About half the price of the same batteries available here. Same 'quality' brand just a lot cheaper. Over half of them were no good. Very boring indeed. Probably a reject batch sold off cheap. NEVER AGAIN!

Angelo Sartore

Melbourne AUSTRALIA

ADOPT, ADAPT, INVENT, DESTROY !

Lithium batteries have a shelf life, especially the rechargeables. I often laugh at the casual user who gets conned into buying a spare Lithium Ion battery for their mobile phone only to discover that by the time they have exhausted the first battery's rechargeability the second (spare) is half dead.

Cheers, Alan

That's exactly the reason I've avoided Ebay and bought from normal outlets. If you get something from DSE which is defective, you just take it back and the drones will replace it on the spot. One of my mates bought a used digital camera for me on Ebay. When I got it, it was just the camera with none of its accessories (e.g. USB cable), not even its soft case, and it was full of rock concert photos. Almost like the seller grabbed it while the owner wasn't looking then sold it. OK, maybe I'm cynical ...

Bob

Sounds pretty right to me Bob. Lots of stolen stuff ends up on Ebay. Pointless taking it to the pawn shops as they have to list all pawned items with the police and then keep stuff for a couple of weeks before they can sell it. Too much chance the thief will get nabbed.

Cheers, Alan

Mate, Dick Smith has in their catalogue 256mb pc 133 sdram for $136 I just purchased the same on ebay for $8 It is out of another computer but is working just fine. How could you knock that??