On Thu, 1 Jul 1999 14:42:55 -0600, "Ron Crabtree"
<crabtree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Sorry I am electronically challenged, but I need some help. I just changed
>the control pack 2 for me motor drive 2 from Nicads to NiMH per the online
>FAQ. I used all 14 NiMH cells and it works fine. I have two questions:
>
>1. Can I use the red "ready" light for anything anymore?
>
>2. What happens if I charge the batteries for too long a period of time, say
>10 hours or so?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Ron Crabtree
>Santa Fe, NM
>
>
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Hello Ron.
IMHO the function of the red LED will remain the same - but since it
reflects the mere voltage of the battery it will stay on much longer
than before. It therefore might do a less good job as a warning sign
for almost empty batteries: When 14 (vs. 12) cells don't give enough
power to light this LED they must be almost dead flat. Of course the
liftetime of your LED (and of all components in the MD/batt.pack) will
be shorter when you use 14 cells instead of 12 - but I doubt whether
it will be a big difference.
I must admit that until now I have never hooked up more than the
recommended 12 cells. I am happy with the 15 volts from 12 cells,
which already do contain considerably more energy than the
oldfashioned originals (160mAh vs. 125mAh).
The charging of your new 14 cell battery will take exactly as much
time as the charging of the previous 10 cell batt (given that the
capacities are the same). If you have employed the state of art 160mAh
cells then charging will take a bit longer than with the previously
fitted 125mAh NiCads.
The charger is a fast one, which gives a relatively high charge
current (30mA typical). Therefore you should avoid charging longer
than 4-5 hours (110-120mAh battery) or 6 hours (160mAh batt) starting
from emptied batteries. Overcharging may damage the cells or shorten
their lifetime.
As a guideline, take the product of the charge time (hours) and the
charge current (here: 30mA. The resulting figure should match 1.1-1.3
times the cell capacity in mAh.
Of course there are _much_ better ways to charge NiCad and NiMH
batteries, prolonging the lifetime of the cells considerately - but
not with the poor Olympus charger.
Frank van Lindert
Utrecht NL.
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