irq Key Veteran Location: San Diego, CA
| There was a really good article in QST a few months ago, comparing all the different kinds of battery packs, NiCd, NiMH, lead acid, gell cells, etc. The article said that NiMH batteries will loose their power faster than NiCds will, from just sitting around. It also said that NiMH batteries do have a small amount of memory, but not as much as NiCd's. Also, NiCd batteries can usually handle more charge/discharge cycles than NiMH's do.
So it gets down to two advantages of NiMH over NiCd: less memory and more capacity in the same space. For example, I have a 4500mah 4.8v NiMH pack that weighs less than my older 1800mah NiCd pack. Its a little bit bigger, but actually weighs a tiny bit less. To me, the higher capacity available makes it all worth it. |