for those that use NiMH batteries

[wabi]

Reading CF's post about his cams and thought I would share what I found in batteries this year.

I use a Bushnell trophy cam (8 AA batteries) that is very gentle on batteries. I also use NiMH rechargable batteries that are not great at holding a charge even when in storage. I would charge & replace 4 of the 8 batteries every couple of weeks. (the cam will actually work with only 4 batteries in it telling me it probably uses 4 in series to get 6V and the 2 groups of 4 in parallel to get longer life)
When I put 4 new (recharged) batteries in the "power meter" would usually indicate 2 of 3 "bars" on the power scale. Within 2 days it would be 1 "bar" of power, and remain there until I replaced 4 batteries again. Since the NiMH batteries are only 1.3 or 1.2V this lack of full power is understandable.

Anyway, I saw some new "hybrid" NiMH batteries are now on the market. They are supposed to hold a charge for up to a year in storage and come pre-charged. I shopped around and found some "Duracell Pre-Charged" on eBay, so I tried a couple packs of 4 ea.
Went ahead and charged them when I got them and put all 8 in the camera. When I put them in they gave the usual 2 "bars" on the power meter, but over 2 weeks later when I pulled the cam (with over 400 pics!) the power was still at 2 "bars!!!!!!!!!!!

For those that use NiMH batteries - they are called hybrid and come pre-charged.

[trailcamguy]

Thanks for the heads up. I use Eneloop rechargeables in all my cams and have been pretty happy with those too.

[crazyfarmer]

i bought some and used on my handheld radio while hunting(takes 9 batteries).. It held the charge very well! Longer than the old style rechargeables!

i still just stick to the plain rayovac batteries on the trophy cam and cuddebacks.. cant beat the price vs performance!

[huntone]

I don't mess with rechargeables in the Trophy cams. Batteries last, and last, and last a long time. I've never had them go dead, because I change them
ahead of time, since I may not return for a month. I've had well over a thousand of pics sometimes.
However, I may start using rechargeables in the Cuddleback, old password protected model.

[bob1961]

i use nimh batteries in my R/C trucks....nimh batteries should not be stored fully charged....in fact after i use them i leave them in bout a 25% charged state or used up, but not fully dead....i also cycle them bout once a month with my charger with a charge/discharge cycle to keep cells from dying from inactivity....other words charge them as i would need to use them, then my battery charger will discharge them in a cycle, i can even cycle them as many times as i think i need to with the charger too....nimh batt's will lose juice if stored fully charged over a month or so....nimh batteries work best if power charged before use at a high amp rating....my 1500 Mah batteries shouldn't be charged over 1.5 amp's repetively, but juiced at 2.0 amp's on a full charge just before i need to use them boost performance big time....i useily use my crawlers and race truck once a week during spring to fall any way so keeping them charged for a week or two wont hurt them....i hope this helped with some info on nimh batteries ...........bob

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