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Re: Battery Testers

To: "E. John Puckett" <ejpuckett@centurytel.net>
Subject: Re: Battery Testers
From: Doug Braun <doug@dougbraun.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:34:45 -0800 (PST)
Here is an excerpt from that RS Web page:

###################################################
  Customer reviews

  Showing most recent reviews

  Inconsistently reads brand new batteries alternately
as '?' or 'Replace', never as 'Good'. Unfortunately,
this unreliable performance makes the easy-to-use
device completely pointless. 
#####################################################


I have an old, even cheaper battery tester from
RS lying around somewhere.  It never met a battery
it didn't like.


To test alkaline batteries, I just measure the
open-circuit voltage.  If it's 1.3 or less, I toss
them.  For a high-current application like a
flashlight, maybe 1.4 volts is the cutoff.
The AAs are so cheap at Sam's Club that it's
not worth agonizing over the last 10% of their
capacity.

BTW, why does anyone have to use a battery tester
to test the batteries for a flashlight?  Just turn
the light on-  if it's too dim for your taste,
put in new batteries.

I think the idea of a really accurate battery tester
is basically illogical.  No tester can tell you
exactly
how long a particular battery will last in YOUR
application.  Testers will always have a big yellow
zone in the center of the scale that means "pretty
much sort of more or less OK"...

Doug

--- "E. John Puckett" <ejpuckett@centurytel.net>
wrote:

> 
> I have for many years, liked building my own
> projects, but sometimes it 
> just isn't practical.  Here is a tester form Radio
> shack that will test 
> D, C, AA, AAA, N, and 9 volt types and sells for
> $10.99.  I have one and 
> it works great.
>
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103166&cp=&kw=battery+tester&parentPage=search




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