New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

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Guardian		Posted : Sunday, 3 March 2013 4:05:48 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 30/10/2011(UTC) Posts: 716 Location: Dunedin Thanks: 42 times Was thanked: 222 time(s) in 185 post(s)		May have been mentioned above but rechargeable 9volt batteries aren't 9 volt, just like an alkaline aa battery is 1.5v and a rechargeable is 1.2 You can buy 9.6volt rechargeable batteries I believe they are MAHA or IMEDION. I found some others on ebay that are apparently 9.6volt 300mah for US$16 (set of 2)including freight so we will see if they are the real deal as usually if the voltage is 9.6 the Mah rating is about 230/250 When it comes to rechargeable AA I reckon the Sanyo Eneloop batteries are pretty darn good, same as what I use in my camera gear.

latch		Posted : Saturday, 9 March 2013 5:32:01 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/02/2013(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: dunedin Thanks: 198 times Was thanked: 27 time(s) in 27 post(s)		tryed out some rechargable 9v 250 mah batteries today in my fisher f2 still gets the same depthsand performance,the only down side was it take 15hrs to charge both of them
		fiend hard and find all

creamer		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 9:38:22 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 19/06/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,022 Location: Bay of Islands Thanks: 2289 times Was thanked: 525 time(s) in 391 post(s)		Im using an energiser recharger with 4 panasonic AA rechargables and they work fine, gets around 20 hours worth. Takes 8.5 hours to charge. When they go flat i get about 2 minutes notice, if, then gone. I have not noticed any difference in depth when going flat or near flat. Battery recharges are unreliable and can leave you with undercharged batteries. This is probably no good for the batteries either. .
		Garrett Ace 350 Xpointer www.nzfossickers.co.nz
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Guardian		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 2:08:13 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 30/10/2011(UTC) Posts: 716 Location: Dunedin Thanks: 42 times Was thanked: 222 time(s) in 185 post(s)		9.6v 300mah cheapo batteries arrived yesterday, they are just.. ok Charger reports after supposed full discharge that they take just under 200mah. That all depends on calculations and variances (were batteries fully discharged) Charger calculates mah by output to battery x output time as this particular charger varies voltage output we will leave it up to it to figure it out. Being out by 1/3 is a lot, is it the charger or fudged mah rating - probably both. If I had an F4 or whatever using 2x9 volt batteries I would buy the Powerex 9.6V and a good charger with the amount we torture our gear it makes sense to buy a decent one. I'm already a fan of Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries and they aren't to expensive even from tricky dickies, just to try something different I think I'll try the Powerex AA batteries next time. It seems all my batteries migrate from my camera bag into kids toys, never to be seen again. I've never purchased anything from this fellow but at least you will know what to look for. http://ecobatteries.co.nz/mahainfo.html

latch		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 2:29:56 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/02/2013(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: dunedin Thanks: 198 times Was thanked: 27 time(s) in 27 post(s)		nice the 230mah matter at all,i seen some 9.0v 400mah on ebay thought they might be better
		fiend hard and find all

Guardian		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 4:17:26 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 30/10/2011(UTC) Posts: 716 Location: Dunedin Thanks: 42 times Was thanked: 222 time(s) in 185 post(s)		The downside of rechargeables is the lower voltage say for argument sake a machine takes a 4x AA @ 1.5volt = 6 volt you put in the rechargeables 4 x 1.2volt = 4.8 volt the machine cuts out at 4 volts you are relying on the mah rating to keep you up above the 4 volt for longer and to begin with you only have .8volts to spare That's my understanding of it If I put fully charged batteries into my AT GOLD it will show full battery for a very short time but will last ages on 3/4 (a good 20 hours at least) when it drops to 1/2 I swap out. Another good reason to have a good charger as batteries are never really fully discharged. So yes there must be a sweet spot between lower voltage and higher mah, I guess that depends on the device. of course higher voltage and higher mah would be even better I dunno easy fix take two sets *8^)

Shilo		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 4:51:26 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 29/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 573 Location: Kawhia Thanks: 17 times Was thanked: 285 time(s) in 185 post(s)		Originally Posted by: Guardian 9.6v 300mah cheapo batteries arrived yesterday, they are just.. ok Charger reports after supposed full discharge that they take just under 200mah. That all depends on calculations and variances (were batteries fully discharged) Charger calculates mah by output to battery x output time as this particular charger varies voltage output we will leave it up to it to figure it out. Being out by 1/3 is a lot, is it the charger or fudged mah rating - probably both. NiMH rechargeables need a few discharge cycles before they start charging to their optimum ratings. Use them for a while and you should see some improvement.
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Guardian		Posted : Sunday, 10 March 2013 8:19:19 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 30/10/2011(UTC) Posts: 716 Location: Dunedin Thanks: 42 times Was thanked: 222 time(s) in 185 post(s)		Here's hoping they have only been cycled 3 times. Still as I mentioned, I'm not to worried they will last yonks in a pro pointer.

AUcoinshooter		Posted : Sunday, 17 March 2013 2:56:31 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 9/03/2013(UTC) Posts: 8 Location: lakes entrance vic Thanks: 1 times		http://www.ebay.com.au/i...&hash=item3ccda4cee1 I have an F4 and i use ones like these they last for days and days and great depth, i find the shallow and the deep pre-decimal coins some even down to 12inches and haven't had any trouble with them in my detector. they take a while to charge but that's no problem.
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creamer		Posted : Sunday, 17 March 2013 3:15:04 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 19/06/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,022 Location: Bay of Islands Thanks: 2289 times Was thanked: 525 time(s) in 391 post(s)		Yip, a good quality charger first up is a must. And discharge the bateries properly regularly. Here I usually leave the set up in the plug ready to go for a few hours or a day then turn it on. Sure this must flatten them out a bit more. .
		Garrett Ace 350 Xpointer www.nzfossickers.co.nz
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latch		Posted : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 8:38:06 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/02/2013(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: dunedin Thanks: 198 times Was thanked: 27 time(s) in 27 post(s)		what charger are u using on the super lithiums?
		fiend hard and find all

AUcoinshooter		Posted : Tuesday, 19 March 2013 9:21:15 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 9/03/2013(UTC) Posts: 8 Location: lakes entrance vic Thanks: 1 times		using the energizer AA-AAA-9V charger, haven't had any trouble with it.
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latch		Posted : Monday, 8 April 2013 8:05:20 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 16/02/2013(UTC) Posts: 192 Location: dunedin Thanks: 198 times Was thanked: 27 time(s) in 27 post(s)		well the the 9v 400mah batteries are real good last about 5 times longer than the 250mah batteries i got,gunna try the aa eneloops soon hope they work just as good,as alkalines lasting about 4 hunts
		fiend hard and find all

sycotoad		Posted : Tuesday, 9 April 2013 12:33:15 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 9/08/2012(UTC) Posts: 569 Location: downunder Thanks: 120 times Was thanked: 126 time(s) in 97 post(s)		Originally Posted by: chrischch Has anyone else noticed any difference in the max depth of finds with different batteries? Since changing from the expensive alkalines to rechargables, I just dont seem to be getting the older pennies/silvers etc. I seem to be getting 4 to 5 inches max on target id when I used to get 5 to 6 inches. Ive never come across anything over 6 inches deep other than very large targets. I'm using the Fisher F2. So I guess my question(s) are: Whats your max depth? what batteries do you use? What detector? IMO your findings are correct - I have not long gone through getting rechargeables for my AT PRO (AA - BTY3000) & Delta (9V - BTY) only to find a similar situation to you - Only today have I gone back to alkaline s & picked up a lovely 1940 3pence - I found with the rechargables that they run down from full charge to nothing in no time flat - Also using the PP drains them rapidly as well - ME THINKS NOW I may have to follow the manufacturers advice & use alkaline s
		Makro - Nokta - deteknix - GoldFinder
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Shilo		Posted : Tuesday, 9 April 2013 9:45:29 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 29/01/2011(UTC) Posts: 573 Location: Kawhia Thanks: 17 times Was thanked: 285 time(s) in 185 post(s)		I have never noticed any difference in depth between rechargeable Nimh and Alkaline batteries with the AT Pro. Yes the Nimh rechargeables don't last as long, but I stick them on the charger between hunts anyway and since I never hunt for 20 hours in one go its not a problem. Alkaline AA's do start off at a higher voltage at 1.5v but Nimh's will stay at their 1.2v for almost the whole time, only dropping below that voltage just before they are drained. Alkalines drain at a steady rate so more then half their time will below 1.2v thus negating any advantage they have apart from the first hour or so after start up. Anyway the detector will have a voltage regulator built in which will give a clean supply to the electronics at a lower voltage then batteries rating so a higher or lower voltage wouldn't effect the operation of the detector until the electronics cut off voltage is reached. I haven't been able to discover what the AT Pro's is (& it does have a regulator) but the V3i regulates at 8v so will operate exactly the same with any voltage from 14v down to 8v. Other detectors would be the same but with different regulated voltages.
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sycotoad		Posted : Wednesday, 10 April 2013 10:23:08 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 9/08/2012(UTC) Posts: 569 Location: downunder Thanks: 120 times Was thanked: 126 time(s) in 97 post(s)		Originally Posted by: Shilo I have never noticed any difference in depth between rechargeable Nimh and Alkaline batteries with the AT Pro. Yes the Nimh rechargeables don't last as long, but I stick them on the charger between hunts anyway and since I never hunt for 20 hours in one go its not a problem. Alkaline AA's do start off at a higher voltage at 1.5v but Nimh's will stay at their 1.2v for almost the whole time, only dropping below that voltage just before they are drained. Alkalines drain at a steady rate so more then half their time will below 1.2v thus negating any advantage they have apart from the first hour or so after start up. Anyway the detector will have a voltage regulator built in which will give a clean supply to the electronics at a lower voltage then batteries rating so a higher or lower voltage wouldn't effect the operation of the detector until the electronics cut off voltage is reached. I haven't been able to discover what the AT Pro's is (& it does have a regulator) but the V3i regulates at 8v so will operate exactly the same with any voltage from 14v down to 8v. Other detectors would be the same but with different regulated voltages. thanks shilo - that helped subdue my hysteria
		Makro - Nokta - deteknix - GoldFinder
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AUcoinshooter		Posted : Thursday, 11 April 2013 10:47:32 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Dust Groups: Registered Joined: 9/03/2013(UTC) Posts: 8 Location: lakes entrance vic Thanks: 1 times		i re-charged my 9V 700mah li-ion batterys 4 weeks ago and they still haven't gone flat and i do quite a lot of detecting, i found a 4cm long piece of lead the other day on a beach and was 50cm deep battery's were about a third full, was using my F4 with mono coil.
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