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Subject: Re: I have two that have solar panel or can be hand cranked.. Author: Xpltivdletd [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 19:56:19 01/25/05 Tue In reply to: Kathyrn 's message, "I have two that have solar panel or can be hand cranked.." on 04:37:55 01/18/05 Tue We have one of those, but it has no provision for a backup battery. That means the little NiCad battery inside is all there is, and in our experience that isn't much. NiCad is a poor choice because of the memory-effect. Have not had enough semester-hours of Chemistry to 'splain how that works but I know from experience it's real. NiCads must be fully discharged through a resistive load each time before recharging. Recharge them when they're at about half, they'll play dead about then--after that. In our hand-cranked radio it works out to cranking I A W instructions for about 2x to 3x as long as the critter will play, and there is no simple access to the NiCads to try to cure them or to replace them. The little solar panel (built into the handle) only works at high noon--sometimes. Kindly understand I'm not knocking the *concept* of such a radio. But, it has to work, to justify its weight in a bug-out kit. We will only consider another when the internal battery is one of those newer-tech solid-state types that isn't offended by recharging at any point in its charge-cycle (as modern cell-phone batteries work). That'd be Nickel-Metal-hydride or some more recent tech. I'm learning also that not all solar-cells are created equal, nor do the least-expensive ones last forever. If you test your solar-powered radio frequently you'll notice a decline in performance if it's about to let you down. OTOH if your radio still performs as-advertised I'm happy for you. We may have just gotten a lemon. But (from an old {ghasp} "survivalist"), if the availability of batteries for a conventional portable radio becomes an issue, chances are you'll be too busy to listen to that radio or it might be unwise, anyway. Batteries keep better these days anyway, and loss of utilities tends to be temporary (how can they bill you for juice you can prove you have not received :^D). Keep at least one more change of batteries than you think you'll need, and mark the date of purchase right on the package with a permanent felt-tip so you use the 'oldest' first. And when you stumble across a little battery-powered radio that seems to run about half an eternity on the 'old' battery you pulled from a smoke-detector to replace it with new--treat that critter well. I have a little AM-only like that, I've owned it since about '82 and it is *not* for sale. RKBA! Best regards to all. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]