A quick guide to rechargeable batteries

There are three main types of rechargeable batteriesNi-Cd ... Nickel CadmiumNi-Mh....Nickel Metal HydrideLi-iOn.....Lithium IonA rechargeable battery is measured by its charging capacity, which is measures in mAh (Milli amp hours)The bigger the number, the higher the capacity of the batteryIE a 1700mAh battery will power an item for 10x longer than a 170mAh battery, but the higher power battery will take longer to charge.The different battery technologies affect the performance of the batteriesNiCd is now the older technology, these batteries arefairly cheap because they suffer "memory" problems.For instance if you charged a NiCd to full, then only used 50% of its capacity, and charged it again, then did the same over and over again, eventually the battery will think its only 50% of its original capacity.The golden rule withNiCds is to COMPLETLY dishcarge them every time before charging them again, that way they will always be at their best performamce.NiCd can be "cycled" around 1000 times, or charged once a day for around 3 years before they die.NiCd