Scott Dorsey wrote:
I just don't trust any rechargeables enough to use them for critical work.

Interesting. I'm sort of the opposite.

I guess my main problem is that I know there is enough juice in
an alkaline to use it more than once. But, because it's such a
pain to track how much they have been used (I guess I could
individually number the batteries and keep a log book...), I don't
trust them unless they're brand new.

I guess if I you have lots of money, you can just use an alkaline
once and then throw it away (or give it away), even if the one
time you use it is just for 30 minutes. But that just seems
really wasteful and expensive to me.

On the other hand, with today's improved rechargeable technology,
if I give someone a wireless mic and they use it for only 30
minutes, I can drop that battery in the charger and it will
quickly charge back up to 100%. In the old days, we had NiCd
batteries and they had "memory", so you had to discharge them all
the way or risk shortening their life. You don't have to do that
anymore with NiMH batteries. Also, in the old days, chargers were
dumb and based on timers, so if you put a partially-discharged
battery in there, it would charge it like it was fully drained
and reduce its life. But modern chargers sense voltage and
temperature changes and and can just stop when the battery is
actually charged. So there is no problem putting a battery in
when it has only discharged by, say, 25%.

Basically, when I'm putting a battery in a mic, if I am choosing
between using a NiMH that might've been used 50 times before but
has been freshly charged to 100% vs. using an Alkaline that has
been used "a little", supposedly, and *should* have 50+% of its
charge left but may only have 25%, then I am more comfortable
choosing the NiMH.

Also, I like rechargeables because they free you up to replace the
batteries as often as you wish. If you have two or three shows
in a row, or a long show with an intermission, you can switch
everybody to a fresh(-ly charged) battery between every show if
you feel like it.

Now if there were a solution to the "hey, this battery is dead,
I think I'll throw it out" problem. They should come up with
an internationally recognized symbol (like the slow-moving
vehicle triangle) that says "this battery is rechargeable --
do not put it in the trash". I guess I could label them myself,
but I can't write that small with a Sharpie...

- Logan