Self Charging Batteries!

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  • Ryan Gallagher
    Film God
    • Nov 2022
    • 2855
    • Austin, Texas, USA

    #16
    The standards "used" to be fresh AA batteries right before showtime... but those holding onto that standard are doing so out of stubborness mostly. With a bit of brand/cell experimentation you can find rechargeable that will work well (perhaps just not as long) in most AA wireless setups. The trick is knowing what you are putting in it. It works best for permanent house gear where you can keep track of rechargeable cells and replace them on a schedule (or retire them to less critical uses). A big tradeshow with a whack ton of rental gear is still likely to use alkaline if possible.

    However there is a new trend where brands are offering their own packs and bank chargers... and really pushing people to adopting those. Some of those are seemingly intentionally less compatible with off the shelf rechargeables, or have piss poor lifetime with them... perhaps they are expecting Lithium levels of voltage for longer etc, but they still work reasonably well with alkaline chemistry... so we are kinda back to square 1 unless you spring for the kit of batteries and convenient rack mount charger, or perhaps something like these would be an interesting attempt, despite the lower rated capacity.

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    • Carsten Kurz
      Film God
      • Jan 2020
      • 1481
      • Germany

      #17
      Well, the good thing about using rechargeables for mobile transmitters is that is a no-brainer to put in a set of freshly charged cells every time you use them.
      I have a multi-cell charger at the cinema that's always populated with a set of AAs and AAAs on trickle mode for that purpose.

      That said, there may be locations where they are used daily and that pattern may not be really viable.

      I also have a good battery tester on site, so I can always select both alkalines as well as rechargeables for reuse, recharge or disposal.

      BTW - Big Clive DID a teardown of a 9V version a few years ago. There's a bit more space in a 9V battery, but, aside from the fact that one would use an up-, the other a down-converter DC/DC, it's the same technology, just in a smaller space.




      And here's a teardown of an AA version:

      Last edited by Carsten Kurz; 01-17-2026, 11:54 AM.

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