[Milsurplus] [Glowbugs] SLA battry lingevitiy

[Glen Zook]

A while back, I obtained a Radiola AR-812 superheterodyne receiver made in 1924.  This receiver is unique in that it is basically a fully portable receiver with a built-in loop antenna and the batteries are contained within the receiver cabinet.  The only external thing needed is a speaker.  In fact, the receiver was sold as a portable receiver even though it is almost 3-feet long, about 10-inches high, and 10-inches deep.  There is a "suitcase" type of handle on the top of the receiver to allow it to be "easily" carried.


In this receiver was a "C" battery (4.5-volts) that had a code date of 1927.  A friend of mine suggested checking the battery even though it was about 60-years old.  Well, that 4.5-volt battery was still putting out almost 3.5-volts!

 Glen, K9STH 
Website: http://k9sth.net

      From: Hubert Miller <kargo_cult at msn.com>
 To: "tetrode at googlegroups.com" <tetrode at googlegroups.com>; "milsurplus at mailman.qth.net" <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net>; "armyradios at yahoogroups.com" <armyradios at yahoogroups.com> 
 Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2016 11:24 PM
 Subject: [Glowbugs] SLA battry lingevitiy
   
#yiv5028237774 blockquote.yiv5028237774cite {margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px;padding-left:10px;padding-right:0px;border-left:1px solid #cccccc;}#yiv5028237774 blockquote.yiv5028237774cite2 {margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px;padding-left:10px;padding-right:0px;border-left:1px solid #cccccc;margin-top:3px;padding-top:0px;}#yiv5028237774 .yiv5028237774plain pre, #yiv5028237774 .yiv5028237774plain tt {font-family:monospace;font-size:100%;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;}#yiv5028237774 a img {border:0px;}#yiv5028237774 body {font-family:Calibri Light;font-size:14pt;}#yiv5028237774 .yiv5028237774plain pre, #yiv5028237774 .yiv5028237774plain tt {font-size:14pt;}Not a question this time, but a remark about something i found remarkable.I think i wrote here many months back about looking for 2 volt batteries to run a German radio.Before i retired August last, i got 2 'six-packs' of bundled 2 volt cylindrical batteries, the exactly the ones i wanted,from a data equipment cabinet that was being retired. There were more there for the taking - i should have grabbedthem. Anyway i have had them in storage since then. Today i thought i'd better do something. I figured they'd be pretty run down, and i'd have to make the decision whether they were too low to recharge, or if i should put themon the charger and see if they'd hold a charge. When i got them inside here, i put a voltmeter on them and lo andbehold, 12.89 volts each. I didn't know a SLA battery would hold a strong charge that long! I was worried they'd bearound 0.8 volt and wouldn't come back to life! I have 4 more 12 volt batts in my storage and i can't wait to check them also. I love those 'retired' batteries - they have a lot of life left and the price is right!
  
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