possumal--Thanks for the photos and the nice explanation!! You have put some thought into your setup and I'm glad it is working for you.
You wrote earlier and said:
Quote:
Don't forget that when you use the 8 aa battery pack, you are only delivering 9.6V. Each battery is 1.2V, so 8 times 1.2V equals 9.6V. The amp in the caller is designed to work at peak efficiency with 12V.
The 8 AA batteries that I use are NiMH Energizers, and while the information stamped on the side says they are rated at 1.2V and 2500mAH, the voltage reading I get after I am done charging them and they have sat idle for about 12 hours is
11.11 volts. I don't know if mine are a rarity in getting a reading at over 11 volts or not??? I have never had the voltage meter with me while I am out calling, so I haven't taken a reading part way through a day of calling, but I'll probably take a reading when I get home from calling next time.
If folks are having a problem keeping their batteries charged, they may need to break them in properly. A fellow who had lots of experience with rechargeable batteries suggested using a dishcharge board to "condition" my batteries. He gave me the following instructions:
For the board, you will need:
5" x 10" “bread board” - blank circuit board with a bunch of holes.
Wire - 14 or 16 gauge - maybe 3 feet. Car stereo speaker wire would work perfectly - nothing heavy, you will not be drawing that many amps.
8 – single AA battery holders (if Radio Shack has them)
8 – “194” bulb holders or similar. 12 volt
8 – “194” bulbs Or similar. 12 volt
Assemble circuit board, lay out the eight AA batter holders in order. Wiring schematic is easy....
1. Basically, tie positive side of battery holder to one side of the bulb socket.
2. Tie negative side of battery holder to other side of bulb socket.
3. Screw in bulb.
4. Place battery in AA battery holder, discharge until bulb is almost out.
5. Let batteries “recover” from discharge for 20 minutes, and charge.
This process conditions the batteries to be able to receive a good charge and to provide a good, even discharge rate. Basically, you are training your batteries what to do.
I didn't set up a board, but I did set up some battery holders with 12-volt bulb holders and #194 bulbs. Here's a photo of my dishcarging setup. I made four of these discharging units.
I bought the battery holders and the 9-volt type plug in wires from Radio Shack and then went to an auto parts house and bought the bulb holders. It takes about 12 to 16 hours for each pair of batteries to get run down in these devices after I have them fully charged. I ran through this charge, discharge cycle two times with my batteries. This process is supposed to help your batteries last longer and have a bit better "staying" power. I'm not the "expert" but am only passing along what I was told.
Another suggestion I would make would be for folks who have problems with rechargeable batteries running down is to buy a cheap inverter and take your wall plug in charger along in your vehicle and plug that into the inverter and plug the charger into the FOXPRO while driving to your next stand. I'd suggest opening up the door to the battery compartment and taking the battery pack out when you are charging them though. The batteries get rather warm.