Nickel Metal Hydride:

Nickel Metal Hydride cells are Great.

Since it will become unlawful to sell nickel cadmium battery packs in Europe starting in 2009, many battery cell manufacturers have already dropped their nickel cadmium lines.  So, nickel cadmium sintered positive electrode verses nickel metal hydride is now mute.  Rathbone is now phasing out the new assembly and or the rebuild / recell of all nickel cadmium battery packs.

It is my opinion, generally speaking, that nickel metal hydride cells will give you

1. 50% more run time per density

2. 50% less charge discharge cycles for the amperage sintered positive electrode nickel cadmium battery cell, (2008-now mute)

   1. Compared to Paste or Press Negative Nickel Cadmium cells

      1. Equivalent-500 Discharge Cycles

3. Cost 50% more per density

4. Cost 50% more for the cell amp hours

5. Do not hold up as well under constant high current demand situations or heavy use as sintered positive electrode nickel cadmium battery cells BUT do hold up better than Lithium Ion. (Now mute for the same reasons as # 2.)

6. August 2007:  Now the Best  "Available" Nickel Cadmium battery cell is 500 Discharge Cycles.  We do not use battery cells manufactured in Chinese factories under Chinese management.
7. Panasonic and Sanyo Press Negative Nickel Cadmium Cells: 500 Charge Discharge Cycles.
8. Panasonic and Sanyo Foam Press Negative Nickel Metal Hydride cells: 500 Charge Discharge Cycles.
9. Panasonic and Sanyo Lithium Ion Cells: 500 Charge Discharge Cycles.
   1. A big reason we now manufacture Lithium Ion Broadcast Batteries.  BUT, NO CHINESE BATTERY CELLS!

As for broadcast or heavy use devices you should simply compare the comparable manufacturers lithium ion, nickel metal hydride, and nickel cadmium battery cell specifications sheets as well as your cost.

Conversion to Nickel Metal Hydride from Nickel Cadmium: (With the Proper analyzer It Is possible for broadcast and film market battery packs)

Some companies encourage you to convert your nickel cadmium battery pack to nickel metal hydride.  To name only a couple of the many reasons that we absolutely will not do this conversion in most markets is because of a lack of proper chargers in those markets:

1. Nickel cadmium: To get the best performance from your nickel cadmium cells they should be charged with a primary charge routine of Negative Delta V backed up by voltage and then time cut-offs.

2. Nickel Metal Hydride: To get the best performance from your nickel metal hydride cells they should be charged using charge technique of DT/dt.

3. It is possible to charge a nickel metal hydride cell on a nickel cadmium charger that is designed to use a negative delta V charge circuit.  BUT, you will NOT get the proper performance from your nickel metal hydride cells. 

4. The consideration for the different circuitry in the battery packs themselves.

5. With the use of a Cadex or PAG analyzer we will convert your Ni-CD, 60WH Anton Bauer ProPac batteries to 150WH Ni-MH batteries but they will never again work on your Anton Bauer chargers.

6. If adaptable to these chargers we can convert nickel cadmium battery packs from other markets to nickel metal hydride.