Alkaline, NiMh or Lipo?

[BareBones]

I have been mostly using AA alkaline batteries in my detectors up until recently when I switched to AA NiMh 2500 mAh batteries. I noticed that the rechargeable batteries are only 1.2v and the alkaline are 1.5v. That is not a huge difference by the cell but multiply that times 8 and you go from a 9.6v pack to a 12v pack in my Whites PI.

Now the reason I started to question this is it seems like I am finding less targets with the NiMh batteries or perhaps it could be the areas are getting more hunted out, or my imaginations running wild again, but the question begs to be answered.

Would love to hear from the engineers if the voltage makes any notable difference in the detectors performance.

If it does, I will probably switch to a 11.1v Lipo pack that would fit in the housing and would love to hear thoughts about that course of action from the folks at Whites. I just hate putting batteries in the land fill and throwing money away.

 

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[GibH]

I used nimh in my Spectrum with good results, but that was only 4 C cells. The voltage was never an issue with it. I'd have 5.6v on fresh batteries and it would drop to 4.8V fairly quick, but maintain that voltage for most of the cycle. I probably would go a different route (lipo) if I had to use 8 of them though.

 

[cstraiton]

It depends on what brand and model of detector you are using. Most of the major brand manufacturers have voltage regulators built in and it doesn't make a difference if you use rechargeables or not. Just call tech support for the brand you have just to make sure.