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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
Wanted to check rechargeable batteries for my camera, But EVERY battery is good, according to the tester. Even my junk batteries in my junk drawer are good according to this piece of junk!
I bought this for the small footprint; thought it would be handy in a tool kit. Unfortunately the tester is horribly calibrated. EVERYTHING is rated as fully charged or at least in the mid-range of "Good." Batteries that just died. Discarded batteries that were sitting around. I bet if I attached it to my big toe, it would read fully charged. Returned it and purchased the Radio Shack 22-111,which works fine. Salesperson said others have complained about this one. Don't buy.
from Berkeley, CA on 6/2/2008
C'mon, this thing costs a few bucks. And it really does work. It has green for good, yellow for caution, and red for replace. Truthfully, I would not take these rating seriously. Here is how I use it:
1) cells from storage, and those serving as battery backup for clocks and such. Here, you are looking for a cell that gives little or no needle movement.
2) if you have something, like a big flashlight, that use more than one cell, and it clearly needs new batteries. Often, it is not all the cells that need replacing, but just one cell that is weak and should be replace. Now, with this thing, you can find that one weakling, replace it, and save $$$ since you are only changing one cell and not all of them.
3) rechargeables, even though exhausted, will read on the meter as GOOD. So, this thing tends to overestimate how much juice is left in a cell, so be conservative when interpreting the meter reading.
Nice and useful, reliable, but requiring some knowledge of batteries to be used correctly.
...for NiMH. It does not put a sufficient load on the battery under test. I needed something small for toting in my camera bag. It is small -- both in size and capability.
from long island new york on 2/23/2008
Hi, I just brought this product, and it works to my needs!
The price can?t get any better!
It is just a very good tester to use for all your batteries.
I would really tell a friend about this product.
I like that it does not need any batters.
I would recommend this to a friend
Tyler,
from Highland, MI on 2/20/2008
This is a great little tester; however, it doesn't test for voltage, it is plaving a load on the battery and really testing for amperage. If you test a high drain button cell, such as an 44W(357 in silver oxide) the battery will test near the low end of the scale, since these are hig-drain batteries meant to give their voltage up slowly. Test them on a digital VOM and the battery will test at full voltage.MAny alkaline will test very high, but test below rated voltage on a digital VOM. So it is a decent quick tester, but not definative with the various new battery chemistries. :(
This battery tester is heavly biased to "Good". Batteries are only Good if the indicator goes all the way to the "d" in Good. When the indicator is between the two "o", the battery is marginal. If the indicator is on the "G" in Good, the battery is clearly in need of replacement.
Salespeople in the store were aware of this problem, so I have no idea why Radio Shack continues to sell this product without having this error corrected.
I love this tester, it's the right price and it gets the job done. I use it to test my rechargables as well as to see which semi-spent batteries will match charges for my equipment. I can tell that I can still use the replace/recharge batteries in my remotes or quartz clocks if the needle still pops up in the red zone or close to the yellow. If the needle doesn't move, off to the hazardous waste dump it goes! Good for the environment not filling up the dumps with usable batteries!!
from Easthampton, MA on 9/14/2007
I've had one of these for years. It works fine for 1.5 volt batteries (i.e. AA, C, D) and 9 volt batteries ... But does not test 3 volt lithium button cells, which are pretty common and the "techinical specs" on this site don't say so (just that it tests button cells which can be 1.5 or 3v) and there is no online access to a manual.
Getting my second one. Fast and handy to use with one hand. Working in the maint. field it's a life saver, very compact for a tool belt.
Loks cute. Ease of use less than desireable. Should've bought it.
Works just fine if you know how to read it. Some battery powered items work with less power in the battery than others, so this helps me sort batteries for use in these lesser gadgets.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
Seems to test batteries better than they are.
[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
Get the more expensive one. This one tests all batteries as fully charged.