Battery Question DX Answer Needed (Again)

[Steve Green NEPA]

I remember posing this inquiry before -- years ago -- and remember getting some decision along the lines of 4-out-of-5 DXers. The answers were largely, 'No'.
But see, just recently I acquired the first operating cassette player I've been looking for quite the while. It takes four C-cells and can use wall current.
So I ask you folks once more (blush) : Does usage of the player/recorder while plugged in the socket charge the batteries? Or does it help ?
Tia,
Senor Moment

 

[Mikey Radio]

I remember posing this inquiry before -- years ago -- and remember getting some decision along the lines of 4-out-of-5 DXers. The answers were largely, 'No'.
But see, just recently I acquired the first operating cassette player I've been looking for quite the while. It takes four C-cells and can use wall current.
So I ask you folks once more (blush) : Does usage of the player/recorder while plugged in the socket charge the batteries? Or does it help ?
Tia,
Senor Moment

It's been decades since I've owned that kind of equipment, but in my past experience I usually found that:

- In cases where your device gets 110V in from the power cable, then it can usually be powered either by that 110V power cable or by the batteries, but if you've installed rechargeable batteries, they won't charge when it's plugged in.
- For items that have a "wall wart" external power supply that plugs into the wall socket, those devices will generally run off the wall-wart power supply or batteries, and if you have rechargable batteries installed, they'll also charge while the wall wart is connected.

Obviously this isn't always the case and you should try and find the manual for your particular equipment - you may be able to find one online if you've lost the original, and it should tell you for sure.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I remember posing this inquiry before -- years ago -- and remember getting some decision along the lines of 4-out-of-5 DXers. The answers were largely, 'No'.
But see, just recently I acquired the first operating cassette player I've been looking for quite the while. It takes four C-cells and can use wall current.
So I ask you folks once more (blush) : Does usage of the player/recorder while plugged in the socket charge the batteries? Or does it help ?
Tia,
Senor Moment

Most likely not, unless there's some indication on the device that it supports rechargable batteries. Sometimes there is a switch to explicitly select between AC and battery power. Other times, the device detects that AC power has been applied and will switch to that. The unit will not run on AC and battery power at the same time - it will be either one or the other.

Since you mentioned a cassette player, it's likely that, if it supported rechargable batteries, that those would be nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries, which individually have lower voltage output than a comparable alkaline or carbon-zinc cell - which would not be rechargable. So the unit would have to be able to operate at that level, e.g. for 4 1.5-volt nonrechargable cells, the equivalent NiCad output would be 5 volts (1.25 volts each) rather than 6.

A few devices might even have had dedicated rechargable battery packs that could be substituted for individual cells. As an example, I still have a very beaten-up Superscope C-105 that I used as a radio reporter. It can run either on 4 C cells or a special battery pack that fits into the battery compartment. It also runs on AC and will recharge the battery pack if it's present...but not standard C cells.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Thanks, Folks!
Much appreciated. Most trenchant AM DX here recently, what there has been of it, is off battery radios and attempts at taping IDs and errata into a distant Audacity across the room or a plugged-in cassette player. Batteries are always quieter but can be $$$ ; hence the question.
Electric tape recorders and cassette units and microphone proximity always did tend to put some disassociated noise onto what I was recording.
73 ' s !