=  NOW 40 WPM  =  
AND THE JAWS CLOSE TIGHTER TO STRIP 26 OR 28 AWG WIRE.  MOVE THE
SCREW TOWARD THE TIP FOR LARGER WIRE.  PROPERLY ADJUSTED, THE SCREW
ALLOWS STRIPPING OF MOST COMMON WIRE SIZES WITHOUT NICKING THE
CONDUCTOR.  WITH PRACTICE, THOUGH, YOU CAN OFTEN APPLY THE RIGHT
PRESSURE TO SAFELY CUT INSULATION WITHOUT ADJUSTING THE SCREW.  MORE
EXPENSIVE VERSIONS OF THIS BASIC TOOL INCORPORATE A CIRCULAR DISK
WITH AN OFFSET TO ADJUST THE JAWS FOR VARIOUS WIRE SIZES.  I FOUND
THAT FO HOUR AND TEST CURRENT DISCHARGE RATES FOR MY SPECIFIC
BATTERIES AND APPLICATION.  ONCE YOU PRESS START, THE CBA V SOFTWARE
WILL CHECK THE BATTERY AND BEGIN THE TEST.  WHEN THE LIPO TEST WAS
COMPLETE, I EVALUATED THE TWO LEAD ACID BATTERIES.  I OVERLAID THE
THREE GRAPHS BECAUSE THESE BATTERIES WOULD ALL BE USED IN MY G90 20
W APPLICATION.  AS I SUSPECTED, THE AMP HOUR CAPACITIES OF ALL THREE
BATTERIES HAD DROPPED OFF DUE TO THEIR AGE AND USE.  THE LIPO
BATTERY HAD ABOUT 3R8 AH OF CAPACITY, AND THE LEAD ACID BATTERIES
HAD ABOUT 3 AH.  THIS IS NOT TOO BAD, AS IT MEANS I CAN GET ABOUT 3
HOURS OF USE WITH EACH BATTERY WHEN USING MY G90.  FIGURE 4 SHOWS
THE RESULTS PLOTTED VERSUS MINUTES AT THE 1,260 MA AVERAGE CURRENT.
NEXT, I TESTED THE 10 CELL NIMH BATTERY PACK WITH THE CBA V AT THE
170 MA AVERAGE CURRENT EXPECTED FOR MY QCX MINI TRANSCEIVER.  THESE
BATTERIES WERE PURCHASED NEW, AND CLAIMED TO HAVE 2R8 AH OF
CAPACITY.  I CHARGED THE 10 CELL AA NIMH PACK WITH MY THUNDER AC680
SMART CHARGER.  THE RESULTS WERE HORRIBLE.  I RAN THREE SEPARATE
TESTS AFTER RECHARGING THE 10 CELL BATTERY PACK.  THE FIRST TEST
SHOWED THE BATTERY PACK TO ONLY HAVE ABOUT 0R8 AH OF CAPACITY.  BUT
THIS GOT SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE WITH EACH CHARGE/ DISCHARGE CYCLE AS
YOU CAN SEE IN FIGURE 5.  I COULDNT BELIEVE THESE BATTERIES WERE
THAT BAD, AND SO I LOOKED AT THE INDIVIDUAL BATTERY VOLTAGES WHEN
CHARGED AND DISCHARGED.  I FOUND A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN THE
VOLTAGES AMONG THE BATTERIES AT BOTH LEVELS, SO I WONDERED IF THESE
BATTERIES NEED TO BE BALANCED.  I PURCHASED THE RECOMMENDED POWEROWL
AA/AAA NIMH CHARGER ABOUT 15 FROM AMAZON, WHICH CHARGES UP TO EIGHT
BATTERIES INDIVIDUALLY.  THERE IS AN LCD SCREEN THAT SHOWS THE
STATUS OF THE INDIVIDUAL BATTERIES.  THIS CHARGER USES AN EXTERNAL
USB POWER SUPPLY SOURCE, AND THE CHARGING CURRENT IS THEN DIVIDED BY
THE NUMBER OF BATTERIES THAT ARE BEING CHARGED, SO IT DOES TAKE A
WHILE TO CHARGE THE BATTERIES.  ONCE I HAD ALL 10 AA BATTERIES
CHARGED IN THIS NEW CHARGER, I PUT THE BATTERIES BACK INTO THE 10
CELL AA PACK AND RE RAN THE CBA V ANALYSIS.  AS YOU CAN SEE IN
FIGURE 6, PERFORMANCE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED TO ABOUT 2R1 AH.
THAT IS LESS THAN THE 2R8 AH CAPACITY ADVERTISED FOR THESE
BATTERIES, BUT IT IS MUCH BETTER THAN BEFORE AND SHOULD STILL GIVE
ME MORE THAN 12 HOURS OF OPERATION WITH MY QCX MINI.  WITHOUT THE
CBA V, I WOULD HAVE JUST CHARGED THE 10 CELL PACK WITH MY THUNDER
AC680 CHARGER AND BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULTS.  THE LESSON IS
THAT WHEN USED IN A MULTI BATTERY PACK, AA NIMH BATTERIES NEED TO
=  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  =  QST DE W1AW  <