Hi Jayne,

I am no expert, but some chargers for Nicad and NiMh cells turn on the "charged light " - which may be green color, when the battery voltage exceeds a certain threshold. These chargers do not measure the amount of charge that has been delivered to the battery pack.? Cells within a battery pack experience higher internal resistances with age and sitting on a vendors shelf before sold, thus preventing the battery from delivering the required current required for long time use or transmitting where the battery demands are the highest.??

In the radio receive mode, the current drawn is fairly small.? After the battery has been removed from the charger, one may see a high battery voltage if measured with most volt ohm meters.? This is due to the high resistance a VOM (and the internal radio voltage meter) presents to the battery pack. But this may not tell the whole story.

About the first items in a radio besides the main battery that has been sitting unused to "go" are the electrolytic capacitors.? Most dry up with age.? Next might be the memory batteries.?

I'm still operating radios (made with discrete components) that were made in the 80's & 90's.? They are simple to use and do not need a "cheat sheet" to program or operate.

Just my 2 cents worth.? 3 cents now with inflation.

--jeff

wb7aht