[sdiy] pulsed battery rechargers

[Lincoln Fong]

I have an old style digital camera that is very heavy on the alkaline AA
cell usage. As soon as the cell's current capacity drops below tip top level
the internal disk drive (I think) stops working though the batteries can
still be used for any other application requiring less draw and they still
read 1.5V on a meter. Consequently I have a ton of nearly new Duracell AAs.

Does anyone have experience with these 'pulsed battery chargers' that claim
to restore standard non-rechargeables? Do they work and what's the
principle? That is, why aren't they more popular?

I could probably save quite a bit as they cost about £30 to buy. Thanks.

Lincoln