Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill, who writes:
Maybe you already know this, but I only recently discovered the Tecsun PL-880 rechargeable battery is available on Amazon for $9.99 and can qualify for Prime free shipping. I bought one and it seems to work great. There are other battery models on Amazon that may work, but many had comments about inconsistent quality, various countries of origin and even various sizes! I decided to go with this one branded as Tecsun to play it safe and am happy. Just an FYI to your readers.
Thanks, Bill! I have two PL-880 batteries and they continue to do a fine job running the PL-880. They are over two years old now (hard to believe–!), so I’ll keep Amazon in mind. Note that Universal Radio also has the replacement battery for $9.95 (though no free shipping).
Maybe we should point this out to universal radio.
I bought a tactical flashlite thats rechargeable.opened my lite up n uses same battery as my pl 880.i bet we see more uses for these batterys in the future
This button top Panasonic 18650 may be an interesting alternative. Rated capacity is 2900 mAh. Higher capacity than that is available if a flat top will fit the Tecsun. Protected Li-ions are available but they include a safety IC that may interfere with radios. The newer generation IMR and hybrid Li-ions are safe without protection ICs.
http://www.rtdvapor.com/panasonic-high-drain-ncr18650pd-hybrid-2900mah-button-top/
Myself, I would never use Li-ion cells salvaged from laptops. The chemistry and type is often unknown to the user. Laptop batteries often rely on protection circuits built into the battery but outside of the cells. Remember the burning laptop batteries several years ago?
Just open the batt pack of a portable PC, it is full of these batteries, one of them will do!