I'm currently repairing a 20 year old circuit board, it uses a PCB-mounting 3.6v 50 mAh rechargeable NiCad battery - trouble is I can't find a modern NiCad equivalent. Is there any technical reason (recharge rates, etc) why I couldn't use a 3.6v PCB mounting rechargeable NiMH instead?
The battery I am thinking of using instead is this one:
http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=279341&_requestid=263809
Thanks.
It's not just the recharge rate. Not knowing the specifications of the equipment in question, I can't say for sure that the regulating circuitry is or is not compatible. In a best case scenario, you can replace the entire circuit and swap the regulator as well as the IC that reports battery state, and not just the battery.
If you're lucky, you've got a dual-purpose regulator that detects and properly charges both battery types. Otherwise, you're looking at a possible early failure for your replacement battery. Hope that saves you some trouble.
Thanks very much for the info and advice. :)