David Kinsell wrote:
Happy?? With a fresh battery, they work for a while, but die after only
part of the rated capacity is used up. Understanding such a complex
issue is way beyond the comprehension of most glider pilots, apparently.

Dave,

I prefer 14 volt batteries and used them for many years. But I've used
12 volts in my ASW 24 for nearly 14 years with no problems. Currently
(no pun intended), I'm running a Dittel radio, LNAV, GPS-NAV, and
Compaq Aero 1550 with a common 7 amp-hour sealed lead-acid cell. If I
add a transponder, I'll be looking to add a battery but until then I'm
OK. The second battery in the vertical fin (i.e., what Mike is seeking)
is a backup that I've only used a few times when my primary battery was
failing (as in: I had to buy a new one). I've had experts tell me
(somewhat more politely) that 14 volts doesn't really buy me much
unless I increase the amp-hour capacity of the battery pack. My
response was always that radio transmitters start to perform badly
below about 11 volts even if everything else works OK down to, say, 9v,
so 14 volts gives me a little more transmit time (and I think that's
what your point is). The battery box in my '24 holds a 12v cell nicely,
however, so that's what I use. I saw a slightly taller 12v battery with
significantly more amp-hours recently that would also fit but haven't
heard whether it's real or just marketing hype. [Larry, were you going
to report on the PowerSonic PSH-12100 10.5 AH battery?]

Speaking of preferences, so is top (or bottom) posting. I agree that
bottom posting (i.e., adding one's response after the quoted text from
the previous author's posting rather than before) is a recommended
convention. But top posting isn't on my personal list of "most annoying
things on the Usenet." A lot of folks (including me) use Google Groups
to read newsgroups so top posting works fine: quoted text is [mostly]
suppressed anyway so each posting follows the previous one and
preserves the order in which people read them. If I'm responding
point-by-point, I'll bottom post or interleave quoted text with
responses but it's situational. And strictly a preference, not a
requirement.

Perhaps at the top of my own list of most annoying things on the Usenet
is people who insult or belittle readers in an attempt to advance their
own views. I'm being harsh on you because you've made a number of
excellent contributions to this group in the past. Apparently this
thread hit a couple of sensitive points. If I may offer a suggestion,
it's that readers still tend to weigh the merits of what one says with
less regard for the vehemence with which it's expressed.

So in an agitated exchange, the message survives. What suffers is one's
reputation for civility. I'd be unhappy to see this occur to any of the
valued and knowledgeable contributors to this group.

Chip Bearden