rechargeable batteries

[270man]

Comments are invited on rechargeable batteries. I have two older model Motorola hand-held radios plus a newer low-end set (less than $50/pair) and one higher-end set (approx $70/pair). All three sets have given me problems with the batteries. For the older radios, a replacement battery set at Batteries Plus cost over $30. Haven't bought batteries for the newer radios yet.

Just recently, 3 of my 4 newer radios had the batteries go out in my first day of use (very light use) after charging them for over 12 hours. I've begun carrying spare AA batteries due to the problem.

I'm having a similar problem with my Motorola cell phone battery -- and the cell phone is just a few months old.

Any thoughts? Seems to me that I'm getting pretty sad performance out of these batteries/radios.

270man