Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, most manufacturers consider batteries "dead" at a lower voltage than the 2.0 volts the 95LX's low battery warning is set to. This means that the actual battery life you get in the 95LX is about 70% of what you would expect based on the battery's milliamp hour rating.
The figures above reflect a constant drain on the battery under test with one recovery period at approximately the 50% point in the test. The recovery period involved stopping the test and turning off the 95LX for approximately one hour. This was done to simulate the way the 95LX is actually used.
Lithium batteries remain above 2.0 volts for virtually their entire life. Once the low battery warning appears, you should change them as quickly as possible because the drop off to 1.8 volts will be very quick.
WARNING! -- The following warning should be heeded when using alternative battery types on the 95LX. There is an internal circuit to protect the 95LX against backward batteries; however, this circuit was designed for alkalines. NiCds and NiMHs will overload that circuit and damage the 95LX if put in backwards. Since you will be changing rechargeable batteries more often, set up the habit of always holding the 95LX in left hand, bottom up, with battery opening on right. Insert the batteries with tip (plus sign) up.
I used Eveready and Toshiba brand alkaline batteries. The lithium batteries were manufactured by Eveready. The nickel-metal-hydride's were by Harding (both lithium and NMH batteries are available through ACE, 800-825-9977, and many retail outlets). The NiCds were by Millennium.
The way you use your 95LX probably differs dramatically from the way the 95LX was used in the test. Hence, you would probably get different usage figures. The figures above should be viewed as relative readings. A pair of lithium batteries may not last exactly 52 hours for you, but they should last almost twice as long as a pair of alkalines.
In the coming months, I shall be reporting on the results of specific
brands of batteries in an effort to find the best for use on the 95LX.