Some time ago, I purchased a Turtle Beach gaming headset, and while its wirelessness is quite convenient, it has eaten standard alkaline batteries like mad since the day I got it. Today I decided to invest in some rechargeable batteries, but about 13 hours afterward I started getting curious as to the specifics of the science of batteries.

When I was in the Wal Mart, I was sold on Energizer E2 NiMH batteries because it boasted 850 mAh. "Hey, that's a lot of milliamps" I said to myself, grabbing a four-pack of 'em for $11 and a charger unit. It never really occurred to me to research what exactly that meant -- sure, more power is always good, but upon some research into the subject, I can't find a plain answer as to how the mAh rating translates into device power time. The best answer I could find is about the "depth of a cycle", and while I generally get the idea of what it's driving at, I have no idea what determines cycle depth. Does the device determine that by it's ampere requirement? Can this information be used to directly calculate the amount of power time a fully-charged 850 mAh E2 can give my headset?

Further research into the subject has yielded more facts but little plain English. Apparently NiMH batteries can effectively be used in either "shallow" or "deep" cycles but have a quite a small discharge rate. Can this adversely affect the battery or the performance of my headset?

On the subject of performance, I've read several things about different kinds of chargers. Apparently a "trickle" charger will continue to supply charging current nonstop while a "float" charger will suspend the charging operation temporarily if the cell reaches capacity. From what I understand, a trickle charger can and does damage batteries and cause failure if left attached to the charger after their capacity is met, but a float charger supposedly speeds up the adverse "memory effect" of the cell. Is it overly important that I discover the charger type that I'm attaching my NiMH batteries to, or are they generally more immune to these problematic effects? This one is important because I'm the kind of person who attaches things to the charger and they can sit there for very very long periods of time -- I have a portable phone in my room that's not seen use for years, but has remained on the charger unit for the last three years nonstop. My XBox rechargeable battery packs remain attached to the quick charger for some time (I alternate between my two controller battery packs, so one sits there for upwards of a day before seeing use again). In addition, I've had dry spells of XBox playing where I'll leave these things connected for 1-2 weeks continuously, and it's likely I'll do the same with these rechargeable AAA batteries.

Anyways, any help on the subject is appreciated. I've learned a lot of new terms and facts about batteries, but the brass tacks of how useful the batteries are in my situation and how concerned I should be about catastrophic failure or unnecessary cell decay is presently what eludes me.