Thanks for the recommendation. I use a voltmeter (multimeter), which gives a much rougher estimate than this tester. There are circumstances where a voltage reading may seriously mislead you - but it is still good enough for me and my humble needs.
I respectfully disagree; a voltmeter cannot give an accurate measurement of a battery's remaining capacity unless the battery has already had a significant drop off in voltage.
One weakness of this tester (above link): It can't check AA or AAA lithium primaries... so no good for this specific SPOT modell. (AA/AAA lithium are rated 1.5v, not 3v. BTW, fresh AA/AAA lithium should have a closed circuit voltage of 1.6-1.7 volts).
I have this exact model and it does in fact test AA and AAA lithium primaries accurately.
For me, knowing the capacity with higher precision wouldn't solve the hassle of using primaries on a regular basis. I'd just end up with lots of 50% used batteries sitting on a shelf somewhere. Can't waste a battery that has 50% left, but certainly don't feel like sticking anything but fresh batteries into the unit when heading out for a trip...
Makes sense. My usage patterns are apparently different enough that I haven't had a big problem with this.
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