Radio Shack 23-954 Cordless Phone Replacement Battery 2.4V

Radio Shack 23-954 / 960-1371 — 2.4V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (23-954)

This is a 2.4V, 300mAh Ni-MH rechargeable battery for the Radio Shack cordless phone models 23-954 and 960-1371. It slots directly into the handset to restore power when the original cell can no longer hold a charge. Voltage and capacity match the original specification exactly.

• 23-954 and 960-1371 compatibility: Both handsets share the same 2.4V Ni-MH cell footprint, connector orientation, and charge circuit. The base station charges at a trickle rate tuned to this voltage window, so swapping in the wrong chemistry or voltage disrupts the charge cycle.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through the 23-954 base station and confirmed the charge circuit accepted the cell without error. The BMS on these handsets monitors delta-V termination, and this cell triggered correct cutoff after a full charge cycle.
• First charge on NiMH cordless handsets: After installing, seat the handset in the base and leave it for a full 16 hours before first use. NiMH cells in cordless phones are shipped in a partially discharged state — a slow initial charge is what brings the pack up to its rated 300mAh capacity.

Base station showing no charge light after fitting a new NiMH pack

NiMH cells that have sat in storage can drop below 2.0V per pack — low enough that the base station's charge controller doesn't recognise a valid battery. The base uses a voltage threshold check before initiating the charge cycle. A cell sitting below that threshold gets ignored entirely, and the charge indicator stays off. Leave the handset seated in the base for 30 minutes anyway; most Radio Shack base stations will trickle at a low pre-charge rate until the pack climbs above the acceptance voltage, typically 2.2V.

Talk time shorter than expected for the first few uses

New Ni-MH cells don't deliver full rated capacity on the first discharge — the crystalline structure in the electrode needs several cycles to fully activate. On the 23-954, expect noticeably shorter talk time for the first three to five full charge-discharge cycles before capacity stabilises near 300mAh. Run the handset until the low-battery tone sounds, then return it to the base for a full charge each time. By cycle five, talk time should reach its rated level.