RE: Change battery how often? Checked under load?
Btw, when testing your batteries, you want to use a meter bought from a hobby source. If you get a voltmeter from Radio Shack, you'll get a falsely high reading. The meters meant for our use include a small resister to draw some current from the battery, and test the battery while this current is flowing. That's what is meant by testing "under load". It means testing while the battery is actually providing some current. You can also (and I have) get a resister from Radio Shack, and wire it up to a female servo lead and plug that in to a normal voltmeter to do the same thing. But it's cheaper just to buy the ones from the hobby store.