i'll give this a shot. NICD stands for nickel-cadmium, i think thats right. and NIMH stands for Nickle metal hydride.only certain chargers will work because NIMH requires alot more of a charge, which will burn up most chargers. the main difference is Nimh will give you longer run times, but of course their more $$$$... as for the radio, which radio are you looking at? cant really tell you the range if i dont know what your looking into.. hope i helped, and if im wrong someone please correct me