Ham Radio Go Box Battery

[Marketta Filipovich]

Forprofessions that use two-way radios as a communication tool, those radios are a lifeline. Two-way radios offer safety, prevention, and stability in any high-risk job. The batteries that are made to support portable radios are built to withstand factors like tough environments, long work times, and more.

Below we list out three reasons why your two-way radio battery may be dying quicker than it should. We also give solutions to these problems, so if you are experiencing these problems with your battery, you can fix it as soon as possible.

Two-way radio batteries do not last a lifetime, especially when they are used daily. A problem like the age of the battery is not necessarily preventable but a user can pay attention to certain signs to know when it is time to switch the battery because of age. It is also important to be able to recognize the signs to differentiate between the battery and the radio causing any communication problems.

Two-way radio batteries tend to have a lifetime of two years. Specifically, once a battery reaches the 18-month mark, the performance level will decline. Most, if not all, batteries are labeled with the year they were produced.

Conditioning your battery is a crucial step to keeping up the battery life. When a battery is reconditioned, it undergoes several cycles to bring it back to a better capacity and reset its memory effect.

Therefore, if you are not conditioning your battery, this memory will take hold. Another problem that occurs, is some two-way radio users try to condition the batteries, but they do not do it properly.

The solution is to start properly reconditioning your two-way radio battery. Reconditioning chargers are special charging platforms that automatically determine if the battery needs to be reconditioned; if it does, it will start the process immediately.

Conditioning your two-way radio battery does qualify as a form of battery maintenance; however, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Batteries are finicky and require care to sustain full performance ability for the whole lifetime.

Without proper charging, storing, and cleaning, the life of a battery significantly declines well before the two-year age mark. Therefore, it is important to maintain a two-way radio battery so users can avoid worrying about their battery having a working time of only 4 hours rather than the average 8 hours.

When storing batteries that are not in use, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, batteries should be left in a well-ventilated, cool, and dry place. These elements help prevent any parts of the battery from becoming damaged from things like humidity and dust.

In addition to proper storage, it is important to be mindful of the conditions where you are charging or just laying your batteries down when not in use. Surfaces that come in contact with two-way radio batteries should always be free from dirt and residues. Buildup of these elements on a battery are a main cause for improper charging of batteries and in turn improper battery life.

Two-way radio batteries are a necessity in the public safety, construction, and manufacturing fields. These batteries are a cornerstone to modern critical communications. Consequently, batteries need to be properly cared for and understood to ensure longevity.

When teams pay attention to the age of their batteries, properly conditioning the batteries, and maintaining them, the batteries will be able to perform at the highest standards for two years or more. We hope this article armed you and your team with the necessary information to keep your batteries running smoothly.

The CBA is much more than a simple battery voltage tester or a battery load tester. Unlike a simple load tester the CBA will test virtually any type or size of battery, any chemistry, any number of cells up to 100V. For the first time and for a reasonable price, anyone can do scientific tests of their batteries by letting their computer do all the work. (more... About CBA)

West Mountain Radio offers multiple CBA models. The overview table below can help you determine which CBA model suits your needs. To learn more about a specific model, click on the model name within the table. A Detailed CBA Comparison Chart is also available.

Specifically designed to test and evaluate small cells and batteries - those capable of supplying quite low discharge currents. Such small cells must be evaluated using even greater measurement precision than what is capable with CBA V or CBA IV model. Designed to precisely test virtually any small size battery, any chemistry or number of cells, from 0.7 to 10 volts. The CBA HR is capable of testing batteries at load currents from 1mA to 1000mA, (10 watt maximum), in increments of 1mA.

The West Mountain Radio CBA Charge Controller can be used with a West Mountain Radio CBA Amp System, CBA V, CBA IV or CBA HR and a user provided battery charger to automate life cycle tests, automatically alternating between periods of charging the battery and discharging the battery. By automatically switching between charge and discharge cycles of the battery, a hands-free lifetime test of the battery can be performed.

The CBA software is easy and intuitive to use. It provides automatic sensing of the battery cell count and recommends a safe maximum discharge current and minimum safe cutoff voltage for your batteries. The system of software and hardware is designed to protect both the CBA and the batteries that are tested.

Today's renewable energy solutions rely on batteries. The Energy Science Lab Kit is an educational series of detailed electrical experiments to precisely measure, record, and compare performance of various battery models, capacities, and chemistries. Teachers are able to show students real-world battery performance investigations that are interesting and relevant to all students relying on portable electronic devices as part of their daily lives! Exercises show how to measure battery effectiveness and identify the limitations.

When you first place your radio battery on a reconditioning charger, like the Motorola Impres Reconditioning Charger or Waveband WI-80 Analyzer, it fully depletes your radio battery of any power. It then starts the recondition process where it goes through several charging cycles, each time bringing it to a better capacity than before.

When a battery is placed on a reconditioning charger, the charger determines if the battery needs to be reconditioned, and automatically starts the process. This helps eliminate unnecessary reconditioning charges and helps the battery's cycle life.

To manually recondition batteries, within 2 minutes after placing your battery on a reconditioning charger, take the battery off the charger and immediately place it back in. This will start the reconditioning process and your charger should indicate a steady orange light.

The reconditioning process can take up to 8-12 hours to complete depending on the capacity of the battery. Capacity is defined as Mil Amp Hours or Mah for short. The higher the Mah the longer the reconditioning process takes.

Using reconditioning chargers helps eliminate the need for additional reconditioning equipment and training maintenance on how to properly track and record battery use, conduct manual reconditioning cycles, or remove batteries from a radio.

Reconditioning also saves you money by not having to purchase replacement batteries more frequently. Reconditioning charger analyzers, like the Waveband WI-80, will tell you the true state of your battery so you know exactly when its time to replace.

Reconditioning too often can result in wasted battery cycles while reconditioning not enough can reduce battery performance and have a shorter life span. A reconditioning charger will have the ability to determine when is appropriate to recondition batteries.

Looking to purchase a reconditioning charger for your two-way radio fleet? Waveband Communications offers charger analyzers that recondition batteries and provide you with critical data on the life of your battery. Shop now or contact sales to find the right solutions for your team.

When I started operating portable many years ago, batteries were heavy and had limited power capability. A common battery, like this 30 amp hour lead acid AGM battery would give you a few hours of operation time before its capacity would drop to a point you would have to put it on a charger. Lithium technology was new and expensive, so we suffered with these inefficient, heavy batteries out in the field.

Fast forward a few years and not only is an equivalent Lithium Iron Phosphate battery cheaper than a lead acid battery, but it also has a longer service life, making the total cost of ownership even cheaper.

I have three different batteries that I use with my FT-891. All of them are Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4). I started out with a 12 ah battery. At 50 watts transmit power SSB I can usually get about 2.5 hours with it.

A couple years ago, I bought a little bigger 20ah battery. I like this one a lot as it will last all weekend if I use it exclusively for phone operation, with digital or a mixture of phone and digital, it will last for an afternoon, about 3-5 hours.

But the biggest question I get is, how large of a battery do I need? The answer depends on two things: how long will you be on the air, and what will your transmit power be. These both factor into your overall energy budget. For QRP operation, 10 watts or less, you can get by with very small lightweight batteries. If you want to transmit at 100 watts, you are going to need a battery that will cover that amount of current draw. If you are primarily phone operation, you can get by with a little smaller battery, and if you are running full duty cycle, like many of the digital mode do, then you will need more battery capacity.

Taking radios into the field is so much easier to do today than it was in, say, 1985 or earlier, because we have so many more options for powering our gear in the field. Not only have radios become more efficient in operating off of battery power, but we now have so many affordable and lightweight rechargeable battery choices on the market.

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