FT-50R current draw when off

Eric F. Richards

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Feb 10, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/10/98

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Greetings, all...

I have a Yaesu FT-50R and have been generally pleased with it. However,
recently it seems to be going through batteries quickly. Last week I got
called Yaesu tech support and was told, "if your current draw is in the
milliamperes when shut off, send it in." Well, I measured the current
draw at 310uA -- the manual says that in APO mode it draws 250uA. I'm
guessing that I've killed (or at least maimed) a couple battery packs.
I'm also guessing that the above difference is insignificant. Today's
call to Yaesu tech support was unhelpful -- no answer, just "Send it in
and we'll let you know." (Thanks, loads.)

Can I convince someone out there to measure the current draw of their
FT-50 and post the results?

(My measurement was done with a Wavetek RMS225 in autorange (default) mode.)

Thanks much,
--
Eric F. Richards
efr...@alumni.cs.colorado.edu
"The weird part is that I can feel productive even when I'm doomed."
- Dilbert

Jose R. Camara

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Feb 10, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/10/98

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Eric:

Just measured on mine, 225uA at the battery input on the radio, using 8V from a power supply.

Bad news (to me) was that when I turned the radio on and then off, it would draw 2.7mA unless I opened the circuit and closed it again , then it would draw 225 uA. Which would mean I'd have to turn the radio off and remove and reinstall the battery each time. Not very practical.

Good news is that Yaesu (562-404-2700) will take care of it under warranty, and I also found out they came out with a low profile power button which will solve the other dead battery problem I have (radio turns on by accident inside a briefcase, pocket, backpack,etc.) I was about to cut a slice off the button to make it lower...

Best regards,
Jose R. Camara

Dave Martindale

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Feb 11, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/11/98

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"Eric F. Richards" <efr...@flatland.dimensional.com> writes:
>I have a Yaesu FT-50R and have been generally pleased with it. However,
>recently it seems to be going through batteries quickly. Last week I got
>called Yaesu tech support and was told, "if your current draw is in the
>milliamperes when shut off, send it in." Well, I measured the current
>draw at 310uA -- the manual says that in APO mode it draws 250uA.

At 310 uA, a 600 mAh battery pack would last for 2000 hours, or many
months. Well, not really, but the point is that 300 uA is will discharge
the battery very very slowly, on par with the battery's own self-discharge
rate. Someone else posted that they were having a problem with short
battery life, but in his case the radio was drawing something like 5-10 mA
when turned off.

Dave

TJM

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Feb 11, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/11/98

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Jose R. Camara wrote:
>
> Eric:
>
> Just measured on mine, 225uA at the battery input on the radio, using 8V from a power supply.
>
> Bad news (to me) was that when I turned the radio on and then off, it would draw 2.7mA unless I opened the circuit and closed it again , then it would draw 225 uA. Which would mean I'd have to turn the radio off and remove and reinstall the battery each time. Not very practical.
>
> Good news is that Yaesu (562-404-2700) will take care of it under warranty, and I also found out they came out with a low profile power button which will solve the other dead battery problem I have (radio turns on by accident inside a briefcase, pocket, backpack,etc.) I was about to cut a slice off the button to make it lower...
>

Jose,

I had the same problem of higher than normal current draw when turned
off... found it after warranty over.
Solution on this end was when turning off , to hold the off button for
abt 1-2 sec after off ( not just hitting off and releasing).
This solved the problem... guess the curcuit just needs longer to really
shut down on some.
TJM
PS.. if you need a short button, give the model/serial # on Yaesu web
site thru email tech service and they will mail them out.

Yves Remedios

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Feb 12, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/12/98

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I have seen it mentioned on this NG that there is a defect in some
radios in the circuit in the area of the power button. Correction of
the defect involves changing a resistor in the power button circuitry.
This is a fault known to Yaesu and is corrected by the importers for no
charge.
--
Yves Remedios
When replying by e-mail, please correct my address using the word demon.

Eric F. Richards

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Feb 17, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/17/98

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Thanks to all who responded to my question Re: FT-50 power usage.

The responses I got indicated that the FT-50 would, under certain
circumstances, use about 6mA when off. Cycling power on it -- turning
it on and off again -- would often drop the current draw to the
specificied 250uA. For my own FT-50 I was unable to cause it to draw
6 mA but was able to drop my measured 350uA to 250uA by cycling
power.

For those who do see the 6mA current draw, Yaesu has a fix for it.

My own difficulties appear to be caused by battery pack problems.
Deep-cycling the packs seems to be helping them.

Thanks again to all of those who responded!