Hi everyone, I hope this isn’t too strange of a question but I’m curious what Folks can tell me about concerns with summer travel and leaving radios in a hot car. I’m planning a trip into Utah this month and thought about bringing a couple Elecraft radios but changed that now to my QCX mini. Should I be concerned with leaving it in a hot car in a southern Utah summer or am I being overprotective of one of my favorite radios? ?I’m guessing it’s a non-issue as lots of mobile radios stay in hot cars their entire life, but just wanted to hear whatever everyone else has to say about this.

Thanks.

Nolan

I am sure others will chime in, but as long as you are not operating, i can't imagine it makes much difference.? Batteries, I might worry about, but keep in mind the electronics ship all the time in ships, trucks and trains without any AC? and much of that ravels through hot climate.

Just my .02

Good luck,
KG5GTE

开云体育

The only time that I had a problem was when I operated in full sun on a hot day. Not very much ventilation in a small black case.?

Nolan -

This was something I'd been curious about. The specs for the components in the QCX mini seemed to be phone specs, which are pretty rugged. To test this I've done an ad hoc test - I've left a 40 meter QCX mini sit in the trunk of our car (a dark blue sedan) since mid February. We're located in Philadelphia PA so the weather isn't totally extreme but air temperature has ranged from about 20F to 95F during that period (and it will get hotter in the sun). So far the unit still works (just pulled it out and tested it).

John KI3J

Thanks for the heads up, I never thought of that but you’re right, batteries are probably the bigger issue here.?

On Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 12:35 AM, Nolan K0HAA wrote:

Should I be concerned with leaving it in a hot car in a southern Utah summer

Consider that much of the electronics in your car are powered on and exposed to temperature extremes 24/7/365, and can be expected to survive for decades.
Heat is not great for batteries, though it won't kill them.
A couple of hours in a parked car should be a walk in the park for your radios.? I would not leave LCD displays in direct sunlight, though.??
73, Don N2VGU

Don statement is not? generally true for batteries.?

Between 35 C and 40 C there is a temperature that will trigger a massive slump in? Pb battery output (the? exact triggers for the voltage slump were not? know when I was doing O and G work) .? The big operators like Exxon Mobil and? Texaco will not allow? any sort of Pb battery to be used for critical? unctions on offshore platforms for this reason.? Consequently the poison of choice was? NiCad or? late NiMH battery packs.?
T