My FT-60R’s original battery pack had failed.? It would take a charge and receive for a few days, but would turn itself off when I try to transmit.? I also wanted a lighter battery.? So, I converted it to use Li-ion cells.

Dissassembly was difficult.? I ended up cutting the plastic cell cover with a knife.? Charged separately, all the NiMH cells accepted a charge, but two of them lost their charge in a couple days.? The other 4 are back in service, powering other toys.

I ordered two “103450” LiPo cells from ebay for $16 USD.? Skeptical of all capacity claims by ebay sellers, I tested them at a C/10 rate.? I was satisfied with the results: 1.90 and 1.94 Ah out of 2.0 Ah advertised.

To fit them in the original shell, I had to clip off some plastic stuff inside, remove 2 diodes, and flatten some strips of metal.?? I connected the cell interconnection to the shortest metal strip so now I can check the charge balance using one of the rear terminals.? This battery pack’s mass is 88g, much lighter than the loaded AA battery tray at 197g.? Capacity is a little less than that of the latest NiMH AA cells.? Voltage is similar - higher than NiMH at full charge, lower when almost depleted.

I made a charger using a T5100 charger module (modified for 8.4V and 0.5A limit) from ebay (5 for $7).? It clips to the terminals on the edge.

I have included photos in this post because I’m unable to upload them to the Photos area.
I hope this will help someone considering a similar project.

Cheers

Halden VE7UTS