It just hit me.... We didn't ask Jayne, if she has? the proper charger to match the chemistry of the? battery you are using?????
On Sat, Oct 28, 2023 at 10:20 PM, Kevin - K5ABX via groups.io
<k5abx@...> wrote:
You are getting standard and good advice.
Fact is, voltage is only one indicator for a battery. The ability to produce current is more important. Older batts may show voltage but can't supply the current
.
The FT60 wants 1.5 amps at 5 watts (high) power transmitting. High should only be used IF needed. Generally you can hit a repeater with the Low or Mid? power settings.
The voltage you are reading with the radio or a DVM is a surface charge and not under a load.
Just like a 12 batt which starts out at 13.3 to 13.5? volts surface charge and drops to the 11.0 to 12.5 needed for use under a load, your 7.2 batt is not able to stay above the needed 6.0 volts minimum and provide 1.5 amps current.? Using the DV VLT menu option, you can see the voltage at idle. Then key up and see what it says. If it goes below 6, it is not charged and able to handle the load. You can watch this with the menu option while you operate a test. It is a valuable function when in the field.
At this moment my FT60 reads 7.7V on startup. It reads 7.6V under idle load. If I transmit on high, it drops to 6.6V. If I transmit on low it reads 7.2 V.
If the radio goes blank then flashes its display on transmit then comes back on, it means a low batt but can still listen or maybe even transmit on Low power setting. If it goes blank and shuts down, most likely a very low to dead or bad batt.
My 2 cents worth.
