?

Dan and Group,

I talked to a Yaesu person a few days ago about this subject.? He added
the same caution as the notes that come with the radio but also (off the
record) told me that this is mainly for problems which might occur that
Yasue does not want to get involved with. Things like law suits - I suppose!
Most well designed battery's have a thermal cut-out device in series with
the cells and will disconnect the cells if the current is excessive or
the temperature of the cells is too great.
Anyway, I carefully looked at the supplied battery and, if you look at it
carefully, you will notice that the "end" AA cell - toward the bottom of
the case, has the insulation removed from the bottom end of the cell.? This
makes a contact with the radio to charge the cells.? If you want your
rechargeable cells to charge with the supplied wall-wart, then just remove
the insulation from the bottom of the cell that is in the bottom of the
battery case. Presto the wall wart will now charge the cells you have
placed in the battery case.
BE ADVISED!!!! DO NOT DO THIS WITH ALKALINE CELLS AS THEY WILL EXPAND, AND
EVEN CATCH FIRE.? ALSO I'M NOT SURE AS TO THE CHARGE RATE BUT I WILL ASSUME
THAT YOU CAN CHARGE THESE NEW "CHEAPIE" NiMH 2000+ mAH CELLS THAT ARE ALL
OVER THE PLACE, SINCE THE SUPPLIED CELLS ARE RATED LOWER - AT 1400 mAH.
Hope this helps,
Tom - KI6O

__________________________________________________________________________
FT-60@...

When I purchased my FT-60, I also went for the FBA-25A AA battery
case. I threw in some older Energizer AA Alkalines to try it out and that
works fine. However, I was mildly surprised to read in the manual that
users were cautioned not to use rechargeable batteries in this pack because
it did not include the usual current and voltage limiting circuitry found
in their own rechargeable packs.

???????? Now, I can understand the point of this admonition if all they
mean is not to recharge such batteries in the radio using the supplied
power supply. However, I can't see the risk in using batteries recharged
outside the radio on a free standing recharger. Am I missing something
about NiMH batteries here? Is there some risk in putting six previously
Energizer NiMH 2100 mAh cells in the unit? I can't imagine why there should
be, but Yaesu's directions seem pretty specific here. If the more
technically savvy amongst us can enlighten me, I'd appreciate the help.

???????? While we are at it, is there a drop in charger for the supplied
FNB-83 battery. I'm told that the CD-29B rapid battery charger is not yet
available. Is there an aftermarket drop-in charger that allows the FNB-83
to be charged (relatively quickly) outside the radio unit itself? I seen it
suggested in an e-ham review or two that the VX-150 accessories will work.
Is that correct as respects charging the FNB-83?

Dan? - N7ZXL