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My FT-60 and two FNB-83 Ni-MH batteries are about 5 years old.? Don't use the radio much, situation changed, likely will be using it regularly.
For past several months, the batteries have been sitting in their desktop chargers.? Today when I put the batteries on the FT-60, they show 7.2 VDC, then, after 3-4 transmissions on low power, the display starts flashing and battery voltage checks at/below 6.2 VDC
I have the battery tray that enables me to put 6 AA batteries on the FT60, operates fine with the AA batteries.
I guess I ruined the two Ni-MH batteries by leaving them sitting in the charger for months?
Joe
W4HH
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I had a similar situation, I just put them back on the desktop charger after they drained. Worth a try.
--
Gary
KY8M
Macomb, MI.
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Many months of disuse never caused me any trouble. I was as so inactive that I had to re-read the manual annually. Now that I have returned to a reasonable degree of use, I rotate my pair of batteries, but casually. I tend NOT to leave either one in the charger after it is fully charged.
Pack life is an adventure that must depend on demands on it and the status of the “worst” cell in the pack. I’ve been lucky. My radio and batteries are probably five years old, maybe more. They haven’t disappointed me with short duration or low voltage yet.
On Thu, Nov 2, 2023 at 15:20 Joe W4HH NAQCC #3938 < lecontejoe@...> wrote: My FT-60 and two FNB-38 Ni-MH batteries are about 5 years old.? Don't use the radio much, situation changed, likely will be using it regularly.
For past several months, the batteries have been sitting in their desktop chargers.? Today when I put the batteries on the FT-60, they show 7.2 VDC, then, after 3-4 transmissions on low power, the display starts flashing and battery voltage checks at/below 6.2 VDC
I have the battery tray that enables me to put 6 AA batteries on the FT60, operates fine with the AA batteries.
I guess I ruined the two Ni-MH batteries by leaving them sitting in the charger for months?
Joe
W4HH
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Thanks Phil and Gary --? I'll put the questionable packs back on the FT60 just to make certain they are drained, then, into the charger and pull the oujt as soon as they are charged.
And, yes, I'm having to read the manual to refresh myself on how to use the FT60.
I finally figured out how I had the FT60 programmed, did it in banks.
Bank 1:? local repeater freqs and simplex
Bank 2:? local public service -- EMS, fire, sheriff
3:? AMSAT SO-50
4.? ISS repeater
5? All 2-meter freqs
6? All 432 freqs
7:? some odd freqs I do not recall
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Your welcome Joe. As for the programing you figured out more than me. Don't use it enough to remember, your list is helpful. Thank's!
--
Gary
KY8M
Macomb, MI.
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Good morning,
Chiming in a bit late, but I learned a few things during my recent battery troubles that might be of use to you.
1) batteries sitting on a charger past the point of full charge may get overcharged. This will shorten battery life.
2) batteries do tend to degrade and wear out although this seems related to the number of charging cycles. 4-5 years seemed about average.
So, your batteries may be worn out or are destined to die young due to sitting on the charger for a few months. My readings, including the Yaesu manual, indicate that 10 hours on the charger usually yields a full charge, at which point the battery should be removed. The battery should be left to discharge naturally and recharged rather than overcharge.
My two cents.? 73 and good luck.
Jayne
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You cooked them like I did mine.? RTM? ?i got a new battery from battery plus but should have gotten it from HRO.
On Thu, Nov 2, 2023 at 12:20 PM, Joe? W4HH? NAQCC #3938 <lecontejoe@...> wrote: My FT-60 and two FNB-38 Ni-MH batteries are about 5 years old.? Don't use the radio much, situation changed, likely will be using it regularly.
For past several months, the batteries have been sitting in their desktop chargers.? Today when I put the batteries on the FT-60, they show 7.2 VDC, then, after 3-4 transmissions on low power, the display starts flashing and battery voltage checks at/below 6.2 VDC
I have the battery tray that enables me to put 6 AA batteries on the FT60, operates fine with the AA batteries.
I guess I ruined the two Ni-MH batteries by leaving them sitting in the charger for months?
Joe
W4HH
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I have a SBH-13 Desktop charger and the original battery. Is this battery still available? Could not get the pix any smaller.
--
Gary
KY8M
Macomb, MI.
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I see my pix did not take, battery is a NI MH Battery Pack FNB-83 7.2v1400 mAh Yaesu. Thanks
--
Gary
KY8M
Macomb, MI.
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Also, if I may, the dry cell adapter is a lifesaver in the field. I carry AAs in a ziplock for backup and they can be bought or borrowed most anywhere.?
To boot, if you operate from home and the HT is your primary, a 13.5 volt power supply capable of ?at least 1.5 amps and the proper connector will save use of your batt pack. But don’t leave it plugged in a while not in use.?
The manual gives model numbers for both from Yaesu. Of course a power supply can be bought otherwise or built yourself. Be sure it is fused.?
Add a speaker mic and you will be transmitting from ‘high cotton’ as they used to say.?
------- Original Message -------
On Friday, November 3rd, 2023 at 8:11 AM, Jayne Rising KD9WLM <jayne.rising@...> wrote:
Good morning,
Chiming in a bit late, but I learned a few things during my recent battery troubles that might be of use to you.
1) batteries sitting on a charger past the point of full charge may get overcharged. This will shorten battery life.
2) batteries do tend to degrade and wear out although this seems related to the number of charging cycles. 4-5 years seemed about average.
So, your batteries may be worn out or are destined to die young due to sitting on the charger for a few months. My readings, including the Yaesu manual, indicate that 10 hours on the charger usually yields a full charge, at which point the battery should be removed. The battery should be left to discharge naturally and recharged rather than overcharge.
My two cents.? 73 and good luck.
Jayne
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The after market ones can be hit or miss. I have an Expert Power (China) pack, 8 years now and it has been great. It alternates with my second Yaesu pack.?
Its label says FNB-83H but no Yaesu or Vertex markings. It is 1650mAh rather than 1400 as the original is.?
------- Original Message -------
On Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 at 7:58 PM, Dean Mason via groups.io <af6mc@...> wrote:
You cooked them like I did mine.? RTM? ?i got a new battery from battery plus but should have gotten it from HRO.
On Thu, Nov 2, 2023 at 12:20 PM, Joe? W4HH? NAQCC #3938 <lecontejoe@...> wrote: My FT-60 and two FNB-38 Ni-MH batteries are about 5 years old.? Don't use the radio much, situation changed, likely will be using it regularly.
For past several months, the batteries have been sitting in their desktop chargers.? Today when I put the batteries on the FT-60, they show 7.2 VDC, then, after 3-4 transmissions on low power, the display starts flashing and battery voltage checks at/below 6.2 VDC
I have the battery tray that enables me to put 6 AA batteries on the FT60, operates fine with the AA batteries.
I guess I ruined the two Ni-MH batteries by leaving them sitting in the charger for months?
Joe
W4HH
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I bought a third-party lithium battery pack and wall wart charger
from eBay some years ago.? My radio did not blow up and my house
did not burn down!
73, Nick, AA3T
On 11/3/2023 5:02 PM, Kevin - K5ABX via
groups.io wrote:
The
after market ones can be hit or miss. I have an Expert Power
(China) pack, 8 years now and it has been great. It alternates
with my second Yaesu pack.?
Its
label says FNB-83H but no Yaesu or Vertex markings. It is
1650mAh rather than 1400 as the original is.?
------- Original Message -------
On Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 at 7:58 PM, Dean Mason via
groups.io <af6mc@...> wrote:
You cooked
them like I did mine.? RTM? ?i got a new battery from battery
plus but should have gotten it from HRO.
On Thu, Nov 2, 2023 at 12:20 PM, Joe? W4HH? NAQCC
#3938
My FT-60 and two FNB-38 Ni-MH
batteries are about 5 years old.? Don't use the radio
much, situation changed, likely will be using it
regularly.
For past several months, the batteries have been sitting
in their desktop chargers.? Today when I put the
batteries on the FT-60, they show 7.2 VDC, then, after
3-4 transmissions on low power, the display starts
flashing and battery voltage checks at/below 6.2 VDC
I have the battery tray that enables me to put 6 AA
batteries on the FT60, operates fine with the AA
batteries.
I guess I ruined the two Ni-MH batteries by leaving them
sitting in the charger for months?
Joe
W4HH
--
Sent from laptop
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HEAT is the major enemy of NiMH packs. Left in a dumb/unintelligent charger will, indeed, "cook" them and allow them to get too hot, and cause performance degradation.
BatteriesAmerica ffers an intelligent charger for FT-60 NiMH packs -
There was a Standard VAC-810 charger that properly charged Li-Ion packs for the FT-60R.
Personally, I use 2700mAH MAHA/Powerwerx AA cells in the Yaesu FBA-25 case. And right now, BatteriesAmerica has a good multi-AA-charger for them (I am using an older Maha unit) -
Maha chargers are not currently (pun intended) available at HRO ... not sure of their future.
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
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Hi Clint, ? I assume when you say Powerwerx AA you mean Powerex AA ? I use my HT infrequently – maybe once every two months.?? Would it be wise for me to leave the 2700mAH MAHA/Powerex AA cells in the Batteries America smart charger when not being used??? I wonder if I should remove them once they are recharged?? ? 73, ? Brian DeLuca W2EMC
Morristown, New Jersey ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Clint Bradford via groups.io Sent: Friday, November 3, 2023 8:23 PM To: [email protected]Subject: Re: [Yaesu-FT-60] FNB-83 battery question ? HEAT is the major enemy of NiMH packs. Left in a dumb/unintelligent charger will, indeed, "cook" them and allow them to get too hot, and cause performance degradation.
BatteriesAmerica ffers an intelligent charger for FT-60 NiMH packs -
There was a Standard VAC-810 charger that properly charged Li-Ion packs for the FT-60R.
Personally, I use 2700mAH MAHA/Powerwerx AA cells in the Yaesu FBA-25 case. And right now, BatteriesAmerica has a good multi-AA-charger for them (I am using an older Maha unit) -
Maha chargers are not currently (pun intended) available at HRO ... not sure of their future.
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
|
Hi,
The chargers that came with both of my FT60's are model #SBH-13
drop-in units and 'seem' to be "smart chargers".? That is, when
you insert either a battery or a radio with attached battery, an
amber LED first lights, then changes to red and then later when
the battery is charged the LED goes out.? The battery doesn't seem
to get overly warm. . . ?
On the other hand, I did go ahead and order a pair of chargers
from Batteries America to put in my "go kit".? Looking at the web
site they appear to be good units, but only time will tell. . .
<>< 73 From "The Beaconeer's Lair" ><>
Specializing in DXing NDBs (Longwave Beacons)
Phil, KO6BB,
(\__/)
(=’.'=)
(”)_(”)
EQUIPMENT:
YAESU: FTDX-101MP Xceiver, Dual SDR Receivers (~2020)
YAESU: FTDX-3000 Xceiver, DSP IF, 300Hz Roofing filter (~2019).
Portables: Eton Elite 750 (2), AKA Grundig Satelite 750 (2020)
Sangean ATS-909X2 (2021), Tecsun PL-990 (2021)
SDRs: Perseus, Airspy Discovery HF+, SDRplay RSPdx, Softrock LF
Scanner: Uniden SDS200
ACC: MFJ-993B Auto Antenna Matcher.
HOMEBREW 4 Port Antenna Multicoupler, Feeds 4 RX's.
HOMEBREW Tunable LF-MF Pre-Amp.
Ratzlaff 440Hz, 6.5Hz BW Audio Filter
Autec Research QF1 Audio Filter.
ANTENNAS: 88 foot Long Ladder-line fed dipole, ~35 feet AGL for MW/HF.
Top Loaded Tee (Dipole fed as single element).
Butternut HF-6V 6 Band Vertical, ~12 Feet AGL for 75-10M
Ratzlaff Active whip, 5 Foot Long, ~22 Feet AGL For LF/MW/HF.
Wellbrook ALA1530LN Loop For LF/MW/HF at ~17 Feet AGL
Discone at ~35 Feet AGL For Scanner
QTH: Merced, California, 37, 18, 37N 120, 30, 6W CM97rh
On 11/4/2023 12:22 AM, Clint Bradford
via groups.io wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
HEAT is the major enemy of NiMH packs. Left in a
dumb/unintelligent charger will, indeed, "cook" them and allow
them to get too hot, and cause performance degradation.
BatteriesAmerica ffers an intelligent charger for FT-60 NiMH packs
-
There was a Standard VAC-810 charger that properly charged Li-Ion
packs for the FT-60R.
Personally, I use 2700mAH MAHA/Powerwerx AA cells in the Yaesu
FBA-25 case. And right now, BatteriesAmerica has a good
multi-AA-charger for them (I am using an older Maha unit) -
Maha chargers are not currently (pun intended) available at HRO
... not sure of their future.
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
|
At one time I modified an old mechanical (daily) timer by removing the “on” tabs. If you remember – and I assume you are old enough to have seen these archaic devices >40ya – these things were just a 24 hour circular clock that pushed a micro-switch to turn on and off on a regular schedule. All I wanted was to have the device turn off the charger after 10 hours of charge which is the sweet spot for NiMH cells charged at 0.1 C. As with all things I lost track of this little device but I’m thinking I need to find something else to do the same thing. That would solve the problem of cooking the cells absent a smart charger that charges to a specific voltage and then switches to a ”maintain” mode wherein the charger recharges the battery then only zaps the battery a little bit every day. I am working on an airplane these days so I am focusing on that but I would really like to hear from someone who has knowledge of devices that can do that in silicon. It seems mechanical devices are no longer “en vogue” and this instrumentality is only accessible with knowledge of digital capability.
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You can buy “shut down” or “count down” timers. Most shut down after minutes but there are those which go hours.? An example :
Or if you are a DIYer places like Home Depot have wall switch like versions to go hours, mechanical wind up as well as electrical versions.?
------- Original Message -------
On Friday, November 3rd, 2023 at 9:55 PM, Will W6SWF <2sheds@...> wrote:
At one time I modified an old mechanical (daily) timer by removing the “on” tabs. If you remember – and I assume you are old enough to have seen these archaic devices >40ya – these things were just a 24 hour circular clock that pushed a micro-switch to turn on and off on a regular schedule. All I wanted was to have the device turn off the charger after 10 hours of charge which is the sweet spot for NiMH cells charged at 0.1 C. As with all things I lost track of this little device but I’m thinking I need to find something else to do the same thing. That would solve the problem of cooking the cells absent a smart charger that charges to a specific voltage and then switches to a ”maintain” mode wherein the charger recharges the battery then only zaps the battery a little bit every day. I am working on an airplane these days so I am focusing on that but I would really like to hear from someone who has knowledge of devices that can do that in silicon. It seems mechanical devices are no longer “en vogue” and this instrumentality is only accessible with knowledge of digital capability.
|
I use a mechanical timer for my charger.? eBay is your friend for one of those.
73
John
KU8Q
In a message dated 11/3/2023 10:55:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 2sheds@... writes:
?
At one time I modified an old mechanical (daily) timer by removing the “on” tabs. If you remember – and I assume you are old enough to have seen these archaic devices >40ya – these things were just a 24 hour circular clock that pushed a micro-switch to turn on and off on a regular schedule. All I wanted was to have the device turn off the charger after 10 hours of charge which is the sweet spot for NiMH cells charged at 0.1 C. As with all things I lost track of this little device but I’m thinking I need to find something else to do the same thing. That would solve the problem of cooking the cells absent a smart charger that charges to a specific voltage and then switches to a ”maintain” mode wherein the charger recharges the battery then only zaps the battery a little bit every day.
I am working on an airplane these days so I am focusing on that but I would really like to hear from someone who has knowledge of devices that can do that in silicon. It seems mechanical devices are no longer “en vogue” and this instrumentality is only accessible with knowledge of digital capability.
|
I broke open my FT-60's original battery pack when it failed similarly.? I found 1 cell that had fully failed, 1 that had low capacity, and 4 that worked well and had lower series resistance than other NiMH AA cells I have around.? I applied tape to the outsides as insulation and blobs of solder to the crumpled bonding strips on the positive terminals, turning them into button-top cells.? They're now in service for other appliances.? I stuffed 2 Li-ion flat cells into the enclosure and have been enjoying its lighter weight and higher capacity ever since.
Halden VE7UTS
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Hi All,
I did the same with a mechanical timer.
The Yaesu automatic charger suits me now.
The seem to be plenty of WiFi power plugs with timers around and cheap too.
Andrew VK5CV
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
[Edited Message Follows]
I broke open my FT-60's original battery pack when it failed similarly.? I found 1 cell that had fully failed, 1 that had low capacity, and 4 that worked well and had lower series resistance than other NiMH AA cells I have around.? I applied tape to the outsides
as insulation and blobs of solder to the crumpled bonding strips on the positive terminals, turning them into button-top cells.? They're now in service for other appliances.? I stuffed 2 Li-ion flat cells into the enclosure and have been enjoying its lighter
weight and higher capacity ever since.
Halden VE7UTS
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Clint Bradford
Philip Atchley
Will W6SWF