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life expectancy of HT in general

 

I've done some searching in this forum (and a few other places) and come up empty, so I thought I'd ask. Does this HT have general life expectancy? The reason I'm suspicious of my 20+ year old unit is due to battery life across a number of batteries, some of them new or <1 year old. I've tried both HRO and cheaper Amazon batteries, and they don't hold a charge well. My charging cradle shows a steady green light on all of them so I don't think it's the battery or the cradle. I haven't been on the air much due to work but when I am, battery life caves, even if I'm not transmitting. My Tx is on Low and the Power Saver feature is enabled. And when power is low, obviously Tx is negatively affected. I'd appreciate any guidance on this matter, including other investigations I might conduct to determine the problem. Thanks!
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73s,
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Jayne
 
Edited

I have owned several of these since the moment they were released 18 years ago. Each performs as if they were brand-new ...
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I mainly use 2700mAH AA NiMH cells in the FBA-25 alkaline case - and charge with an intelligent charger.
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(SIDE NOTE: Improve your stock antenna with a Smiley 270 or Diamond SRH-320a, and you CAN turn TX power down to 2W. If yo are not making it - FM voice, line-of-sight - at 2W with a good antenna, you probably won't be making it with 4-5W. So that will DOUBLE effective battery longevity.)
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(SIDE NOTE 2: Want to improve battery life even MORE? Use an earpiece or mini-boom mic. What is the first thing one does when using an earpiece? You turn the VOLume DOWN. And what eats up batteries? Keying the HT to transmit, and LOUD VOLUME setting!)
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--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
 

Yes, what Clint said! He's an authority on the FT-60.? I only use Powerex Pro NiMH? AAcells in TWO FBA-25 alkaline cases, so there's always a fresh backup.? Much more economical than buying original battery replacements. My FT-60 is 15 years old and still works like it did the first day I got it.
73
John-KU8Q

In a message dated 10/23/2024 1:15:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time, clintbradford@... writes:
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[Edited Message Follows]
[Reason: Typo.]

I have owned several of these since the moment they were released 18 years ago. Each performs as if they were brand-new ...
?
I mainly use 2700mAH AA NiMH cells in the FBA-25 alkaline case - and charge with an intelligent charger.
?
(SIDE NOTE: Improve your stock antenna with a Smiley 270 or Diamond SRH-320a, and you CAN turn TX power down to 2W. If yo are not making it - FM voice, line-of-sight - at 2W with a good antenna, you probably won't be making it with 4-5W. So that will DOUBLE effective battery longevity.)
?
(SIDE NOTE 2: Want to improve battery life even MORE? Use an earpiece or mini-boom mic. What is the first thing one does when using an earpiece? You turn the VOLume DOWN. And what eats up batteries? Keying the HT to transmit, and LOUD VOLUME setting!)
?
?
?
--
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http//www.work-sat.com
 

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Sounds like bad batteries or a bad charger.

When you first turn the radio on, what battery voltage do you read?

I have 2 FT-60s. They both have been charged in the last few weeks, but not used since then. One reads 7.6 VDC and the other reads 7.7 VDC.
Ray, W4BYG

On 10/23/2024 12:44, Jayne Rising KD9WLM wrote:
I've done some searching in this forum (and a few other places) and come up empty, so I thought I'd ask. Does this HT have general life expectancy? The reason I'm suspicious of my 20+ year old unit is due to battery life across a number of batteries, some of them new or <1 year old. I've tried both HRO and cheaper Amazon batteries, and they don't hold a charge well. My charging cradle shows a steady green light on all of them so I don't think it's the battery or the cradle. I haven't been on the air much due to work but when I am, battery life caves, even if I'm not transmitting. My Tx is on Low and the Power Saver feature is enabled. And when power is low, obviously Tx is negatively affected. I'd appreciate any guidance on this matter, including other investigations I might conduct to determine the problem. Thanks!
?
73s,
?
Jayne

-- 
"The world is desperate for a faith that combines two things: awestruck sight of unshakable divine Truth, and 
utterly practical, round-the-clock power to make a liberating difference in life"... John Piper
 

The reading when I turn the HT on straight off of the charger is 8.6V. I have it attached to a Signal Staff OSJ collapsible J pole. I use the standard FNB83 battery. I'm using the standard Yaesu drop charger:
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I have three FNB83 batteries: one came with the used unit, the other two I bought one year ago and a couple of months ago respectively. All three of them seem to eat up juice at a faster rate than usual, although that's a subjective measure. This happens even when I'm not transmitting, with the HT just turned on. Once the charge drops to about 7.8V I'm told my Tx is very scratchy. Once it drops below 7.6V I can't transmit. This just seems rather odd, three different batteries of different ages displaying this behavior.
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Jayne
 

"Once it drops below 7.6V I can't transmit. This just seems rather odd, "
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I don't think that is normal.? Under load, you really can't expect 6x NiMH to maintain over 7V.

My problem is that no matter the watts, I have to shout to get much modulation (it's me...).? One of these days I'll buy the speaker/mic.
 

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Hi Jayne,

I am no expert, but some chargers for Nicad and NiMh cells turn on the "charged light " - which may be green color, when the battery voltage exceeds a certain threshold. These chargers do not measure the amount of charge that has been delivered to the battery pack.? Cells within a battery pack experience higher internal resistances with age and sitting on a vendors shelf before sold, thus preventing the battery from delivering the required current required for long time use or transmitting where the battery demands are the highest.??

In the radio receive mode, the current drawn is fairly small.? After the battery has been removed from the charger, one may see a high battery voltage if measured with most volt ohm meters.? This is due to the high resistance a VOM (and the internal radio voltage meter) presents to the battery pack. But this may not tell the whole story.

About the first items in a radio besides the main battery that has been sitting unused to "go" are the electrolytic capacitors.? Most dry up with age.? Next might be the memory batteries.?

I'm still operating radios (made with discrete components) that were made in the 80's & 90's.? They are simple to use and do not need a "cheat sheet" to program or operate.

Just my 2 cents worth.? 3 cents now with inflation.

--jeff
wb7aht

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