Yaesu and others state NOT to use any other cells than dry cells in
their battery holder, or buy their ni-cd pack, so NO they would not
be liable for you inserting re-chargeables and frying your rig with
a short. In fact they wouldnt even entertain it under warranty. Its
the old story of "buy our extra battery packs or dont moan if and
when you do damage with other cells" its a sales con been on the go
with more or less every commercial ham dealer since the year dot.
John, after 18 years as a ham, I'm well aware of the accessories game
they play. You've missed the point of my post. I'm not talking
about putting AA NiMHs in the tray; I've already done that & cut the
green wire. "I pays my money & takes my chances." I happen to have
another need for the NiMHs, however, and don't like the voltage drop
in the tray at all.
Yaesu themselves manufacture & market a (by a lack of responses to
contrary) completely non-protected battery pack for the FT-817. I
believe the pack is standard equipment in the UK & perhaps
elsewhere. Maha makes an aftermarket battery pack that wasn't, until
recently, protected. New models seem to have an overtemp fuse (I
would guess because most folks are using it with Maha fast-chargers;
if it were only being used with the internal charger, I doubt they
would have added the overtemp fuse).
In the 'States, there is a legal doctrine (I'm a CPA, not a lawyer,
so forgive me if I miss some of the fine points) called something
along the lines of "suitability for purpose." If a vendor or
manufacturer claims a product is suitable for a particular purpose --
say, by advertising a particular battery pack as being appropriate
for a particular radio -- then they have a RESPONSIBILITY to ensure
that the product NOT ONLY won't cause harm, but that it is, in fact,
capable of appropriately performing its intended function. And they
are legally liable if it isn't.
So, my point was; if the Yaesu or Maha packs -- without fuses, in the
face of the fact that it is widely known that rechargeable battery
packs *should* be current- & temperature-protected -- blow up my
radio, I would EXPECT the manufacturer of the pack (not necessarily
to replace my rig, because it obviously WAS NOT SUITABLE for the
purpose. Thus, these two manufactures have exposed themselves to
some liability. Now, in the face of that *conscious* decision, I
ask; is fusing really all that important? These guys are supposed to
be the pros -- they design these things for a living! I think they
don't expect very many -- if any -- problems from failing to fuse the
battery packs. Contrast the $1.50 or so savings per pack from not
fusing, to the cost of a major repair, let alone replacing a rig or
cleaning up a fire (which could, potentially, include personal
injury).
Now, contrast the ~$60 US for any of the commecial packs, with the
$25 radio shack pack, plus $6 for the connector, plus what? $15? for
the picofuses & thermal protection (by the time they're shipped; I
actually think it'd be closer to $20). $46-$51. I got lucky & came
across some 1000 mAh older radio shack packs for $10. I can
cannibalize my AA tray connector & be in business immediately.
W4RT wins clearly among the commecial packs. But I've already spent
a buncha bucks on this rig, and my order for a small version of
myself has finally been approved, so radio money is disappearing
fast. ;)
