FT817 internal battery

Hi Razvan,
If you are using the standard Yaesu AA battery holder, this is not true as the battery case is designed to take non-rechargable AA cells and hence the batteries in the FT817 battery holder will not be charged by the built-in charging circuitry, without a modification (you need to cut the green wire that goes to half way down the battery case). But of course cutting this lead increases the risk of batteries exploding in the FT817 if you forget and put standard AA cells in the holder and plug the rig into an external 12v supply.
I have a pack of Eneloop AA Cells in my battery pack, fully charged 2500mAH cells and the pack lasts only half as long as the LIPO - go figure! They should last for the same time as the LIPO which is also 2500mAH.
Ed.

Of course, once you put the rechargeables in the modified Yaesu holder you leave them there (standard AA batteries are very bad in the holder anyway, good just for RX). Are you sure the Eneloops are charged properly and do you use them until theyā€™re depleted ? I am pretty happy with mine, 2Ah lasts me at least 3 SOTA activations (90-120min of continuos operating at 5W), which is exactly what I need in one day.

Cheers,
Razvan YO9IRF/M0HZH

It sounds like one of the Eneloop cells is weak - I would run them until the cutout point then take them out and measure the voltage. If that doesnā€™t show up the bad one Iā€™d try measuring the current through a very low resistance.

Brian

Thanks for the replies so farā€¦
I have tried the 2900mAh rechargeable batteries in the past (Same make as the ones mentioned, 7dayshop), and I donā€™t think I was entirely happy with how long they lasted.
I also checked eham for any reviews of the windcamp batteries, and 2 out of 3 mentioned that the charger seemed to fail within less than 5 cycles, although the other reviewer seemed very happy with theirs.
Since I tend to use the external battery anyway, I may just load up with rechargeables ā€˜just in caseā€™ when I go out and aboutā€¦ Iā€™d still be interested in hearing how well the windcamp works from anyone who may have one.

Thanks

Don
m0hcu

The very high capacity NiMH cells are not low self-discharge. They will often lose 1/4 of their charge in a couple of weeks.

If you always charge them the same day you go out, they are great. If you wait a few days, a low self-discharge cell like Eneloop will probably have more charge.

wunder

New and fully charged batteries. they simply donā€™t last as long as the LIPO. I have read that there are some lower capacity forgeries of Eneloop batteries around. I actually bought these from a hobby supplies physical shop (not over the Internet), so I would hope they are not forgeries but that would be a possible explanation - if they are only 1200 MAh, not 2500 MAh. In any case while the LIPO works so well, the battery case and eneloops stays only as a backup option.

Ed.

My backpack bears the acid burn scars from the SLABs I used to carry. So much for safety with the older technology - ā€œsealedā€ - hardly!

I must have chosen wellā€¦ my 2009 vintage 4AH LiPOs are still doing fine. I guess charging them with small balance chargers at 0.8A could be one reason they are doing so well. There is no detectable temperature rise charging at this low rate.

I did purchase a 2600mAH NiMH pack (branded VP Racing Battery) for fitting into the 817, but it lasted two activations before one cell went down and I had to break it apart. The remaining cells have worked fine and I now use them in my handheld and other pieces of kit. I havenā€™t bothered reinstalling an internal battery in the 817 as the rig is kept concealed in the backpack (blame that on the Scottish weather) and it is therefore not very convenient to change an internal battery. My preference is to use an external LiPO battery and take a spare with me.

Gerald G4OIG

I have had a few LiPOs fail over the years (always entirely benignly). My star performer dated from 2006 and failed just last weekā€¦ It owed me nothing.

People occasionally ask me to stock them. I can imagine the interesting conversations that I would enjoy with my insurers, my landlord and the fire inspection people who call round occasionally. Having a couple at home is one thing, having a pallet load in a warehouse is quite anotherā€¦

The other issue is sending them. You cant use the ordinary mail and carriers require incredible precautions to be taken. The ones you get off eBay are usually sent illegally.

Ha!

So itā€™s not just me who is wary of them, then.
:slight_smile:
73,
Walt (G3NYY)

It would only take one serious in-flight incident for a world-wide blanket ban to be imposed.

73,
Walt

There have been Lithium battery fires on flights. A single pack, even laptop size is manageable on a flight when itā€™s in passenger carry on luggage. Itā€™s impossible to deal when in the cargo hold. There are now all sorts of rules for how they get packed for shipping and they keep them off mixed cargo/passenger flights.

The major cause of incidents is with loose batteries in bags getting shorted and catching fire which is why the airlines are not concerned when the battery is installed in equipment.

Seems a lot of battery problems involve Dubai International Airport :frowning:

A sad story indeed, however reading the full report, as well as unstable Lithium Ion freight, there was a non working air mask, the undercarriage did not deploy (perhaps due to the fire) and the co-pilot also made errors which contributed to the crash. It was lucky the plane did not hit a built-up area.

Ed.

I think itā€™s good to know the risks and your options and act accordingly.
I have LiFePo4 which are meant to be a bit safer, but I do still store them in a good solid metal ammo can that hopefully would contain anything drastic to a scorched carpet tile.
They only come out of that for charging and into their plastic cliplock box for carrying.

1 Like

The cheap Chinese FT817 accessories seem ok, Iā€™m quite happy with the NiMH battery I bought.

My replacement internal battery is just there to make the rig complete really, as I ran it for a few years without a battery fitted. The original battery was damaged when the PA self destructed - the rig had been on charge overnight to be ready for a SOTA activation. I only discovered that something bad had happened when the rig wouldnā€™t power up on Ingleborough G/NP-005. Upon returning home, I discovered that the wall wart charger was also dead. I spoke to a Yaesu UK engineer on the phone and he suggested that the PA had decided to pop as whenever power is applied, the PA has voltage on it, whether the rig is turned on or not.

My rig went off to Yaesu and came back with a new (ND) PA board fitted. I had come to the conclusion that a fixed rig was something with value and it would be cheaper than buying a completely new one. In the event, whilst it would have been cheaper to buy the PCB myself, Iā€™m glad I sent the rig away - it came back like a completely new rig! It seems as though the engineer really gave a it good re-alignment (which would be needed after PA replacement as the devices are different to the originals). The power levels are pretty much dead on and the RX is great!

I bought one of those cheapo TCXO modules but I found it was physically a bit on the large side, so I didnā€™t bother keeping it in the rig. I donā€™t run data modes or use the higher bands much so there wouldnā€™t be much to be gained in any case. The TCXO was pressed in to service as a bench frequency standard!

With regards to LiPos, I think it pays to go with an established brand, Iā€™ve found that the Turnigy batteries are great. I bought a no-name 2.2Ah LiPo from a local model shop and itā€™s steadily swelled from day one. The swelling has got a point now where Iā€™ve decided to call it quits! Yesterday I hooked up a car light bulb to the pack and left it to die slowly outside (out of reach).

I use a 3x 650mA charger, I donā€™t mind the longer charge time, I think these R/C enthusiasts drive these batteries very hard with their high charge / discharge rates - Iā€™m not surprised thereā€™s the odd spectacular failure!


RIP PowerTech 2250 - thanks for the DX!

Sample size of one (1) Very happy with my 2700 mAh Windcamp. It is getting tired after a couple of hundred activations, and 3 years. Chomping at the bit to buy a second at the hamfest in two weeks. It is not swollen just having trouble getting two activations a day out of it. Used to be able to squeeze three out of it. I like not having to carry anything outside the radio.

73
Doug
W1DMH

What I am using in the 817:
https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=32801

1 Like

I have the same one.

Curious wording in their description of that battery. Some ā€œleakageā€ has occurred from the description of a lifepo4 type.

73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH

Ditto - also using this Turnigy LIPO from Hobby King. I also have a second charged one with me on most activations in case I need more time. It really is nice though for short activations not having to carry external batteries.

Ed.