Hi James
Do you mean 1 hour transmit time or as you say ‘total use time’ which includes listening? Mine is on all day during activations but then only short bursts of actual activation time. Is it fairly new? Is the charger faulty? I should think something is amiss so perhaps you need to do a few tests before the next activation and maybe take Phil’s advice on a back-up battery.
Hope to catch you s2s soon
73 Allan GW4VPX
Hi James
It is horses for courses. I currently use a Yaesu VX7R on longer higher activations and I find this lighter and more robust than the FT270E (I dropped an FT270E on Great Knoutberry Hill and it broke) and they are usually available on auction sites for a reasonable price. If I am doing a short walk then I use the FT-857D with LiPo battery back for HF activations and I carry the VX7R as a back up for VHF. For longer walks the FT-817 is better from the weight point of view but with the conditions poor like they are at the moment, the lower power makes activations more difficult. The FT1900 with LiPo is useful for those VHF activations that require more power like remote summits such as Cold Fell. Like Phil said a spare battery is very useful but if you can afford it buy two handhelds the same and if you do break one you have a hot spare!
GL/73
Nick G4OOE
Yes, that included listening as well. Seems that all is not well with the battery pack or charger I have. I suspect it’s the battery rather than the charger as it charges to 7.2V but drops away to 5.6v rapidly before failing to transmit anymore. It tells me everything that you can get a whole day out of it Allan… on second thoughts maybe I waffle on a bit too much on TX!
Good suggestion Phil, I’ve purchased a 1800mAh back-up!
Glad to hear it has your stamp of approval as well Phil. I’ve been impressed with everything except the battery life so far. The receive proved to be infinitely better than my backup Baofeng yesterday. With the Baofeng I heard a station coming back to me, but was barely opening the squelch and unreadable, so I quickly switched back to the FT-270R and bang he was there at a 56 and managed to exchange reports before the battery died again!
It’s quite fun this 2m FM SOTA lark 
Yes I agree James - 2m FM is very useful in the UK when you are within reach of 4+ QSOs for qualifying a summit quickly allowing time to go somewhere else and activate that. Very effective for 20-30 minute quickie activations in the Lake District, North and South Wales, most of G/NP and G/SP and G/WB and certain summits in GM within reach of the cities / Lake District chasers. Not always successful in other parts though… Good move getting the spare battery pack.
73 Phil
It sounds very much like you have a dead/shorted/iffy cell in your battery pack James. My VX170 reads 12.8V when the charger is connected which feels right. A fully charged NiCd cell is around 1.35V and with 6 in a pack that would be 8.1V, the 8,4V display when the charger is removed also feels “close enough”.
If yours read 7.2V when fully charged, then 7.2/6 = 1.2V per cell and that doesn’t feel fully charged to me.
Many years of playing with NiCds suggests you have an iffy cell in the pack. Maybe it just needs charging properly but you can’t do that when they are in series. You could strip the pack and measure the voltage on each cell when it’s charged and flat and you’ll probably find the iffy cell. You can then replace just that cell and you should be good to go.
Or just buy a new one from eBay or AliExpress 
Then try a FT-60, I used to use it on SOTA until I got a VX-170 but I also use the FT-60 for portable sat coms.
Glyn
Hi James
Picking up on what Andy FMF has said.
On my FT270 I don’t know if it has been fully charged as the red charging/transmit light never goes off after a prolonged period of charge.
I normally charge over night between 8 to 10hrs (10 hours is the recommended time for this battery pack from flat-Yaesu). The internal batteries and the charger get warm and as soon as the the charger is cold I stop charging as the process has probably finished after that time.
Hope this helps
Allan GW4VPX
PS…The voltage of my FT270 freshly charged is 8.6volts
“2m FM is very useful in the UK when you are within reach of 4+ QSOs for qualifying a summit … Not always successful in other parts though.”
That’s the crux of the matter. There was a time when 2m was more widely used and you could get a pile up using a few watts and a simple vertical. Now the band is much less used. I recall using an FT-290R and its whip from the Isle of Wight and working all around the south coast of England. This last week I couldn’t raise a response from down near Wareham and only heard one QSO on a repeater.
On a more positive note, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to qualify Blaeloch Hill GM/SS-220 on the evening of Saturday 25th July (not the best time!) with 1 watt from my Standard C710 feeding the 5 element beam. The reason for me not using the 817 and SSB will be made known when I get around to writing the report for my last GM trip. 2m FM certainly made for a different activation, though I won’t be taking it up as a standard MO.
Good tip Allan, as you’ve seen as well there’s no indication as to when the battery finishes charging. To be honest I didn’t realise it took so long to charge, this may partly explain why it’s not lasting so long. But it still doesn’t seem quite right!
I’ve never known 2m to be busy, I only got licensed in 2013 so I expect it to be dead and am pleasantly surprised when I can qualify with 2m FM alone. I’ve been to some “summits” where I wouldn’t think of it due to the takeoff and surrounding heavy foliage, but when I think back to some summits in the Brecon Beacons I wonder why I lugged HF kit up!
I guess it’s another element of excitement - on HF you can be pretty sure you can qualify a summit, usually very easily (I’ve jinxed it now haven’t I!), but on 2m I only stop sweating after the 4th QSO 
Thanks for the advice Andy, I chose to buy a spare, which I am duly charging now, fingers crossed that I can get the expected battery life out of the FT270.
Only other thing to note is that I have the FT-270E and not the R model, are there any differences?
Cheers,
James M0JCQ
I think the E means nothing more than “European” so 144-146MHz, 25kHz default step size.
Yes there is no indication that charging is done and if you have come from a LiPo background (phones. tablets, gizmos) then the slow charge time for NiMH/NiCd is spectacularly long. My pack and charger does get hot when charging.
There was a time when you would expect to be able to qualify a wide range of summits using 2m FM. I used to use 2m exclusively and rarely “sweated” over qualification. Unfortunately it is not just FM where the activity has dropped off, it is probably worse on SSB. I recently looked at my log for Black Craig of Dee GM/SS-170 in October 2007 and noted that I worked 20 on 2m SSB from the summit. Nowadays the only regular contacts on the mode are Don G0RQL and Graham G4JZF. I must say, looking at the log made me sad that it has gone the way it has, but that’s “progress” for you. 
Do you think it could be linked to the solar cycle, 2007 would have been around minima so 2m became a better option for inter-G contacts? While more recently (except the last couple of months!) 40m supported inter-G contacts more reliably?
Hi Gerald,
Not only in SOTA, has the reduction in VHF activity over the years been questioned. The general consensus in discussions I hve been in, has been tthat the introduction of the foundation licence with the access to short wave bands may be a major factor. Those who used to always be on 2m and 70cm are perhaps now busy in their work career or building families or have moved in retirement, so without “new blood” (of any age) coming into the hobby into 2m and 70cm, those (and of course the higher bands) have little chance. The HF bands are simply more attractive for most of the newcomers.
Ed.
No, not directly. Good DX conditions may lure some to HF operation, but it is not as simple as that. My thoughts are set out below.
In my opinion there are two main factors. First, the foundation licence allows access to the HF bands straight away where it is easier to make contacts using simple antennas. there is no need for rotators, metalwork in the sky (which might upset the neighbours), low loss cable, etc., etc - no, bung a bit of wire out and make contacts. The second factor is that we now have a culture where people seek instant gratification. Trawling the VHF and UHF bands for weak signals in the noise, turning the beam every few seconds does not provide that. Those that have an established interest in VHF and UHF find that they are making fewer and fewer contacts, so they themselves find less use for these bands. Add to that the fact that for many there is greater satisfaction (and ethos when discussing amateur radio with non-amateurs) in working an expedition on a rare Pacific island than a hard won contact with an OK station on 2m… well, it is basically no competition.
It is the effect that the decline is having upon the established VHF / UHF operators that worries me. Even I have sometimes wondered whether it is now worthwhile carrying the 2m beam, linear and larger power pack up the hills. I do it because VHF and UHF operation still interests me after 45 years on the bands and the chance to work people like Don and Graham over decent distances still appeals.
Incidentally, my 20 SSB contacts from GM/SS-170 in 2007 can be reasonably compared with my recent activation of GM/SS-181 which is nearby - I made 2 contacts on 2m SSB (no prizes for guessing who), 1 on 2m CW and 7 on 2m FM. There is life out there - long may it continue to thrive and my thanks go to everyone who is maintaining operation on these bands.
73, Gerald G4OIG
I get the impression that there’re fewer all-mode (or at least SSB-capable) VHF/UHF rigs available than there used to be? (Bit chicken-and-egg, that; fewer rigs so less use, or less use so fewer rigs?)
You’re correct Rick. But as most HF rigs come with all mode 2m at 100W there should be lots of 2m activity.
So what puts people off is they need beams/rotators for VHF compared to some piece of damp string on HF. HF is easier in comparison.
However, I had forgotten that we do need another Vintage Electric Handbag Event and I shall think about some classes of entry: such using vintage gear SSB, using vintage gear FM, using modern gear worked X vintage stations etc.
I’ll ask Neil 2M0NMC to pick the dates so we get lovely weather
I would say that Rick has summed it up beautifully there!
The presence of FM/Digital only rigs for 2m/70cm is the reason for the decline IMHO.
No manufacturer makes an exclusive VHF/UHF Multimode anymore - the last was the Icom 910 which has since been discontinued.
I have just put a shed load of metal up in the air to work VHF and UHF (see my QRZ page) this cost a lot of money, but equally the effort involved is a lot harder (it’s really heavy!!). I have a Doublet up for HF and can take that up and down in seconds, so I suppose the ease and cheapness of HF is another lure.
When I started in SOTA in 2010 I was amazed at 2m SSB and just how many people were on the band, now on SSB I worry about qualifying the summit and often have to revert to FM to pick up the “Muggles” non SOTA chasers.
I have 37 points to go till I have 1000 on VHF/UHF exclusively, however after that I am tempted to leave the beams at home and go slim jims for 2m FM and rely on HF for bringing the numbers in.
I have an old FT-290 that is used with my 4m transverter, I will happily take that out with me if there is an “electric handbag” event planned anytime soon.
Just my two pence.
Matt G8XYJ
Not what I see Andy. Looking at new rigs there’s only the FT991 (847/857/897 gone) and FT817, IC701 (7000 and others effectively gone), TS2000, Elekraft K3/KX3 (if you add a transvertor module), that do all mode HF/VHF. I’m not sure about the new SDR type rigs, but I think “most HF rigs” come with 6m not 2m would be a more correct statement.
Ed.
2m-fm for SOTA is still a good way to qualify most summits in G/LD and G/NP. We are very lucky here in the north as we have a group of dedicated chasers and spotters. Of course it is usually much easier from the higher summits like Cross Fell where I recently had 20 145-fm contacts!
73
Nick
I’ll swap you “most HF rigs” for “the best selling HF rigs come with”
The following all have 2m FT817/857/897/FT991 (857/897 still available), IC7100/7400/9100, TS2000
There are a bazillion 817/857s and IC706 radios around! Likewise FT100s (though many will have dead finals).
There have never been so many multimode radios with 2m about.
However, the real problem is not the decline in 2m activity but the fact I have finished the bottle of Balvennie Caribbean Cask 14 Year Old malt! There are few other bottles in the whisky cabinet but that was a particularly wonderful dram.