This was the battery I purchased just over a year ago, it was for the Elecraft KX3 as a back up battery for the times my internal batteries gave up the ghost. Unfortunately the battery will no longer hold a charge and it's only after a year and maybe 3 uses. I am now in the market for an external battery that I hope will not let me down after only being called on 3 times. Any ideas out there??
8 comments:
Mike,
Mine gave up the ghost, too. It's down to 10V and when I plug in the charger, the red LED doesn't light up, indicating that a charge is taking place. I checked the outputof the charger and it's 12V - so I suspect one of the wires on the "inbound side" went kaflooey. Back to using my smaller 5Ah SLA. The li-ion was nice because it was small and light an lasted a decent time. Maybe the key for me is getting another but not from China via eBay. But of course that means more $$$$$ - and as we all know ... Hams are cheap!
72 de Larry W2LJ
Good evening Larry, my red LED light does come on while charging but on the wall charger the green light does not come on. After charging the battery over night I remove the battery from the changer and turn the battery on the red LED goes out. Sorry to hear that your battery as well has bit the dust and I agree so much for the stuff from China!
Mike
Hi Simon.
See my blog post from some time ago. http://www.m0tgn.com/2014/02/light-weight-power-for-qrp.html I can tell you that using this battery pack has provided faultless power on the many ‘Walk abouts” i have had. it is a handy form factor and is reliable. over a recent 48 hour outage it never failed and was only half charged once finished.
The down side is its expensive, but on reflection its good value knowing how reliable it truly is. I have a few videos on my YouTube Channel where you can see the pack in action – if you have any questions i am happy to help.
73 Dan
Good evening Dan, thanks for the reply, I checked out your Youtube video and it was great. I have looked online at the reviews of this product and they are all very positive. I ended up purchasing one from the U.S and am waiting it to arrive.
Thanks again for the great review.
Mike
Dan, wondering where you purchased it? Do you have a link? Thanks! Randy, KF4O
Good morning Dan, I believe this is the U.S link as I did purchase mine from the States and I am sure this is the page I bookmarked from where I made my purchase. http://www.tracerpower.com/tracer-lithium-polymer-battery-packs.html
Let me know if this is not the right link.
Thanks for stopping by the blog.
Mike
VE3WDM
Hello Mike,
Very sorry about that. Here I used over years many kinds of batteries, like GEL-CELL etc.
Now I use the K2 model K2B12V10EB RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY, (LFP) from www.K2battery.com
As you will see, the top of the battery is black, and it contains the electronic circuit used to balance each cells when charging it.
With this, no more special charger are needed , only a small 2 amps charger. The one I use is ENERGIZER maintainer 2000 model: 12BC2000T-5 with an output of 14.6 volts DC 2,0 amps, "bulk charge stage, 13.6 volts "float"
instead of the old system of chargers like the one used by R/C controls,
By the way, at my great surprise, I found this one locally here in Québec City but when I asked for A123 Batteries (nanophosphate) the guy told me that it is not sold to anybody, so when talking with him he saw exactly what I needed, and he says, we sell those batteries to surveyor, and to the police.-
The price is 228.00$ Can + taxes, for this model, and each pack have their own serial number, the battery size is exactly the same as a gell-cell 7 amps, but it weight 2 pounds only, and it is 9.6 amps So it is very light for the bag during some portable activities.
I use it for one year now along with my KX3 Elecraft, and after many tests, I can use it for 30 hours before charging it.
A- I use earphones, B- no preamp, C- lights off
Current draw RX = 185/190 Ma TX = 2 to 2.1 amps, antenna always Buddipole in vertical configuration, but always full size/no compromise (no coils_ and sometimes an extended double Zepp in inv Vee config, hook-up to my 26 ft fiberglass telescopic pole.
I hope this help you, and just discover your blog, so I should have many hours of reading to be up to date, and I hope to work you sometime on bands,.
If you want any informations, let me know,
All the very best, 72, Michel VE2TH QRP & QRPp
Good afternoon Michel, thanks very much for stopping by the blog and also taking the time to comment. Great information and I am for sure going to look at the K2 battery page.
Mike
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