Good video Peter, I spotted a yellow fuse which I think is 5 Amps. I think it worth mentioning the fuse rating especially for our welcomed newcomers to ham radio. I would have suggested 5 Amps as maximum for that specific application. 73, Martin
LiFePo4 batteries are the way to go today. They last a LONG time and the voltage stays high until near the end of the charge. Prices have been dropping fast too!
TXS Peter for this interesting video, just a thought ,fusing both negative and positive nearest the battery would be good practice also I prefer the push on connectors as the crocodile clips could be easily pulled away from the battery terminals. 73's
I run my FT 718 from a 6Ah LiFePO Battery on portable since 2 Years. No problems . Two Batteries ,Transceiver, EFHW antenna and cable fit in a standard waterproof NATO Ammo box.
very interesting video Peter.. As for Waters & Stanton accessories. I have purchased many over the years and found your range really good... and no, I have not been paid for this endorsement 🙂
These smaller batteries are permitted on airlines too. I bring one on vacation with my FT-891. I run 100 watts and get enough time for my POTA activations.
I have an explorer battery box with a 50ah battery in it. It has 5 USB ports, 4 Anderson pole connector ports as well as battery terminals. Sadly the box is difficult to find now
10W into a 50 ohm load is about 23V (RMS). 32V peak, 64V peak to peak. To get that from a 12V battery, chances are there's a switch mode supply inside - or a 1:5 transformer at the final stage. 10W is also: 450mA RMS, 640mA peak, 1.28A pp. To provide that (at 60V) your final stage needs about 6.3A Counting all the time your radio is keyed to transmit, a 6Ah battery should last one hour.
@@watersstanton True, but the RF can only swing from zero to the supply voltage. You can add a transformer on the output stage (as I mentioned) but Class A amplifiers are not efficient.
LiFePO4, not sure it's same charger as lithium batteries. But no définitive answer yet. My advise : For POTA use, be careful about form factor. I bought a 20 AH LiFePO4 battery, The weight is in the bottom of the box so I think it's half empty. This may be to respect form factor of mandatory industrial batterie size. So try to find the highest capacity for minimum real volume of the battery for backpacking.
In the old days, cars had positive grounding of the lead acid battery. Fuses would thus be fitted in the negative leads from the battery. Red and black cables that come with Japanese equipment since the 60's came with fuses in negative and positive, thus suitable for all cars. In similar fashion to domestic electricity circuits, where the neutral is earthed.
For airline travel batteries must be in your carry on and 100 watt hours or less. I use a 6 Ah battery to power a 50w amplifier along with my IC-705 on the internal battery at 3 watts to drive the amp. I’ve had no trouble operating for hours on CW or SSB. 50w offers a nice balance between reach and power consumption. Most stations I can hear return my calls. Fusing the negative lead is important for mobile if you connect directly to the car battery. Most cars depend on the chassis of the vehicle as the electrical return path. If the return path to the battery is interrupted for any reason, it will try to use the radios negative lead as the return path which it is not designed for.
Good video Peter, I spotted a yellow fuse which I think is 5 Amps. I think it worth mentioning the fuse rating especially for our welcomed newcomers to ham radio.
I would have suggested 5 Amps as maximum for that specific application.
73, Martin
LiFePo4 batteries are the way to go today. They last a LONG time and the voltage stays high until near the end of the charge. Prices have been dropping fast too!
Thanks for sharing.
I run my 705 with a 20Ah battery, lasts me several days on SSB at 10watts. Don’t need big capacity batteries for portable!
I use Anderson Power Poles on all of my equipment
TXS Peter for this interesting video, just a thought ,fusing both negative and positive nearest the battery would be good practice also I prefer the push on connectors as the crocodile clips could be easily pulled away from the battery terminals. 73's
I run my FT 718 from a 6Ah LiFePO Battery on portable since 2 Years. No problems . Two Batteries ,Transceiver, EFHW antenna and cable fit in a standard waterproof NATO Ammo box.
Good to hear. Thanks for sharing.
very interesting video Peter.. As for Waters & Stanton accessories. I have purchased many over the years and found your range really good... and no, I have not been paid for this endorsement 🙂
Thanks for sharing . Much appreciated.
There are small, the size of a brick, power stations that come with all the bits and are all around handy AC, 12v and usb power.
Thanks for video. Going to set up my portable hardware now.
These smaller batteries are permitted on airlines too. I bring one on vacation with my FT-891. I run 100 watts and get enough time for my POTA activations.
Good advice.
Nice video. Please also provide the link to the charger. I have problems finding decent chargers, especially with battery level meter !
I have an explorer battery box with a 50ah battery in it. It has 5 USB ports, 4 Anderson pole connector ports as well as battery terminals. Sadly the box is difficult to find now
Great video Peter. I generally use 2250 mAh 3s LiPo packs. Very light, and last a long time running 5 W of CW with my TX500 or FT817
73 M3KXZ
Great to get your feed back.
Thank you Peter, very useful
10W into a 50 ohm load is about 23V (RMS). 32V peak, 64V peak to peak. To get that from a 12V battery, chances are there's a switch mode supply inside - or a 1:5 transformer at the final stage.
10W is also: 450mA RMS, 640mA peak, 1.28A pp. To provide that (at 60V) your final stage needs about 6.3A
Counting all the time your radio is keyed to transmit, a 6Ah battery should last one hour.
The DC voltage is quite different from the RF voltage across the load.
@@watersstanton True, but the RF can only swing from zero to the supply voltage. You can add a transformer on the output stage (as I mentioned) but Class A amplifiers are not efficient.
Can I charge lifepo4 with dc variable bench power supply (lab type) with cc protection
I would strongly suggest using a proper charger.
LiFePO4, not sure it's same charger as lithium batteries. But no définitive answer yet.
My advise : For POTA use, be careful about form factor. I bought a 20 AH LiFePO4 battery, The weight is in the bottom of the box so I think it's half empty. This may be to respect form factor of mandatory industrial batterie size. So try to find the highest capacity for minimum real volume of the battery for backpacking.
Good advice for backpackers.
Did you consider putting a fuse in the negative side too?
No.
@@watersstanton just wondered. I see some do and some don't and wondered why
In the old days, cars had positive grounding of the lead acid battery. Fuses would thus be fitted in the negative leads from the battery. Red and black cables that come with Japanese equipment since the 60's came with fuses in negative and positive, thus suitable for all cars. In similar fashion to domestic electricity circuits, where the neutral is earthed.
@@73deoldtimer ahhh that makes sense. Thanks!
For airline travel batteries must be in your carry on and 100 watt hours or less. I use a 6 Ah battery to power a 50w amplifier along with my IC-705 on the internal battery at 3 watts to drive the amp. I’ve had no trouble operating for hours on CW or SSB. 50w offers a nice balance between reach and power consumption. Most stations I can hear return my calls. Fusing the negative lead is important for mobile if you connect directly to the car battery. Most cars depend on the chassis of the vehicle as the electrical return path. If the return path to the battery is interrupted for any reason, it will try to use the radios negative lead as the return path which it is not designed for.