Radio out- Would you fly?

On 5 May 2006 13:47:06 -0500, Robert Tenet wrote in
::

I'm definitely in favor of redundancy.

Right.

If I had my meter with me, I could have gotten the system
up and running, so now my flight bag has an inexpensive
meter in it for troubleshooting.

Well, that's one approach. But with that philosophy, you'd have to
carry a toolbox to address every eventuality. I find it better to
address the fundamental cause of the issue rather than adding another
layer of complexity.

I'm not sure if it adds much to this
discussion, but I actually had the necessary
headset-to-handheld adapter. I even had some spare AA's for
a GPS handheld. What I didn't have was a handheld that
accepts AA batteries.

There's the crux of the issue.

I use the radio without its lower
half (which is an OEM rechargeable battery) and power it
from the main or backup SLA 12 volt rechargable battery. I
didn't bring the lower half that day - I figured the two big
batteries were OK. For longer trips I carry a D-cell pack
that replaces the SLA battery.

Personally, I discarded the Yeasu VXA-100's NiCad battery pack in
favor of using AA alkaline batteries, because they are universally
available. I use alkaline batteries to power the portable equipment
in my flight bag. That way it is less likely that I will be caught
without power when I need it. While the cost of AA alkaline batteries
may exceed the use of rechargeable, I believe they afford a more
reliable solution.