Handhelds and alkaline batteries

I don't own Energizer (ENR) or Duracell (G) stock and I don't think Jay
does
either. We just stopped by the closest battery booth and that's what was
readily available for alkalines.

Yeah -- for some bizarre reason, the guy who sold me the ICOM said that
Duracell brand alkaline batteries were just a tad too long to fit in the
ICOM battery box properly.

I haven't measured them with a micrometer (yet!), but it sure sounded goofy
to Greg and me. Nevertheless, I didn't risk it and bought some "Brand X"
alkaline batteries from the next "Batteries Plus"-kinda place we ran across.
Even *those* batteries fit quite tightly -- but they work just fine.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Yeah -- for some bizarre reason, the guy who sold me the ICOM said that
Duracell brand alkaline batteries were just a tad too long to fit in the
ICOM battery box properly.



Here's what Icom wrote to me after I asked them about this issue.

Thank you for contacting ICOM Technical Support.

This is normal for this unit. The nicad battery pack gives a higher
voltage.

And here's what I originally wrote to them:

I recently purchased an Icom A5 Sport radio. It seems to generally
work, but the low battery indicator stays on all the time and
flashes indicating a severely depleted battery when I transmit.

I have installed new batteries and it still does this.

Is this considered normal?

I use alkaline batteries in my A22. They have worked for over a year or
so. But I only use to get clearances and check ATIS without powering up the
plane.

jerry

Has anyone else tried transmitting using a handheld powered by alkalines,
either the A23 or any of the other brands? I'm thinking about trying the
Sporty's model next. It uses 8 AA rather than the A23's 6.


Ross Oliver

I have had a JRC and I have the new Vertex. Both work great on alkaline

--
-------------------------------------
Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO
IDCS-150972
PP-ASEL
center
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join

**"A long time ago being crazy meant something, nowadays everyone is
crazy" -- Charles Manson**
-------------------------------------
"Ross Oliver" wrote in message
...

I recently purchased an Icom A23 Sport handheld transceiver, which
uses 6 AA alkaline batteries rather than the rechargable NiCad.
I chose the Sport model because I plan to use it primarily as an
emergency backup, the alkalines will hold a charge much longer than
the NiCads. The radio receives great, but it will not transmit
at all. Even with brand new name-brand batteries, the "low battery"
warning comes on as soon as I key the PTT, and the transmission is
so badly clipped that it is unreadable. I'm guessing that the alkalines
simply cannot provide enough current to adequately power the transmitter.

Has anyone else tried transmitting using a handheld powered by alkalines,
either the A23 or any of the other brands? I'm thinking about trying the
Sporty's model next. It uses 8 AA rather than the A23's 6.


Ross Oliver

my ICOM A-22 has a battery pack that holds 10 AA batteries, and no problems,
lasts about a 5 hr day of soaring. I use a 1500mAh NiMH pack and carry the
AA battery pack as a back-up when I forget to charge the NiMH.

The NiMH will last for days..

BT

"Ross Oliver" wrote in message
...

I recently purchased an Icom A23 Sport handheld transceiver, which
uses 6 AA alkaline batteries rather than the rechargable NiCad.
I chose the Sport model because I plan to use it primarily as an
emergency backup, the alkalines will hold a charge much longer than
the NiCads. The radio receives great, but it will not transmit
at all. Even with brand new name-brand batteries, the "low battery"
warning comes on as soon as I key the PTT, and the transmission is
so badly clipped that it is unreadable. I'm guessing that the alkalines
simply cannot provide enough current to adequately power the transmitter.

Has anyone else tried transmitting using a handheld powered by alkalines,
either the A23 or any of the other brands? I'm thinking about trying the
Sporty's model next. It uses 8 AA rather than the A23's 6.


Ross Oliver

I have an old (12 years) Sporty's A300 that uses 6 cells, and now I have the
new model with 8 cells. It runs a lot longer.

I think it is more a voltage issue rather than a current issue, but 33% more
batteries makes the radio last more than 200% longer.



"Ross Oliver" wrote in message
...

I recently purchased an Icom A23 Sport handheld transceiver, which
uses 6 AA alkaline batteries rather than the rechargable NiCad.
I chose the Sport model because I plan to use it primarily as an
emergency backup, the alkalines will hold a charge much longer than
the NiCads. The radio receives great, but it will not transmit
at all. Even with brand new name-brand batteries, the "low battery"
warning comes on as soon as I key the PTT, and the transmission is
so badly clipped that it is unreadable. I'm guessing that the alkalines
simply cannot provide enough current to adequately power the transmitter.

Has anyone else tried transmitting using a handheld powered by alkalines,
either the A23 or any of the other brands? I'm thinking about trying the
Sporty's model next. It uses 8 AA rather than the A23's 6.


Ross Oliver

Jay, any problems with either new radio or the other goodies?

Nope. The ICOM A5 works as advertised, and is WAY better than my old (and
ten-times bigger) ICOM A21. I can clearly and easily receive Iowa City
AWOS from my home with this thing -- something that was very scratchy and
intermittent with the old model.

And the new NARCO 810R -- the slide-in replacement for our old NARCO 120
com -- has been truly wonderful. Once we located the proper sized allen
wrench (thanks again, Greg -- I've still got your wrench set!), it literally
slid right into the tray where the 120 used to live -- and has worked
perfectly ever since.

It's digital, transmissions are crystal clear, it's flip-flop, and -- best
of all -- it's got 10 memory pre-sets that I can actually access in flight!
(Unlike our old TKM MX170B, that required an awkward simultaneous
2-button-push that was virtually impossible in even light turbulence.)

And the AvMap continues to just blow us away. We just got back from a
flight over to Pella (a neat old-world Dutch settlement) with the kids, and
we just couldn't stop raving about it. What an amazing tool this thing is!

--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Most likely your problem is poor contact somewhere in the battery/holder/
power switch series string. The radio gets enough current to receive OK,
but the heavy draw of transmitting causes the voltage to drop to the point
that the radio will no longer operate. Try a different set of batteries
(only one bad one will cause the problem), and make sure that all are
seated properly in the holder and that the contacts apply firm pressure
against the terminals. A bad power switch can cause the same symptoms.

I have used my Icom A2 with an aftermarket AA battery pack for years with
good results. Always carry a spare set of cells. They will keep for several
years.

Nicads are fine but you must exercise them. The right way to treat a Nicad
is to run it down then charge it up ASAP - at least once a week, and
preferably daily. Letting it sit for months will kill it, as will leaving
it on the charger all the time.

Has anyone else tried transmitting using a handheld powered by alkalines,
either the A23 or any of the other brands? I'm thinking about trying the
Sporty's model next. It uses 8 AA rather than the A23's 6.

I use my handheld as sole radio, so the rechargable batt is far better
for me. That was a major reason I sold the Sporty's--the batts cost
too much and throwing them away embarrassed me in front of my very
green daughter.

I never had a problem with the Sporty's such as you describe. It's
true with all handhelds that they will receive long after they fail to
transmit. If anything, my feeling is that the aky batts ought to be
better when new than the ni-cads (whatever).

I like my present (Yaseu) handheld much better than the Sporty's, for
what it's worth. Can't you get an alky adapter for your present kit?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

I just found some AA Duracell Ni-MH 1,800mah for $0.89 each through
MCM/Newark, if anyone is interested...
http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebComme...jsp?id=58-7740

I still don't own stock in Gillette (Duracell) or Premier Farnell
(MCM/Newark)...

"mike regish" wrote in message
news:UOcYa.54566$cF.19421@rwcrnsc53...
Bet he owns stock in Energizer...

I use Duracell in everything. (And no, I don't own any stock)

mike regish