HT Battery Packs

[Lscott]

This is a topic I haven't seen discussed very much.

 

I've been testing a huge pile of used battery packs accumulated from purchasing used radios. Two main types I have are Lithium Ion and Nickel Metal Hydride. They range in capacity from 2000 mAh to 1480 mAh for the Lithium type and 1800 mAh to 1200 mAh for the Nickel type. I don't want to have anything to do with the old Nickel Cadmium types. All the sellers that include battery packs typically state the packs are in unknown condition, meaning they have no idea of the remaining usable capacity. Because of that I usually don't consider it of any extra value in evaluating the sellers price for a used radio. If I get a good one I consider myself lucky.

 

The testing was done using an electronic load, which has a built-in battery test function. I found about 40 to 50 percent of the packs tested at 80 percent or better of the specified rating that appears on the battery case. The rest were at 60 percent to a low of 23 percent, basically good for a quick radio test or just junk status. Typically the accepted value of anything below 80 percent of new the pack is considered EOL, end of life, and should be replaced. While that's OK for business use it gets expensive for hobby uses. For me at least I have an idea of how much use I can expect to get out of a given pack. I marked the measured capacity in mAh's on the pack, the percent of the nameplate rating and the test date on each pack I have.

 

So given a fair number of people use HT's how many really have evaluated their "fleet" of battery packs? I know some of the more advance chargers can "recondition" packs and test them for usable capacity.

 

I see all sorts of sellers of OEM battery packs on eBay, typically very expensive, and far more economical battery packs sold as "unbranded" and direct replacements for the OEM ones. The better prices of course are from the Chinese sellers, or from US importers of Chinese battery packs. I have read stories where it's not uncommon to buy one of these cheap battery packs and discover later they "don't seem to have the capacity" claimed on the case. However without some quantitative testing it's just an opinion. So has anybody done their own testing and found a seller that has a good price and the battery packs really do meet the specified ratings and are reliable?

 

You might have the best radio manufactured, but if the battery pack is crap, dies just when you need it, what good is the radio?   

 

[mbrun]

I admit I have not done this with my radio batteries, but is has been on my mind since an unexpected dead battery during a long walk a few months ago.

 

I have the reasonably convenient capability to vet standard AAA-D cells, just not assembled multi-cell packs.

 

Last year or so I returned I think 2 dozen high-capacity D cells because they measured only 60% of advertised capacity. Ordered a different model and tested them. They were within 5-10% of rated capacity. I kept them.

 

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

[Lscott]

How did you evaluate the cells? I started off cheap using a bunch of paralleled power resistors with a 3-1/2 digit multimeter to measure the voltage on the pack. I timed how long it took to run the pack down to my lower voltage limit with a stopwatch. Since the pack’s voltage drops during the test I just used the average pack voltage and resistor value to calculate the average discharge current. It wasn’t very accurate but it told me if a pack was worth keeping or headed for the trash bin.

[Lscott]

Oh, I advised a buddy at work to buy a new battery pack for a used radio he just got. I recommended he let me test the used pack that came with the radio. He mentioned it lasted all day scanning so he wasn’t that interested in having it tested.

 

It’s very easy to get fooled by a crappy pack if you judge it by how long the radio stays alive scanning. When the radio is scanning with no audio the power drain on the pack is at the minimum. Even a pack with 20 to 30 percent capacity may work that way for hours. One of my NiMH packs I thought was good, because I can let the radio scan nearly all day, tested at only 732 mAh on a 1800 mAh rated pack! I ordered 2 new 1800 mAh packs since I have 4 UHF radios and 5 VHF radios that use them. They don’t sell Lithium Ion packs for these radios and the OEM chargers only handle NiCAD or NiMH types. All my other radios can use the Lithium Ion packs and the OEM chargers work with them.

[Lscott]

Oh, I advised a buddy at work to buy a new battery pack for a used radio he just got. I recommended he let me test the used pack that came with the radio. He mentioned it lasted all day scanning so he wasn’t that interested in having it tested.

 

It’s very easy to get fooled by a crappy pack if you judge it by how long the radio stays alive scanning. When the radio is scanning with no audio the power drain on the pack is at the minimum. Even a pack with 20 to 30 percent capacity may work that way for hours. One of my NiMH packs I thought was good, because I can let the radio scan nearly all day, tested at only 732 mAh on a 1800 mAh rated pack! I ordered 2 new 1800 mAh packs since I have 4 UHF radios and 5 VHF radios that use them. They don’t sell Lithium Ion packs for these radios and the OEM chargers only handle NiCAD or NiMH types. All my other radios can use the Lithium Ion packs and the OEM chargers work with them.

[mbrun]

Good Day.

 

I have this meter I use in my shop for checking battery capacity.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5CWR2P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I power it via dedicated power supply rather than battery. I then have modular battery cradles that allow me to assemble cells in whatever combination I want to test. I wire the cell(s) up to and through the shunt to a resistive load of whatever size I want. The meter then monitors voltage and current at the same time and calculates amp hours real time.

 

It is ideally suited for RV or Solar power pack work, but I just happen to find another use for it.

 

SkyRC has a cool single cell charger analyzer. I have thought about getting that just for its analytics capabilities.

 

How did you evaluate the cells? I started off cheap using a bunch of paralleled power resistors with a 3-1/2 digit multimeter to measure the voltage on the pack. I timed how long it took to run the pack down to my lower voltage limit with a stopwatch. Since the pack’s voltage drops during the test I just used the average pack voltage and resistor value to calculate the average discharge current. It wasn’t very accurate but it told me if a pack was worth keeping or headed for the trash bin.

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

[gortex2]

All my batteries have impress technology. When they go in the charger it analyzes the battery and will condition if needed. On my old NiCad stuff I drop in an analyzer once a year.

[Lscott]

All my batteries have impress technology. When they go in the charger it analyzes the battery and will condition if needed. On my old NiCad stuff I drop in an analyzer once a year.

I guess none of mine have that technology. It sounds like a very good feature to have. I just purchased two new NiMH 1800mAh packs because the two I thought were good tested at greatly reduced capacity. Sort of surprised me.

[Lscott]

Good Day.

 

I have this meter I use in my shop for checking battery capacity.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5CWR2P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I power it via dedicated power supply rather than battery. I then have modular battery cradles that allow me to assemble cells in whatever combination I want to test. I wire the cell(s) up to and through the shunt to a resistive load of whatever size I want. The meter then monitors voltage and current at the same time and calculates amp hours real time.

 

It is ideally suited for RV or Solar power pack work, but I just happen to find another use for it.

 

SkyRC has a cool single cell charger analyzer. I have thought about getting that just for its analytics capabilities.

 

 

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

That one you linked to looks good.

 

I purchased a couple of these for solar power applications. Monitor panel output and the charge going in/out of a battery bank, usually a 12 VDC to 13.3 VDC.

 

https://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-analyzer-inline-dc-powerpole

 

I tried to use one for battery capacity testing unfortunately when the battery voltage drops a bit the meter quits working. The typical HT pack I use is 7.4VDC and they didn't work well at that low voltage. There is a separate port for external power but it still leaves me with making up a load for the battery pack and for a check against the pack's name plate rating the test needs to duplicate the manufacture's test conditions. That's hard to do without the specialized test gear.

[mbrun]

That one you linked to looks good.

 

I purchased a couple of these for solar power applications. Monitor panel output and the charge going in/out of a battery bank, usually a 12 VDC to 13.3 VDC.

 

https://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-analyzer-inline-dc-powerpole

 

I tried to use one for battery capacity testing unfortunately when the battery voltage drops a bit the meter quits working. The typical HT pack I use is 7.4VDC and they didn't work well at that low voltage. There is a separate port for external power but it still leaves me with making up a load for the battery pack and for a check against the pack's name plate rating the test needs to duplicate the manufacture's test conditions. That's hard to do without the specialized test gear.

I believe most manufacturers have standardized on the C20 rate for AH ratings. You can certainly do any rate you need, and manufacturers can publish values for any rate they feel appropriate, but as far as standard capacity comparisons that is what I have learned over the years to be the most universal.

 

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM