TNWEB Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 I picked up the twin pack of the UV-5G Plus last week at Radioddity. The primary factor in choosing this model (my first GMRS radio) was that the batteries are chargeable via the included USB-C cable and AC adapter. Since these batteries supply a nominal 7.4VDC to the radio, I was curious as to what the charging voltage and current was for this setup. As per the attached photo, I found the voltage and current were consistent at 5.2V and 0.7A across the entire 4-5 hour charge cycle. Since the batteries normal operating range is from 7.0v to 8.4v we can conclude that the batteries have an internal step-up circuit to boost the charge voltage to an appropriate level. The USB charging capability will be useful in the field as I can use either the USB ports on my PowerWerx box, cell phone chargers, or truck USB ports. WSAA930 and BoxCar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSAM454 Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 i have wondered about this also. Since charging by USB is becoming more popular and if a USB phone charger is a standard 5 Volts, wouldn't either the battery itself and/or the desktop charger unit must have circuitry to raise the charging voltage up somewhat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 Aren't the individual cells less than 5 volts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 6 minutes ago, WSAM454 said: i have wondered about this also. Since charging by USB is becoming more popular and if a USB phone charger is a standard 5 Volts, wouldn't either the battery itself and/or the desktop charger unit must have circuitry to raise the charging voltage up somewhat? Good guess! Boost converters can be designed and built in a very small volume these days if only a few watts are required. And as you assumed it's built into the battery pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 2 minutes ago, WRYS709 said: Aren't the individual cells less than 5 volts? The expected voltage depends on the cell chemistry. Some Lithium cells have a terminal voltage around 4+ volts at full charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knilc Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 I don't have a solution, but I do have a question. Does anyone make a desktop charger for these batteries? USB C is cool, but it seems Baofeng would be "leaving money on the table" by not at least offering one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 39 minutes ago, Knilc said: I don't have a solution, but I do have a question. Does anyone make a desktop charger for these batteries? USB C is cool, but it seems Baofeng would be "leaving money on the table" by not at least offering one. Doesn't the UV-5G+ use the same battery mold as the classic UV-5R? And if so, wouldn't the desktop cup chargers for the UV-5R will work? WRXB215 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXB215 Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 37 minutes ago, WRYS709 said: Doesn't the UV-5G+ use the same battery mold as the classic UV-5R? And if so, wouldn't the desktop cup chargers for the UV-5R will work? That's a good point. I would ask Baofeng though just to make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedSpeak2Me Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 1 hour ago, WRYS709 said: Doesn't the UV-5G+ use the same battery mold as the classic UV-5R? And if so, wouldn't the desktop cup chargers for the UV-5R will work? No. The batteries are different sizes (width and thickness), and the contact plates are in different locations: Battery on left is for the UV-5G Plus, on the right is the standard capacity battery for the UV-5R. WRXB215 and Sshannon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 Interesting: it always amazes me that CCRs often continue confusingly similar naming schemes. I recently purchased the Radioddity DB25-D DMR mini-mobile and note that it is a completely different radio than their DB25-G GMRS mobile radio! Sshannon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXB215 Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 @Knilc It appears that the UV-5RM is the ham version of the UV-5G Plus. This charger should work. WRYS709 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knilc Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 2 hours ago, WRYS709 said: Doesn't the UV-5G+ use the same battery mold as the classic UV-5R? And if so, wouldn't the desktop cup chargers for the UV-5R will work? One would imagine, but the UV-5R charger cup is too small. 50 minutes ago, WRXB215 said: @Knilc It appears that the UV-5RM is the ham version of the UV-5G Plus. This charger should work. It definitely looks that way. Thanks for the link. Thanks for answering my unrelated question, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moabb2 Posted April 17 Report Share Posted April 17 On 3/26/2024 at 7:11 AM, SpeedSpeak2Me said: No. The batteries are different sizes (width and thickness), and the contact plates are in different locations: Battery on left is for the UV-5G Plus, on the right is the standard capacity battery for the UV-5R. The 5G battery looks identical to the UV-5RM 10 watt ham radio. I am sure that charger would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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