[Elecraft] Another Battery Question

[Mike B]

Yeah, life gets in the way sometimes.  My first recommendation is to 
remove the battery from the K2 - no need to tempt fate.  A sealed lead 
acid battery, in reasonable health, can probably go up to 6 months at 
normal room temps before needing to be recharged.  Charge it fully, pull 
it out & stick it on a shelf somewhere, and mark your calendar.  Mark it 
for 4 or 5 months, if you want to be safe.  Colder temps reduce the 
self-discharge rate, higher temps dramatically shorten it.

Now may be the time to invest in a small PV (photovoltaic; solar) panel 
and charge controller.  Up to 5 watts, oriented south at a tilt equal to 
your latitude, coupled with a charge controller like Don Brown (I think 
that's the fellow) offers here, or the Micro M+ 
(http://www.seslogic.com/microm+.html), or Morningstar's SunGuard 
(http://store.solar-electric.com/sg-4.html).  I have no connection to 
any of these vendors, other than having a Micro M for 6 or 7 years, and 
using other models of Morningstars at work.

-- 
73,
Mike Boice, KW1ND
Karns, TN
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