[Elecraft] Flying with K2

[Thomas Horsten]

Hi David,

I am flying to Denmark with my FT-817 next week, and I contacted EasyJet to
figure out what I was going to do.

The SLA battery is a no-no. It took 4 emails and escalating the issue to
find out for sure that these are not allowed on EasyJet no matter what, and
probably the same applies to other European airlines.

Regarding the radio itself you can carry it in your hand baggage no problem,
as long as you stay within the allowance of your airline. In EasyJet's case
that means certain dimensions but no limit on the weight, so if you pack
tightly you might be able to fit laptop as well as your rig into a suitable
backpack. You can also pack it in the hold baggage, either is allowed.

I bought a 8Ah Lithium Polymer battery from uttings.co.uk to replace my 12Ah
SLA battery, which I wasn't allowed to bring. It's this one:
http://www.deben.com/lithium-ion/12v-8ah-lithium-ion-battery-pack-with-fuel-gauge.html

A datasheet for the battery can be found here:
http://www.tracerpower.com/user/pdf/Li-Poly_Data_Sheet.pdf

This works exceedingly well with my FT-817, I don't have a K2 to try it on
but be aware that the voltage is somewhat lower than a SLA, with about 12.8
volts when fully charged and dropping to about 9.5V when it's flat. So this
might be an issue for the K2 - the FT-817 puts out the full 5W at well under
9V.

Hope it helps!

73, Thomas M0TRN
K3 #4208

On 25 June 2011 18:21, David Andrews <david at violinman.co.uk> wrote:

> Advice please - I'm flying within Europe shortly with a K2. Do I pack it in
> suitcase (hold) or carry-on? Any problem with the SLA battery? What about
> paperwork? Is it likely to cause concern at the airports?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> David G4CWB
>
>
>
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