[ICOM] Powering Icom rigs

[Buck]

Instead of buying a power supply for my Icom 706, I bought a 75AH Deep Cycle
Marine battery and a smart battery charger.  My charger charges at 2, 4 or 6
amps.  It measures the battery voltage and charges until charged and turns
off.  Then, I believe, I have to reset it and tell it to charge again.
However, today I noticed that after it had been fully charged and the
charger just left alone, it showed a partial charge and the green light
(fully charged) was off.  I just set it to 12 volts and 2 amps.  I have been
using the rig all evening, mostly listening, but some talking.  The charge
level has neither increased nor decreased.  When I go to bed, I will turn
the rig off and the charger will fully charge the battery again.

I had considered using a power supply to power the rig and charge the
battery, but when I talked to the battery manufacturer representative, I
learned that the battery will last much longer if slow charged.  This method
of operation works very well for me.  When I get very active on the radio, I
turn the charger to 4 or 6 amps for the charge.  When I am using it lightly
or mostly listening, I leave it on 2 amps.  Listening draws about 1.25-1.35
amps so the 2 amp charge rate probably just keeps the battery from
discharging during receive.

I have #6 fine-stranded connected to the battery, going through a 40 amp
breaker on each lead and finally to an Anderson Power Pole junction in which
I plug my rig.  The rig has its own two fuses, one on each lead.  I also
have a 'closet light' that I bought from K-Mart plugged in.  It is an 8 watt
florescent bulb that operates on 12 volts and was modified to connect to an
Anderson Power Pole rather than the 8 alkaline batteries in side it.  In the
event of a power outage, my UPS will keep my computer up for a little over
an hour and the rig and lamp will operate for at least one or two full days.
One battery charge keep it running for the two days of field day, but it was
only used lightly (relative to normal field day operations.)

Sometime I would like to get brave and test it for endurance, but I am
afraid that it will be my luck that when the battery is declared useless, a
true power outage emergency will emerge and I will not be ready for it.  

My battery is kept indoors, but it is in a room with plenty of ventilation
and since I rarely use the fast charge, according to the manufacture rep, I
shouldn't get much, if any, gas emissions while charging.  At 6 amps, it
should fully charge before heating enough to create fumes.  I had originally
planned to keep it outside my window, but my well-laid plans came apart
during the thunderstorm the first day I had it out there.  I keep the window
wedged slightly open for cables to enter so there is breathing room too.  

In addition to the smart charger I described, I have a 10 amp charger should
I decide to fast-charge the battery.  I believe the 6 amps will suffice for
most situations, though.

I haven't installed it yet, but I bought a 15 volt panel meter from Radio
Shack to connect to it.  With it I'll know when I need to turn on or kick up
the charger.  It will also display any voltage drop during transmit, etc.

I saw some good advice in other answers to your question.  I would not have
thought about the diode in line with the power supply to protect it.  

I will recommend this, though, especially if you keep the battery outside.
Get some really good heavy wire to run from the battery to the radio area.
I use #6 fine stranded.  That gives me very little voltage drop and lots of
flexibility.  I purchased mine at an auto-stereo specialty shop.  It was
expensive per-foot, but with what few feet I bought, it wasn't hard to
afford.  I cut the wire that came with my rig just below the fuses and put
on Anderson Power Pole connectors.  I also added connectors onto various
lengths of the wire I cut off in case I needed to place the rig further from
the battery supply than I have planned.  

Good luck with your setup.  Let us know what you finally do and how it
works.

Buck
NA4FM




Original message








Corps Groupus Delicious:  I'm trying to reconcile insecurities about caring
for a couple of huge 12 v. gel-electrolyte batteries as emergency back-up
power for an Icom 706MkIIG and an Icom 2030H.  I've looked up the situation
in my '96 RA Handbook and find nothing more than this:  "Once charged, the
battery may be safely maintained at the "float" level, 2.3 v/cell.  Thus, a
12-v gel-cell battery can be "floated" across a regulated 13.8-v system as a
battery backup in the event of power failure."  No caveats whatsoever.  I've
powered my at-home radios from Astron RS-35-M and RS-50-M power supplies for
many years.  I'm pretty sure I couldn't float BOTH batteries from one P.S.,
but am I just overcautious in wondering if something should go WRONG -- as
in a power line drop (it happens, and is one of the reasons for this whole
exercise) or etc. -- that I'll blow up either the power supply or the ICOM
rig(s) or both if I simply parallel one battery with the PS and the radio?
If anyone deems this worthy of a reply, I'd be glad of any comments you
might make.  I'm a digest subscriber, so I may not see your reply for a day
or so if you don't send comment to me direct (as well as via list).  Thanks
for the bandwidth.  Vic  W4VIC
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----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC, icom-owner at mailman.qth.net Icom Users
Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/

----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC, icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/


----
Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC, icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
Icom FAQ: http://www.qsl.net/icom/