[ICOM] Powering Icom rigs

Thu Jul 29 13:25:53 EDT 2004

Mort,
Thanks for the information.  I have bookmarked it and will review it more
thoroughly when I get time.

I don't believe I have to worry about the 37 AH drop in the battery.  The
problem with deep cycle is their voltage level in relationship to amateur
equipment.  My radio will only operate on voltages above 11.7 volts so once
the battery reaches that level, the radio will turn off and cease to
operate. 

I live in Golf Cart territory.  EZ-Go and Club Car are both manufactured
here so I did consider getting Golf Cart Batteries.  I found that new ones
are too expensive for my budget right now so I purchased the Deep Cycle
Marine battery to see how that would work.  I wanted a new battery rather
than a used one.  This battery is guaranteed full replacement for 12 months
with prorated replacement over the next two years.  Over this time I plan on
purchasing other batteries that may be setup in parallel or to be used for
other power backup in case of emergency.  I eventually want to have a setup
that will keep my radio and necessities operational for one continuous week.
I need to do this in a most economical method as well.  It may be I just
need a good deep cycle battery or two and a small gas generator.  

Thanks again for the information.  That's why I posted this, to get more and
better information than I already have.

Buck
NA4FM

-----Original Message-----
From: Mort Arditti [mailto:marditti at dslextreme.com] 
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 11:38 AM
To: ICOM Reflector
Subject: Re: [ICOM] Powering Icom rigs

Buck,

You have described an interesting and clever system.
Please allow me to throw in some comments based on experience with
Deep Cycle batteries in general. My experience with these batteries
comes mainly from having used them on my boat and 'house battery'.
1. When discharging these batteries, try not to discharge below 50%, or in
your case draw a maximum of 37.5 AH. If the battery is discharged deeper
than 50% it will shorten it's life.
2. Instead of using one 12 battery, I had better results with two 6 V deep
cycle golf cart batteries in series. These are very rugged and in my
experience
had longer life and higher capacity. The cost for the two batteries will be
higher than the one you have.
3. In intermittent usage such as yours, the batteries will slowly sulfating
which
will increase the internal resistance. This is not a problem in low current
loads, but may be a factor when you draw 20 A or more. You may want to
search the internet on the subject of de-desulfating. Try the following
site:
www.shaka.com/~kalepa/desulf.htm.

I hope this helps.
Good luck,

73,

Mort, KB6BSN

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Buck" <na4fm-list at towncorp.net>
To: "'ICOM Reflector'" <icom at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 12:13 AM
Subject: RE: [ICOM] Powering Icom rigs

> 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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>
>
> ----
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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/