[PPRAANet] FT-817 Hazard: Battery Puncture

[W0rw@aol.com]

>From Bonnie  KQ6XA...
The AA alkaline battery pack was shorted out in my FT-817 with a cloud 
of smoke, fumes, and substantial heat. The sharp metal case lip around 
the door of the battery enclosure punctured through the thin plastic 
shield and at least two alkaline cells.

The FT-817 but was not in use at the time, but was being carried in a 
pack on a 6 mile hike into a mountain wilderness area. It was quite a 
surprise out there in the boonies with a smoking backpack, batteries 
dead, and radio in need of repair. Fortunately, upon closer 
examination, it was just a big mess and not a catastrophic electronic 
failure. I repaired it at basecamp by cleaning it up, reforming the 
contact springs, and adding my backup batteries.

After returning to the home QTH, I removed the steel case half and 
used a Dremel grinding wheel with a hand file to completely grind off 
the lip edge of the FT-817's steel case opening that caused the 
damage.

This battery enclosure problem was originally detected in December of 
2000. Yaesu added a "fix" (plastic shield) to more recent serial 
numbers. The thin black plastic shield was added as part of the 
battery holder and was supposed to cure the problem.

Beware. The problem does still exist for those of us who take the 
FT-817 out packing on hikes, bikes, pack animal, or other such 
activities which subject the radio to substantial vibration, pressure, 
or repetitive movement.

Bonnie KQ6XA
http://www.hfpack.com
via w0rw