Andrew,
I must ask - how do you propose to charge them? The KXBC3 option is
designed to charge only NiMH batteries.
I guess you *could* design your own internal charger, but fitting it
into the KX3 would be a bit of a challenge.
If you do not design a specific LiFePo4 charger to fit into the KX3,
then you will have to remove the batteries to recharge them (and carry
along the charger). IMHO, a PITA. I would rather run with an external
battery pack instead of 'toting' a charger.
So bottom line, unless you want to design your own charger to fit into
the KX3 enclosure (and any firmware mods to properly operate and monitor
it), then I would think the NiMh batteries or an external battery pack
would be the better solution. That is my opinion.
The KX3 choice of NiMh batteries was a good one. If the batteries die
and there is no source of external power to charge them, one can always
find alkaline AA batteries to pop in the KX3 to operate. Things like
that do happen in the field and I have not seen fully charged LiFePo4
batteries in the local drugstore yet -- maybe someday, but not now.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 2/11/2015 2:18 PM, Henshaw, Andy wrote:
Has anyone looked into hacking a replacement battery case for the KX3 that
featured LiFePo4 cells? I've seen external LiFePo4 packs being used, but it
seems like an internal solution might be workable. With a 13.2V supply (four
cells in series), one can run the KX3 in full-power mode. In addition, the
discharge curve of LiFePo4 is much better than NiMH.
I'm asking, because I'd like to take my KX3 on some backpacking trips and it
just seems wasteful (of space) and slightly awkward (for setup) to have to
carry an external battery pack in order to get full-power.
It appears that AA size LiFePo4 cells are available. So, wouldn't it be
feasible to arrange them in a 4S2P configuration that could replace the
existing battery holder?
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