Hi guys/gals, I recently pulled my KBT2 out of my K2 (the battery hasn't been charged for over a year after I abused it last summer by overcharging with an unregulated solar panel). I've been operating over a year now on an outboard 'car start' portable battery pack (12 AH) and have had very little trouble (I chose 12 AH figuring that should be plenty enough to handle Field Day weekend). Because the Spartan Sprints are keen on 'light weight', and with my 12 AH battery (and KBT2 installed), I usually weigh in around 25 lbs total, I decided to trim the weight down and change my power source to a NiMH battery pack.
My local Radio Shack has (had?) the 8 AA battery holder for less than a buck (it looked like an item that was no longer maintained in stock - but I could be wrong) - and 8 AA 2500 mAh NiMH cells from Walmart for $17 (I found them at Sams Club for $15), and I was well on my way to finding out how far those little batteries would take me. I don't remember exactly, but it appears that my weight is now under 5 lbs (not really skinny - but no longer 'tubby' for the Spartan Sprint). I played with the batteries during 2 hours of the NA CW QSO Party, and, except for the incessant 'Low Batt' error, it worked wonderfully. I've since read about how others have used the 10 AA battery holder from Mouser for the K1/KX1 rigs, and I now have that part on order and will try that (hopefully) this weekend for the QRP ARCI Memorial Sprint. My questions for the group: Is there any one using a similar power source? Do you keep your batteries inside our outside the K2? Do you charge your cells individually and replace them in the holder, or do you charge the pack of cells together? If you charge them together, how are you controlling your charge? Does anyone know if Energizer's 15 minute battery charging technology is generally 'beneficial', or 'harmful' to the batteries overall longevity? Do you find yourself turning the power down when running from NiMH batteries, and how much power do you run with the K2? At what voltage will 10 NiMH cells be considered 'empty' (I'm guessing 1V/cell -> 10 Volts), and at what point will the K2's 'Low Batt' warning come on (I'm guessing 10.5 Volts)? Thanks in advance, Daniel AA0NI Oklahoma City K2 #3421 _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
