"Tim Wescott" wrote in message ...
Well, an electronic power switch doesn't _have_ to draw current with the
power off (I've done it), but it's certainly _easier_ to design if you allow
that.

Have you checked that it isn't just the batteries aging?

If it has a clock that would drain the battery. You should be able to
design a clock that works off a bitty little watch battery for over a year,
and consume significantly less current that the batteries natural
self-discharge rate, but perhaps the saved a few pennies by using the
on-board microprocessor instead of a dedicated low-power clock chip.

"Dan McKenzie" wrote in message
...

"Frank Olaughlin" wrote in message
om...
I seem to notice that I get a battery drain on the alkalines in the
FT-817, even when it is turned off with nothing else attached (ext
power supply). Has anyone else noticed this condition? I've come up
with a home brew case that will use a SLA battery to externally power
it, but am still concerned about any (even if small) continuous
battery drain. Any comments or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

73 Frank WQ1O

Yea, that's normal. The power switch is electronic, meaning the circuitry
is
always watching it to see if anyone has pushed the power switch. It has to
use a little currect to do this, not much, I suppose less than a milliamp,
but
it will drain batteries eventually.

Dan, W9FCC


Thanks guys for the replies. I probably should conduct a real test
using alkalines fesh out of the box and test voltage before conducting
it. Its the only way I'll know for sure that the drop is consistent. I
put in 8 new AA eveready alkalines(not Energizer..could have been
issue) and they were down to 8V after 10 days in the radio. Next time
I'll put Energizers in there..(cheap enough these days). I'll also
later..test it over a longer term using a 4ah SLA at a known starting
voltage. Then I can look at it over a few weeks..taking into account
any normal discharge in the SLA. thanks again for your comments.
73s Frank WQ1O