Alkaline battery drain on FT-817, even when off
 

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

"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

"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

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

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

Frank Olaughlin wrote:

It is normal for the 817 to use power from the batteries in the off state.
It is suggested that when storing the radio, any battery installed should
be removed so that they don't drain and possibly start leaking.

Frank Olaughlin wrote:

It is normal for the 817 to use power from the batteries in the off state.
It is suggested that when storing the radio, any battery installed should
be removed so that they don't drain and possibly start leaking.

"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

"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

Most electronic devices use power even when off. Why? Because they're not
really off. That "on/off" switch is merely a low current device that tells the
computer to turn things off, or on. But the computer must always have power
applied so that it can perform this function. Not a lot of power to be sure,
but power anyway. Same for computers that are left plugged in to a live
outlet.

Most electronic devices use power even when off. Why? Because they're not
really off. That "on/off" switch is merely a low current device that tells the
computer to turn things off, or on. But the computer must always have power
applied so that it can perform this function. Not a lot of power to be sure,
but power anyway. Same for computers that are left plugged in to a live
outlet.

Frank Olaughlin wrote:

The 817 is a known consumer of electrons whenever they are available. It
will drain a set of AA cells in short time even when turned off. The idea
of measuring the current on the radio with a milli amp meter is an excellent
suggestion.

If you are interested, there is a group at Yahoo.com that is focused on the
817. There are discussions of problems, enhancements and experiences with
the radio on this forum. There are also files relating to the radio and
software that is useful to help operate it from a computer. Can one say
memory backup for the radio?

Go to www.yahoo.com and click on groups. Sign in and do a search for 817.
It should show one or two or several groups there.

Allan Butler
ka0ies

Frank Olaughlin wrote:

The 817 is a known consumer of electrons whenever they are available. It
will drain a set of AA cells in short time even when turned off. The idea
of measuring the current on the radio with a milli amp meter is an excellent
suggestion.

If you are interested, there is a group at Yahoo.com that is focused on the
817. There are discussions of problems, enhancements and experiences with
the radio on this forum. There are also files relating to the radio and
software that is useful to help operate it from a computer. Can one say
memory backup for the radio?

Go to www.yahoo.com and click on groups. Sign in and do a search for 817.
It should show one or two or several groups there.

Allan Butler
ka0ies

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

Do a "real test" and just measuer the current drain with a miliampmeter.

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

Do a "real test" and just measuer the current drain with a miliampmeter.