In article ,
Steve Wolf wrote:

| Be careful what you ask for. I finally got them to answer and quote me a
| price on a new battery for my DJ-C5. The radio retails for something like
| $125. The battery, with shipping, ends up at about $60. OUCH.
....
| (Battery stores do NOT carry the battery. If anyone would like to prove me
| wrong, PLEASE do. See www.w8iz.com/ham/alinco )

I'm not going to prove you wrong, but I can make a convincing argument
that it's moot

Looking at your picture, this just looks like a standard Li-ion cell.
Li-ion cells are much more dangerous to `fiddle with' than NiCd or
NiMH, but since it's just a single cell (Li-ion and LiPoly cells are
3.6 volts/cell) and I don't see any electronics being part of the
battery pack, I think you can just replace it with another cell. It
doesn't have to be exactly the same size -- so something that's
physically a bit smaller would be fine. You may even get a lot more
capacity for the same size.

I don't know how large your battery is (can't tell from your picture)
but I'm guessing that you can find a comparable LiPoly cell for under
$15 -- then it's just a matter of soldering your old connector onto
the new cell. (You will need special zinc/tin solder to make it stick
to the aluminum tabs.

One place that might sell a sutiable battery would be these people --
http://www.unipros.com/cbpsite/mainasp.asp .

One more thing about Li-ion and Li-poly cells -- they can be
dangerous. Overcharging or over-discharging them, or damaging them
physically can cause them to catch fire. Your radio should have the
circuitry to prevent both, but if it's on the battery itself (doesn't
look like it is, but I can't be sure) you'll need to add it to the new
pack.

I rarely buy new battery packs for items. Instead, I make my own --
just recylcing the parts of the old pack. Saves lots of money.


--
Doug McLaren,
I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.