I'm picking up my new Prius this week and am curious about running
radios in the car. The techs at the dealer stare at me blankly when I
bring it up. I plan to operate an Icom IC-706 on HF and 2m. My
assumption is that the radio would run off the small 12v battery used
for accessories and engine starting. Since it's impossible to idle the
motor while standing still, the battry would seemingly run down pretty
quickly.

Any suggestion or comments?

Hi Jim!

I've had my 2005 Prius for almost a year and have used it on VHF and
UHF at 50 watts and works well. I haven't tried HF but have listened
with my 817 while in the car and I didn't hear any computer noise to
speak of.

Yes, that little battery in the back is a small one, but the
computer(s) monitor that and will run the engine if it is in need of
charging, even if you are sitting still. Same goes for the AC or any
of the other things that drag it down.

Having the battery in the back is kinda' sweet. Not a lot of extra
heat to kill it sooner than later (I'm in Arizona) and I put the body
of the yaesu 8800 in the storage area near the spare. Ran the antenna
up behind the seals and onto the roof and simply use a mag mount. Not
easy with an HF antenna of course, but I'm sure there would be a way.

It was a snap hiding the wires and making a first class looking install
with it. No noise at those freqs.

Hope that helps. Have fun. That is a very cool car.

73

Dave
AI7R

JimK6VRY wrote:
I'm picking up my new Prius this week and am curious about running
radios in the car. The techs at the dealer stare at me blankly when I
bring it up. I plan to operate an Icom IC-706 on HF and 2m. My
assumption is that the radio would run off the small 12v battery used
for accessories and engine starting. Since it's impossible to idle the
motor while standing still, the battry would seemingly run down pretty
quickly.

Any suggestion or comments?

"JimK6VRY" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm picking up my new Prius this week and am curious about running
radios in the car. The techs at the dealer stare at me blankly when I
bring it up. I plan to operate an Icom IC-706 on HF and 2m. My
assumption is that the radio would run off the small 12v battery used
for accessories and engine starting. Since it's impossible to idle the
motor while standing still, the battry would seemingly run down pretty
quickly.

Any suggestion or comments?

I am aware of the car but have no practical experience, so here goes with a
few suggestions.

Could the small battery be 'swapped out' for a larger capacity one?
(Physical size/ charge available from alternator are the things to look at)

Is it possible to take a 12V 'tap' from the large batteries that power the
electric motors?

If none of the above the only option I can think of is a split charge
circuit and another (yes I know there's enough batteries in it already)
battery in the luggage space. (don't forget to make sure it's vented)

Hope this helps
73's & good luck! Brian

"JimK6VRY" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm picking up my new Prius this week and am curious about running
radios in the car. The techs at the dealer stare at me blankly when I
bring it up. I plan to operate an Icom IC-706 on HF and 2m. My
assumption is that the radio would run off the small 12v battery used
for accessories and engine starting. Since it's impossible to idle the
motor while standing still, the battry would seemingly run down pretty
quickly.

Any suggestion or comments?


I don't know about the Prius in particular, but several years ago I owned a
pure electric car. At that time the up-and-coming technology was a DC-to-DC
converter that would maintain charge on a 12 volt battery by getting power
from the traction batteries, which were commonly 50 to 100 volts. Without
the converter the 12 volt accessory battery would be drained by lights and
radios until the car was plugged in for a recharge. The biggest problem was
trying to keep the headlights bright.

I've no idea how easy it would be to make a connection to the Prius traction
batteries. Probably not recommended by the service department. But if you
find a simple way to do it, you might be able to keep the 12 volt battery
charged.

There is a group called CalCars (http://calcars.org/) which advocates
modifications to hybrids to let them run more on electric power. They might
have more information.
--
Gerry

JimK6VRY wrote:
I'm picking up my new Prius this week and am curious about running
radios in the car. The techs at the dealer stare at me blankly when I
bring it up. I plan to operate an Icom IC-706 on HF and 2m. My
assumption is that the radio would run off the small 12v battery used
for accessories and engine starting. Since it's impossible to idle the
motor while standing still, the battry would seemingly run down pretty
quickly.

Any suggestion or comments?

Doesn't the Prius start the gas engine if the battery is getting low?

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

"JimK6VRY" wrote ...
I'm picking up my new Prius this week and am curious about running
radios in the car. The techs at the dealer stare at me blankly when I
bring it up. I plan to operate an Icom IC-706 on HF and 2m. My
assumption is that the radio would run off the small 12v battery used
for accessories and engine starting. Since it's impossible to idle the
motor while standing still, the battry would seemingly run down pretty
quickly.

It would seem that any battery that is used for starting a
substantial engine should not "run down pretty quickly"
from the load of a tpical radio.

What happens when the hamster dies?